pitch unfairly

Arcade · Fundraising

Airbnb, 2009. Pitched unfairly, 2026.

Air mattresses to $2.1B of math. Same story, same numbers. Rebuilt the way we'd pitch it today.

  • $600K seed
  • 14 slides
  • Sequoia
Play the 2026 deck Steal the structure
2009 Seed deck

Airbnb

Air mattresses to $2.1B of math.

Legend
Original craft
Unfair

14 slides→10

It's a live deck. Press start, then scroll or use the arrow keys, or play it full screen.

Play the 2026 deck

Then · 2009 · 14 slides

The original

  1. Welcome: "Book rooms with locals, rather than hotels"
  2. Problem: price, disconnection, no way to book a local
  3. Solution: save money, make money, share culture
  4. Market validation: Couchsurfing and Craigslist numbers
  5. Market size: 2B trips, 560M, 84M
  6. Product: search, view, book
  7. Business model: 10% fee, $2.1B
  8. Adoption: events, partners, Craigslist
  9. Competition: the 2×2
  10. Competitive advantages
  11. Team
  12. Press
  13. User testimonials
  14. Financial: $600K, 12 months, 80K transactions

Original: circulated copy, via Alexander Jarvis

Now · 2026 · 10 slides

What we changed

  • The market math is liveDrag your share of trips and watch the circle and the revenue recalculate. The pitch is the formula.
  • The product plays itselfSearch, listing, booked: the three-step flow animates on a phone instead of sitting in three screenshots.
  • One receipt replaces three bulletsThe problem slide is a hotel bill: $282, locals met 0, real city seen 0.
  • Press and testimonials cutFourteen slides became ten. Investors skim for about three minutes, so the low-weight slides went.

Steal the structure

Pitch your company like Airbnb did.

  1. 01One-line promiseSay the product in a sentence a friend could repeat.
  2. 02ProblemMake the pain concrete: a price, a moment, a receipt.
  3. 03SolutionShow who wins, one card per side of the market.
  4. 04Proof of behaviorPoint at people already doing it the hard way.
  5. 05Market and modelBottoms-up: trips × share × fee, with the math visible.
  6. 06ProductShow the flow in three steps.
  7. 07Growth planName the channels you will actually use.
  8. 08CompetitionA 2×2 where you are alone in the corner that matters.
  9. 09TeamWhy these people, in one line each.
  10. 10The askAn amount tied to one milestone and a date.

Make yours in ChatGPT

Type your site. We'll write the prompt with Airbnb's structure and your brand.

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