> It's nicely written - but a nicely written API doesn't make a product.
I believe you should revisit that assumption. Stripe is successful because of its API and UI. Likewise, Facebook and the iPhone largely succeeded because of their UI and API.
The Stripe API is really good...but it's not perfect. It still requires a huge amount of manual development that services like Recur.ly and Spreedly already implement.
Having implemented several Stripe sites, I found I preferred more of an automated recurring subscription management service, and then Stripe is just a gateway at that point.
That being said, I use Stripe extensively and love it.
Facebook succeeded because they got the network effect right, and Zuck chose the initial rounds of members at Harvard carefully (mostly girls, mostly rabid networkers/socialisers), and the ensuing rollout to other colleges/countries were staged carefully to maximise demand.
iPhone - marketing, marketing, marketing, marketing, and the US had never really seen a smartphone before. Then, ecosystem and snowball.
That said, I agree that UI is a fundamental part of any product - API, however, not so much - Joe Public doesn't care and neither does your CFO - and as posited, developers, no matter how much we'd like to think we are, are not influencers in the markets where PSPs are entrenched.
I believe you should revisit that assumption. Stripe is successful because of its API and UI. Likewise, Facebook and the iPhone largely succeeded because of their UI and API.