gabriel hubert - stripe - european market entry - stanford engineering - feb 1 2016
TRANSCRIPT
European market entry
Gabriel Hubert • @gabhubert • [email protected]
European Entrepreneurship & InnovationStanford School of Engineering
February 1 2016
A short overview of Stripe
European expansion for a Silicon Valley-based startup > Why > When > What > Where > Who … In Stripe’s case
Stripe: economic infrastructure for the Internet
Launched in 2011
APIs and tools for technology companies to accept payments online anywhere in the world
Stripe abstracts complexity in payments
UserPr
oces
sor
ISO
Mer
chan
t acq
uire
r
Visa
, Mas
terc
ard
Issu
ing
bank
s
American Express
International
PCI audits
Reporting
MarketplacesSubscriptionsE-commerce
Please keep in mind…
Not all startups are business-to-business
global by nature developer-focused
infrastructure companies…
First beta users in the UK in March 2013
Currently launched in 6 European countries and in beta in 10 more
Offices in Berlin, Dublin, London, Paris
Stripe in Europe: 3 years and counting
Why: Stripe’s mission is global
New categories of companies will flourish in the years to come
We believe in more cross-border commerce, fewer artificial barriers
Why: to reach European users and support the expansion of U.S. users
508 Million inhabitants, 77% with access to the Internet
$400B B2C commerce 715,000 active B2C websites But mostly: Angelist, GitHub, Stack Overflow and 100+ accelerators
Europe is an attractive market but must also be part of your vision
When: within two years of launch
2013: U.K., France, Germany, BENELUX, Spain, Belgium, Ireland, Finland
2014: Italy, Switzerland, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Austria 2015: Portugal
You don’t need to build/launch Rome in one day, but learning early helps
What: a localized product offering on par with our U.S. feature set… over time
API: Stripe’s documentation and guides for developers
Checkout: optimized payment flow on web and mobile Connect: tailored to marketplaces
Relay: helping retailers convert across social platforms
Be deliberate about product feature rollout beyond localization
Where (and how): from London with increasing support in Europe… and SF
London: product/market fit and minimal localization required Paris, Berlin: explore regional specificities and build local expertise
New Markets: focus on the launch of countries from San Francisco
Support in the U.S. is as important as the European footprint you decide on
Who: autonomous generalists with market expertise, connected to HQ
First steps: financial business development, market intelligence, setup In beta: developer outreach, user feedback, growth analysis
In growth: sales, support, communications (etc…) All along: robust connection to SF (rotations, convergence, trips)
Your first European hires are in many ways like very early employees
Why: Europe is an attractive market but must also be part of your vision When: You don’t need to build Rome in one day, but learning early helpsWhat: Be deliberate about product feature rollout beyond localization
Where: Support in the U.S. is as important as the footprint you decide on Who: Your first European hires are in many ways like very early employees
“It depends”, but…
Hi from Stripe Dublin and London!
