Bianzhu Note: This article is an interview with Guardian, reporter Josh Halliday, CEO, David Karp, light blog platform Tumblr. The article tells Karp set foot on the programming of the road to the founder of Tumblr journey as an entrepreneur, shows a committed admirer of the road to build his dream platform to provide users with creative innovation.

David Karp, global the hottest personal blog platform Tumblr founder and CEO. 17-year-old left his home, with half-baked Japanese in Tokyo, learning computer programming. Since then, the impetuous Manhattan juvenile life of self-discovery. Karp said: “I was to stay the world, I am the only one person on the Internet for weeks, he constantly improve their computer technology and abandon the idea of ​​the design of the robot. Since then, he dreamed to become an entrepreneur, but encountered a small problem – he is a talk that people know he was just children .

“I was silly – was deliberately suppressed by a very formal tone and voice to talk to customers and the other head, so I will not meet them exposed to my age.” Karp said, “I lied about his age, to exaggerate the size of their own team, but also lie and say that there are more experience. Until now, I feel ashamed, I should recognize an error. ”

Later

Karp with a contract drawn up a stack of his father and a column of a list of many executives back to United States , and then create a consulting firm called Davidville hope to convince Viacom (the world’s leading media group) and other companies hired their own.

to 2007, when Karp, 21-year-old will be in a bedroom of his mother’s apartment in New York created a Tumblr with. Was referred to a combination of Twitter, YouTube and WordPress. After two weeks, Tumblr has 75,000 registered users, and now has more than 4200 million in the Tumblr blog. The blog types have from politics to music, from the picture to not be classified. Four years later, Tumblr has become the fastest growing start-up companies in the Internet, Tumblr’s Karp, incumbent CEO.

red plaid shirt, outside the set of an ordinary sport sweater, this seems to be the typical attire of entrepreneurial genius. As a successful Internet entrepreneurs and Zuckerberg genius, Karp, sitting on the valuation of $ 800,000,000 in start-up companies. However, according to Karp’s argument, the first journey as an entrepreneur has not been easy.

Tumblr with CEO David Karp,

“At that time I think I have such a good product do not need financing, do not it will be for sale. Tumblr the people’s attention to creating a Web site consulting business.” Karp said that the next few months is also true. Karp, only to give up until the Tumblr users every few weeks we should double the original idea. “At that time my clients because I am too busy to return to their phone becomes furious, that is bad enough. Obviously, they look out of my shop has been completely in the Tumblr do not have time to bother about them.”

Since then, began a rapid growth of Karp and Tumblr. investment who started to pay attention Tumblr, but Karp’s young and frivolous, refused to let Tumblr venture factory in Silicon Valley. The end of 2008, Karp, through to sell 25% stake in exchange got the company was founded the year’s first round of financing – $ 4.5 million. But he repeatedly refused to leave New York to the west coast of fierce competition, Karp said that in times of where the start-up companies have to worry about Google, Facebook will poach their most talented engineers. And Karp believes that the New York entrepreneurial support policy is very good, but there is no Silicon Valley, so much temptation.

Tumblr valuation of Facebook, 1000 $ 100 million a fraction of that much, but Karp is very optimistic about the development of Tumblr. Karp said that last year he one can see the computer screen for all employees, but now, the company has nearly 100 employees, light office accounted for two-storey. “Last year was a turning point,” he said, “for a long time since I do not want to Tumblr more than 20 employees.”

Tumblr with an important driving force from blog in those elite, such as the famous singer Lady Gaga, U.S. President Barack Obama, they Tumblr produce a celebrity. But the blog source of creativity are those loyal customers, like photographers, musicians and designers, their blog will bring the concern, like “reblogged” (derived blog). And Tumblr with 85% of the average monthly published more than 20 Bowen.

in the conversation, Karp, a very important power of innovation, even to talk about it a few hours, but sometimes he would suddenly stop beside the point before. Karp said he was very like Twitter, but do not like Google + because he is from do not see any creative things. Facebook, Karp said he was not keen on the “products”. As for YouTube, he said that this would have the best expression tool made his stomach: “They took away the user’s most creative work – users spend a few hours of time and enthusiasm to create movie – they actually placed in front of the disgusting ads, they as much as possible for advertisers to become part of the experience of watching movies and I am sure this is Google’s bottom line, but I do not think that it will encourage many people to do innovative things. “

Of course, if Google knows this argument, will certainly be a strong rebuttal. As the world’s largest video sites, the video of the YouTube upload per minute over 60 hours, an increase of 30% in last three months, will obviously have a lot of innovative things.

Karp but was skeptical, he said: “YouTube has an opportunity to remind every one is encouraged by the filmmakers: as long as they work hard and high-quality completion of the works, they will create great things. But YouTube is encouraging users to go to establish a large user base, to release as much as possible the film, and then count as much as possible to get more money. “

YouTube recent data show that every day there are four billion page views, has recently begun to improve the quality of web video to promote their cooperation procedures. Karp commented: “YouTube provides this opportunity at the expense of these tools but in order in such a way that YouTube was the world’s most creative tool, but now I think he let the innovators feel worse.” Of course, Tumblr is possible to compensate for this loss.

and many popular Internet companies, Tumblr and a market-proven business model. It also makes Tumblr $ 85 million financing in September last year, lost the participation of some of the major investment companies in the Silicon Valley. Tumblr president John Maloney said in a recent interview, Tumblr needs of hundreds of millions of users in order to profit, despite Karp has repeatedly stressed that Tumblr does not do any comparison of the financial aspects of Facebook, Twitter.

The Tumblr with not multinational media group acquired. “Karp, said. In 2008 to sell 25% of the shares to obtain $ 750,000, Karp, that attitude: “do not want to Tumblr with media companies annexation.”

Although Tumblr and not like other well-known Internet companies as often as the outgoing acquisition rumors (uh, have recently), but whether, David Karp, the past four years, still stick to its promises? “We have been subjected to various tests,” Karp, frankly, especially in the first three years, a lot of people make you think: “Well, I now pay only a little bit, 23-year-old can become a wealthy man, He Music not for it? “but Karp insisted not to sell the company,” We will adhere to in the end I do not know why. “

sitting in a bar in London’s West End, Karp, began to reflect on their own. “Lot of rich people in the world, but rarely have the opportunity to create something for billions of people use.” He said, and finally added the sentence: “It’s interesting, and now we are considering the acquisition of which company because I’ve heard that AOL (America Online) is very cheap. “