

The Collison Brothers and Story Behind The Founding Of Stripe - trueblueponies
http://startupgrind.com/2012/02/true-startup-story-the-collison-brothers-and-stripe-com/

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j_col
From my Irish perspective, I'd be more interested to learn how they came from
Limerick, went to two prestigious American universities, and ended up in
Silicon Valley. I heard for example that they initially approached banks in
Ireland with their idea, but could not get funding. I'd be fascinated to read
about this if anyone has a link to share (this article really skims over the
early details).

I'd also love to see the lads bring their service back to the EU at some
stage, it's badly needed!

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j_col
I found it myself, this gives a lot more detail:
[http://www.siliconrepublic.com/start-
ups/item/22016-exclusiv...](http://www.siliconrepublic.com/start-
ups/item/22016-exclusive-interview-with-a/)

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phamilton
Does anybody else read these stories and think "crap... I'm 23 and I haven't
received any awards, nor did I go to MIT..."?

I know it's not requisite in the startup world to go to a top school, but
every time I read a story like this I have to mentally justify my education
and qualifications. I feel I'm a decent hacker who can produce, but I feel my
background pales in comparison to guys like these.

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ernestipark
It's easy to feel that way, but everybody does (including people at MIT). You
just have to do your best not to compare yourself to others and do what you
can do well and to the fullest.

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Scaevolus
Don't compare yourself to a strawman stuffed with everyone else's
achievements.

Everyone looks bad compared to the aggregate. Individual differences are more
manageable.

Stripe's success has more to do with hard work than genius.

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Kudos
I'm surprised it doesn't mention their previous startup Auctomatic which they
sold for a few million when John was 17 and Patrick was 19.

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andyjenn
"Patrick founded Auctomatic and joined Y Combinator as a Winter 2007 company.
Its path would not last long. At the age of 19 and ten months after
incorporating, the company was bought by Live Current Media for $5MM where
Patrick became the Director of Product Engineering in 2008"

