I’ve always believed that no amount of internal brainstorming can substitute for direct customer feedback—and at Stripe, is that belief to the next level. Patrick Collison,co-founder and CEO, recently shared a behind-the-scenes look at how we engage customers right inside our executive meetings.
Every two weeks, we bring a Stripe customer into the first 30 minutes of our leadership team meeting. About 40 of us from various departments—product, engineering, customer success, and more—listen firsthand to their experiences, needs, and frustrations. This isn’t a PR exercise. We’re not scripting what they say. We’re listening.
As Patrick wrote in an April 8 post on X (formerly Twitter), these meetings often spark new ideas and lead us to investigate overlooked issues, even though we already collect feedback through many other channels.
Listening at Scale: Our $1.4 Trillion Motivation
This kind of initiative might seem unusual for a company of our scale—Stripe processed $1.4 trillion in payment volume in 2024 alone, a 38% jump from the previous year. We're also now used by half of the Fortune 100. But despite our scale, we’re rooted in the same mindset we had when we first launched in 2010: build for the user.
Sure, growth brings complexity. But our commitment to our users—big and small—remains constant.
Indie Developers Matter, Too
We’ve heard the feedback from small businesses and indie developers, some of whom feel we’ve drifted too far toward enterprise clients. One investor called us out publicly, saying support is slow and things feel overly complicated for smaller users.
I hear that, and I’m not brushing it off. These comments underscore why this feedback strategy exists. We’re creating more opportunities for dialogue so we can improve—not just for billion-dollar companies, but for that indie dev building their dream app from a coffee shop.
Elon Musk Thinks It’s a “Good Idea”—But It’s Not Just Optics
Yes, Elon Musk gave Patrick’s post a thumbs-up with a simple “Good idea,” but this isn’t about celebrity validation. It’s about real accountability. Publicly inviting feedback—even criticism—helps keep our team grounded. When we hear directly from the people we serve, it sharpens our focus and realigns us with what matters.
Feedback Is a Two-Way Street
Sometimes, the feedback is tough. That’s the point. Our job isn’t to explain it away—it’s to act on it. And while these customer meetings are just one piece of the puzzle, they’re already helping us spot blind spots and rethink assumptions.
Some users used the X thread to air grievances, and others praised the move. One user summed it up perfectly: “Love this. Keeps the culture focused on what matters and helps reconcile reality.”
As someone who’s part of Stripe’s journey and deeply believes in transparency, I wanted to share this approach because it might inspire other companies—especially in fintech—to rethink how they gather feedback. Listening isn't a feature. It's a mindset. And when done right, it can be a competitive advantage.
Whether you're a bootstrapped founder or CTO of a Fortune 100 giant, your voice matters to us. And now, more than ever, we’re making space to hear it.
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