New Episode - Sam Wen
Sam Wen in the early days of Square showing how to use the product

New Episode - Sam Wen

"Everybody was just interested in doing what it took to ship. The 1st version of the server was written by Jack. So Jack Dorsey, this billionaire, well-known person, sits down, writes some Python to integrate with Authorized.NET in order to make payment processing work."

Welcome to this new episode of Explore! ??

Today, I sit down with Sam Wen , the co-founder of Square and partner at Green Visor Capital Management Co., LLC .

Topics in today's episode ??

  • How a $2.5k glass art sales was missed due to payment
  • Developing a card reader using the headphone jack
  • Starting from Jack Dorsey's flat in San Francisco
  • Overcoming regulations and rules to launch
  • The challenge of competing with Amazon
  • Focusing on the experience (à la Apple)
  • Starbucks partnership and scale
  • the intense pace of a scale up
  • And much more ??


Thank you to OpenVC for supporting this podcast. ??

What is OpenVC? It’s a free fundraising platform used by 10,000 founders and 5,000 investors (VCs, angels, family offices). Some features on the platform are: a fundraising CRM, AI pitch deck analytics and open rate tracking. Use the code: "EXPLORE” to upgrade to OpenVC Premium and get a 20% discount. ????        

Tune in and discover the story behind a $38B company.

Listen on???Spotify, on???Apple Podcast, or on ??Substack.

Thank you for supporting the show, give it ?5 stars on your podcast platform.

Hugo ??


Timestamps:

00:00 Introduction and Guest Background

01:20 Early Career and University Days

02:45 First Job at Boeing

05:20 Transition to Square

09:31 Founding Square and Early Challenges

14:40 Square's Product Development

28:48 Fundraising and Market Strategy

39:39 Competing in the Payment Industry

41:53 Driven by Design: The Early Days of Square

42:19 Competing with Giants: Amazon and PayPal

43:03 The Simplicity of Square's Hardware

45:03 Square's Legal Challenges and Industry Impact

46:27 The Philosophy Behind Square's Product Development

54:15 Square's Partnership with Starbucks

55:48 The Intensity of Working at Square

58:21 Reflecting on the Square Journey

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