AFAIK Stripe (/dev/payments back then ) never demo'd on the demo day of either S09 or S10. YC had/has a deal with Sequoia that Sequoia gets first dibs on the companies in each batch before demo day. Stripe presented to a bunch of VCs but got picked up before the demo day.
Basically they had funding before the demo day.
Also they stayed in "beta" all the way until Sept/Oct 2011 when they formally launched on Techcrunch. That gave them enough time to hone the basic API, work out a TPPP (Third party payment processor ) deal with Wells Fargo and actually try it out before launching.
Basically they had funding before the demo day.
Also they stayed in "beta" all the way until Sept/Oct 2011 when they formally launched on Techcrunch. That gave them enough time to hone the basic API, work out a TPPP (Third party payment processor ) deal with Wells Fargo and actually try it out before launching.