The story of the Collison brothers, Patrick and John, is one of determination, innovation, and success. These two young entrepreneurs have built one of the most successful companies in the world, Stripe, and have become household names in the tech industry.
The Collison brothers were born in Limerick, Ireland, with Patrick being born in 1988 and John in 1990. From a young age, they showed an interest in technology and programming, and by the time they were teenagers, they had already started creating websites and applications.
In 2007, Patrick and John both won scholarships to attend MIT in the United States. While at MIT, they continued to work on their programming skills and began to explore the idea of creating a company. In 2010, they dropped out of college to focus on their new venture, which would eventually become Stripe.
The idea for Stripe came from the Collison brothers' own frustrations with online payment systems. They found that existing payment solutions were difficult to integrate into websites and lacked the flexibility and customization they were looking for. So, they decided to create their own payment system that would be easy to use, customizable, and accessible to businesses of all sizes.
In 2011, Stripe launched its beta version, and it was an immediate success. The company's simple and elegant payment solution quickly caught the attention of businesses and developers around the world. With Stripe, businesses could easily accept payments online and customize the payment process to match their brand and website.
Since its launch, Stripe has grown rapidly, and the company is now valued at $50 billion based on its most recent capital raise of $6.5 billion. New investors participating in the recent round were GIC, Goldman Sachs Asset and Wealth Management and Temasek. They joined existing investors Andreessen Horowitz, Baillie Gifford, Founders Fund, General Catalyst, MSD Partners and Thrive Capital.
Today, Stripe is used by millions of businesses around the world, from small startups to large corporations. The company has also expanded beyond payments, offering a range of additional services, including fraud prevention and billing.
What sets the Collison brothers apart is not just their technical skills, but their ability to innovate and take risks. They saw a problem in the market and were able to create a solution that has revolutionized the way businesses accept payments online. They have also been able to stay ahead of the competition by constantly evolving and adding new features to their platform.
The Collison brothers have also been recognized for their achievements. In 2016, they were named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 list, and in 2019, they were included in Time magazine's list of the 100 most influential people in the world.
In addition to their work with Stripe, the Collison brothers are also active in the tech community and have invested in a number of startups. They have also become advocates for immigration reform, as they themselves experienced the difficulties of navigating the US visa system.
The success of the Collison brothers and Stripe serves as an inspiration to entrepreneurs around the world. Their story shows that with determination, hard work, and a willingness to take risks, anything is possible.
