Payments giant Stripe co-founders Patrick and John Collison told employees executives set a goal of taking the company public within the next 12 months or allowing employees to sell their shares in a private placement, the Wall Street Journal reported. Stripe is already in talks with investors to raise at least $2 billion at a valuation of $55 billion to $60 billion. The funds raised will not be used to support its operations, but rather to pay a large annual tax bill related to stock ownership by some employees.