How to build a successful tech startup according to Paypal founder Max Levchin

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  • Опубліковано 4 вер 2019
  • The work of an influencer never stops. Max Levchin hit it rich at age 27, then he went right back to the office. In 1999, Levchin co-founded PayPal, which was sold to eBay three years later for $1.5 billion. Levchin gained a $100 million fortune from the deal.
    Soon after, he launched Slide, a social networking business that he sold to Google for hundreds of millions. He now runs yet another company-- the digital loan business, Affirm-- and other endeavors as well. Levchin is here to talk about how to find and build successful tech startups over and over again.
    Hello, everyone. Welcome to "Influencers." I'm Andy Serwer. And welcome to our guest, Max Levchin, CEO of Affirm, co-founder of PayPal-- part of the PayPal Mafia, and a million other endeavors-- maybe just a polymath. We can call you that. We'll get into all the things you've done.
    MAX LEVCHIN: I like that. I like that.
    ANDY SERWER: Anyway, welcome. Good to see you.
    MAX LEVCHIN: Good to see you.
    ANDY SERWER: So, Max, how would you describe what you do to, say, an 8-year-old nephew? What do you do for a living? What's your work?
    MAX LEVCHIN: So I normally tell people I start and run companies-- that's kind of a one-- one-liner introduction. But, when pressed, I revert back to, I just write code. That's kind of how I think of myself.
    ANDY SERWER: A coder.
    MAX LEVCHIN: A coder, a hacker, a builder, a company starter. That's-- I haven't thought of this one--
    ANDY SERWER: OK.
    MAX LEVCHIN: --too carefully.
    ANDY SERWER: All right. Well, maybe we can loop back to it. Why don't you tell me about Affirm, your latest company right now.
    MAX LEVCHIN: It's been latest company for over seven years, so it's a bit of a-- bit of a long-in-the-tooth startup, but still very much a startup. The-- it's a bit of a throwback to my PayPal days. So PayPal was all about innovating above the credit card rails, where we took credit cards-- which, 20 years ago, were really hard to use online-- and built the user interface-- which turned out to be much more than a user interface-- to make it easy to use in a browser. And online commerce was never the same.
    20 years later, it took me a long time to realize that, the underlying infrastructure-- the-- what's below the rails, below the ground-- isn't especially well-made. It's not transparent. It's not especially consumer-friendly. It has its own user interface problems-- makes money on people's mistakes, kind of, at a very fundamental level.
    And so I wanted to go back in there and see if it can be remade better. So seven and a little bit years ago, we started a company with initially just a very narrow view of, let's do a better job scoring credit. So-- so the venerable credit score that everybody uses today is pretty opaque. It's not really clear.
    There's plenty of information online, where this fraction is how much credit you have used, and this fraction is how much money you made. But there's not a whole lot more to it that's been well understood. And, as a result-- and, from personal experience, I came to the US as a teenager, had to have my PayPal co-founder sign for my first car loan, my first cell phone.
    You know, this is after PayPal IPO, so your credit history is-- is not exactly well-utilized as your credit is being assessed. And so Affirm, initially, was this idea, let's build a better score-- let's build something that's transparent, that's inclusive, that brings people in where they're being excluded.
    And then it expanded from there, where, at this point, we are embedded at the point of sale as a lender of records. So when someone wants to buy a thing, we will underwrite you-- tell you, hey, here's how much credit we can offer you. We'll actually pay the merchants, and we'll take the risk on you and finance your purchase. And then we'll bill you over time.
    The cool thing about Affirm, sort of through this commitment to transparency, we price everything in dollars, as well as rates. So you know exactly how much you will pay all in. So your principal, your interest, we stop at that number. So once you've paid us the amount we promise that you will, you cannot pay us more, which means we don't compound interest into the principal, but, more importantly, we don't charge fees of any kind, including no late fees.
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КОМЕНТАРІ • 115

  • @cluezone234
    @cluezone234 3 роки тому +104

    Those guys watching these types of interview you are definitely built the great business.

  • @latedeveloper7836
    @latedeveloper7836 3 роки тому +58

    13:45 "We were surrounded by people telling us 'this will never work!'". Good to know. Don't let the naysayers get you down!

    • @jayb8053
      @jayb8053 2 роки тому +2

      Those people also listen to themselves and that's why they never do anything important

  • @mikedaniels8874
    @mikedaniels8874 3 роки тому +32

    That was incredible! My big cake away from your interview was access to a product at a point of sale. You can advertise all you want, but your timing has to be perfect.

  • @geoffseyon3264
    @geoffseyon3264 Рік тому +4

    This guy is just awesome! All high tech startup founders should watch this video end to end!

  • @a1r592
    @a1r592 4 роки тому +147

    Paypal starts at 12:08, before is him plugging his new company

  • @beepapillon3716
    @beepapillon3716 4 роки тому +19

    Not what I was looking for...but ended up being what I needed to hear.

  • @ndunnoka5384
    @ndunnoka5384 2 роки тому

    This was very impactful.
    Thank you.

  • @sorenrood
    @sorenrood 4 роки тому +16

    Only 10 comments on this enlightening video. I hope others get to see it.

  • @fundpire7561
    @fundpire7561 4 роки тому +13

    The keys are reinvention and forward thinking.

  • @trungphan8419
    @trungphan8419 4 роки тому +5

    Respect!!

  • @jamesgandy175
    @jamesgandy175 4 роки тому +49

    This guy is my hero.. Honestly what I aspire to be a company starter.

  • @millertime6
    @millertime6 4 роки тому +22

    It’s awesome when people have extraordinary success but still have compassion and recognize people who don’t have what he has. But much respect to what he’s accomplished!

  • @Sepps19
    @Sepps19 3 роки тому +2

    Wow, the title of this video makes it seem like it's just for business people, but really everyone needs to watch this

  • @michaelfink6748
    @michaelfink6748 8 місяців тому +1

    He’s that guy!!! Super down to earth

  • @Jefemcownage
    @Jefemcownage 4 роки тому +55

    Yes find Elon Musk and Peter Thiel. Got it.

  • @inarapatton1749
    @inarapatton1749 4 роки тому +10

    This interview was soooo good!

  • @mauriciocordoba952
    @mauriciocordoba952 3 роки тому

    Wow this guy will change the world as we know it

  • @buildingphase9712
    @buildingphase9712 3 роки тому +1

    Amazing

  • @wangstick
    @wangstick 3 роки тому +33

    This has literally nothing to do with how to build a successful tech startup.

  • @chronicillz1879
    @chronicillz1879 Рік тому

    is your credit rating affected from using affirm?

  • @lafrancois6323
    @lafrancois6323 Рік тому

    I like him even though affirm denied me lol need to build my credit history

  • @exeohe
    @exeohe 11 місяців тому +1

    They own Klarna.

  • @JustindunnItAgain
    @JustindunnItAgain 3 роки тому +2

    Russ Simmons was a business man his brother was the rapper

  • @Business-StartUpQatar
    @Business-StartUpQatar 2 роки тому +1

    Amazing PayPal

  • @1234abcd12344
    @1234abcd12344 3 роки тому +5

    Great interview with a very misleading title

  • @davidsimeoncole
    @davidsimeoncole 3 роки тому +1

    Foreigners always make it.

  • @centrumsaiyan7623
    @centrumsaiyan7623 10 місяців тому +1

    Exact reason why Elon bought BTC. Finance changes First.

  • @Gitohandro
    @Gitohandro 2 роки тому

    This sounds like afterpay the Australian app

  • @sergiozurita2033
    @sergiozurita2033 3 роки тому +4

    Enjoyed the correlation he made of testing software and Universal Basic Income. UBI sounded ludicrous to me when I first heard of the idea, but perhaps I would've thought all of the innovative technology we have today would've sounded ridiculous

  • @higherleveltennis5722
    @higherleveltennis5722 3 роки тому +1

    How does affirm make money? They charge the merchant to pay the interest for the customer?

    • @Makeitwithmanny
      @Makeitwithmanny 3 роки тому +1

      Pretty much think about the merchant giving them a kickback

  • @itsremaine
    @itsremaine 3 роки тому +6

    got unnecessarily political

  • @josephtuang9775
    @josephtuang9775 3 роки тому

    👏👏

  • @NCorndog
    @NCorndog 5 місяців тому

    Is this the comment that changes our lives?
    I have an idea...A HUGE game changing idea.
    But I need help developing it. I started and have a solid foundation but at this point I am stuck.
    Need a dreamer to help build the most transformative and amazing application you could imagine.

  • @JetSoftProHQ
    @JetSoftProHQ 10 місяців тому

    Now there are many fintech startups, we cooperate with them as a software development vendor. Apart from high-quality service, well-thought-out interface and security guarantees, what else is important for users? What can be an advantage?

    • @NCorndog
      @NCorndog 5 місяців тому

      1. Trust
      2. Readily available and helpful customer service
      3. TRUST
      Hire me.

  • @officialvonwoods1463
    @officialvonwoods1463 23 дні тому

    Watching in 2024

  • @ABurningCandle
    @ABurningCandle 3 роки тому +2

    17:00

  • @greekdaddy2779
    @greekdaddy2779 3 роки тому +1

    BUY (AFRM) Stock now !!! It will explode 10 times more this year!!!

  • @dnk1312
    @dnk1312 3 роки тому

    Max eh 30
    Nice intrw

  • @John-3692
    @John-3692 4 місяці тому

    I'm infatuated with this. I had the pleasure of reading something similar, and I was completely infatuated. "The Hidden Empire: Inside the Private Worlds of Elite CEOs" by Adam Skylight

  • @deetoobrandsportsluxurycas2863
    @deetoobrandsportsluxurycas2863 3 роки тому +4

    Everyone should pay the same Income tax percentage.
    If it's 10% everyone should pay 10% period.
    You make $10 you pay $1
    You make $1 Million you pay $100K.

    • @mostafaokasha9944
      @mostafaokasha9944 6 місяців тому

      Islam actually has that rule. Everyone in a Muslim society has to pay a 2.5% Alms Tax which is pretty cool to reflect on.

  • @alvaroalesso8597
    @alvaroalesso8597 3 роки тому +7

    Misguided headline, does not correlate with the interview

    • @CheekySheiky
      @CheekySheiky 3 роки тому +1

      Agreed. It is a good interview, but the title has nothing to do with the content, almost like click bait.

  • @Genci0
    @Genci0 2 роки тому

    Now i understand Elon musk, where he got his irony talking maner.

  • @issaceinstine
    @issaceinstine 2 роки тому

    Isnt this what Klarna is today?

  • @sagarjaid
    @sagarjaid 3 роки тому +1

    Title of the video is very not what content is inside this video 👀✅

  • @petetheneighbor8132
    @petetheneighbor8132 Рік тому

    To his 8 year old nephew: I sell loans at 28% or higher to poor people

  • @gabrielfono844
    @gabrielfono844 3 роки тому +3

    I about to quit my job cuz I wanna to launch my startup

    • @tuneplan1392
      @tuneplan1392 3 роки тому +1

      I'm there with you bro

    • @gabrielfono844
      @gabrielfono844 3 роки тому +1

      @@tuneplan1392 thanks
      I am tired to built software for company who make million of dollar.
      What we get returned 'bshit $100000' per year
      I rather quit and focus on my saas

    • @gmt8336
      @gmt8336 3 роки тому +1

      I quit my job to start my company, don’t !

    • @gabrielfono844
      @gabrielfono844 3 роки тому

      @@gmt8336 it didn't work out??

    • @mariagaganta4925
      @mariagaganta4925 2 роки тому

      @@gabrielfono844 Saas ? 🤔

  • @Fer14512315
    @Fer14512315 6 місяців тому +1

    I don't think he knows a lot, just lucky

    • @patbenz4327
      @patbenz4327 5 місяців тому

      They're always portrayed as geniuses... privilege and luck are never mentioned.

  • @lescampbell2593
    @lescampbell2593 2 роки тому +2

    At no point did he break it down to any steps

  • @philosophia5577
    @philosophia5577 2 роки тому +1

    He's from Ukraine!

  • @atomparish
    @atomparish 4 роки тому +6

    They still have a grug on Elon. He's the true hero and rockstar and they are salty that he is the better entrepreneur . The didn't even include him in their photo so sad

  • @immanuelkafidi6889
    @immanuelkafidi6889 8 місяців тому

    I thought PayPal was founded by Elon Must and Peter Thiel????

  • @itzz
    @itzz 2 роки тому

    Where is Mr musk

  • @1N73RC3P7OR
    @1N73RC3P7OR Рік тому

    Max Levchin said some great things and even ge sensed the politically loaded wuestions of the arrogant interviewer.

  • @gauravk4050
    @gauravk4050 3 роки тому

    Anyone from tech who wants to build a tech startup , pls pin in below comments and we”ll use our resources & skills to build that or atleast give it a shot!!

  • @theonwalls9221
    @theonwalls9221 Рік тому

    Was this real? Like this isn’t like a parody or anything?

  • @eugy2008
    @eugy2008 3 роки тому +1

    So whats in this video about how to build a successful tech startup??? I guess I missed it.
    Other than you needed to be born in the right year and have a computer tech education with some ideas I didnt see anything of value.

  • @oussamaghrib4558
    @oussamaghrib4558 4 роки тому +2

    Doesn't anyone wanna talk about how he's wearing his company's shirt. ??

  • @user-si6kt1di5o
    @user-si6kt1di5o Рік тому

    Definitely an ad. I wasted so much time.

  • @codewithkam
    @codewithkam 3 роки тому +3

    It's always a migrant !

  • @emmagreen8071
    @emmagreen8071 8 місяців тому

    What a waste of time. The title doesn’t reflect the content. Not relevant questions at allll!!

  • @luisfrps
    @luisfrps 4 роки тому

    Just exploit the developers and put their money in your pocket...

    • @beepapillon3716
      @beepapillon3716 4 роки тому +1

      But he writes code...

    • @lumen24
      @lumen24 4 роки тому +19

      Tbh, if the developers could start such a business, they should have. It's not their money, it's the owner's/founder's. Their money is the money they're being paid to do the work, a sum that they agreed to when signing the contract.

    • @colibrepyramid8636
      @colibrepyramid8636 4 роки тому +7

      Lumen Thank you!! It’s not exploitation, it’s a job. If you don’t get busy making your own dreams come true, you’ll work to make someone else’s come true.

    • @camillehendricks9819
      @camillehendricks9819 4 роки тому +8

      How is employing someone exploitation??

    • @elijahtrenton8351
      @elijahtrenton8351 3 роки тому

      Many devs use the money they earn from being 'exploited' to start their own companies.

  • @moneyninja3852
    @moneyninja3852 2 роки тому

    What's with the BS politics in the middle of the video? Let's keep that crap out of informative videos.

  • @matthewcanfield6748
    @matthewcanfield6748 4 роки тому

    Very boring

  • @nathansmalley8433
    @nathansmalley8433 3 роки тому

    Okay so
    1. This is too long
    2. This guy is boring

  • @trungphan8419
    @trungphan8419 4 роки тому +3

    Respect!!

  • @trungphan8419
    @trungphan8419 4 роки тому +3

    Respect!!