READ: Poker Inspires Entrepreneurship, The Creation of YapStone
In 1999, Tom Villante was playing poker when he realized that he could capitalize on payment systems moving away from checks with a secure online payment service of his own, reported Forbes.
Playing poker with his friends and talking about businesses they could start, they got on the topic of PayPal and payment methods.
So he started a company: YapStone.
The California-based company offers secure online payments for transactions (payments and accounting) on vacation homes (through clients), multi-family apartment rentals and payment processing for churches.
The company expects to process more than $15 billion in payment volume this year and revenues are estimated at $235 million, according to Forbes.
Villante, a former investment banker at S.G. Warburg and a partner at private equity firm The Seidler Co., has huge competition in the market, including PayPal.
“Our strategy is to be all things payment for the largest marketplaces in the world,” Villante said to Forbes.
So, next time you're sitting at the poker tables, maybe take some notes if you and your friends create any ingenious ideas.
Read the full story on Forbes.com here.
Lead image and article image courtesy of LinkedIn
