For the third installment of its Founder Stories Series, 1871 invited Bryan Johnson, founder of Braintree, to the stage. Braintree is a Chicago-based company that helps businesses accept online credit card payments.
Last night Johnson shared his insights and experiences, including the mundane job that inspired Braintree, the surprising outcome that accepting venture capital funding had for his company and the future of micropayments. A Doejo client and major competitor ofPayPal and Authorize.net, Braintree’s clients include OpenTable, Living Social, 37 Signals, Uber and Shopify.
Johnson formulated the idea for Braintree while working as a door-to-door salesperson selling credit card processing. What started as just a part time job to pay the bills became an opportunity for him to gain firsthand experience of the credit card payment business while learning the in's and out's of the industry.
He quickly realized that the world of credit card processing was unregulated and with no one overseeing the process, small businesses were often being taken advantage of. Johnson quickly developed a unique sales pitch that focused on honesty, transparency and great customer support, turning him into the company’s number one sales rep.
“Those who show initiative will reap the benefits,” said Johnson, sharing a simple thought that changed his life. He then explained that he “never understood the value of a fixed wage. I wanted to determine what I was worth.” It was this kind of entrepreneurial thinking that inspired him to start Braintree.
