This is the youngest billionaire you’ve never heard of...
— Gina Acosta (@ginacostag_) June 1, 2025
He dropped out of MIT and built Stripe into a $95B company from his dorm room.
His growth strategy was so SMART that even PayPal, Square, and Visa execs were stunned.
Here’s the full story: 🧵 pic.twitter.com/bpSeX3P19a
When Patrick showed this to PayPal execs, they laughed.
— Gina Acosta (@ginacostag_) June 1, 2025
"It's impossible to make it that simple" they said. pic.twitter.com/qUucWu0Ov3
But Patrick wasn't alone—he had his brother, John.
— Gina Acosta (@ginacostag_) June 1, 2025
Both had been programming since the age of 10, and by the time they got to college, they were already making money from making iPhone apps.
Seeing the opportunity, they decided to drop out and build Stripe, originally named… pic.twitter.com/ZhYyqy8uUf
They focused on one metric: developer happiness. If developers loved it, businesses would naturally follow.
— Gina Acosta (@ginacostag_) June 1, 2025
Stripe joined Y Combinator, where investor Paul Graham called their demo “suspiciously good.” Even PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel was impressed, investing $2 million. pic.twitter.com/D0duPQGcVV
Stripe's first office: A two-bedroom apartment with six people coding non-stop.
— Gina Acosta (@ginacostag_) June 1, 2025
Their mission: "Increase the GDP of the internet."
Patrick's belief for the first 10 hires: pic.twitter.com/wrKwcRAyJ3
In 2011, Stripe launched publicly at the perfect time:
— Gina Acosta (@ginacostag_) June 1, 2025
• Shopify was gaining momentum
• App stores were booming
• SaaS was rapidly growing
Every startup needed simple payments—and Stripe delivered. pic.twitter.com/y7MNwf7bLt
The growth was staggering:
— Gina Acosta (@ginacostag_) June 1, 2025
• 2011: $1M processed
• 2012: $100M processed
• 2013: $1B processed
• 2015: $20B processed
Traditional banks dismissed it as "beginner's luck."
They couldn’t have been more wrong—here’s why: pic.twitter.com/QyL1jNXhV2
Patrick realized payment complexity was a total waste.
— Gina Acosta (@ginacostag_) June 1, 2025
While competitors kept adding features, Stripe removed them.
👉 As a result, developers could integrate payments in minutes, not weeks.
By 2016, Stripe powered:
— Gina Acosta (@ginacostag_) June 1, 2025
• Lyft
• Instacart
• DoorDash
• Shopify
• Amazon
The college dropout was now worth billions.
But that was not all. Patrick and John tackled other business headaches: pic.twitter.com/YRMAo9IT77
By 2021, Stripe was valued at $95B—
— Gina Acosta (@ginacostag_) June 1, 2025
More than:
• Goldman Sachs
• BMW
• Target
...And Patrick was only 32. pic.twitter.com/9XGn0axXWG
The craziest part is that Stripe still processes less than 1% of global payments.
— Gina Acosta (@ginacostag_) June 1, 2025
Its mission to "increase the GDP of the internet" is just beginning, and Patrick is just getting started.
Still, his story of success highlights the importance of hard work, identifying and… pic.twitter.com/Df5h4sBxrF
