Ep 122 Jimmy Soni - The PayPal Mafia

Jimmy Soni is an author, speaker, and speechwriter. His new book The Founders: The Story of PayPal and the Entrepreneurs Who Shaped Silicon Valley is a gripping account of the visionaries who were involved in creating PayPal. Today, these same people are considered the technology industry’s most powerful players - and have created some of the most successful and well-known companies that we know and love today. Jimmy researched this story for over 5 years and in the process uncovered amazing stories, talented visionaries, and a people with a true desire to change the status quo. 

Jimmy and I discussed:

• The process of writing a book, from idea to publishing
• Where the term PayPal Mafia came from
• Jimmy's meeting with Elon Musk
• Who the main players were in creating PayPal 
• Why they were so influential in Silicon Valley
• Why did PayPal find success when other companies at the time failed
• How Paypal tackled fraud
• The merger that became PayPal 

And so much more...

Jimmy Soni

My Take: Starting a business is hard, starting one of the most well-known startups in modern history is next to impossible. By all accounts, if you want to achieve greatness you have to be obsessed, you have to be able to think, build, execute, and pivot faster and better than your competitors can and/or are willing to. Sprinkle some luck onto that equation, and you have the foundation of what could become a legacy company in a decade or two. 

Support The Podcast

Catchphrase eBook