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Williams

Ev Williams

entrepreneurtechnologyventure capitalist

Ev Williams is a technology entrepreneur, investor, and philanthropist. He is best known for co-founding Blogger, Twitter, and Medium. Williams is also the founder of Obvious Corporation, a venture capital fund that invests in early-stage startups.

Williams grew up in Nebraska and attended the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. After graduating in 1994, he moved to California and got a job as a software engineer at O'Reilly Media. In the late 90s, he developed a web application called Pyra Labs, which was later acquired by Google and became the foundation for their blogging product, Blogger.

Williams left Google in 2003 to launch Odeo, a podcasting platform. Odeo was eventually sold to SonicMountain, and Williams moved on to start Obvious Corporation in 2006. In 2008, he co-founded Twitter with Jack Dorsey, Noah Glass, and Biz Stone.

Twitter became an overnight success, and Williams served as the company's CEO from 2008 to 2010. During this time, he helped the company expand and develop new products. He stepped down from the company in 2011 and began investing in startups and early-stage companies.

In 2012, Williams founded Medium, a platform for publishing and sharing stories. Medium has become a popular platform for writers and journalists to share their work. Williams served as the company's CEO until 2017 when he stepped down and became the company's chairman.

In addition to his investments and businesses, Williams is also a philanthropist. In 2014, he founded the Williams Family Foundation, which focuses on education, health, and the environment. He has also donated to various organizations, including the American Red Cross, CARE, and the ACLU.

Williams is an inspiration to many entrepreneurs and tech professionals. He has demonstrated a passion for building companies, investing in startups, and giving back to his community. His success has shown that with hard work and dedication, anything is possible.