Early Life
Evan Clark Williams was born in Clarks, Nebraska, as the third child of Laurie Howe and Monte Williams. Growing up on a farm, he assisted with crop irrigation during the summers. He attended the University of Nebraska–Lincoln for a year and a half before leaving to pursue his career.
Rise to Success
After leaving college, Williams worked various jobs in technology and startups. In 1996, he moved to California and worked for O'Reilly Media. During this time, he started his blog, EvHead.com. In 1999, Williams co-founded Pyra Labs, where he developed Blogger, one of the first widely adopted blogging platforms. Google acquired Blogger in 2003. In 2006, Williams co-founded Twitter with Jack Dorsey, Biz Stone, and Noah Glass. He served as CEO from 2008 to 2010 and remained on the board until 2019. In 2012, he founded Medium, an online publishing platform. Williams co-founded the venture capital firm Obvious Ventures in 2014.
Key Business Strategies
Williams's success is built upon identifying gaps in online communication and creating accessible tools for self-expression. His strategies involve simplifying design and prioritizing user experience. He stepped down as CEO of Twitter to focus on product strategy.
Philanthropy
Evan Williams is involved in philanthropy, focusing on causes such as education, technology access, and media literacy. He has donated to organizations like the ACLU and Code.org.