1. The Collisons think super long-term.
Employees talk about how the company doesn’t think in years…it thinks in decades.
That comes from the top.
2. They are hyper-patient recruiters
In an interview with @johnolilly, @patrickc talked about how he courted key recruits for *more than three years* before they joined Stripe.
They are “painfully persistent.”
3. Stripe is aggressively transparent
For a long time, every Stripe employee was BCC’d on every other employee’s emails.
Like, you could see what Patrick wrote to @collision (and visa-versa). It’s unclear if this still exists, but employees can still see docs across teams.
4. Patrick is a generational mind
A genius.
Employees describe the CEO as the most brilliant person they’ve ever met.
One rumor around Stripe was that Patrick had debated @elonmusk about rocket engines. His insane knowledge made that seem plausible.
(Let’s settle this ;))
5. John & Claire provide balance
Both are absurdly clever.
John (President) is said to be more business-focused. He’s also a natural communicator and motivator.
@chughesjohnson (COO) is an organizational mastermind. She studies great sports teams to understand how they tick.
6. Stripe’s product is crazy ambitious
Stripe talks about building a “Global Payments and Treasury Network.”
That’s basically a system that runs all online economic activity. You can think of it as financial infrastructure for the *planet.*
Massive.
7. Everyone acts like a CEO
Stripe encourages employees across the company to think strategically, and share ideas.
Customer support agents act like they’re executives.
8. Stripe’s model is upending the industry
Payments companies get squeezed on pricing.
But Stripe has found a way to “layer” products to *increase* its margins. Things like Radar and Sigma can add basis points.
9. Stripe is a savvy investor
John mentions being inspired by Tencent and Alibaba’s investing activity. Stripe looks like it’s pulling off something similar in fintech.
They’ve invested in 21 startups so far.
10. It’s _still_ undervalued
Stripe’s last round valued it at $95B.
But the company did $7.4B in revenue and grew 70% YoY. Yet, Stripe has a lower multiple than its biggest competitor, Adyen.
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