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Vishu Bheda
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Medial • 1d
𝗬𝗖’𝘀 𝗖𝗼-𝗳𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗝𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗰𝗮 𝗟𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗽𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗼𝗻 𝗕𝗿𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗲𝗲𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗿𝘀 Imagine you’re 19 years old. You walk into a room full of investors and say, “𝐖𝐞’𝐫𝐞 𝐠𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐳𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞.” That’s exactly what Patrick and John Collison did when they pitched Stripe to Y Combinator. Jessica Livingston, YC’s co-founder, was skeptical. “𝐃𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐳𝐞 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐬? 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬.” Their response? “𝐖𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐰𝐞’𝐥𝐥 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦.” Most banks wouldn’t take a teenager seriously. But the Collisons were relentless. They convinced banks to trust them. 𝗝𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗰𝗮 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗽𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗳𝘂𝗹 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺: 𝗗𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗯𝗲𝗮𝘁𝘀 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲. YC once believed the best hackers from Harvard and MIT would build the best startups. They were wrong. The most determined founders win. 𝗨𝘀𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗯𝘀𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝘀 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴. The best founders don’t just build products—they build what users love. 𝗔𝗱𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝘀𝗲𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗹𝗼𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘀. If Plan A fails, great founders pivot fast. 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘃𝗶𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝘄𝗲𝗮𝗽𝗼𝗻. Your startup lives or dies by your ability to convince people—employees, investors, customers. The Collison brothers mastered these skills. That’s how Stripe was born. Follow Vishu Bheda for more valuable startup insights from the world's best founders!
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