Case Notes/Answers
Case Solutions for Stripe Helping Money Move on the
Internet by Sarit Markovich, Nilim
Discussion Questions:
The following questions can be assigned to students to help them prepare for class
discussion of the case:
1. How does Stripe create value for its customers (software and platform developers as
well as direct merchants)?
2. How should Stripe position itself in the U.S. market? What type of customers should it
aim to serve?
3. Should Stripe go “upstream” and directly target more middle market and enterprise
merchants that don’t need help creating a single solution to enable payments? What are
the risks associated with such a move?
4. Was launching Atlas a good strategic decision? What are the risks and opportunities
that Atlas offers? Do you feel Atlas is core to Stripe’s need to build scale?
5. Is entry into the Indian market a wise move for Stripe? How would Stripe evaluate
entering India versus other international markets?
, T E AC H I N G N OT E
SARIT MARKOVICH
Stripe: Helping Money Move on
the Internet
Case Synopsis
This case features Stripe, a startup that enables merchants to accept payments from customers
on the web, on mobile devices, and at the point of sale (POS). Stripe was launched in 2011 by the
Collison brothers and quickly gained traction with e-commerce startups, particularly software and
platform developers who needed help building their payment processing infrastructures. Stripe
incurred high fixed costs in developing its platform and had low margins per transaction, so the
company needed to reach high processing volumes (i.e., scale) to survive. This was challenging,
as Stripe competed with large payment processors and traditional banks that had high processing
volumes and were able to offer merchants significantly lower rates than Stripe. Still, merchants
valued Stripe’s solution because it was simple and versatile. Students assume the role of the
Collisons to think about possible strategies Stripe could pursue to process higher volumes of
transactions. Students are challenged to think about the potential response of the incumbents to
Stripe’s different growth alternatives. The teaching note presents the Value Net framework and
discusses the importance of considering complementors and their effect on a firm’s strategy. Finally,
a discussion about Stripe’s potential entry into the Indian market allows students to apply the
concepts they learned in the discussion of a new market.
Case Solutions for Stripe Helping Money Move on the
Internet by Sarit Markovich, Nilim
Discussion Questions:
The following questions can be assigned to students to help them prepare for class
discussion of the case:
1. How does Stripe create value for its customers (software and platform developers as
well as direct merchants)?
2. How should Stripe position itself in the U.S. market? What type of customers should it
aim to serve?
3. Should Stripe go “upstream” and directly target more middle market and enterprise
merchants that don’t need help creating a single solution to enable payments? What are
the risks associated with such a move?
4. Was launching Atlas a good strategic decision? What are the risks and opportunities
that Atlas offers? Do you feel Atlas is core to Stripe’s need to build scale?
5. Is entry into the Indian market a wise move for Stripe? How would Stripe evaluate
entering India versus other international markets?
, T E AC H I N G N OT E
SARIT MARKOVICH
Stripe: Helping Money Move on
the Internet
Case Synopsis
This case features Stripe, a startup that enables merchants to accept payments from customers
on the web, on mobile devices, and at the point of sale (POS). Stripe was launched in 2011 by the
Collison brothers and quickly gained traction with e-commerce startups, particularly software and
platform developers who needed help building their payment processing infrastructures. Stripe
incurred high fixed costs in developing its platform and had low margins per transaction, so the
company needed to reach high processing volumes (i.e., scale) to survive. This was challenging,
as Stripe competed with large payment processors and traditional banks that had high processing
volumes and were able to offer merchants significantly lower rates than Stripe. Still, merchants
valued Stripe’s solution because it was simple and versatile. Students assume the role of the
Collisons to think about possible strategies Stripe could pursue to process higher volumes of
transactions. Students are challenged to think about the potential response of the incumbents to
Stripe’s different growth alternatives. The teaching note presents the Value Net framework and
discusses the importance of considering complementors and their effect on a firm’s strategy. Finally,
a discussion about Stripe’s potential entry into the Indian market allows students to apply the
concepts they learned in the discussion of a new market.
