Ev Williams discusses being ousted as CEO of Twitter in 2010 despite the company's rapid growth metrics during his tenure.
Insight
Founders should build for themselves unless exceptionally skilled at user research
“One of my fundamental rules, I can believe, is if, unless you are really good at user research, Build, build products for yourself.”
Disclosure
Williams claims he did not plan to take over as Twitter CEO
“He was pushed out, and then I became CEO, which It's hard to believe, but it wasn't actually my plan. I still didn't necessarily want to be CEO. And we talked to a few other candidates, but then I was like, okay, maybe I'm the best person to be CEO.”
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Twitter's conflict-averse board never gave Williams negative feedback before firing him
“Somewhat ironically, the board of Twitter had a lot of conflict aversion. Because they never, never gave me that feedback to my face. I didn't know I was going to be fired at all, because no one ever told me I was doing a bad job. So there was a whole culture …”
Insight
Williams recommends founders work at an established company before starting one
“Thinking, maybe you should work at a company before you start a company. Yeah. Which is a tip that I would recommend to most people.”
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Initial Twitter hackathon prototype included an audio feature that Williams removed
“I do remember a conversation where at first there was a version of what became Twitter presented that had audio, and I remember asking, what if it didn't have the audio piece?”
Insight
Williams: Intuitive product feeling matters significantly more than early usage metrics
“It felt like a thing, which has, I've come to realize, is the most important thing, and like, it's, feeling is much more important than metrics early on.”