What we can learn about storytelling from Twitter’s unique 2013 IPO

10 years ago today (!) Twitter went public in a pretty unusual way…and taught a lesson many companies could learn from.

I was six months into my first job ever when I showed up to the San Francisco office at 6AM on Nov 7, 2013 to watch the bell ring - and I was blown away by what I saw.

Instead of the usual gaggle of self-congratulatory leaders and investors (nicknamed fondly by CEO Dick Costolo as the “podium of a**holes”), on the podium stood…a 9 year old girl, a Boston police officer, and an actor from Star Trek.

Why? Because Twitter’s leadership team understood that there was no Twitter without its users. They knew that the company’s purpose was first and foremost to defend and respect the user’s voice, and to create a platform people could leverage to do some truly incredible things. As such, they chose to make that moment about the users, rather than about the shareholders.

9 year old Vivienne Harr’s lemonade stand went viral on Twitter, ultimately enabling her to raise over $1 million to fight child slavery.

Patrick Stewart entertained millions by humorously sharing the quirks and intricacies of his daily life on Twitter.

Boston Police officer Cheryl Fiandaca was at the helm of the police department’s social media efforts as they used Twitter to get people to safety following the Boston Marathon bombing earlier that year.

This is what leading with purpose looks like. Customer stories are the most powerful endorsement of your product. But while lots of companies understand that in theory, many struggle to actually put it into practice.

So next time you’re deciding how to win over prospective customers, investors, or employees, think about what would have been more compelling to you - these three stories, or a podium of a**holes?