by John Brandon

Traction Watch: How Square grew to $10 billion in payments

Opinion
Jun 11, 2015
MarketingStartupsTechnology Industry

In this video from DEMO Traction, Jared Fliesler goes through the growth marketing techniques that helped build payment processing startup Square.

Editor’s note: Traction Watch is a new column focused obsessively on growth, and is a companion to the DEMO Traction conference series, which brings together high-growth startups with high-potential customers. The next DEMO Traction will take place in Boston on September 16, 2015. Growth companies can apply to present, or those similarly obsessed can register here to attend. 

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Jared Fliesler spoke at DEMO Traction San Francisco last April. The former VP of Square — who is now a general partner at Matrix — was in charge of growth Fliesler explained how the payment company moved so quickly up the ranks to $10 billion in processed payments.

One of his key tips was to find the status quo — the accepted process or product — and then make something better and more desirable. He says the best companies can be described in one simple sentence, and that your messaging needs to primarily build trust. He debunked the idea that “if you build it they will come” and said you need strong marketing. Testing markets is important, as is building awareness so that customers know how to find you easily. Watch the entire presentation below.