The Leap Academy Podcast with Ilana Golan is all about honest and inspiring conversations about what it really takes to leap to bigger things, amazing careers, and craft the life you want.
Stories and tips you won't find anywhere else.
Ilana speaks with some of the world's most influential people, experts, and thinkers who created incredible careers, massive impact, built a reputation, and an extraordinary life.
Together we discover the untold truths, the emotions, and important lessons that enabled them to reinvent themselves & leap.
We take our audience on a journey that will not only inspire but also teach concrete lessons on how to leap careers: fast-track to leadership, jump to entrepreneurship, build a personal brand, portfolio career, and much more.
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The Leap Academy Podcast with Ilana Golan is all about honest and inspiring conversations about what it really takes to leap to bigger things, amazing careers, and craft the life you want.
Stories and tips you won't find anywhere else.
Ilana speaks with some of the world's most influential people, experts, and thinkers who created incredible careers, massive impact, built a reputation, and an extraordinary life.
Together we discover the untold truths, the emotions, and important lessons that enabled them to reinvent themselves & leap.
We take our audience on a journey that will not only inspire but also teach concrete lessons on how to leap careers: fast-track to leadership, jump to entrepreneurship, build a personal brand, portfolio career, and much more.
Square Co-Founder, Jim McKelvey: How to Build a Business No Competitor Can Copy | E131
Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
48 minutes
1 week ago
Square Co-Founder, Jim McKelvey: How to Build a Business No Competitor Can Copy | E131
Jim McKelvey did the impossible. He beat Amazon. The tech giant launched a product similar to Square’s, undercut their pricing, and leveraged its massive brand. Everyone thought Square was doomed. But a year later, Amazon quit and even mailed Square readers to their customers. That left Jim with a bigger question: “How did we survive when no one else ever has?” The search for that answer inspired his book The Innovation Stack, a blueprint for building a business that cannot be copied. In this episode, Jim joins Ilana to reveal the secret to creating an unbeatable business, why ignorance can be a superpower, and how to survive the impossible as an entrepreneur.
Jim McKelvey is the co-founder of Square (now Block), a billionaire entrepreneur, and author of The Innovation Stack. He also founded LaunchCode, a nonprofit providing free tech education and job placement.
In this episode, Ilana and Jim will discuss:
(00:00) Introduction
(02:04) Growing Up as an ‘Uncool’ Kid in St. Louis
(04:01) The Early Hustle That Jumpstarted His Career
(07:47) Launching a Business with 15-Year-Old Jack Dorsey
(13:50) The Birth of Square: From Glass Blowing to FinTech
(20:09) The Art of Selling and Capturing Attention
(26:48) How a Single Demo Won Over MasterCard
(31:04) Amazon's Failed Attempt to Crush Square
(32:17) The Innovation Stack: Building an Unbeatable Business
(35:55) Why Most Entrepreneurs Give Up Too Soon
(41:32) Why the Best Innovators Are Always “Unqualified”
Jim McKelvey is a serial entrepreneur, inventor, and philanthropist best known as the co-founder of Square (now Block), the fintech company that redefined digital payments. He is the author of The Innovation Stack, which explores how companies can survive by creating solutions that can’t be copied. Jim also founded LaunchCode, a nonprofit that provides free tech education and job placement for aspiring coders.
Connect with Jim
Jim’s LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/mckelveyjim
Resources Mentioned
Jim’s Book, The Innovation Stack: Building an Unbeatable Business One Crazy Idea at a Time: https://www.amazon.com/Innovation-Stack-Building-Unbeatable-Business/dp/0593086732
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Leap Academy with Ilana Golan
The Leap Academy Podcast with Ilana Golan is all about honest and inspiring conversations about what it really takes to leap to bigger things, amazing careers, and craft the life you want.
Stories and tips you won't find anywhere else.
Ilana speaks with some of the world's most influential people, experts, and thinkers who created incredible careers, massive impact, built a reputation, and an extraordinary life.
Together we discover the untold truths, the emotions, and important lessons that enabled them to reinvent themselves & leap.
We take our audience on a journey that will not only inspire but also teach concrete lessons on how to leap careers: fast-track to leadership, jump to entrepreneurship, build a personal brand, portfolio career, and much more.
