will.i.am, the Black Eyed Peas frontman, has recently admitted that he missed out on a huge investment opportunity after turning down the chance to invest in Airbnb ¹. In an interview with Jake Humphrey on the High Performance podcast, will.i.am detailed his investment strategy and the lessons he learned from not backing the then-startup business. He said, "I couldn’t see Airbnb. There was an opportunity I had to invest — this is before they launched. If you’re anchored in your perception, that’s healthy. Sometimes that could cripple you. In this case, it crippled my ability to see the scope of what was possible. If you don’t have concierge, if you don’t have house cleaning and room service, I don’t know if this company is gonna take off. Because at that time, I was travelling around the world in the best hotels, getting the best treatment. And I couldn’t see Airbnb" ¹.

When asked if he ever calculated how much money he missed out on by passing on the investment opportunity, will.i.am let out a dejected laugh and replied: “You know what that would have been worth?” ¹.

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