Y Combinator cofounder Jessica Livingston: “Your idea is going to evolve”

In the clip below, Sam Altman asks Jessica how important it is to get the idea for a startup right in the beginning versus just getting started and figuring the idea out as you go.

Jessica responds:

“I think it’s more important to get started with something and build it because your idea is always going to evolve.”

She cites Airbnb as an example.

When Airbnb applied to Y Combinator, the website let you rent out an airbed in your home during conferences. Then they dropped the conference requirement, but hosts were still required to be there so they could serve guests breakfast in the morning (it was called AirBedAndBreakfast at the time).

They only dropped the requirement that the host must be home to serve breakfast when Barry Manilow’s drummer was going on tour but still wanted to rent out his New York City apartment.

It sounds shocking today, but it was only after this user interaction that the Airbnb founders realized they should rent out entire homes versus just airbeds.

Video source: Y Combinator “Jessica Livingston: How to Build the Future”