It's a serious and common mistake to think that the majority of the challenges faced by a startup are technical, especially in a consumer facing startup. More than half the battle is getting people to know about your product, and AK knows marketing and promotion well.
This, this, this. Ashton Kutcher is, in all likelihood, a much better representative of one of the demographics Airbnb would like to access (wealthy hipsters) than any VC would be. The whole game is understanding your audience.
He's a professional entertainer and producer - someone very skilled at connecting with the customers Airbnb want, half of whom probably grew up watching Punk'd - with ungodly reach on Twitter.
That's rarer, and harder to buy, than deep technical skill. That you can buy with cash and equity.
Exactly - 6 million Twitter followers and nearly 10 million Facebook fans make for a powerful strategic investor. In a crowded market flush with capital this kind of exposure is far more valuable than another funding round from a highly technical VC.
