By William Stapleton, Frisco, TX
Starting With Nothing but Work Ethic
I grew up in Long Beach, California, in a working-class household. My mother immigrated from Ecuador, and my father is of German and Polish descent. Money was tight, and the expectation was simple: if you wanted something, you worked for it.
I started working at 14. Not because I had grand ambitions at that age, but because I needed to support myself. That early responsibility taught me more than any classroom ever could. It built a foundation of independence and showed me that success is almost always a function of how hard you’re willing to push when no one is watching.
By the time I got to Long Beach Wilson Classical High School, I was balancing academics, varsity baseball, water polo, and a job. I graduated near the top of my class with honors. The same pattern continued at California State University, Long Beach, where I double majored in Rhetorical Theory and Global Economics while working and interning. I even took an unpaid internship at Salomon Brothers as a broker’s assistant during my breaks. That unpaid role became the foothold that launched my career.
The Private Banking Years
After graduating with full honors at the top of my class, I was recruited by Morgan Stanley Private Bank in New York. It was a steep learning curve. I was working with high-net-worth clients and learning the mechanics of complex financial services in real time. The stakes were high, and the expectations were higher.
I later moved to another firm, where I helped build out what is now known as a major private client program. I spent around seven years in that world, learning client strategy, financial operations, and how to navigate institutional structures. It was valuable experience, but I knew I didn’t want to spend my career inside someone else’s system.
The Leap Into Payments
After seven years, I left to start my own company. I founded PayFacto, a credit card processing company based in Montreal. It wasn’t a safe bet. Payments is a crowded, competitive space. But I believed I could build something better by focusing on service, transparency, and solving real problems for merchants.
PayFacto grew steadily. We built a strong client base, refined our operations, and proved that we could compete. In 2019, Visa acquired PayFacto at an estimated valuation of $300 million. That exit gave me the capital to do what I’m doing now.
Building Iron Rock Payments
I used the proceeds from the PayFacto sale to launch Iron Rock Payments. I’m now President and CEO, and we’ve grown into an Inc. 5000 company with 15 employees and strong annual revenue.
Iron Rock is built on lessons I learned the hard way. I know what works in payments and what doesn’t. I know where other processors cut corners, and I know what merchants actually need. We focus on straightforward pricing, responsive support, and long-term relationships. It’s not flashy, but it works.
What I’ve Learned About Setting Goals
I set goals by reverse engineering. I start with the outcome I want and work backward to figure out the steps needed to get there. It’s a simple framework, but it forces clarity. You can’t reverse-engineer a vague goal.
I also measure myself against people I admire. Not in a competitive way, but as a reality check. It keeps me honest about where I am and where I need to improve.
One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned is this: you don’t know what you don’t know. The ability to accept that you’re wrong, to recognize your own gaps, and to surround yourself with people who are smarter than you in key areas is what separates success from stagnation. I hire to fill my weaknesses, and I measure success by the financial outcomes we produce.
What Drives Me
I’m motivated by living the life I’ve always envisioned for myself. That vision has evolved over time, but the core of it hasn’t: financial independence, the ability to build things that matter, and the freedom to spend time on what I care about.
Outside of work, I’m an active golfer. I’m a member at Stonebriar Country Club and play at a plus 2 handicap. I regularly compete in Monday qualifying events for major PGA tournaments. Golf is one of the few places where I can completely focus on something outside the business. It’s competitive, it’s challenging, and it’s mine.
The Balance Question
People ask about work-life balance all the time. My answer is straightforward: success in business provides the means necessary to achieve a personal life of fulfillment. I don’t see them as separate. The work I do funds the life I want to live, and the discipline I bring to business carries over into everything else.
You can’t coast in either area. Continued growth requires accepting that you never have all the answers. The moment you think you do, you stop learning. And the moment you stop learning, someone else passes you.
What’s Next
Iron Rock Payments is growing, and I’m focused on scaling smartly. We’re not chasing growth for its own sake. We’re building a company that solves real problems, treats clients fairly, and creates opportunities for the people who work here.
I’ve been lucky, but luck follows preparation. The unpaid internship, the years in private banking, the risk of starting PayFacto—all of it built the foundation for what I’m doing now. And I’m not done yet.