Meet David Karp, not your average young entrepreneur

What would you do if you were a young, successful, computer programmer worth about $200 million dollars? If you’re anything similar to David Karp, the founder of Tumblr, your answer would be spending the weekend at home, or laying low in general.

If you aren’t sure what Tumblr is, a brief explanation would be that it is one of the world’s most used online blogging platforms; and the reason Tumblr is so interesting to the business world is because 27-year-old Karp signed a $1.1 billion dollar acquisition deal for his company to Yahoo earlier this year.

To call Karp a modern day child wonder would be, well, the right title. Dropping out of high school at the age of 15, with the blessing of his parents, Karp spent his last years of adolescence being homeschooled and interning for Frederator Studies, directly followed by landing a job at online parenting forum, UrbanBaby. Definitely not what the regular 15-year-old with no school obligations would spend his time doing, but it seems to have paid of exponentially since then.

Karp eventually started his own software consultancy company, Davidville, which later turned into Tumblr, Inc. after the launch of the micro blogging website with the same name. Surprisingly, the most interesting thing about Karp is not the start of his million-dollar company but instead, how he spends his time being a millionaire.

A simple web search will provide the link to Karp’s personal Tumblr, David’s Log. This might be the best source of proof that Karp spends the majority of his time like just about every other young adult. On the blog you can find links to articles Karp finds interesting, various quotes, and personal photos, which include Karp, his girlfriend Rachel, and their French/English Bulldog, Clark. Other pictures on Karp’s Tumblr reveal a sparsely furnished apartment in Williamsburg, Brooklyn and a love for small things – like taking Clark on walks through the park, and spending time with close friends.

What you slowly learn about Karp is that he is an entrepreneur that sincerely loves his creation, and intends to continue building and growing with Tumblr for the rest of his life. Instead of moving on from his business like some entrepreneurs do when a certain status is reached, Karp negotiated to remain as the CEO of Tumblr when it was acquired by Yahoo, and doesn’t intend to pursue any other business interests in the future.

Who’s to say that Karp’s dream was to build a social media platform that would become the meeting place for millions of artists, musicians, graphic designers, bloggers and fans? Even if it wasn’t, he has done an amazing job of growing and supporting the users of his creation. Karp has even reached a point in his career that most entrepreneurs strive for: he sincerely loves his creation. So while Karp’s life may look similar to perfection, it’s also a good reminder that achieving a balanced and happy lifestyle is capable, with plenty of time for dog walking along the way.

© Zoe Begopoulos, DemGen Inc. 2013

Images courtesy of BetaBeat and David’s Log

Sometimes, you just need to follow your gut…

Being ranked ninetieth place on a list of one hundred isn’t always the most encouraging piece of information to put on a resume, unless of course, that ranking places you amongst the list of Forbes 100 Most Powerful Women. Happily perched at spot number 90 is Sara Blakely, founder of the wildly successful women’s shapewear brand: Spanx.

After being annoyed with wearing regular panty hose for her previous jobs, Blakely ceremoniously cut off the ends of her stockings and set off on the journey to create a pair of pantyhose that women would be happy to wear. Giving up her life as a door-to-door office appliance sales woman, and with her life savings in hand (a modest $5000) Blakely started researching, designing, testing and pitching her product to perfection.

By starting out on her own, and with such a small amount to start with, Blakely was forced to befriend the word “no” in a very intimate way. Practically ever corner she turned, someone was there to question who she was, what she was doing, and most importantly, who was backing her. Still, with each refusal she received, she was able to revise her pitch and built her confidence up until she convinced a small mill owner to invest in her design. Using all the research and resources she had found, she was able to begin production on her product.

While it may seem that Blakely is one of those fear-less, headstrong entrepreneurs that battles every obstacle in her path with grace and poise, she’ll be the first to let you know that not everything is as easy as it appears. While devising a business development plan, she spent hours pouring over textbooks to write her own patent (a tactic that saved her $3000 in legal fees), while keeping in mind what her father taught her while growing up: if you haven’t failed big at something yet, then you haven’t tried hard enough. This kept her moving forward with her plan, because every failure proved a step in the right direction.

With practice, and a series of failures behind her, Blakely was able to conquer her fears about the business world, but she’ll still confess to being afraid of things like heights and public speaking (which most people can agree, are pretty nerve wracking!)

Since then, Blakely can attest to a real turn around in the way people interact with her. Her husband, Jesse Itzler, told Forbes Magazine that Blakely has become a serious magnet for partial nudity. Often, when she’s recognized on the street or in stores, women flash their Spanx in appreciation for her invention. This is a complete turn around from the days when she herself was flashing her product to store managers as a way to showcase the before-and-after effects of Spanx. It might even bring back memories to when Blakely pitched her product without shame in the ladies room of Neiman Marcus, where she landed her first big contract.

When you think about it, what higher honor could there be for an entrepreneur than satisfied customers showing you the use of your product, even if it includes a few hiked skirts on the street?

Blakely is a brilliant example of the success that can come with a motivated and dedicated leader. Without her constant drive to find the best version of her product, Spanx would still be stuck where it was almost 20 years ago, and Blakely wouldn’t see nearly quite so many happy women with well-shaped behinds thanking her for her product.

© Zoe Begopolous, DemGen Inc. 2013