Jack Dorsey Left Twitter to Become a Block Head — He Wanted to Put His Company First

When it comes to technology, Jack Dorsey is a bit of a wunderkind. According to Business Insider, when he was only 15, Jack wrote dispatch software that some taxi companies still utilize today. That was in 1991 and by 1999, he was already thinking about what would eventually become Twitter (now X).

The young developer was so enthusiastic about his idea, that he left New York University one semester before graduating just so he could noodle on it without interruption. Fast forward to March 21, 2006, when Jack posted the very first tweet, which simply read, "Just setting up my Twitter." He stuck around until 2021 then stepped back as Elon Musk was acquiring the social media website. Where is Jack Dorsey now? Here's what we know.

Someone like Jack is always filled with ideas, which is how he came up with both Twitter and Square. In 2009, three years after Twitter launched, Jack was listening to his friend James McKelvey complain about an issue with his small business. The glass-blower made custom fittings for faucets and often made last-minute sales out of his studio. The problem was, that James could only take cash. That's when Jack came up with Square.

The invention of Square solves two problems. One is its ability to turn any cell phone into a credit card machine and the other is lower fees so the merchant actually makes more money. The company would go on to launch Cash App in 2013 and less than a decade later, was making billions, per Forbes. Days after Jack announced he was leaving Twitter, the Wall Street Journal reported that Square was rebranding.

At the end of December 2021, Square was renamed Block. Jack was serving as CEO and chairperson. He later began referring to himself as Block Head and Chairperson, per CNN. Two years later when Alyssa Henry stepped down as CEO of Square, a unit of Block, Jack stepped in as CEO. He's been at Block and Square in that capacity ever since.

According to Vanity Fair, Jack's decision to resign from Twitter came in November 2021. In a resignation letter aptly posted to the website he helped create, Jack referenced the belief some people have that companies should always be "founder-led." He disagreed with that, saying that kind of vision is very limited. "I've worked hard to ensure this company can break away from its founding and founders," wrote Jack.

He went on to list three reasons why it was the right time for him to leave. Two of them were related to folks that Jack trusted to take care of the company moving forward. Parag Agrawal was taking over as CEO, which Jack said was his "choice for some time." He continued, "My trust in him as our CEO is bone deep." Jack named Bret Taylor as board chair because he "understands entrepreneurship, taking risks, companies at massive scale, technology, product, and he's an engineer."

The Twitter co-founder was very clear about the fact that this was his decision, albeit a tough one. "I'm really sad, yet really happy," said Jack. He was confident this would "prove to be the right move."