Düsseldorf Why are successful founders no longer celebrated, especially in the German tech scene? John Collison, founder of the payment service provider Stripe, and Handelsblatt editor-in-chief Sebastian Matthes discuss this question in the new episode of the Handelsblatt Disrupt podcast. “I think a lot of European entrepreneurs don’t celebrate,” says Collison. In the USA it is different. The start-up ecosystem works so well in Silicon Valley because it is about strong founder personalities and technological know-how.
Stripe processes payments for internet companies and e-commerce retailers in the background. The 32-year-old Irishman and his founding partner and brother Patrick have found success with the business model. At around 95 billion dollars, their start-up is worth almost as much as Elon Musk’s space company SpaceX. Collison himself is a billionaire and one of the 200 richest people in the world.
Matthes and Collison also talk about the collapse of the fintech boom, how the Ukraine war is changing the world, and startup trends in Europe, China and the US. Europe has the potential to overtake international technology spots in the areas of fintech and climate protection, says Collison. The main focus here is on German medium-sized companies and their technological transformation.
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More: The previous episode of Handelsblatt Disrupt can be found here.