Turn Your Moat into an Ocean with an Innovation Stack (feat. Jim McKelvey, Co-founder of Square)
On episode 10 of the Founders Forward Podcast we welcome Jim McKelvey, Co-Founder of Square. The now publicly traded company with a $100B+ market cap has humble beginnings dating back to Jim and his time in a glass studio. Jim recently published his book, The Innovation Stack: Building an Unbeatable Business One Crazy Idea at a Time, that studies how Square managed to thrive and beat Amazon and draws on similar stories from companies like Southwest and Ikea.
About Jim
Square and Jim used a series of “innovation stacks” to not only beat Amazon but to take them to the high flying public company they are today. Jim has a deep passion for entrepreneurship and innovation that comes across as we discuss his journey building Square.
Our CEO, Mike Preuss, had the opportunity to sit down and chat with Jim. You can give the full episode a listen below (or in any of your favorite podcast apps).
What You Can Expect to Learn from Jim
- How the idea for Square was started
- How Jim started his relationship with Jack Dorsey, the CEO of Square
- What it means to be an entrepreneur vs. business person
- What Southwest and Square have in common
- What an innovation stack is
- How Jim views venture capital
- How and why businesses copy
Related Resources
