Fernando Torres
World Cup Champion & 2x European Champion with Spain | UEFA Champions League Winner | Head Coach, Atlético Madrid B
Jim McKelvey
Co-Founder of Square (now Block) | Founder of Invisibly | Author of The Innovation Stack | LaunchCode Co-Founder
Few entrepreneurs can say they took on Amazon and won. Jim McKelvey co-founded Square, then distilled that experience into The Innovation Stack, a definitive framework for building businesses that cannot be copied. He also founded Invisibly and co-founded LaunchCode, placing tens of thousands into tech careers. Audiences leave with a new theory of innovation grounded in real-stakes experience.
Want to book Jim McKelvey as a speaker for your event? Please provide the info below and we’ll get in touch within 24h:
Jim McKelvey biography
Entrepreneurship speaker Jim McKelvey is a serial entrepreneur, author, glassblower, and one of the most original thinkers in business today, best known as the co-founder of Square (now Block), the payments company he built alongside Jack Dorsey that transformed how millions of small businesses accept money. What began as a solution to a personal problem, after McKelvey lost a sale at his St. Louis glass studio because he could not accept a credit card, became a company that went public at a multibillion-dollar valuation and permanently reshaped the financial technology landscape.
McKelvey’s most enduring intellectual contribution is the concept of the Innovation Stack: the idea that transformative companies do not succeed through a single invention but by building interlocking systems of original solutions that collectively make them impossible to copy. He introduced this framework in his critically acclaimed book The Innovation Stack: Building an Unbeatable Business One Crazy Idea at a Time (2020), which used Square’s unlikely triumph over Amazon’s competing product as a case study in what genuine innovation looks like, and why it almost always begins with solving a problem no one else has cracked.
From Startup Founder to Ecosystem Builder
Beyond Square, McKelvey has devoted much of his energy to expanding access to technology and rebuilding the economics of information. He co-founded LaunchCode, a nonprofit that has trained tens of thousands of people for careers in software development, with a particular focus on creating pathways for underrepresented communities. He later founded Invisibly, a company building micropayment infrastructure to give people control over their personal data and to create sustainable revenue models for journalism and publishing. He has also served on the board of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, including as its chair, lending institutional depth to his understanding of financial systems and economic policy.
A self-described artist and engineer, McKelvey holds multiple patents and has exhibited his glassblowing work internationally. He remains on the board of Block and, with his wife Anna, has pledged to give away the entirety of his multibillion-dollar fortune. His career is a rare integration of creative practice, technical invention, and commercial success at scale.
As a speaker, Jim McKelvey brings a perspective that is hard to replicate: the lived experience of building a genuinely disruptive company, articulated through a rigorous intellectual framework rather than entrepreneurial mythology. He challenges audiences to rethink what innovation actually requires, why most so-called innovation is imitation in disguise, and how organizations can build defensible advantages through authentic problem-solving. Senior leaders and executive teams leave his sessions with a new vocabulary for evaluating their own strategic position.
Jim McKelvey Speaking Videos
Jim McKelvey - Lies of Success
Jim McKelvey - Things I’m Unlearning
Jim McKelvey Keynote Topics
Most companies that call themselves innovative are actually imitating. McKelvey draws on Square's improbable victory over Amazon to show what genuine innovation looks like, and why it always begins with an unsolved problem. This session introduces the Innovation Stack framework, teaching leaders how transformative businesses build interlocking systems of original solutions that competitors cannot dismantle piece by piece. Practical, rigorous, and counterintuitive, it reframes how organizations approach competitive strategy.
McKelvey traces the unlikely path from his glass studio in St. Louis to co-founding one of the most disruptive fintech companies in history, not through a grand plan but through a series of relentless responses to real problems. This keynote explores how entrepreneurs recognize the right problems to solve, why elegant simplicity outperforms complexity, and what it truly takes to build something original in a world that rewards imitation.
Drawing on his experience co-founding LaunchCode, McKelvey makes the case that the strongest innovation ecosystems are also the most inclusive ones. He explores why access to technical education is an economic multiplier, how organizations can build pipelines for non-traditional talent, and what happens when you stop filtering for pedigree and start selecting for potential. A compelling session for leadership teams thinking seriously about talent strategy and long-term competitiveness.
A glassblower and patent holder who helped build a multibillion-dollar company, McKelvey embodies the convergence of artistic and analytical thinking. This keynote explores how creative discipline, the maker's instinct to understand materials, constraints, and processes from the inside, translates directly into business innovation. He challenges leaders to cultivate what he calls the artist-engineer mindset: rigorous curiosity applied to real-world problems.
Speaker topics
FAQs on Booking Jim McKelvey
Why Jim McKelvey?
Booking Jim McKelvey for your event means bringing one of the most intellectually rigorous entrepreneurship speakers available today. As co-founder of Square, a company that took on Amazon and won, McKelvey does not traffic in motivational cliches. He delivers a framework: the Innovation Stack, a battle-tested theory of how genuine disruption happens and why it cannot be copied. His talks are equally relevant for CEOs navigating competitive threats, innovation teams trying to think originally, and leaders building more inclusive organizations through initiatives like LaunchCode and data-ownership ventures like Invisibly. Aurum Speakers Bureau works with McKelvey to tailor each engagement to your audience and objectives.
What is the Innovation Stack?
The Innovation Stack is a concept Jim McKelvey developed from his experience building Square. It describes how transformative companies succeed not through one breakthrough but by stacking multiple original solutions to a series of interconnected problems, solutions that collectively form a system competitors cannot replicate piecemeal. McKelvey explored this framework in depth in his 2020 book The Innovation Stack, using Square's head-to-head clash with Amazon as the central case study. The framework has since been adopted by business schools, corporate innovation teams, and startup founders worldwide.
What is LaunchCode and why did Jim McKelvey found it?
LaunchCode is a nonprofit organization co-founded by McKelvey in St. Louis in 2013 to address a gap he observed firsthand: the tech industry had a massive talent shortage, while millions of capable people had no accessible pathway into software careers. LaunchCode provides free coding education and job placement support, with a deliberate focus on candidates from non-traditional backgrounds. It has since expanded nationally, placing thousands of graduates at major employers and establishing itself as a national model for inclusive tech workforce development.
What topics does entrepreneurship speaker Jim McKelvey cover?
Jim McKelvey speaks on innovation strategy, entrepreneurship, financial technology, and the psychology of building from scratch. His core keynote draws on the Innovation Stack framework to help organizations understand what genuine innovation requires and how to distinguish it from imitation. He also covers inclusive economic growth through his LaunchCode experience, the future of data ownership through his company Invisibly, and the intersection of creativity and technical problem-solving. At Aurum Speakers Bureau, we can help you identify the talk format and topic most relevant to your leadership team or industry event.
How to book Jim McKelvey as a keynote speaker?
Aurum Speakers Bureau can help you book Jim McKelvey as a speaker for your next event, conference, or board meeting. Simply fill out our contact form to inquire about Jim McKelvey's availability for a speaking engagement. One of our booking agents will respond to your request immediately and contact the speaker to let them know you want to hire them. We will assist you with obtaining speaking fees, booking information, and confirming availability for Jim McKelvey or any other top keynote speaker or celebrity of your choice.
How much is Jim McKelvey speaking fee?
Jim McKelvey speaking fees are determined by several factors, including the event's date, whether it's a virtual or in-person event, the duration, format, preparation required for their speech, and more. The same applies to the cost to hire any other top expert speakers and celebrities. The Speaker Fee Range listed on our website is simply a guideline and is subject to change without notice. If you would like to hire Jim McKelvey to deliver a keynote speech for your event, please fill out the contact form or email us at info@aurumbureau.com with as much detail as possible. One of our experienced agents will get in touch with you and let you know exactly how much it will cost to book Jim McKelvey.
How can I contact Jim McKelvey?
We only work with Jim McKelvey on paid speaking engagements. Aurum Speakers Bureau can assist you in booking Jim McKelvey and will handle all negotiations, contracts, and logistics associated with having Jim McKelvey speak at your event. We will be your sole point of contact throughout the process. Get in touch with Aurum Speakers Bureau today, and we will reach out to any motivational speaker or celebrity you want to enquire about speaking at your event. If you wish to contact Jim McKelvey for any other reason, we will be unable to assist you as we are not authorized to provide personal contact information.
Can I book Jim McKelvey for a virtual keynote?
Yes, Jim McKelvey is available for virtual keynotes and webinars. To book Jim McKelvey for a virtual event, please complete the contact form or send us an email to inquire about the special fees for virtual engagements.
