Here's the story of Joe Gebbia, the cofounder of Airbnb. Like every new company's early days, there are always problems. Sometimes, no customers, no sales, lots of trouble. Fastcompany talks to him about the growing pains.

"What they call this in the lifecycle of an idea is the trough of sorrow," says Joe Gebbia, cofounder of Airbnb. "It's a very bleak, dark time where you're just trying to kinda figure out how to get your idea off the ground."

But how exactly did Airbnb persevere? Gebbia and his crew got really close to his customers.

"We used to travel and actually stay with our customers," says Gebbia. "It was the ultimate enlightened empathy--you were so close to the people you were designing for that it informed you in a way that, you know, an online survey never would."

Check out the video below. It is interesting and both inspiring to budding entrepreneurs. The only thing that will set you apart isn't skill, or knowledge. It is perseverance!



[Fastcompany]