Square announced the opening of its fourth office today, and the location holds a special place in the hearts of its founders. Both CEO Jack Dorsey and co-founder Jim McKelvey are from St. Louis.
The office will swell up to more than 200 new employees over the next five years and is located in St. Louis’ Central West End section.
Dorsey said in a press release:
St. Louis is an important part of Square’s history. It’s an incredible city and my hometown, and we’re excited to further invest in the community. Go Cards!
McKelvey added that Square has contributed “more than $85M” to the local economy, so adding an office makes the company even more integrated into the community. Square says some of the functions being given a home in St. Louis is Compliance Operations, Customer Support, IT Tech, Recruiting and Office Experience. It’s as good a spot as any to tap into the midwest. It’s not a bad place to nab talent from local universities, either. The city is pretty excited to have Square come to town, as well.
Anyone who has followed Jack Dorsey’s story knows how much he cares about his native St. Louis. He participated in rallies in Ferguson.
At one point, it was rumored that Dorsey had been arrested. He wasn’t. But he tweeted and shared during a good chunk of the start of the marches. Now he gets to take his company, one of them anyways, back home. With a rumored run to go public sometime this year, Dorsey appears to be engaged as one can be when they’re the temporary CEO at another company.