David Karp is an American Web developer and entrepreneur that started the popular blogging site Tumblr at age 21. However, it was long before age 21 that Karp began his entrepreneurial journey. Even from childhood, Karp was highly interested in technology and programming, teaching himself how to code HTML at only 11 years old. Just a few years later, at age 15, he left high school in pursuit of an internship with a remote animation studio. Through connections, he was able to secure his first job at age 17, putting him on the road to success for his future. With time, learning, and experience, Karp launched Tumblr just five years later, a user-friendly and customizable blogging experience that became largely popular. Within five more years, the platform hosted more than 70 million blogs and employed hundreds of people. While Tumblr has lost popularity over the years due to competing social media services, Karp is an incredible example of how a young entrepreneurial spirit can find success. By teaching himself new skills at a young age, and persistently going after his goals, his business idea took off in a short amount of time. Innovating the blog experience to become more brief and personal, unlike typical lengthier blog sites, changed the world of social media for years to come.
This is a very unique example. It is crazy that he embarked on multiple entrepreneurial journeys before age 21! We looked at the 10/10 rule in class, this would be an exception of that. In only a few years, Tumblr was able to generate 70 million users. It is very cool to see how a simple idea can blossom into a national product with consistency, determination, and diligence.