I’m a great admirer of Airbnb, a small company that has managed to create an attractive, easy-to-use marketplace for short-term rentals. Fred Wilson shares a wonderful story about how the founders raised their first $25,000. Rather than share the story, I’ll give you this teaser:

Whenever someone tells me that they can’t figure out how to raise the first $25,000 they need to get their company started I stand up, walk over to the cereal box, and tell this story. It is a story of pure unadulterated hustle. And I love it.

Wilson anticipates that Airbnb will become “the eBay of spaces.” My only objection is that eBay is looking pretty lackluster these days.