Founder Profile
Jack Dorsey
Last reviewed: 2026 · By Swet Parvadiya
Background
Jack Dorsey was born on November 19, 1976, in St. Louis, Missouri. He developed an interest in dispatch routing software as a teenager, writing his first programming projects related to taxi dispatch systems at age 14. He attended the Missouri University of Science and Technology and New York University before dropping out to pursue software development. He co-founded Twitter in 2006 and served as its first CEO until 2008, when he was removed from day-to-day operations. After departing Twitter, he began working with Jim McKelvey on what would become Square. He returned to Twitter as Executive Chairman in 2011 and became CEO again in 2015, ultimately leaving Twitter permanently following the company's acquisition by Elon Musk in 2022. Dorsey is a prominent public advocate for Bitcoin, embracing a maximalist philosophical position on cryptocurrency.
Founding Story
Jack Dorsey is the co-founder and CEO of Block Inc, previously known as Square Inc, which he founded alongside Jim McKelvey in 2009 following a period of reflection after his departure from Twitter's CEO role. Dorsey's vision for Square was rooted in his belief that financial infrastructure should be accessible to everyone, regardless of income level or geographic location. Over fifteen years, he transformed a simple card reader into a multi-platform financial ecosystem encompassing merchant services, consumer banking, buy-now-pay-later, and Bitcoin infrastructure. Dorsey's leadership style is unconventional by Silicon Valley standards — he is known for extended meditation retreats, minimalist personal habits, and a philosophical commitment to decentralization that has shaped Block's product roadmap in ways that often confound traditional fintech investors. His evangelical commitment to Bitcoin as a transformative financial technology is a defining feature of Block's corporate identity and long-term strategy.