507: Jim McKelvey—A Square Peg in a Glass Hole

Mike Rowe (0:04)

Hello, friends, Mike Rowe here, and I am super excited for you to meet my new friend, Jim McKelvey.

Maybe you recognize his name, but maybe not. Maybe you'll recognize his face if you watch this over on YouTube, but probably not. But I'll bet you recognize the product he created. In fact, I'll wager you've actually used it. This episode is called A Square Peg and a Glass Hole. There, I just gave you a hint. Did you figure it out?

Jim McKelvey invented Square, the payment mechanism that basically turns your iPhone into a credit card reader. And he did it years ago because he was a glassblower, an artist, and he had completed a job, and he had an interested customer. But his company couldn't take American Express.

Why? Because it's very expensive to take American Express. And if you're just a starving artist, or maybe not starving, but you know, if you have a small business, American Express is kind of a luxury. So a lot of people just didn't take it. This made Jim upset. It was a $2,000 sale. So he sat down with his former intern, guy named Jack, and came up with this technology. Jack, by the way, went on to become Jack Dorsey. I mean, he was Jack Dorsey to start with, but he went on to co-found Twitter. Or did he found to? I can't keep it straight. Elon Musk bought Twitter after Jack Dorsey started it, but he used to work with Jim over at Square, which is now called Block, and now Jim and Jack are billionaires. And it's a great Silicon Valley success story. But the idea that this guy could create a solution to a personal problem always interested me. And as a curious sidebar, the fact that he created his prototype over at TechShop sort of fascinated me. If you've been following my comings and goings for the last couple of decades, you'll remember my foray with TechShop and an old friend named Mark Hatch. Mark and his partner, Jim Newton, set up the TechShop really because we took shop class out of high school and he wanted to do something to encourage people in the maker space to embrace their inner entrepreneur and do great things. Well, that's what brought Jim McKelvey into the TechShop, where he met Mark Hatch and later with his friend, Jack Dorsey, went on to create the Square. Are you tracking all this? Because it's pretty cool. Anyway, I met Jim in Wyoming not long ago. He interviewed me at this conference and we had such a good time. I said, Jim, sit down and let me interview you for my podcast. And he said, OK. So what you're about to hear is a completely spontaneous conversation with one of the great innovators of our time.

Jim McKelvey really did it. I mean, he has been there and he's done it. He's gone on to start several other companies. He's got some amazing ideas, which he shares in this conversation. And I was at somewhat of a disadvantage because I didn't read his book. His latest book is called Innovation Stack. And it's terrific. And I can tell you that because now I've read it. I read it after I interviewed it, which is the mark of a completely irresponsible podcast host. Nevertheless, this conversation stands on its own. It was recorded at Brush Creek Lodge not too long ago with a mind-bendingly beautiful backdrop and a pretty doggone good conversation, If I don't say so myself. With a genuine innovator named Jim McKelvey, a square peg in a glass hole, right after this.

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