Airbnb’s Cofounder Is Redesigning America

The guy who designed how you book a stranger’s apartment is now redesigning how 300 million Americans interact with their government. Joe Gebbia went from selling Obama O’s and Cap'n McCain’s cereal to fund Airbnb when they were broke to becoming America’s first Chief Design Officer. From selling cereal to the White House.

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America’s first Chief Design Officer is redesigning how 300M people interact with their government. We sat down with @jgebbia — Airbnb cofounder, now leading @ndstudio from the White House — to talk about why the role was created and the team he’s assembling to pull it off. FIRST OF KIND, Season 2 premieres Wed 2/11 Follow: @firstofkind_ for updates

Soleio @soleio February 06, 2026

This is what happens when you let builders into government.

From Obama O’s to the Oval Office

Gebbia’s journey is pure YC origin story. When Airbnb was running out of money in 2008, he and his cofounders designed limited-edition cereal boxes—Obama O’s and Cap'n McCain's—and sold them for $40 each to keep the lights on. Paul Graham loved the hustle so much it became YC legend.

Now Gebbia leads the National Design Studio from the White House, established by the August 2025 America by Design Executive Order. The initiative improves federal services in both digital and physical spaces, consulting on the US Web Design System and ensuring compliance with the 21st Century Integrated Digital Experience Act.

Paul Graham’s reaction says it all: From selling cereal to becoming the first Chief Design Officer of the United States of America.

Brand at Civilization Scale

Listen to Gebbia describe the mandate in his own words: “In the next three years, how do we touch every digital surface of the United States government?” He calls it “brand at civilization scale"—this isn’t a small redesign project.

Think about every government website you’ve ever rage-quit. The DMV. The IRS. Healthcare.gov. Veterans Affairs. Immigration services. Social Security. All of it. That’s the scope. Every touchpoint between citizens and their government, rebuilt by someone who actually knows how to make things people want to use.

What Airbnb did for travel—making the unthinkable (sleeping in a stranger’s home) feel intuitive and trustworthy—this team could do for government services.

The Builder’s Moment in Government

Gebbia isn’t alone. This is part of a larger movement. US Tech Force is recruiting 1,000 technologists to transform the federal government through modern software development. DOGE has pulled in Thiel Fellows and engineers. Vulcan is building regulatory operating systems from scratch.

The best product designers and engineers are being called to fix broken government systems. Your government needs YOU—not to complain about it, but to transform it.

There’s something ironic here. Tech companies get accused of undermining government, of being parasites on public infrastructure. But now tech founders are the ones going inside to fix what decades of bureaucracy broke.

This is what it looks like when builders stop complaining about government and start fixing it. Joe Gebbia could be doing anything—but he chose to redesign how America works. If you’re a designer or engineer who’s ever cursed at a government website, this is your call. First of Kind Season 2 drops February 11.