John Collison

John Collison (born August 6, 1990) is an Irish billionaire entrepreneur. He is best known for having co-founded Stripe with his brother, Patrick. The brothers are worth at least $3.2 billion each, after San Francisco-based Stripe raised $150 million from CapitalG, an investment division of Google's parent company Alphabet Inc., and General Catalyst Partners. The brothers hold a controlling interest in Stripe and will be able to retain control should the company go public.[2]

John Collison
Collison at the WebSummit
Born (1990-08-06) August 6, 1990
Dromineer, County Tipperary, Ireland
NationalityIrish
EducationCastletroy College
Alma materHarvard University
Known forAuctomatic; Croma; Stripe
Net worthUS$3.2 billion (February 2020)[1]
RelativesPatrick Collison (brother)

Biography

In 2007, Collison founded "Shuppa" with his older brother Patrick in Limerick, Ireland.[3] The company later merged with Auctomatic, which was funded by Y Combinator,[4] and Collison moved to Silicon Valley.

Auctomatic was a software company that built tools for the eBay platform.[5] The company was also funded by Chris Sacca.[6] Auctomatic was acquired for $5 million in March 2008, when Collison was 17.[7][8][9][10]

In 2009, Collison (having returned to finish secondary school at Castletroy College) received 8 A1 and 2 A2 grades in the Irish Leaving Certificate examination. He continued to study at Harvard University, commencing his studies in September 2009.[11] Collison is a pilot[12] and a pianist.[13]

In 2010, Collison co-founded Stripe, which received backing from Elon Musk, Peter Thiel, Max Levchin, and Sequoia Capital.[14]

In November 2016, the Collison brothers became the world's youngest self-made billionaires, worth at least $1.1 billion, after an investment in Stripe from CapitalG and General Catalyst valued the company at $9.2 billion.[15] In the same year, 2016, John was ranked by Forbes the 15th in the list America's Richest Entrepreneurs Under 40.[16]

In 2018, Stripe, under the direction of the Collison brothers, contributed $1 million to California YIMBY, a pro-housing development lobbying organization. The Collison brothers are citizens of Ireland.[17]

References
  1. "John Collison". Forbes. Retrieved 24 September 2019.
  2. Rudegeair, Peter (26 September 2018). "Payments Fintech Stripe Valued at $20 Billion in Latest Funding Round" – via www.wsj.com.
  3. "Shuppa Bebo profile". Archived from the original on 11 February 2017. Retrieved 26 November 2012.
  4. "Frequently Asked Questions". www.ycombinator.com.
  5. "Auctomatic launches better tools for eBay powersellers". 22 October 2007.
  6. "Thank You, Auctomatic". Chris Sacca's 'What is left?'.
  7. McDonald, Henry (28 March 2008). "The Guardian". London, UK.
  8. "Getting right down to business in TY". The Irish Times. 4 April 2008.
  9. "BBC News". 27 March 2008.
  10. McBride, Louise (28 December 2008). "The Irish Independent".
  11. "Harvard next on menu for knowledge-hungry dot.com high flyer". The Irish Times. 9 September 2009.
  12. "40 under 40". 20 November 2011.
  13. "The Irish Times". 9 September 2009.
  14. "Stealth Payment Startup Stripe Backed By PayPal Founders". 28 March 2011.
  15. Mac, Ryan. "Stripe Investment Makes Cofounder The World's Youngest Self-Made Billionaire". Forbes. Retrieved 28 November 2016.
  16. "America's Richest Entrepreneurs Under 40 2016". 12 December 2016.
  17. "Tech CEO housing crisis". www.bizjournals.com. 2018. Retrieved 3 February 2020.
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