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Brothers in arms: How the Collisons went from great expectations to growing pains

Big things were expected of the Collison siblings on their early success with Stripe, but as the online payment company meets hurdles on its journey from start-up to big player, questions are being asked

Patrick and John Collison: two siblings brought up in rural Ireland who relocate to Silicon Valley and make it big is a compelling story. Illustration: Peter Hanan

Patrick and John Collison have long been viewed as the good guys of tech. They may have set up Stripe in the same era in which Uber and WeWork were founded, but no one ever imagined them hitting the headlines in the way that Travis Kalanick and Adam Neumann often did.

This may explain why it is that the brothers still lead the company they founded back in 2010, while Messrs Kalanick and Neumann have ...