What drives startup founders to barrel through the free market with such Randian ruthlessness? Money, duh. But there's another possibility. Perhaps the will to succeed is so consuming because they know it might be the best idea they will ever have.

Meet Joe Gebbia. Joe founded Airbnb with another guy in 2008, and still works there. Airbnb is doing well, and maybe someday it'll be a valuable public company. For now, would you like to pay $2,500 to Skype with Joe for 60 minutes?

Both Airbnb and Uber—shining stars of the sharing economy or efficient middlemen, depending on how you look at it—have chosen to use New York as a model city for making sure lawmakers rule in their favor. And what better way to tip the scales than by backing the man most likely to be our next Mayor?