I know a bunch of people here have said "partner with a bank" or get a license. That seems like a good option, but obviously you wonder how can a small startup or even a founder or two do that?

I have learned a couple things about being the little guy trying to partner with bigger folks:

- Josh Elman (from Greylock) suggested that when (I think) when LinkedIn (or Twitter, I forget) was small, they didn't go out to look for partnerships with big companies, because they knew those wouldn't pan out because no one in a big company would care. They mostly sought relationships with smaller companies with some audience, but who were more receptive to talk to team up to crush the big guys and offer better value. Smaller competitors in crowded markets like banking are always trying to find ways to become more dominant, so they are more open than the folks at the top of the market.

- Just make your offering really really compelling - the "offer you cannot refuse" kind. This is not easy. This goes against traditional business sense, because you might have to offer value at less than cost. But if this is what the existence or growth of your business hinges on, you have to bend over backwards. Goes to the good old Dale Carnegie stuff; focus on their value in the conversation over yours. They need to feel like working with you is a steal of a deal. There are plenty of ways and business models to do this, but offering human capital, co-branding, offering equity or some rev share, customer insights, etc. are all fair game.