I have a stubborn persona and a relentless drive to create a seamless experience, which led us to pivot our strategy during the pandemic. We realized that no hotel could accept Apple Pay at that time, and launching a consumer app was extremely challenging.

We thought, why isn't there a straightforward payment solution like Slicehost for payments? This idea led us to build a prototype for Stripe in January 2010, which we launched to a few friends.

Steve Jobs was initially reluctant to create an app store, but was convinced that opening the platform to developers would enhance the iPhone's capabilities.

We were the first site to allow users to book accommodations and pay online through the app, which was a significant innovation at the time.

Before Selfbook, no hotel could accept Apple Pay, but we introduced digital wallets into the industry to streamline the experience.

The founding story of Stripe isn't dramatic; my brother John and I started building iPhone apps together while in school, which helped us pay our college tuition.

We realized we needed to charge businesses a few hundred dollars a month instead of just $20-$30 to make our business model viable.

The iPhone's initial launch lacked an app store, but it was later introduced to allow third-party developers to create apps, significantly enhancing the device's value.

The launch of the iPhone in 2007 sparked my idea to design a mobile app, leading to the creation of my first business, Six Agency. I wanted to push the idea that you don't need a full catalog of products in front of a customer on a small device; the app would show only one highly curated product per day, which could be anything from a pencil from Japan to a beautiful watch.