Brian Chesky Says His Dad Never Told Him He Was 'Talented Or Smart' And That's Quite Alright, Here's Why The Airbnb CEO Thinks Only Rewarding Effort Pays Off

Airbnb Inc. ABNB co-founder and CEO Brian Chesky has credited his father’s tough love—not praise—for instilling the mindset that helped him build a billion-dollar company.

What Happened: Speaking on Simon Sinek's “A Bit of Optimism” podcast, which was made public in February of this year, Chesky shared that his father never complimented his intelligence and instead rewarded effort over innate ability.

"My dad never told me I was talented or smart and he probably did me a service," Chesky said, adding, "He only rewarded effort."

"I think there's a lot of studies about the growth mindset that if you reward a child for being intrinsically good, they're going to be afraid to try because they don't want to disprove you. But if you reward effort, the only way to fail is to not give it your all."

The CEO then gave the example of UCLA's legendary basketball coach John Wooden while discussing his leadership philosophy. Chesky recalled Wooden’s response when asked about the secret behind his record-setting coaching career.

According to Chesky, Wooden believed in seeing untapped potential in his players—potential they often didn't recognize in themselves. The Airbnb CEO said that he sees that same responsibility in leadership.

"I think the biggest gift a leader can give to a person is to believe in them and that can come in saying ‘you’re great,' ‘you’re wonderful,' but that can also come to say ‘I believe we can do more,'" he stated.

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Why It’s Important: In 2023, Chesky also spoke about a moment when his mother bluntly responded to his entrepreneurial ambitions after he left his job.

"At that point, my mom said, ‘So I guess you don't have that job with health insurance anymore,'" Chesky told Stanford GSB students. "And I said, ‘No, mom, I'm an entrepreneur.' And she said, ‘No, you're unemployed.' That’s when I realized, when you’re starting, it’s mostly in your head."

According to Bloomberg's Billionaire Index, Chesky currently has a net worth of $10.6 billion. He co-founded Airbnb in 2008 alongside Nathan Blecharczyk and Joe Gebbia.

Airbnb made its public market debut in 2020 with one of the most highly awaited IPOs in recent memory, securing a valuation of $47 billion at the time.

Previously, it was reported that in 2008, the company's founders sought $150,000 in exchange for a 10% stake and reached out to seven potential investors. Five rejected the pitch outright, while two never responded.

Today, the company has a market cap of $84.68 billion.

According to Benzinga Pro data, Airbnb shares have risen 1.44% year-to-date but remain 10.79% lower over the past 12 months.

Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings show a steady upward trajectory for ABNB across short, medium and long-term periods. Additional performance insights are available here.