#95: Jimmy Soni - The Founders - The Story of Paypal and the Entrepreneurs who Shaped Silicon Valley

In this episode, I unlock the untold stories behind PayPal's meteoric rise and the entrepreneurs who made it possible.

The author Jimmy Soni explores the captivating story of PayPal and the entrepreneurs who helped shape Silicon Valley.

From Elon Musk to Peter Thiel and many others whose stories have never been told, hear about the scrappy online payments start-up that faced fierce competition and internal strife on its journey to becoming one of the world's foremost companies.

⭐ EPISODE Links:
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📚 Book Mentions:
Jimmy Soni, The Founders
Sebastian Mallaby, The Power Law

🗣️ We are talking about: 
• The Inspiration for writing this book
• Dissecting Jimmy’s Writing Process
• The Origin Story of the Paypal-Mafia
• The Role of Chess and The Secret Code Hidden in the Book
• Storytelling Lesson for Entrepreneurs
• And much, much more

📖 Memorable quotes:
(20:55) “I do my books while working full-time. All my books are morning and weekend exercises.”
(24:46) “I interviewed almost 300 people for this book.”
(35:45) One executive said: "Calling Paypal a Mafia is an insult to the Mafia. They are far more organized than we were back then."
(51:04) “David Sacks said: … as easy as email”
(56:50) “The most important question for business owners: Who in the team is obsessed with how the end-user thinks and uses the product?”
(01:34:30) People forget that startups are stories.

⏰  Timestamps:
(00:00) Intro from the Recording the Day after Thanksgiving 2022
(05:55) What inspired Jimmy Soni to write the Founders?
(10:00) The Entrepreneurs who Shaped Silicon Valley
(16:15) Peter Thiel: How to Learn the Right Lessons in Entrepreneurship
(19:24) How long does it take to write a book like the Founders?
(22:15) Writing Books as a Side Hustle to writing as a profession 
(23:00) Exploring the Challenges of Writing Biographies of Historical and Modern Figures
(25:23) Uncovering the Truth: Strategies for Sorting Through Conflicting Narratives in Interviews
(27:30) The Writing Scorecard: Number of Words per Day
(28:40) Uncovering the Journey from Idea to Publication: A Look at Jimmy Soni's Writing Process
(30:30) Max Levchin and Tetris
(32:17) The Origin Story of the Term “Paypal-Mafia”
(39:00) From Beaming Money to Venmo: 20 Years of Product Development
(43:00) David Sacks Halts the Progress of Groundbreaking Beaming Technology and the Birth of Digital Payment Solutions
(49:40) How Paypal Found Product Market Fit
(53:42) The Switch challenges from finding a solution to focusing on scaling up the solution.
(58:00) The Role Chess Plays in Jimmy Soni’s Book and Paypal’s History
(01:02:27) The Secret Code Hidden in the Book: Crack the Code and Get a Signed Copy
(01:03:00) The Bad Bishop Situation
(01:06:00) Bitcoin, the Paypal Mafia, and the New World Currency Tagline
(01:15:00) Elon Musk's challenges in finding the right decisions during his early twenties.
(01:20:27) Discover Jimmy's book's three most inspiring moments as he personally selects them.
(01:29:30) How important are social skills in building tech companies?
(01:32:00) Some Words on the Importance of Storytelling for Entrepreneurs
(01:35:00) Sketching a Future of Jimmy So