David Karp facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
David Karp
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Karp in 2017
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| Born | July 6, 1986 |
| Occupation | Webmaster, entrepreneur, blogger |
| Years active | 1995-present |
| Known for | Founder and CEO of Tumblr |
David Karp (born July 6, 1986) is an American entrepreneur and blogger. He is best known for creating Tumblr, a popular website where people can share short posts, photos, and videos. He was also the first CEO (Chief Executive Officer) of Tumblr.
David started his career without finishing high school. He interned at an animation company called Frederator Studios. There, he helped build their first blogging platform. He also created their first internet video network, Channel Frederator. Later, David worked for an online parenting website called UrbanBaby.
After UrbanBaby was sold, David started his own software company, Davidville. He worked with a software engineer named Marco Arment. In 2006, they began working on a new website. This website, called Tumblr, launched in February 2007. It quickly became very popular. By 2017, Tumblr hosted over 375 million blogs. In 2013, Yahoo! bought Tumblr for $1.1 billion. David stayed on as CEO until he left the company in 2017.
Contents
Early Life and Learning
David Karp was born in New York City. He grew up in Manhattan. His mother, Barbara Ackerman, was a science teacher. His father, Michael D. Karp, composed music for movies and TV. David has a younger brother named Kevin.
David went to the Calhoun School from pre-school until eighth grade. His mother taught science at the same school. In 1997, when he was about 11, David started learning HTML. This is the code used to build websites. He began designing websites for different businesses.
After eighth grade, David went to The Bronx High School of Science for one year. In 2001, he decided to leave high school and started homeschooling. He hoped that by homeschooling and working on projects, he could impress colleges like MIT. However, David never went back to high school or earned a diploma.
Starting His Career
In 2000, David began an internship with animation producer Fred Seibert. Fred was the founder of Frederator Studios. David's mother knew Fred's wife, which helped him get the internship. David was very interested in the work of the computer engineers at Frederator. He started visiting them regularly.
While homeschooling, David also took Japanese classes. He worked with a math tutor, too. This tutor helped him write software for games like blackjack and poker.
An entrepreneur named John Maloney needed technical help for his online parenting forum, UrbanBaby. A Frederator employee suggested David for the job. David finished the project very quickly, in just four hours. Maloney was impressed and made David the head of product for UrbanBaby. He also gave David a small share of the company. In 2003, David moved to Tokyo by himself for five months, while still working for UrbanBaby.
Creating Tumblr
David left UrbanBaby in 2006 after it was sold to CNET. He used the money he earned from selling his shares to start his own software company, Davidville. This company did work for clients and also developed David's own ideas. Marco Arment joined Davidville as an engineer.
David had been interested in microblogging for a while. Microblogging is like a short-form blog, where people share quick updates. He was waiting for bigger blogging websites to create their own microblogging platform. After waiting a year, David and Marco decided to build their own. They started working on it during a two-week break between client projects in 2006.
Tumblr officially launched in February 2007. It became popular very quickly. Within just two weeks, 75,000 people had signed up to use the service.
In October 2007, David closed his consulting business. Tumblr was taking up too much of his time. Davidville was then renamed Tumblr, Inc. A small group of investors bought 25 percent of the company.
Tumblr's Growth and Sale
On May 20, 2013, a big announcement was made. Yahoo! and Tumblr agreed that Yahoo! would buy Tumblr for $1.1 billion. David Karp remained the CEO of the company. By November 2017, Tumblr was home to over 375 million blogs. David announced in November 2017 that he would be leaving Tumblr by the end of that year.
David has also invested his own money in several other companies. These include Superpedestrian, Inc., Sherpaa, Inc., and Splash.
Personal Life
David Karp has supported political candidates. For example, he endorsed Hillary Clinton for president in the 2016 United States election.
See also
In Spanish: David Karp para niños
Images for kids
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David Karp in 2007
