Did you know that Twitter founder Jack Dorsey came up with the idea for the micro-blogging social platform by looking to combine the broad reach of dispatch software with the ease (and immediacy) of instant messaging? Dorsey pitched the idea to fellow co-founders Biz Stone and Evan Williams, and Twitter was born.

Fast-forward a whisker over six years later, and that moment of inspiration has evolved into a social powerhouse that now boasts more than 200 million active users built on the back of $60 million in venture capital, leading to a company valuation of $11 billion.

Dorsey’s certainly not alone in his entrepreneurial efforts. Instagram’s Kevin Systrom (100+ million users, acquired by Facebook last year) and Pinterest’s Paul Sciarra and Ben Silbermann ($138 million in venture capital funding) also had an incredible year.

This infographic takes a closer look at the five biggest internet entrepreneurs of 2012.

(Source: Best Finance Schools. Twitter bird image via Shutterstock.)