Meet David Karp: Tech's newest superstar
David Karp dropped out of high school. It looks like he's doing okay though. He sold his site Tumblr to Yahoo for $1.1 billion.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney)
David Karp is an intensely private individual who has just made a fortune by pioneering self-expression.
Tumblr, the company that Karp founded in 2007 when he was 20, was bought by Yahoo(YHOO, Fortune 500) on Monday. It's not clear how much Karp, now 26, stands to make from the deal. But selling the company for $1.1 billion isn't bad for a high school dropout who was then homeschooled.
Tumblr allows users to share their thoughts for free with a community of bloggers. A friend of Karp's describes Tumblr as "a place for the lonely to be less lonely."
Search for just about anything and you can find a community built around that topic. That friend said that if Karp had not been a bit of a loner himself, when he was a teen, he may not have even been able to envision a platform like Tumblr.
Thriving outside of Silicon Valley: Karp built his company in New York City, far away from the exclusive world of Silicon Valley startups and venture capitalists. And he gathered inspiration from much of what defines New York -- design, energy, and a constant desire to create.
After initially receiving funding from large East Coast-based investors, Tumblr later attracted attention from top Silicon Valley investor Sequoia Capital. As social networks like Facebook (FB) and Twitter have flourished over the past few years, so has Karp's profile in the tech community.
"He's definitely helped shape the startup entrepreneurship community in New York City," said Matt Van Horn, vice president of business development at Path. "I think he's done an incredible job."
Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer must think so too. She has vowed to not "screw up" Tumblrand stressed that the site will remain independent under Karp's leadership.
So who is David Karp? CNNMoney reached out to Karp for comment for this story but has yet to hear back.
But even though those close to him maintain that he is a private person, Karp's ownTumblr is full of quotes, pictures, and intimate details that help paint a picture of his life. He has been known to drive a Vespa on the streets of New York, and owns a French bulldog with a girlfriend he constantly posts about on his Tumblr.
Karp has an eye for design and a bit of edge. At one point, he was featured in advertisements for the clothing company Uniqlo.
"With Tumblr we're trying to build the perfect platform for self-expression," Karp said in one Uniqlo ad.
"Reminds you of a cult leader" Yahoo's new management realizes that must tap into this spirit of self-expression. It seems that Mayer is specifically targeting young, hungry, "cool" entrepreneurs that can help define a new vision for the struggling company.
Serial entrepreneur Matt Galligan said that "knowing what Marissa [Mayer] is trying to build and knowing the audience she's trying to shore up," Yahoo is the "perfect parent" for Tumblr.
Galligan, who first met Karp in 2007, calls him "inquisitive by nature." Karp was the first investor in Galligan's latest venture, Circa, a mobile news company.
"He's gone through a lot of transitions. Various executive changes, moving towards mobile," Galligan says. "Not only is he really thoughtful and intelligent, he's very willing to know he doesn't know something."
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