Airbnb sold cereal to survive
Obama O's and Cap'n McCain's, 2008.
In the summer of 2008, Brian Chesky and Joe Gebbia were $20,000 in credit-card debt and no investor would return their calls. They designed limited-edition election cereal boxes — Obama O's and Cap'n McCain's — and sold them for $40 each. The stunt raised $30,000 and, more importantly, caught Paul Graham's attention. Y Combinator invested three months later.
Editor's Note
When the door is closed, sometimes the answer is to build a very strange window.
