Twitter co-founder Evan Williams would turn down a $1 billion offer for the company, even thought it has no revenue.
Speaking to CNBC News at the All Things Digital conference this week (video available here), Williams said he had no intention of selling up in the near future.
“We think we can grow a long-term sustainable and valuable business here, and we're just getting started,” he said. “The potential [of Twitter] is pretty unlimited, people are discovering new uses for it every day.”
Earlier at the conference, Williams had said he saw himself still running the business five years from now.
But he would not be drawn on Twitter's progress in developing a sustainable business model. “People seem to be a little obsessed with [Twitter's business model] at this conference, but it's early days for us,” he said.
Williams said a lot of business users, from small cafes to big brands like Starbucks, were already using the site. Twitter had previously suggested charging businesses for site subscriptions, but declined to state when the site will introduce these fees.
He also declined to say if and when Twitter will start using internet advertising.
But Williams did indicate that Twitter will “probably be a multi-tiered business,” perhaps offering more comprehensive services and brand protection to premium users for a fee, and said he was “open” to the possibility of joining forces with Facebook.
Twitter turned down a $500 million, all-stock buy-out offer from Facebook late last year.
