# Patrick McKenzie

> Patrick McKenzie, known online as patio11, is a writer, software entrepreneur, and strategic advisor at Stripe who spent two decades bootstrapping software companies in Japan before becoming one of the internet's most influential voices on fintech, career development, and software business strategy. He writes Bits about Money, a deep-dive newsletter on the plumbing of financial systems, hosts the Complex Systems podcast, and co-led VaccinateCA - America's shadow COVID vaccine location infrastructure that likely saved thousands of lives. With 4.7 million words published since 2006, his essays on salary negotiation, software marketing, and financial infrastructure have shaped how a generation of engineers and entrepreneurs think about building and getting paid.

- **Role:** Advisor at Stripe; Writer of Bits about Money
- **Organizations:** Stripe, Kalzumeus Software, VaccinateCA, Bingo Card Creator, Appointment Reminder, Starfighter
- **From:** United States
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** Undergraduate degree, Unknown US University
- **Known for:** Published 575+ essays and 4.7 million words since 2006, covering software, finance, careers, and culture, Salary negotiation essay credited with generating $15M+ in additional compensation for readers, Led VaccinateCA, widely credited with saving thousands of lives during COVID vaccine rollout

## Career timeline

- **1996** — Created the handle 'patio11' for CompuServe signup, inspired by friend from Puerto Rico and his favorite number
- **2004-2010** — Worked as a Japanese salaryman for six years after moving to Japan right after college
- **2006** — Founded Bingo Card Creator, a bootstrapped SaaS making customizable printable bingo cards for teachers, running it nights-and-weekends
- **2010** — Left Japanese employment to run software companies full-time; launched Appointment Reminder, a Twilio-based SaaS for dental and professional service businesses
- **2014** — Expanded into consulting for B2B SaaS on marketing/sales; co-created education products with Nick DiSabato
- **2015** — Served as CEO of Starfighter, a programming talent identification company
- **2016** — Joined Stripe to work on Stripe Atlas - U.S. legal and financial infrastructure for international founders
- **2017-2023** — Full-time at Stripe on Marketing and Communications teams, six years total
- **2021** — Led VaccinateCA as CEO, building America's shadow vaccine location information infrastructure during COVID rollout
- **2021** — Launched Bits about Money newsletter on the intersection of tech and financial infrastructure
- **2023** — Left Stripe full-time employment, transitioned to advisor role; entered semi-sabbatical
- **2024** — Launched Complex Systems podcast, weekly conversations about technical and human infrastructure
- **2026** — Continues writing Bits about Money and hosting Complex Systems; advising at Stripe

## Achievements

- Published 575+ essays and 4.7 million words since 2006, covering software, finance, careers, and culture
- Salary negotiation essay credited with generating $15M+ in additional compensation for readers
- Led VaccinateCA, widely credited with saving thousands of lives during COVID vaccine rollout
- Core contributor to Stripe Atlas, enabling thousands of international founders to incorporate in the US
- Coined 'Falsehoods Programmers Believe About Names' - spawned an entire genre of similar articles
- Built four profitable bootstrapped software companies without external funding
- Patio11's Law coined by Mark McGranaghan: 'The number of software businesses in the world is larger than you think, even after you've taken into account Patio11's Law'
- Spent 20 years living and working in Japan, becoming expert in Japanese business culture and financial systems
- One of Hacker News's most influential commenters and essayists over two decades

## Latest updates

- **2026-04** — Continues writing Bits about Money newsletter and hosting Complex Systems podcast as primary public outputs
- **2024-01** — Launched Complex Systems podcast, weekly deep dives into technical and human factors of infrastructure
- **2023-01** — Left Stripe full-time employment after six years; transitioned to advisor role
- **2021-10** — Launched Bits about Money newsletter covering financial infrastructure and fintech

## Links

- Website: https://www.kalzumeus.com
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/patio11

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/patrick-mckenzie
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-04-21