Episode
#353: Patrick Collison — CEO of Stripe
2:26:10
Published: Thu Dec 20 2018
Description
"If people around you don't think what you're doing is a bit strange, maybe it's not strange enough." — Patrick CollisonPatrick Collison (@patrickc) is chief executive officer and co-founder of Stripe, a technology company that builds economic infrastructure for the internet.After experiencing firsthand how difficult it was to set up an online business, Patrick and his brother John started Stripe in 2010. Their goal was to make accepting payments on the internet simpler and more inclusive. Today, Stripe powers millions of online businesses around the world.Prior to Stripe, Patrick co-founded Auctomatic, which was acquired by Live Current Media for $5 million in March 2008. In 2016, he was named a Presidential Ambassador for Global Entrepreneurship by President Obama. Originally from Limerick, Ireland, Patrick now lives in San Francisco where Stripe is headquartered.Also, as you can tell from seeing just a selected segment of his reading list shared in the show notes on tim.blog/podcast, he's one of the most well-read people I know. Please enjoy!Click here for the show notes for this episode.This podcast is brought to you by 99designs, the global creative platform that makes it easy for designers and clients to work together create designs they love. Its creative process has become the go-to solution for businesses, agencies, and individuals, and I have used it for years to help with display advertising and illustrations and to rapid prototype the cover for The Tao of Seneca. Whether your business needs a logo, website design, business card, or anything you can imagine, check out 99designs.You can work with multiple designers at once to get a bunch of different ideas, or hire the perfect designer for your project based based on their style and industry specialization. It's simple to review concepts and leave feedback so you'll end up with a design that you're happy with. Click this link and get a free $99 upgrade.This podcast is also brought to you by Athletic Greens. I get asked all the time, "If you could only use one supplement, what would it be?" My answer is, inevitably, Athletic Greens. It is my all-in-one nutritional insurance. I recommended it in The 4-Hour Body and did not get paid to do so. As a listener of The Tim Ferriss Show, you'll get a free 20-count travel pack (valued at $100) with your first order at AthleticGreens.com/Tim.***If you enjoy the podcast, would you please consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts/iTunes? It takes less than 60 seconds, and it really makes a difference in helping to convince hard-to-get guests. I also love reading the reviews!For show notes and past guests, please visit tim.blog/podcast.Sign up for Tim’s email newsletter (“5-Bullet Friday”) at tim.blog/friday.For transcripts of episodes, go to tim.blog/transcripts.Interested in sponsoring the podcast? Please fill out the form at tim.blog/sponsor.Discover Tim’s books: tim.blog/books.Follow Tim:Twitter: twitter.com/tferriss Instagram: instagram.com/timferrissFacebook: facebook.com/timferriss YouTube: youtube.com/timferrissPast guests on The Tim Ferriss Show include Jerry Seinfeld, Hugh Jackman, Dr. Jane Goodall, LeBron James, Kevin Hart, Doris Kearns Goodwin, Jamie Foxx, Matthew McConaughey, Esther Perel, Elizabeth Gilbert, Terry Crews, Sia, Yuval Noah Harari, Malcolm Gladwell, Madeleine Albright, Cheryl Strayed, Jim Collins, Mary Karr, Maria Popova, Sam Harris, Michael Phelps, Bob Iger, Edward Norton, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Neil Strauss, Ken Burns, Maria Sharapova, Marc Andreessen, Neil Gaiman, Neil de Grasse Tyson, Jocko Willink, Daniel Ek, Kelly Slater, Dr. Peter Attia, Seth Godin, Howard Marks, Dr. Brené Brown, Eric Schmidt, Michael Lewis, Joe Gebbia, Michael Pollan, Dr. Jordan Peterson, Vince Vaughn, Brian Koppelman, Ramit Sethi, Dax Shepard, Tony Robbins, Jim Dethmer, Dan Harris, Ray Dalio, Naval Ravikant, Vitalik Buterin, Elizabeth Lesser, Amanda Palmer, Katie Haun, Sir Richard Branson, Chuck Palahniuk, Arianna Huffington, Reid Hoffman, Bill Burr, Whitney Cummings, Rick Rubin, Dr. Vivek Murthy, Darren Aronofsky, and many more.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Chapters
The speaker promotes Athletic Greens and 99designs, offering a free travel pack for first time Athletic Greens users and explaining how 99designs can connect you with a designer for any graphic design project.
00:00 - 03:28 (03:28)
Summary
The speaker promotes Athletic Greens and 99designs, offering a free travel pack for first time Athletic Greens users and explaining how 99designs can connect you with a designer for any graphic design project.
Episode#353: Patrick Collison — CEO of Stripe
PodcastThe Tim Ferriss Show
Patrick Collison, co-founder of Stripe, shares the story of his journey to founding one of the world's most successful payment processing platforms valued at $20 billion with the help of his brother John.
03:28 - 09:10 (05:42)
Summary
Patrick Collison, co-founder of Stripe, shares the story of his journey to founding one of the world's most successful payment processing platforms valued at $20 billion with the help of his brother John.
Episode#353: Patrick Collison — CEO of Stripe
PodcastThe Tim Ferriss Show
The correlation between the mindset of an individual and the content of a book holds great importance.
09:10 - 20:34 (11:24)
Summary
The correlation between the mindset of an individual and the content of a book holds great importance. The book, Dream Machine by J.C.R. Licklider and the importance of matching the reader's mindset with the book's content is discussed in this podcast.
Episode#353: Patrick Collison — CEO of Stripe
PodcastThe Tim Ferriss Show
The speaker argues that society tends to be dismissive of unconventional approaches to decision-making in companies, but implementing diverse groups responsible for major areas of the organization can lead to increased satisfaction and autonomy in employees.
20:34 - 30:39 (10:05)
Summary
The speaker argues that society tends to be dismissive of unconventional approaches to decision-making in companies, but implementing diverse groups responsible for major areas of the organization can lead to increased satisfaction and autonomy in employees. However, for decisions on organizational structure, a more conservative approach may be necessary.
Episode#353: Patrick Collison — CEO of Stripe
PodcastThe Tim Ferriss Show
Companies of all types report that availability of software engineers is as important as other traditional business aspects, with the need for companies to transform themselves to keep up with technological advances becoming increasingly crucial.
30:39 - 37:19 (06:40)
Summary
Companies of all types report that availability of software engineers is as important as other traditional business aspects, with the need for companies to transform themselves to keep up with technological advances becoming increasingly crucial. Stripe, however, saw less importance in regulatory and partnership barriers than its competitors.
Episode#353: Patrick Collison — CEO of Stripe
PodcastThe Tim Ferriss Show
The internet has enabled more efficient distribution channels for information and made it easier to discover correct information.
37:19 - 42:44 (05:24)
Summary
The internet has enabled more efficient distribution channels for information and made it easier to discover correct information. As a result, products can now be adopted via these new transparency and efficacy channels like Hacker News, Twitter, and blogs.
Episode#353: Patrick Collison — CEO of Stripe
PodcastThe Tim Ferriss Show
Pursuing non-traditional channels can create better incentives for building a product development organization that can compete purely based on its merits, whereas traditional marketing and sales tend to prioritize talking up the product or pre-announcing things before they're ready.
42:44 - 49:18 (06:34)
Summary
Pursuing non-traditional channels can create better incentives for building a product development organization that can compete purely based on its merits, whereas traditional marketing and sales tend to prioritize talking up the product or pre-announcing things before they're ready. This strategy can help gain initial traction in the early days.
Episode#353: Patrick Collison — CEO of Stripe
PodcastThe Tim Ferriss Show
The speaker explains that the future success of a company does not depend entirely on its initial name but rather on the implementation of a strong sales and marketing engine, which can make it difficult for competitors to catch up.
49:18 - 55:25 (06:07)
Summary
The speaker explains that the future success of a company does not depend entirely on its initial name but rather on the implementation of a strong sales and marketing engine, which can make it difficult for competitors to catch up.
Episode#353: Patrick Collison — CEO of Stripe
PodcastThe Tim Ferriss Show
The process of naming a company can be difficult and involve random generation and domain availability checks.
55:25 - 1:00:08 (04:43)
Summary
The process of naming a company can be difficult and involve random generation and domain availability checks. Despite the relative smoothness, it can often be a challenging process.
Episode#353: Patrick Collison — CEO of Stripe
PodcastThe Tim Ferriss Show
The process of creating something requires a great deal of optimism to push through the hardship and uncertainty, but it can also lead to an emotional roller coaster when small setbacks occur or people's emotional cycles differ.
1:00:08 - 1:08:13 (08:04)
Summary
The process of creating something requires a great deal of optimism to push through the hardship and uncertainty, but it can also lead to an emotional roller coaster when small setbacks occur or people's emotional cycles differ.
Episode#353: Patrick Collison — CEO of Stripe
PodcastThe Tim Ferriss Show
The speaker emphasizes that individuals should give themselves the permission to have lost/explored periods in their lives, as it can be helpful, rather than just having a clear and structured narrative.
1:08:13 - 1:14:45 (06:32)
Summary
The speaker emphasizes that individuals should give themselves the permission to have lost/explored periods in their lives, as it can be helpful, rather than just having a clear and structured narrative. Individuals may not have the opportunity, or not allow themselves, to create such open-ended narratives of exploration.
Episode#353: Patrick Collison — CEO of Stripe
PodcastThe Tim Ferriss Show
The speaker reflects on the exploratory childhood she had, where her parents acted as facilitators and nurtured her interests since her early days, making her feel that they were life coaches guiding her life.
1:14:45 - 1:22:28 (07:43)
Summary
The speaker reflects on the exploratory childhood she had, where her parents acted as facilitators and nurtured her interests since her early days, making her feel that they were life coaches guiding her life.
Episode#353: Patrick Collison — CEO of Stripe
PodcastThe Tim Ferriss Show
The speaker enjoyed going on month-long camping trips as they provided enough time to relax and explore different sceneries without feeling rushed.
1:22:28 - 1:30:07 (07:39)
Summary
The speaker enjoyed going on month-long camping trips as they provided enough time to relax and explore different sceneries without feeling rushed. The trips also allowed for personal time to read or focus on individual activities.
Episode#353: Patrick Collison — CEO of Stripe
PodcastThe Tim Ferriss Show
Derik Sivers and Shane Parrish discuss the ability of not getting offended and exposing yourself to different worldviews.
1:30:07 - 1:37:55 (07:48)
Summary
Derik Sivers and Shane Parrish discuss the ability of not getting offended and exposing yourself to different worldviews. This attitude can lead to better understanding and scrutiny of ideas with less bias.
Episode#353: Patrick Collison — CEO of Stripe
PodcastThe Tim Ferriss Show
The complexity of happiness lies in intertemporal comparisons and the absolute inputs into happiness like health, chronic pain, or the death of loved ones.
1:37:55 - 1:46:13 (08:18)
Summary
The complexity of happiness lies in intertemporal comparisons and the absolute inputs into happiness like health, chronic pain, or the death of loved ones.
Episode#353: Patrick Collison — CEO of Stripe
PodcastThe Tim Ferriss Show
Scott Alexander from Slate Star Codex discusses the multiple interpretations and comparisons that arise from happiness surveys and how to encourage improvement rather than status quo.
1:46:13 - 1:53:13 (06:59)
Summary
Scott Alexander from Slate Star Codex discusses the multiple interpretations and comparisons that arise from happiness surveys and how to encourage improvement rather than status quo.
Episode#353: Patrick Collison — CEO of Stripe
PodcastThe Tim Ferriss Show
The role of consumer credit in driving economic progress in developing countries is a much-debated topic.
1:53:13 - 2:02:14 (09:01)
Summary
The role of consumer credit in driving economic progress in developing countries is a much-debated topic. While some argue that more credit needs to be made available to consumers, others believe that directing credit towards industry and economic development would lead to more sustainable growth.
Episode#353: Patrick Collison — CEO of Stripe
PodcastThe Tim Ferriss Show
To improve decision-making skills, it is advised to simulate other people's perspectives and ideas and average the computation over their responses.
2:02:14 - 2:08:03 (05:49)
Summary
To improve decision-making skills, it is advised to simulate other people's perspectives and ideas and average the computation over their responses. Another way is to expose yourself to unique perspectives and ideas, forming a board of directors around you to help make informed decisions.
Episode#353: Patrick Collison — CEO of Stripe
PodcastThe Tim Ferriss Show
Data visualizations and analyses have become the standard for decision making in every sector, promoting the idea of optimizing decision-making processes.
2:08:03 - 2:15:48 (07:45)
Summary
Data visualizations and analyses have become the standard for decision making in every sector, promoting the idea of optimizing decision-making processes. However, this could be harmful and hamper one's ability to see what's really happening and course-correct accordingly.
Episode#353: Patrick Collison — CEO of Stripe
PodcastThe Tim Ferriss Show
The speaker discusses the importance of having the right options over being perfect at choosing between a set of options and promoting weird, strange and original thinking.
2:15:48 - 2:21:28 (05:40)
Summary
The speaker discusses the importance of having the right options over being perfect at choosing between a set of options and promoting weird, strange and original thinking.
Episode#353: Patrick Collison — CEO of Stripe
PodcastThe Tim Ferriss Show
This is an advertisement for Athletic Greens offering a free 20-count travel pack and for 99Designs, a graphic design platform.
2:21:28 - 2:25:56 (04:28)
Summary
This is an advertisement for Athletic Greens offering a free 20-count travel pack and for 99Designs, a graphic design platform. The speaker shares their positive experiences using Athletic Greens for book covers and 99Designs for their graphic design projects.