Brian Chesky

Brian Chesky
Chesky in December 2011
Born	Brian Joseph Chesky (1981-08-29) August 29, 1981 (age 35) Niskayuna, New York, U.S.
Residence	San Francisco, California, U.S.
Nationality	American
Alma mater	Rhode Island School of Design (B.F.A.)
Occupation	CEO and Co-founder of Airbnb
Net worth	US$3.3 billion (November 2015)
Parent(s)	Deborah and Robert H. Chesky
Relatives	Allison Chesky (sister)

Brian Joseph Chesky (born August 29, 1981) is an American Internet entrepreneur who co-founded the hospitality exchange service Airbnb. Chesky is the CEO of the company and was named one of Time's "100 Most Influential People of 2015".

Brian Chesky was born on August 29, 1981 in Niskayuna, New York. He is the son of Deborah and Robert H. Chesky; his parents were both social workers. He has a younger sister, Allison. As a child, Chesky was interested in art, drawing replicas of paintings, and design, redesigning shoes and toys. He later became interested in landscape architecture and design.. He was also a competitive bodybuilder, and his competition photos can be found online for the 2001 NPC teen & collegiate nationals.

In 1999, Chesky started attending the Rhode Island School of Design. He received his Bachelor's of Fine Arts in Industrial Design in 2004. During his time at RISD, Chesky met Joe Gebbia, who would later be one of the co-founders of Airbnb.

Brian has often described himself as a "Blue nose" which is terminology for supporting soccer team Rangers FC based in Glasgow, Scotland. He has often referenced the team as part of his future business ventures. His affiliation with the team began when close friend Carlos Bocanegra started playing with the club.

After college, Chesky worked as an industrial designer and strategist at 3DID, Inc. in Los Angeles. He later moved to San Francisco, where he shared an apartment with Gebbia. In October 2007, the Industrial Designers Society of America was hosting a conference in San Francisco and all hotel rooms were booked. The pair could not afford rent for the month and decided to rent their apartment for money. They purchased three air mattresses and marketed this idea as "Airbed and Breakfast", with three guests staying the first night.

In February 2008, Harvard graduate and technical architect Nathan Blecharczyk became the third co-founder of Airbnb. Each co-founder assumed a role within the new company, with Chesky becoming the leader and chief executive officer. In order to receive funding, Chesky and his co-founders created special-edition cereals called "Obama O’s" and "Cap'n McCains", based on Presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain. Impressed by the cereal boxes, Y Combinator accepted Airbnb into its seed funding program. In its first year, the company began internationalizing and opened several offices in Europe. In 2011, Chesky wrote a letter on behalf of the company for its handling of a resident complaint about tenant vandalism by announcing a 24-hour hotline, additional staff support and a guarantee for theft or vandalism. In 2015, Chesky announced that Airbnb was an official sponsor of the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He said that more than 120,000 people had stayed in Airbnb homes during the 2014 FIFA World Cup. As of March 2015, Airbnb has a $20 billion valuation.