Hatching Twitter A True Story of Money, Power, Friendship and Betrayal

The November 2013 IPO made billionaires  of three  of Twitter's original four founders - Ev Williams, Jack  Dorsey  and Biz Stone. But it's been a bumpy  road.  Co-founder Noah Glass was kicked out of Twitter in 2006.  Jack  Dorsey  was removed as CEO in 2008,but came roaring back in 2011 as executive chairman. Ev (who was turfed as CEO in 2010) and Biz are no longer involved with day-to-day operations at Twitter.

Odeo: Where It All Began

The four came together at startup Odeo,  a podcasting company. But when Apple announced it was adding  podcasts to iTunes,  in June, 2005,  they realized that they had to find a new idea.

Jack  had created a crude  prototype in early 2000 of a "status" idea," and introduced it to the others at Odeo.  They'd  already talked about  a way for friends  to follow one another on an online messaging platform, but they hadn't figured out what kind of messages

the friends  would share. Jack's "status  idea" was the answer, and the new project  was called "Status"  at first. Then  Noah came up with twttr, which evolved  to Twitter.

Conflicts From the Start

The story of Twitter is rife with conflict and behind-the-scenes disputes. Noah was the first to fall - he was pushed out because Jack  didn't want to work with him. As the company grew, Jack  was named CEO. But after a while, Ev and the investors felt he was out of his depth  and was demoted. Next up as CEO was Ev. But then  the new investors and senior  Twitter execs met secretly with Jack, concerned about  Ev's leadership flaws, and Jack  was back in. Today,  only Jack  is still involved with day-to-day operations.

Wild Ride

From playing a central  role in the Iranian  uprising to tweeting  from space, it's been a wild ride for Twitter. As for the founders: Noah Glass made little money. He says he may try another startup one day. Biz Stone and his wife have  started the Biz and Livia Foundation. Ev Williams re-opened Obvious  Corporation after leaving Twitter. And Jack  Dorsey  is growing Square, his mobile payments company, into a multibillion dollar business. He may be named CEO of Twitter again,  and thinks about  becoming the mayor of New York.

By Nick Bilton