
The Collison brothers and $1.75B online payments startup Stripe - fragmented
http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/2/9c8d9f7c-c000-11e3-9513-00144feabdc0.html#axzz2zLRSJUsg
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tomasien
“We were the first people to work on Stripe, and chronologically that’s
interesting but so much of the great work that we do now, we’re a piece of it
but we’re not the most important piece of it,”

This is amazing. A huge part of my job right now is too find people who make
me feel this way - but it's remarkably impressive to find it put so perfectly
by the founders of a company like Stripe.

~~~
zt
That simple sentiment might be why working for them was so cool and why, as
just one proof point, PC is now a part-time partner at YC.

~~~
amirmc
For company culture at that. I can see why.

"... he thinks about hiring and company culture better than anyone else I
know." Via [http://blog.ycombinator.com/welcome-kat-yuri-patrick-and-
eli...](http://blog.ycombinator.com/welcome-kat-yuri-patrick-and-elizabeth)

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omarhegazy
I find it funny that the Stripe founders have inspired and influenced people
by retracting from the cult-of-the-founder image that causes people to be
inspired and influenced by you. It's true that these guys aren't the most
important piece of the Stripe puzzle, but there's a reason FT chose to
interview the founders and no one else. The first guys _are_ the most
inspiring. And these guys tastefully make sure they don't get too self-
indulgent with that fact, making them pretty awesome people. Really a great
article, and these guys seem like humble, awesome people that can do
successful work on a billion dollar problem without tooting any horns about
it.

If you're looking for more inspirational founder articles, FT ran one on on
Sean Parker a while back shortly after the Social Network came out --
[http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/2/8383ab06-45e3-11e0-acd8-00144...](http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/2/8383ab06-45e3-11e0-acd8-00144feab49a.html#axzz2zMSvxfgU).
Sean's a bit more indulgent than these two. Then again he co-founded Napster
and was a major influence in Facebook, and it's bit hard to be humble when you
stuntin' on a Jumbotron (which is why the Stripe founders are so awesome for
being able to do that). In the end, he's still a massive problem-solver and an
entrepreneurial inspiration. I'd recommend it.

~~~
willieljackson
+1 for the 'Ye reference.

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msie
Interesting to read that they used Smalltalk for Auctomatic, their first
company.

~~~
antidaily
Yeah. Wasnt DabbleDB smalltalk too? Picked up steam there for a little while.

~~~
grandalf
Nearly every week I lament the disappearance of dabbledb from the internet.

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hyp0
Does everyone else have an FT subscription? I'm hitting a paywall...

~~~
namenotrequired
No paywall for me, but does this link work maybe? This has gotten me around
paywalls before.

[https://www.google.nl/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd...](https://www.google.nl/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CCwQqQIwAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ft.com%2Fcms%2Fs%2F2%2F9c8d9f7c-c000-11e3-9513-00144feabdc0.html&ei=HopTU-6mIcneOY37gPgK&usg=AFQjCNFGkxisCUnzEuNEal1HIcQ8jFWN9Q&bvm=bv.65058239,d.ZWU)

~~~
hyp0
Thanks for the link! Unfortunately, it doesn't work for me.

Maybe the paywall is because I'm not in the US (Australia).

~~~
namenotrequired
Odd, none for me from the Netherlands. Sorry I can't help.

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pallavkaushish
>In another corner, white mattresses are propped up against the wall ready for
use by employees who need a place to stay when they are visiting San
Francisco<

Mostly this happens in early stage startups but continuing it at a level when
your company is $1.75B is absolutely phenomenal. The effect of this type of
culture is what attracts talented people and makes sticking around worth it.

I would personally kill to be part of an organization which brews a culture
like this.

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jroseattle
Just read this after reading a short essay on the damage a narcissistic person
can have on the culture of a small company.

These fellas are a breath of fresh air. Here's to hoping these nice guys do
not finish last.

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untilHellbanned
An article touting that these two young guys are worth $1.75B and then shows
pictures of their home address, WTF journalist? Seems way unnecessarily
inviting.

~~~
CamperBob2
They're trying to take some of the heat off of Dorian Nakamoto, maybe.

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Killswitch
I love everything about this company... These guys are huge influences of mine
on both how humble they are, and where they came from to be where they are
now.

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imc
pc's hair is fierce fluffy these days

