In your new book the innovation stack you talk about a glassblower to team up with the founder of twitter to build a multibilliondollar Payment Company you talk about perfect problems when did you realize how Business Payments were a perfect problem . I needed a way to delineate problems if you think about the worlds problems those that are solved so we could copy the solution. And then for one reason or another are not solvable. We dont have a way to do it but then that group in the middle of solvable problems that have not yet been solved is the perfect problem because that is the focus of what we accomplished to look for a way to solve a problem that is solvable that hasnt been done you have to do something new. So what happened with jack dorsey and i come i hired him when he was 15. A High School Student came into work at a company that i still have. I dont run any of my companies but i also dont sell them. We started working together and he went to college. We kept in touch. Then
Perfect problem. So he needed a way to sort of delineate problems. If you think about the world problems, you got the ones who are salt so that we can cover the solution. And may be a problem that symbiosis already figured out. Then you have the ones that are one reason or another are so lovable. We just dont have the ways to do it. But then theres a group in the middle of solvable problems that have not yet been solved. Jim so that is what i call the perfect problem because that in fact, is the focus of what i think the leadership is. In other words we are looking for a way to solve a problem that is solvable but has not been density going to have to be doing something new and you dont get a copy it. So what happened with jack, jack dorsey and i, while i hired jack when he was 15. It was a High School Student and came into work at a company that actually still have. I dont run any of my companies but i also never sell them. At some of this one has been around for 30 years. And jack an
Problems that havent yet been solved. So thats what i call the perfect problem because that, in fact, is the focus of what i think entrepreneurship is. In other words, you are looking for a way to solve a problem that is solvable but hasnt been done. You had to do something you and you dont get to copy. And so we were then taken around for ideas and you do not have an idea and i didnt have an idea so we started looking for problems that we can solve and came up with the problem of how they got paid. When did you come to that conclusion, you talk in the book about your work, tummy about that moment that payments were a problem for small merchants. It was funny because as i said jack had been kicked out of twitter and my first reaction to that was jack was like a little brother to me, somebody felt like i needed to stand up for and what they did to him at twitter the first time was completely bile. So my first suggestion was lets go to San Francisco and get even with those guys. It was l
Steve told the story of going from a glass blower in st. Louis teaming of the founder of twitter to build a multibillion payment company. In the book you talk about a lot about perfect problems. When did you realize that Small Business payments were a you are going to have to do something new and you cannot copy. I hired jack when he was 15, he was a High School Student came into work at a company that i actually still have. I dont run any of my companies but it also dont sell them. This ones been around for 30 years. He goes off to college, we kept in touch. And then he had kicked out of twitter, the first time,. [laughter] they showed him the door and he came back to st. Louis and he came back we were hanging out and talking and decided to start a company together. We are then kicking around ideas he didnt have an idea and i didnt have an idea suisse are looking for problems we could solve. And came up with the problem. When did you come to that conclusion you talk in the book about
They showed him the door. We decided we would start a company together. Host when did you come to that conclusion . You talk about your work as a glassblower. When did you realize payments were a problem he had just been kicked out of or its somebody i needed to standm in better the first time, so my first suggestion was lets go to San Francisco and get even. It was like spike motivated. But jack to his credit said why dont we do something more positive and start a new company so that was the impetus and then we were looking for a problem and the only thing we determined was our company was going to be sort of focused on ive got my phone here, ive got to use it as a prop. These things. Are we going to focus on these things because the iphone had just come out and we knew it was going to b be entertained. We hired an engineer from apple and that gave us two weeks to figure out what we were going to do. We were stretching for ideas and i went back to my studio. I am a glassblower. I make