There’s always room for the next startup. There’s room for a couple people in an apartment to create a travel company that could be the biggest in the world, but they’re not going to do it by copying us or Expedia or anybody else.
Quote from Brian Chesky, in a one-to-one interview with PhocusWire this week.
In The Big Chair: Brian Chesky of Airbnb
On the one hand, Airbnb's young(ish) leader is obviously going to try and warn off any potential threats to his business by saying there's no point in trying to copy its model.
He has a business to protect. And, to be fair, most businesses that have tried have, inevitably, not gained anywhere close to the levels of growth that Airbnb has (anyone remember the grandstanding from its European counterpart Wimdu a few years ago?).
But when we got the chance to ask Chesky why he thinks so many travel startups fail, his answer was probably correct.
Achieving comparable levels of distribution to existing players doing the same thing, is Chesky's "incredibly simple but not obvious" reason.
It might be obvious to those that already operate in the industry (or have tried to disrupt the status quo), yet for the hundreds of startups that enter the sector with wide-eyed optimism, perhaps understanding the challenges that they face often seems to be at the back of their minds.
The consumer-facing travel business is a tough game. Airbnb was one of the few lucky ones that managed to break through with a fresh idea and, as we are now seeing, a truly disruptive brand and focus.
Chesky is right when he cautions travel startups about how the existing structure (and financial muscle) of the industry, and how it limits opportunities.
But, thankfully, it's not an entirely pessimistic message.
There's nothing to stop a travel startup that has the "10X" idea and motivation that he speaks about being able to push through.
Yet if there's anything to learn from someone who has fought hard to establish a mark, it's figure out where are the easier battles are... or, better still, find a battle where there isn't even an opponent yet.