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This article (currently) leaves out a detail mentioned by Jack in his tweetstorm about this [1]: > [Jay-Z] will now help lead our entire company, including Sel

This article (currently) leaves out a detail mentioned by Jack in his tweetstorm about this [1]: > [Jay-Z] will now help lead our entire company, including Seller and the Cash App, as soon as the deal closes. Does this read as Jay-Z having an... operational role? I know Jack's leadership of Square and Twitter is fairly non-traditional but this was surprising to read. [1] https://twitter.com/jack/status/1367460921937817602 https://twitter.com/jack/status/1367460921937817602

goatherders 6y ago
Why? He's an accomplished businessman having built a number of successful brands.
- beaconstudios 6y ago
  I guess it's odd for a music and branding mogul to take on an operational role at a payment processing company, in the same way it'd be odd if Patrick Collison started a label and dropped a rap album.
  - flycaliguy 6y ago
    Odd but reminds me of Ryan Reynolds role at Mint Mobile. Marketing and operational roles merged. Basically when marketing is the crucial next step, your celebrity wants a big stake.
    - beaconstudios 6y ago
      it's fascinating. I think we're watching hyperreality take on a new aspect in real time.
  - GormanFletcher 6y ago
    It's certainly striking, but the world is full of surprises like that. Goldman Sachs' CEO is an EDM DJ with 550,000 monthly Spotify listeners. He performs at nighclubs and music festivals, gets plays on Sirius XM, and his tracks chart on Billboard. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_M._Solomon https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_M._Solomon
    - beaconstudios 6y ago
      we contain multitudes, maaan.
    - fakedang 6y ago
      Have you heard his music? Almost everyone I've clubbed with, DJ'd with, learnt from, etc all universally say his music fucking sucks. I doubt people listen to him for the quality of his music, than wannabe IBankers looking for inspiration or something (and there was no shortage of analysts at GS who would listen to his shit for vibes or something). It's a big world, so if you find the right platform for your best talent, you could become the next "surprise" too.
  - erulabs 6y ago
    Now that’s an album I would like to hear. The Elad Gil feature track would be fire.
- ROARosen 6y ago
  It's the way he's being full-time active CEO to two major companies see here: https://www.yahoo.com/now/twitter-jack-dorsey-should-be-fired-scott-galloway-214648586.html https://www.yahoo.com/now/twitter-jack-dorsey-should-be-fire... EDIT: After seeing the other comment I realize I might have misinterpreted who the parent comment is referring to, is it Jack or Jay-z?
  - newhouseb 6y ago
    Jay-Z
    - ROARosen 6y ago
      I stand corrected
- deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]
- newhouseb 6y ago
  I'm not doubting his acumen, it's clear he's a great businessman. I think the dissonance is that "leading an app" implies (to me) a more internally facing set of responsibilities than the kind of brand-building and collaboration I associate Jay with. Then again, maybe this is the strategic perspective that Jack believes these apps need. Candidly, I'm also just chuckling at how some set of folks at Square are probably wondering to themselves "...is Jay-Z going to be my manager?"
gowld 6y ago
Executive (which strangely means not executing) not operational, likely. Making deals, doing PR, celebrity stuff, picking winners of internal product pitches.
ThomPete 6y ago
Squares internal motto went from Make Commerce Easy to Economic Empowerment some years back. Square Cash is really big in the black community so Jay-Z obviously have a lot to offer there to further expand the business. With regards to Seller I think the idea is to push more for the "black owned business" motto and thus he will have a lot to offer there too. Disclaimer, I used to work at Square
davidedicillo 6y ago
He’s not a businessman. He’s a business, man.
- moneywoes 6y ago
  Was looking for this comment. Well done
a-posteriori 6y ago
I think this makes tons of sense when you look at Cash App's distribution strategy. They have heavily focused on targeting the rap and music communities through influencer marketing. > Square has run similar campaigns [referencing a seperate Burger King campaign] with rappers like Travis Scott and Lil B and other influencers, triggering a network effect for the Cash App. With 120,000 replies, Travis Scott’s tweet gained more momentum than Burger King’s. If only 129 of the 120,000 who commented on his tweet were new to Cash App, then Square’s cost of customer acquisition would have been less than the $925 per user that banks pay on average, according to our research, and 6,000 comments, only 5% of the total, would have dropped it to $20. Moreover, as the converted users appear to spread the word on social media, the Cash App can acquire additional users from just one. https://fintechradar.substack.com/p/breakdown-2-a-deep-dive-into-the https://fintechradar.substack.com/p/breakdown-2-a-deep-dive-...
offtop5 6y ago
Jay Z live coding session coming soon. Jay Z is a bit unique among mainstream rappers, his first album , Reasonable Doubt, was released independently. He's much more involved on the business side then your typical act taken for a ride by the label and left broke.
bsimpson 6y ago
It's downthread of his mention of joining the board. I wonder if that's what he's referring to.
nemothekid 6y ago
I think Jay Z is just getting a board seat. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-03-04/square-to-buy-music-service-tidal-make-jay-z-a-board-member https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-03-04/square-to...

goatherders 6y ago

Why? He's an accomplished businessman having built a number of successful brands.

beaconstudios 6y ago
I guess it's odd for a music and branding mogul to take on an operational role at a payment processing company, in the same way it'd be odd if Patrick Collison started a label and dropped a rap album.
- flycaliguy 6y ago
  Odd but reminds me of Ryan Reynolds role at Mint Mobile. Marketing and operational roles merged. Basically when marketing is the crucial next step, your celebrity wants a big stake.
  - beaconstudios 6y ago
    it's fascinating. I think we're watching hyperreality take on a new aspect in real time.
- GormanFletcher 6y ago
  It's certainly striking, but the world is full of surprises like that. Goldman Sachs' CEO is an EDM DJ with 550,000 monthly Spotify listeners. He performs at nighclubs and music festivals, gets plays on Sirius XM, and his tracks chart on Billboard. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_M._Solomon https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_M._Solomon
  - beaconstudios 6y ago
    we contain multitudes, maaan.
  - fakedang 6y ago
    Have you heard his music? Almost everyone I've clubbed with, DJ'd with, learnt from, etc all universally say his music fucking sucks. I doubt people listen to him for the quality of his music, than wannabe IBankers looking for inspiration or something (and there was no shortage of analysts at GS who would listen to his shit for vibes or something). It's a big world, so if you find the right platform for your best talent, you could become the next "surprise" too.
- erulabs 6y ago
  Now that’s an album I would like to hear. The Elad Gil feature track would be fire.
ROARosen 6y ago
It's the way he's being full-time active CEO to two major companies see here: https://www.yahoo.com/now/twitter-jack-dorsey-should-be-fired-scott-galloway-214648586.html https://www.yahoo.com/now/twitter-jack-dorsey-should-be-fire... EDIT: After seeing the other comment I realize I might have misinterpreted who the parent comment is referring to, is it Jack or Jay-z?
- newhouseb 6y ago
  Jay-Z
  - ROARosen 6y ago
    I stand corrected
deleted 6y ago
[deleted]
newhouseb 6y ago
I'm not doubting his acumen, it's clear he's a great businessman. I think the dissonance is that "leading an app" implies (to me) a more internally facing set of responsibilities than the kind of brand-building and collaboration I associate Jay with. Then again, maybe this is the strategic perspective that Jack believes these apps need. Candidly, I'm also just chuckling at how some set of folks at Square are probably wondering to themselves "...is Jay-Z going to be my manager?"

gowld 6y ago

Executive (which strangely means not executing) not operational, likely. Making deals, doing PR, celebrity stuff, picking winners of internal product pitches.

ThomPete 6y ago

Squares internal motto went from Make Commerce Easy to Economic Empowerment some years back. Square Cash is really big in the black community so Jay-Z obviously have a lot to offer there to further expand the business. With regards to Seller I think the idea is to push more for the "black owned business" motto and thus he will have a lot to offer there too. Disclaimer, I used to work at Square

davidedicillo 6y ago

He’s not a businessman. He’s a business, man.

moneywoes 6y ago
Was looking for this comment. Well done

a-posteriori 6y ago

I think this makes tons of sense when you look at Cash App's distribution strategy. They have heavily focused on targeting the rap and music communities through influencer marketing. > Square has run similar campaigns [referencing a seperate Burger King campaign] with rappers like Travis Scott and Lil B and other influencers, triggering a network effect for the Cash App. With 120,000 replies, Travis Scott’s tweet gained more momentum than Burger King’s. If only 129 of the 120,000 who commented on his tweet were new to Cash App, then Square’s cost of customer acquisition would have been less than the $925 per user that banks pay on average, according to our research, and 6,000 comments, only 5% of the total, would have dropped it to $20. Moreover, as the converted users appear to spread the word on social media, the Cash App can acquire additional users from just one. https://fintechradar.substack.com/p/breakdown-2-a-deep-dive-into-the https://fintechradar.substack.com/p/breakdown-2-a-deep-dive-...

offtop5 6y ago

Jay Z live coding session coming soon. Jay Z is a bit unique among mainstream rappers, his first album , Reasonable Doubt, was released independently. He's much more involved on the business side then your typical act taken for a ride by the label and left broke.

bsimpson 6y ago

It's downthread of his mention of joining the board. I wonder if that's what he's referring to.

nemothekid 6y ago

I think Jay Z is just getting a board seat. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-03-04/square-to-buy-music-service-tidal-make-jay-z-a-board-member https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-03-04/square-to...