@ycombinator: In 2009, @patrickc and @collision went to Startup School in Berkeley, got sushi in Potrero Hill afterward, and decided …

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Summary

Patrick Collison speaks at Startup School 2026 about Stripe's origins, startup advice, and what Stripe's data says about the AI economy.

In 2009, @patrickc and @collision went to Startup School in Berkeley, got sushi in Potrero Hill afterward, and decided on the walk home to start @Stripe. The reasoning, as Patrick remembers it, was that “we might as well because it probably won’t be that hard.” It took them two years to launch. Seventeen years later, at Startup School 2026, he talks with YC's @harjtaggar about dropping out of MIT twice, why founders should ask what happens if they succeed, and what Stripe’s own data says about the best time to start a company. 00:07 — What Should You Still Learn in the Age of AI? 02:01 — Knowledge Still Matters 05:12 — Should You Drop Out of College? 09:58 — Why Stripe Worked 12:10 — Building Stripe Before Launching 17:20 — Is the Lean Startup Still the Right Playbook? 19:07 — The Hidden Reward of Building Stripe 22:36 — Will AI Kill Your Startup? 25:17 — Why It's Never Been a Better Time to Start a Company 29:23 — What Stripe's Data Says About the AI Economy 30:45 — Build Something People Truly Need
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Cached at: 07/31/26, 10:55 PM

In 2009, @patrickc and @collision went to Startup School in Berkeley, got sushi in Potrero Hill afterward, and decided on the walk home to start @Stripe. The reasoning, as Patrick remembers it, was that “we might as well because it probably won’t be that hard.”

It took them two years to launch.

Seventeen years later, at Startup School 2026, he talks with YC’s @harjtaggar about dropping out of MIT twice, why founders should ask what happens if they succeed, and what Stripe’s own data says about the best time to start a company.

00:07 — What Should You Still Learn in the Age of AI? 02:01 — Knowledge Still Matters 05:12 — Should You Drop Out of College? 09:58 — Why Stripe Worked 12:10 — Building Stripe Before Launching 17:20 — Is the Lean Startup Still the Right Playbook? 19:07 — The Hidden Reward of Building Stripe 22:36 — Will AI Kill Your Startup? 25:17 — Why It’s Never Been a Better Time to Start a Company 29:23 — What Stripe’s Data Says About the AI Economy 30:45 — Build Something People Truly Need

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