The Story of Stripe Press with Tamara Winter - [Making Media, EP.47]

Making Media

Our guest today is Tammy Winter, the Commissioning Editor of Stripe Press. As the name suggests, Stripe Press is a division within Stripe. Founded in 2010 by two Irish brothers, John and Patrick Collison, Stripe is a payment processing business with a mission to "increase the GDP of the internet".

From the surface, there doesn’t seem to be great synergies or reasons why a payments business would incubate a publishing arm – particularly one that focuses on publishing or re-publishing physical books. But, as Tammy explains, there is a lot more than meets the eye.

We recorded this conversation on Tuesday morning last week before the incredibly sad news that investing icon, Charlie Munger passed away. Stripe Press republished Poor Charlie’s Almanac earlier this week and we talk about that two-year project with Tammy in our discussion. Please enjoy this conversation with Tammy Winter.

Listen to Invest Like the Best: A Conversation with Charlie Munger & John Collison

Order your copy of Poor Charlie’s Almanack

For the full show notes, transcript, and links to the best content to learn more, check out the episode page here.

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Show Notes:

(01:59) - (First Question) - The origin story and purpose of Stripe Press

(08:07) - Choosing between tactical guide-like books and inspirational open-ended books

(15:56) - Tammy's personal story and educational background

(20:54) - Intersecting with prominent people using Twitter to advance professionally

(24:00) - How they measure success at Stripe Press

(30:43) - Measuring success without numbers

(35:00) - Why produce physical books

(36:48) - Design conception and the process behind creating the books

(40:19) - Where books like Poor Charlie’s Almanack originally come from

(45:17) - Tammy's reflections on the media industry and what she’s learned in her career

(51:24) - Debrief