Jim McKelvey (Square) on How to Out-Compete a Goliath, Advice for “Wantrepreneurs,” and Economizing Drug Trials

Building something that lasts is rare. Building something that
rewires an entire industry? That’s almost unheard of. But that’s
exactly what Jim McKelvey did when he co-founded Square (now Block)
with Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey.  Today, Jim and Sammi
talk about how Square went head-to-head with Amazon and won, why
Jim believes most startups don’t understand what real innovation
looks like, and the surprising psychology behind a piece of tech
being just difficult enough to capture attention. Plus, they dive
into his more recent ventures, Invisibly and Fastrials, and what
serving as an independent director at the Federal Reserve taught
him about the intersection of policy and entrepreneurship. Plus,
his hot take on— and role in— tipping culture. Follow Sammi on
Instagram  Subscribe to the Social Currency newsletter 
Here’s what Sammi covers with Jim: 00:00 Jim McKelvey’s Social
Currency  01:17 How Square Evolved From A Personal Painpoint
02:37 That Time Jim Stripped in a Business Pitch 05:13 The
Psychology of Attention in Business 19:50 How Square Beat Amazon
31:21 Understanding Human Behavior and Social Pressure 32:17
Lessons From Jim’s Time as a Federal Reserve Director 38:19 Why
Invisibly Failed, Profitably  40:28 Jim’s Newest Venture and
Revolutionizing Drug Trials 45:48 Advice for Entrepreneurs in
Regulated Industries 53:33 Tipping Culture and FinTech Predictions
58:24 How to Show Social Currency Some Love Learn more about your
ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices