Airbnb Almost Died in March, Then Had a Billion-Dollar IPO in December

[00:00:00]Did you know Airbnb went from near bankruptcy to a billion dollar IPO in less than 12 months? In early 2020, CO 19 shut down global travel almost overnight. Bookings collapsed. Revenue evaporated. The company that had taken years to build was suddenly fighting just to survive. Airbnb laid off around 1,00 employees, nearly a quarter of its entire workforce. Leadership took deep pay cuts. The company raised emergency funding just to keep the lights on. It looked like the end, but instead of waiting for travel to return, Airbnb shifted focus. They leaned into long-term stays and local getaways, people escaping cities for nearby towns without flying anywhere. It was a small pivot, but it kept the business breathing. Slowly, bookings started recovering. By December 2020, Airbnb went public. On the very first day of trading, the stock price more than doubled, closing above $144 per share. A company that nearly collapsed in March became one of the biggest IPOs of the year by December. Same year, total collapse, then total comeback. Follow for more stories like