The expectations for successful tech companies in the current marketplace have grown beyond just selling the best doodad. Like brands from Google to Disney, the most successful players in the fintech world need to grow into entire ecosystems of products and services.
Now, Block head and former leader of Twitter Jack Dorsey has announced he wants the same for his San Francisco-based tech giant. In fact, at its first investor day in five years, Dorsey said Block has already grown beyond the bounds of just a payments servicer.
“Calling Block a payments company is like calling Amazon a bookseller. We’ve grown in so many different ways across multiple dimensions,” said Block Chief Financial Officer Amrita Ahuja, echoing Dorsey’s sentiments.
The company has certainly acted in a way that lives up to Dorsey’s claims. With recent accomplishments including an acquisition of Australian BNPL fintech Afterpay earlier this year, Block has pursued a Bitcoin-forward expansion strategy that befits its status at the top of its corner of the market.
Which is not to say that Block has been immune from the occasional downturn. Like many of its competitors, this year has been a difficult one for the company, and it has fallen over 45% so far.
