# Jim McKelvey

> Jim McKelvey is the co-founder of Square (now Block, Inc.), a serial entrepreneur, master glassblower, author, and philanthropist from St. Louis. He built Square after losing a $2,000 sale at his glass studio because he couldn't accept American Express - and turned that frustration into a payments company that beat Amazon when it tried to copy them. He's also founded Invisibly, co-founded LaunchCode (a nonprofit that guarantees tech jobs), serves as an Operator Advisor at Redbud VC, and is a former Chair of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.

- **Role:** Operator Advisor at Redbud VC
- **Organizations:** Block, Inc. (Square), Redbud VC, LaunchCode, Invisibly, Third Degree Glass Factory, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, McKelvey School of Engineering at Washington University
- **From:** St. Louis, Missouri, USA
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** High School Diploma, Ladue Horton Watkins High School, Bachelor's in Economics and Computer Science, Washington University in St. Louis
- **Known for:** Co-founded Square (now Block, Inc.), revolutionizing mobile payments for small businesses, Square card reader inducted into MoMA permanent collection (2011), Square's card reader design also in the Smithsonian

## Career timeline

- **1986** — Published handbook on UCSD Pascal and Apple Pascal
- **1989** — Co-founded Mira with Washington University software engineers; Jack Dorsey was a summer intern
- **1990s** — Worked as IBM contractor; founded Disconcepts (CD-cabinet manufacturer)
- **2002** — Co-founded Third Degree Glass Factory in St. Louis
- **2009** — Co-founded Square with Jack Dorsey after losing a $2,000 glassblowing sale he couldn't complete
- **2010** — Stepped down as Square Chairman
- **2011** — Square card reader inducted into Museum of Modern Art permanent collection
- **2013** — Co-founded LaunchCode, a nonprofit creating tech apprenticeships
- **2016** — Founded Invisibly, a data monetization platform; donated $15M to Washington University engineering school
- **2017** — Appointed Independent Director of Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
- **2019** — Washington University's engineering school renamed McKelvey School of Engineering
- **2020** — Published 'The Innovation Stack: Building an Unbeatable Business One Crazy Idea at a Time' (WSJ bestseller)
- **2022** — Named Chair of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
- **2024+** — Operator Advisor at Redbud VC, invested in Redbud VC Fund II

## Achievements

- Co-founded Square (now Block, Inc.), revolutionizing mobile payments for small businesses
- Square card reader inducted into MoMA permanent collection (2011)
- Square's card reader design also in the Smithsonian
- Co-founded LaunchCode, guaranteeing tech jobs to graduates
- Donated $15M to Washington University; engineering school renamed McKelvey School of Engineering
- Former Chair of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
- WSJ bestselling author of 'The Innovation Stack' (2020)
- Net worth of approximately $2 billion (2023)
- Founded seven+ companies across technology, art, and finance
- Third Degree Glass Factory: one of America's premier glassblowing arts centers
- Authored 'The Art of Fire: Beginning Glassblowing' - the world's most widely read glassblowing text

## Latest updates

- **2026-03** — Redbud VC announced $25M Fund II; McKelvey is an LP and Operator Advisor
- **2024-01** — Continuing role as Operator Advisor at Redbud VC, mentoring portfolio founders
- **2022-01** — Named Chair of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

## Links

- Website: https://www.jimmckelvey.com/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mckelveyjim
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/2000F

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/jim-mckelvey
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-05-06