A Legendary Investor Says This Is the No. 1 Quality That Predicts a Future Billionaire

A Legendary Investor Says This Is the No. 1 Quality That Predicts a Future Billionaire

Airbnb is worth something in the neighborhood of $30 billion now, but back in 2008 the founders had their sights set significantly lower. As co-founder Brian Chesky explained on Medium , they were attempting to raise $150,000 at a $1.5 million valuation. That means you could have bought 10 percent of the company for all of $150,000.

But when Chesky and his co-founders approached seven prominent Silicon Valley investors, five passed and two ignored them completely.

There are a couple lessons to take from this story. From the entrepreneur's perspective it's an illustration of the importance of perseverance . From the investors' it shows just how hard it is to spot a billionaire in the making .

A home rental platform may sound like a no brainer business plan now, but back when Chesky was pitching paying to crash on a stranger's air mattress, the idea just seemed insane. How do the best investors spot the difference between make-you-a-billion-dollars crazy and just plain crazy? Investor Jason