Paul GrahamVerified account

The next time someone claims that starting startups is for rich kids, remind them that Airbnb happened because its founders literally could not pay their rent.

Oh Paul, you know better. I had to borrow money from my mom to pay my taxes when we were starting Cloudflare. But I certainly came from a relatively privileged background, and so did the AirBnB founders. It’s hard to take risks if you don’t have a safety net. #bereal

I would ordinarily just let your bullshit go, but this myth that you have to be a rich kid to start a startup is terribly dangerous, because it discourages people who aren't from trying it. Brian Chesky's parents were social workers. That is not a rich kid.

Dismissing how privilege and wealth shape opportunity for entrepreneurs is much more dangerous. I'm glad Brian had a decent middle-class upbringing as the son of two college graduates w/ stable jobs -- but that, unfortunately, is privilege with 40 million people in poverty in US.