What do glassblowing, fintech, and plastic-free diapers have in common? One brilliant disruptor: Jim McKelvey.
Calling Jim McKelvey just a fintech entrepreneur or a computer scientist would be like calling Leonardo da Vinci just a painter. This man defies categorization in the most fascinating ways possible. In a candid, wide-ranging conversation, McKelvey, the award-winning, Amazon-beating polymath who co-founded Square (now Block) with Jack Dorsey, spoke with me about startups to sustainability, Southwest airlines to piloting his own plane. “I’m a guy that’s had no focus for 30 years,” he told me with characteristic humility.
“I am a transport category pilot. I’m a professional glass artist with industrial designs in MoMA and the Smithsonian. I’m a computer scientist. I was on the Federal Reserve and used to vote on interest rates. That was fun. I built the hardware for Square, which we now call Block. I’ve started a bunch of other companies…But, basically, what I do is I build tools.”
His “lack of focus” has actually been his superpower, creating a truly unique lens on innovation, branding, and problem-solving that most specialists simply can’t achieve.
From Frustration to Billion-Dollar Solutions
McKelvey’s genius is based on transforming everyday frustrations into industry-changing innovations. The Square story began with something as mundane as being unable to accept American Express at his glass studio. That simple pain point sparked a billion-dollar disruption that fundamentally changed mobile payments forever.
McKelvey shared his methodology for spotting opportunities hiding in plain sight and building products that resonate deeply with audiences. More importantly, he explained how he predicts business disasters before they happen, with an impressive track record. For example, his accurate predictions about Southwest Airlines and other major corporate meltdowns made it into his book “The Innovation Stack” years before the airline’s current challenges.
The Art of Taking Calculated Risks
One frustration was the slide in news consumption. He built Invisibly to offer premium content for data exchange. But discovered that wasn’t driving change, so he pivoted and now Invisibly is a robust survey/analytics company.
Another frustration turned solution led him to create PowerScore. When a bad choice for a brand association hurt a company that was a good corporate citizen in his town of St. Louis, McKelvey wanted to use his data and tech savviness to help avert other marketing misses.
The story was the Bud Light debacle that unintentionally alienated their core audience, leading to huge business losses, which also meant the loss of ABInBev’s charitable funding in his town. Now, any brand can tap into his current project at PwrScore.ai and calculate and identify the attributes, values and icons they are best to align with by assessing brand compatibility using AI to minimize research bias. The kicker? He’s offering it for free.
Most companies would charge thousands to recoup their tech investment, and McKelvey is just handing it out because he believes it can help businesses make better decisions. It’s in keeping with McKelvey’s fearless approach to high-risk, high-impact projects.
“I work on projects that are right now, sort of long shots because I’m in a position where I can take a long shot,” he explained.
He and his wife have literally committed to giving away their entire fortune. for the betterment of the world. “I’ve made way, way more money than I ever expected. My wife and I have taken the giving pledge, so we’re gonna give all the money away, but in the meantime, I can take crazy risks.” It’s a level of commitment to pro-social behavior that’s both inspiring and rare in today’s business landscape. And in the case of PowerScore he’s applying it to be of service to that very business landscape.
Applying Brains to Diapers
McKelvey revealed another current project, fascinating for completely different reasons because it could change the world: plastic-free diapers.
“Diapers last for a thousand years and they become these horrible microplastics that are bad for the world, and I just thought it could be possible to do it without plastic. So I’ve been working on it for five years with a team. We’re this close to a breakthrough,” he said, gesturing with a closed thumb and forefinger. “That said, we had a little explosion in the lab last week…”
Think about it – billions of diapers end up in landfills every year, taking centuries to decompose and creating environmental havoc. If McKelvey cracks this code, the sustainability impact could be massive. (Catch my previous episode with the founder of Sustainable Brands for more on this topic.)
A Renaissance Entrepreneur
What makes McKelvey truly special isn’t just his business acumen – it’s his genuine curiosity about everything. He flies “small, crappy airplanes” for fun, creates glass art displayed in world-renowned museums, and casually mentions having voted on Federal Reserve interest rates like it was a weekend hobby.
This broad range of experiences gives him perspectives that pure business specialists simply can’t match. When he talks about innovation, he’s not just drawing from MBA case studies – he’s pulling from art, aviation, monetary policy, and manufacturing. His approach to problem-solving is a masterclass in thinking differently. He doesn’t just spot trends – he creates them by identifying problems everyone else has accepted as unsolvable. His tactical wisdom might inspire you to rethink what’s possible in your own work, because Jim McKelvey proves that true innovation comes from embracing diverse interests, taking calculated risks, and always asking “what if we could do this better?”
This article originally appeared on Linkedin.com and was syndicated by MediaFeed.org
