The People's House

Using design to solve problems, Airbnb cofounder Joe Gebbia is tackling the country's housing challenges through his dwelling start-up, Samara

-  Alix Sharkey

"AM I A designer first and then an entrepreneur, or vice versa?" says Joe Gebbia, carefully repeating my question. He speaks methodically, weighing each word before it takes shape. "Well, it's chicken-and-egg. The act of design is identifying a problem, then coming up with a solution. You have to envision something that doesn't yet exist and then you have to go make it."

Today, Gebbia is best known as one of America's most successful businessmen, a philanthropist and visionary who has revolutionized the hospitality industry and whose net worth last year was estimated by Forbes at $7.4 billion. Since he regards himself as extremely fortunate and wealthy far beyond his needs, he has pledged in writing to give away half his riches before he dies. Yet barely a decade and a half ago, Gebbia was asking himself a question that is all too familiar for many lower-income Americans: How am I going to pay the rent?

It was 2007 and Gebbia and roommate Brian Chesky, both 20-something designers, were gainfully employed yet barely getting by in San Francisco, a city whose housing market had reached boiling point thanks to the massive boom in Silicon Valley's tech industries. When their landlord suddenly raised their rent by an exorbitant 20 percent, they found themselves strapped for cash.