The Real History of Twitter: From Odeo to a $5 Billion Success

The Real History of Twitter: From Odeo to a $5 Billion Success

Twitter, one of the most popular social media platforms today, has a fascinating origin story that many people are unaware of. It all started with a company called Odeo, which was founded by Evan Williams. Odeo was a platform for podcasting, but despite raising venture capital to build it, the team wasn't emotionally invested in the product. They had a good idea, but they weren't using it themselves.

In an effort to reignite passion within the company, Odeo started organizing "hackathons." During one of these hackathons in February 2006, Noah Glass, a co-founder of Odeo, along with Jack Dorsey and Florian Weber, presented an idea to the rest of the team. The idea was a system where users could send a text to one number, and it would be broadcasted to all their friends. This was the birth of Twttr, which would later become Twitter.

Evan Williams, skeptical of Twitter's potential, put Noah Glass in charge of the project. Glass was the driving force behind Twitter in its early days, and many early employees and investors agree that he was the most passionate about the platform. However, as Twitter started gaining traction and thousands of users joined, tensions began to rise within the company.

Evan Williams eventually bought back Odeo from its investors, including Glass, and acquired Twitter along with it. The amount he paid has never been reported, but it's safe to say that the $5 million invested in Odeo turned into a $5 billion success with Twitter. However, Glass felt that Williams didn't take care of the people who got him to where he was, highlighting the challenges that arise in the startup world.

Co-founder conflicts are one of the top reasons why startups fail, and Glass's departure from Twitter can be seen as an example of this. Different personalities and conflicting visions often lead to these disagreements. Glass was reportedly more interested in running Twitter as its own company and becoming CEO, which might have contributed to his departure.

The history of Twitter is a testament to the fact that success is a collective effort. Glass himself acknowledged that he didn't create Twitter on his own; it came out of conversations and collaboration. The early employees and investors all played a crucial role in shaping Twitter into what it is today.

Moving on to another aspect of building a successful company, product-market fit is a concept that every entrepreneur strives to achieve. Rahul Vohra, the founder of Superhuman, shared his framework for identifying product-market fit. He emphasized that you can always feel product-market fit when it's happening. Customers are buying the product as fast as you can make it, and money is flowing into your company.

Vohra introduced a simple yet effective way to measure product-market fit. He asked users, "How would you feel if you could no longer use the product?" and measured the percentage of users who answered "very disappointed." He found that the magic number was 40%. If 40% or more of users would be very disappointed without your product, you have achieved product-market fit.

To further understand their product-market fit, Vohra's team at Superhuman segmented their users and sent out a survey to those who had recently experienced the core of their product. By narrowing down their focus to those who used the product at least twice in the last two weeks, they were able to gather valuable insights.

The survey asked users how they would feel if they could no longer use Superhuman, what type of people would benefit most from the product, the main benefit they received, and how Superhuman could be improved. Analyzing the responses, they identified common themes and used word clouds to visualize what users loved about the product.

However, Vohra highlighted the importance of not only focusing on what users love but also addressing what holds others back. To increase their product-market fit score, he advised spending half the time doubling down on what users already love and the other half on addressing the barriers preventing others from fully embracing the product.

Superhuman's approach to improving their product-market fit was to work on low-cost, high-impact improvements first. By delivering immediate improvements, they showed their commitment to addressing user concerns. They also made sure not to survey users more than once to maintain the integrity of the 40% benchmark.

Vohra acknowledged that the product-market fit score is something that should be continuously tracked, especially as startups grow and encounter different types of users. Early users may be more forgiving, while later users tend to be more demanding. It's crucial to understand the evolving needs and expectations of users to ensure continued success.

Investors advising early-stage teams should be cautious about pushing for growth before product-market fit is achieved. Premature growth can lead to disaster, and startups need time and space to find their fit and launch the right way. Rushing growth without a solid product-market fit foundation can result in a company losing its way.

In conclusion, the real history of Twitter showcases the importance of collaboration and emotional investment in building a successful startup. Noah Glass's passion for Twitter in its early days was instrumental in its growth, but conflicts and differing visions ultimately led to his departure. Additionally, Rahul Vohra's framework for achieving product-market fit provides valuable insights for startups aiming to build a product that resonates with their target audience. By focusing on what users love and addressing their concerns, startups can increase their chances of success.