Patrick Collison on Stripe’s Early Choices, Smalltalk, and What Comes After Coding

February 21, 2026

Here's something that caught my attention — Patrick Collison, CEO of Stripe, reflects on how early tech choices still shape big companies today. He talks about his love for Smalltalk and Lisp, which influenced his thinking from way back. According to Collison, Stripe's decisions around MongoDB and Ruby are still core after 15 years — pretty wild, right? Now, here’s where it gets fascinating — he says if he could, he’d spend even more time perfecting API design, because that’s become the backbone of modern software. And get this — he questions whether AI is really boosting productivity, pointing out that the economic data doesn’t show clear signs yet. Content+a16zpodcast@a16z.com highlights that these lessons aren’t just about code — they’re about how we build systems that last. So what does this mean for you? It’s a reminder that thoughtful, sometimes old-school choices can have ripple effects for decades. Collison’s insights aren’t just about tech — they’re about building the future, one decision at a time.

Michael Truell, CEO of Cursor, sits down with Patrick Collison, CEO of Stripe and an investor in Anysphere, to talk about Collison's history with Smalltalk and Lisp, the MongoDB and Ruby decisions Stripe still lives with 15 years later, why he'd spend even more time on API design if he could do it over, and whether AI is actually showing up in economic productivity data. This episode originally aired on Cursor's podcast.

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Audio Transcript