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The Peel with Turner Novak

The Peel with Turner Novak

Why Stripe’s 1st Employee Bought a Bank | Darragh Buckley, Increase

Oct 15, 2026 · 1h 14m

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About this episode

Darragh Buckley was the first employee at Stripe. He’s since started Increase, the banking infrastructure that moves over $500 billion a year. And he just bought a bank. We talk about how to buy a bank, why putting an API on a bank is like "strapping a jet engine to a go-kart", operating with high-empowerment, the overnight sprint that turned on Stripe’s first dollar of revenue, why Patrick and John Collison would run across the office, and why you want your banker to be bored. Thanks to this episode’s sponsors: Monaco: The revenue engine for startups. https://monaco.com Flex: Premium banking, 60-day credit at 0% APR. https://home.flex.one/referral/bananacapital Clerk: Everything you need…