Jack Dorsey & the Golden Gate Bridge. There’s a...

Thursday, March 24, 2011

Jack Dorsey & the Golden Gate Bridge.

There’s a spectrum of startups, from those that are “lifestyle businesses” (I hate that phrase, but haven’t thought of a good substitute) to those that try to make a dent in the universe. I have no issues with any of them, but I gravitate towards the latter. It’s a personal preference: I mind when companies fail at trying to change the world far less than I mind them not even trying. And I love to study / observe the companies that fall into the universe-denting category. Square is a great example of a company led by a founder that is determined to revolutionize payments. This 15-minute video of Jack Dorsey talking about his vision for Square is a must-watch for any entrepreneur, but particularly those that are trying to change the world in a fundamental way. Some of my favorite bits:

..we’re the only payments company in the world that’s concerned with design
Design is not just visual, design is efficiency. Design is making something simple. Design is epic. Design is making it easy for a user to get from point A to point B.
I think every CEO is an editor. I think every leader in any company is an editor. Taking all of these ideas and you’re editing them down to one cohesive story, and in my case, my job is to edit the team, so we have a great team that can produce the great work and that means bringing people on and in some cases having to let people go.
support and feedback is what our customers are telling us, and product is what we’re telling our customers.
this company is not going to be known by one person or by five people or by multiple people. It’s going to be known by the product that we put out.