How I Built This with Guy Raz

PayPal: Max Levchin (Part 1 of 2)

Jun 13, 2022

Max Levchin, co-founder of PayPal and Affirm, shares his fascinating journey from Soviet Ukraine to Silicon Valley. He discusses transforming a simple idea into PayPal, the fierce competition in the tech landscape, and the emotional upheaval of witnessing Elon Musk's ousting as CEO. Levchin reveals the startup challenges they faced, such as fundraising and user adoption, while navigating the dynamic culture of the 'PayPal Mafia.' The conversation delves into the origins of his entrepreneurial spirit and the pivotal moments that shaped the future of online payments.

01:28:10

Episode guests

Max Levchin

AI Chapters

Episode notes

Intro

2min

From Idea to Impact: The Genesis of PayPal

4min

Navigating Identity and Innovation

16min

The Move to Silicon Valley: A Journey Towards Startup Opportunities

4min

From Classroom to Startup

17min

From Concept to PayPal: The Early Days of Digital Transactions

11min

From 17 to Hundreds of Thousands: The Early Days of PayPal

5min

The PayPal X.com Merge: From Rivals to Partners

10min

Navigating Turbulence at PayPal

17min

10.

Navigating Cynicism in the Venture Capital Landscape

2min

11.

Reflections and Future Aspirations in Innovation

3min

During its formative years in the late 1990's, Paypal attracted an extraordinary group of young entrepreneurs, who then went on to build some of the best known companies in tech. They became known as The PayPal Mafia—and Max Levchin was one of the leaders. A computer genius from Soviet Ukraine, Max joined Peter Thiel, Elon Musk, Reid Hoffman and others as they grew PayPal into a massively successful online payment service. Along the way, they encountered almost every start-up challenge imaginable, including the emotional ouster of Elon Musk as CEO. After PayPal was acquired by eBay in 2002, Max couldn't sit still, so he launched a startup lab that eventually led to another successful fintech company: Affirm. Guy will talk to Max about Affirm next week, in the second episode of this two-part series.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Remember Everything You Learn from Podcasts

Save insights instantly, chat with episodes, and build lasting knowledge - all powered by AI.