The Sili-CON Game
What captured the attention of the Twitterverse of late was the thread from Bolt founder Ryan Breslow (@theryanking) who called out the Silicon Valley Mob. We quote: “two forces have the most power in Silicon Valley. And like… tenfold more than anyone else. Their names: Stripe and YCombinator. The kicker → Their power is in how they work together. Stripe is the darling child of Silicon Valley. Early to YC (YCombinator), Stripe made payment processing APIs easy and signed up all their YC batchmates to use their product. The “official payment processor for YC”, Stripe became a HOT company. Sequoia, the most powerful VC firm in the world, went all-in. Their position today is upwards of $20-$30B in Stripe stock.
By the Numbers
“Three forces combined quickly: 1/ The most powerful VC firm in the world. 2/ The most powerful startup accelerator in the world. 3/ The most powerful startup in the world, with the help of #1 and #2.”