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Slides from my talk at Startup Weekend Orange County on Nov. 19, 2011 at Chapman University. This presentation looks at what was special about PayPal that allowed so many of its entrepreneurs to go on to create successful companies, and what lessons new entrepreneurs could take from PayPal's experiences.
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Origins of the PayPal MafiaLessons from a Precarious Journey
The Guy Talking at YouSorry for not one, but two shameless plugs:
Another PayPal Alumni Success Story
“PayPal Mafia” Companies
The Secret of SuccessReasons that PayPal
Spun Off So Many Success Stories:Good People, Good
CultureSolved a Big ProblemEndured Difficult
ChallengesPrioritized Execution
What Useful Lessons Can We Take Away?
Good People, Good Culture
“A” people hire “A” people; “B” people…you know
Relied on networks for initial hires
Employees were empowered
Dissent was encouraged
Solved a Big Problem
Vision: Revolutionize payments with an online currency
Strategy: Build a global, ubiquitous payment network
Tactics: Stack our new network on top of eBay’s existing network
Endured Difficult Challenges
Broken business model
Tons of Competitors (Yahoo, Citibank, Bank One)
A very hostile host platform (eBay)
Foreign Mafia (Yes, really!)
Regulators (Louisiana, Eliot Spitzer)
Media (From awesome to evil)
Ourselves (Scaling, Ops/CS, Website, TOU)
Prioritized ExecutionDouble Pivot: Platform (Palm to web) and Market
(P2P to auction)
Lean before Lean was Even a Thing
Customer-Centric but Opinionated
Viral Growth
Key Lessons from PayPalBig Picture Vision, Short Term
Focus
Hire the A-team (duh!)
Push decision-making down the org chart
Even the winners have rocky roads
Platform dependence is risky
Source: “The PayPal Wars and its Lessons for Today’s Entrepreneurs” by Sachin Rekhi (http://bit.ly/uiflOe)
(Remember this slide. The rest were filler.)
