Dorsey's journey began in St. Louis, Missouri, where he developed a passion for coding at an early age. His interest in computers led him to pursue a degree in computer science at New York University, but he eventually dropped out to focus on his entrepreneurial aspirations.
In 2006, Dorsey played a pivotal role in the creation of Twitter, a social media platform that revolutionized real-time communication. The idea for Twitter emerged during Dorsey’s tenure at Odeo, a podcasting company. Inspired by the concept of a short message service that could be used to broadcast updates, Dorsey developed a prototype that allowed users to send and receive 140-character messages, known as "tweets."
Twitter gained rapid popularity, becoming a platform for breaking news, political discussions, and personal updates. Dorsey's leadership was instrumental in the company's growth, and he served as its CEO from 2006 to 2008 and again from 2015 to 2021. Under his guidance, Twitter introduced innovative features such as the retweet button, hashtags, and the timeline, which have become essential elements of the social media landscape.
Dorsey's entrepreneurial spirit extended beyond Twitter. In 2009, he co-founded Square, a mobile payments company that aimed to make it easier for small businesses to accept credit card payments. Square's innovative payment terminals, which could be attached to smartphones or tablets, disrupted the traditional payment processing industry, empowering small businesses and reducing the need for cash transactions. Dorsey served as CEO of Square from 2009 to 2021 and led the company through its initial public offering in 2015.