Stripe is insane.

It's not just a company. It's a civilization in the making.

Here are the 10 things that make the company so impressive.

readthegeneralist.com/briefing/stripe
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.
Stripe is unique.

Few co's have its level of vision.
Fewer still can execute it at scale.
No others can do so while still seeming like an underdog.

If you liked this thread follow @mariodgabriele and read the rest of this *free* briefing here:

readthegeneralist.com/briefing/stripe

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More from @mariodgabriele

2 Jun
This is my best Walt Disney impression. Here's where I hope The Generalist goes.

- Play w boundaries of "audience" + "creator"
- Multiplayer by default
- Build, invest, write in public
- Decentralize decision-making to community
- Be the platform for smart ppl to share thoughts
Since I'm not a very good artist, I can't compete with Disney's amazing original.

But I've done my best...

Meet some characters below ;)
First, the "Blue Whiskered Job Fox."

He just wants to get people into careers they really like.

The more people he helps find a job, the longer his whiskers grow.
Read 10 tweets
30 May
Tbh I was sleeping on the world of "calm funding"...

- Early-stage investing focused on value
- Outperforms 95% of traditional VC
- Firms: @earnestcapital, @indievc, @collab_capital

Had a lot of fun learning about this with @tylertringas.
readthegeneralist.com/briefing/calmf…
1/

What is "calm funding" (CFs)?

There's some disagreement over terminology. Some prefer "funds for bootstrappers" or "indie venture."

In short: investing in co's that don't risk survival for growth. Instead, calm businesses look to achieve sustainability and independence.
2/

Who are some "calm companies"?

They can be profitable "lifestyle" businesses, or become massive public companies.

- @zapier: $5B val, raised $1.3M
- @atlassian: $58B val, raised after 9 yrs
- @1Password: $1B, raised after 14 years

Scores of others
Read 10 tweets
25 May
Hearing of more founders selling secondary shares.

Some really interesting new incentives to think about:

- Founders don't have to sell to get rich
- Can 'swing for the fences' more
- Less downside in raising beyond means
- Upside in constant raising to 🔼 secondary prices
If I were an employee of a company where the CEO was aggressive at selling secondaries...I'd have a lot of questions.

- Should I be trying to sell my shares?
- Does the CEO believe in this long-term?
- What kind of signal does this put out to the market?
I think we're going to see a class of mega-wealthy founders that built...a fundraising company.

Folks that understand VC dynamics well enough to exploit them.

The result may be something like a "VC Ponzi Scheme."

A co that looks unbelievable on paper, but doesn't do much.
Read 9 tweets
23 May
Nubank is the biggest digital bank in the world.

- 40 million users
- $1.5B in projected revenue
- Growing +100% annually
- Disrupting lazy incumbents

It’s a story that could only have happened in Brazil.
readthegeneralist.com/briefing/nuban…
/1

David Vélez founded Nubank in 2013.

Most people thought he was crazy to try and build a neobank in Brazil. Why?

Because of the “Big Five,” incumbent banks with huge control.
/2

Stats on the Big Five:

- Controlled +80% of assets
- Held +85% of loans
- Interest rates of up to 450% per year (!)

These banks had oligopolistic power, as well as regulatory and political influence. Trying to disrupt them was considered as possible.
Read 21 tweets
19 May
In 1987, Starbucks went up for sale.

Howard Schultz had 2 months to get the money to buy it.

With a month left, one of Schultz's own business partners tried to snipe the deal.

One of my favorite business stories ever 👇
1/

So, first things first:

Howard Schultz did not found Starbucks.

It was started by three college friends who set out to make a great coffee *roaster.* No drinks, no places to sit. Just great beans.

They opened their first location in 1971.
2/

In 1981, Schultz was a young salesman.

He worked for Hammarplast, a co that sold coffee machines & filters. On a business trip to Seattle he discovered Starbucks and became so obsessed, he told the founders he wanted to work there.

He got a gig as “director of retail ops"
Read 18 tweets
18 May
In February of this year, I correctly called the Tokopedia-Gojek merger.

That was already being talked about.

But, somehow I also managed to come up with the name of the new company...

GoTo!

Total lucky guess, but still blew my mind 😂 🤯

readthegeneralist.com/briefing/amazo…
Proof from the piece...

This illustration
Little more...
Read 4 tweets

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