Tech

How 27-Year-Old Tumblr Founder David Karp Spent His Year After The $1.1 Billion Yahoo Acquisition

By Alyson Shontell
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Tumblr David Karp
Karp and his girlfriend took a boat tour around NYC with one of his investors, Brad Burnham.  DavidsLog

On May 20, 2013, Yahoo announced that it'd be buying Tumblr for $1.1 billion. Tumblr's founder, who still owned a large portion of the company, was only 26 years old.

How has David Karp spent his past year?

His Tumblr blog shows a lot of work, a lot of press tours, and a lot of traveling.

Right after the acquisition was announced, Karp celebrated with his investors. Here he is with Spark Capital's Bijan Sabet.

david karp bijan sabet tumblr
Tumblr/David's Log

After that, there was a lot of press to tackle.

marissa mayer david karp tumblr yahoo
Mario Tama, Getty Images

A lot of key Tumblr executives resigned shortly after the sale. Media Director Mark Coatney left; so did Creative Director Jacob Bijani.

Jacob Bijani Tumblr
Jacob Bijani, former Creative Director of Tumblr. Tumblr

Karp earned a lot of awards for his achievement with Tumblr. He attended the Webby Awards in New York City in May.

David Karp webbys
DavidsLog

On June 10, Karp attended Mayor Bloomberg's Made in New York event where he befriended Spike Lee.

Tumblr Made in NY
DavidsLog

In mid-June, Karp went on the "Colbert Report" where he said he "wasn't successful yet" because Tumblr wasn't profitable.

david karp colbert report
David Karp on Colbert Report Colbert Report/Screenshot

Karp kept up with his hobbies too. Over the summer he turned his beloved moped into a motorcycle.

David Karp vespa
DavidsLog

On July 6, Karp turned 27 with his two favorites: his girlfriend Rachel and his dog, Clark

david karp rachel dog
DavidsLog

In July, he was nervous to start his job at Yahoo. The acquisition wrapped up at the end of June.

David Karp Blog
DavidsLog

Soon after he started the job, he rang the opening bell. Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer was there too.

Tumblr opening bell
Tumblr

In August he went on a mini booze cruise around Manhattan with fellow Tumblrs.

david karp booze cruise
Davidslog

Union Square Ventures cofounder Brad Burnham and his wife took David and his girlfriend Rachel on a boat tour around NYC.

Tumblr David Karp
DavidsLog

In September, Karp met a bunch of celebrities such as Tina Fey.

tina fey david karp rachel
Davidslog

On Halloween, he dressed as a strip of bacon and met astronaut Chris Hadfield.

david karp tumblr
Davidslog

In December, Karp traveled to England with his girlfriend Rachel.

tumblr england
DavidsLog

In February, David Karp's personal Tumblr, David's Log, turned 7.

tumblr cupcake
DavidsLog

In April, Karp took a trip to Beijing.

David Karp tumblr PEK airport beijing
PEK airport in Beijing DavidsLog

Despite a fun year of press and traveling, Karp spent plenty of time heads-down working. He says being in the Tumblr office makes him feel he's home.

david karp tumblr
DavidsLog

Now check out how another big-time founder spent his year:

Instagram Kevin Systrom lake boat
Instagram/@Kevin

How Instagram Cofounder Kevin Systrom Spent His Year After The $1 Billion Facebook Acquisition »

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Alyson Shontell Business Insider
Alyson Shontell
Alyson is the Editor-in-Chief and CCO at Fortune.  She was previously a co Editor-in-Chief overseeing Business Insider's tech and business coverage.She joined Business Insider in July 2008 as the company's sixth employee. She started as a sales planner before joining the editorial team in 2010, where she became a startup reporter and was first to cover some of today's largest tech companies, including Pinterest, Tinder, Instagram, Uber and Snap. Alyson rose to become a senior correspondent, then Executive Editor.She was appointed Editor-in-Chief of Business Insider in 2016, at which point she became the youngest and only woman to run a global business publication. Under her leadership, the business division has grown to hundreds of  millions of monthly readers.Alyson was a host of  Insider's conferences and launched a podcast, "Success! How I Did It," where she interviewed influencers ranging from Sheryl Sandberg to Steve Ballmer about their career paths (subscribe on iTunes here).She has appeared on ABC, Good Morning America, Al Jazeera, MSNBC, CNBC, CNN, and CBC, and she has interviewed media personalities such as Megyn Kelly, technology leaders like Fred Wilson, political leaders like John Brennan, and sports star LeBron James. She is a judge for the prestigious Gerald Loeb Awards in business journalism, and has been named one of Min's Rising Stars in Media, as well as Folio's 2017 Top Women in Media.She graduated from Syracuse University's Newhouse School of Public Communications, where she majored in psychology and advertising.You can read some of her investigative articles here:— Leaked videos reveal the true founding story of Snapchat— The founder who dumped Jared Kushner: Inside the phone call that left the White House star in a fit of rage— The downfall of billion-dollar startup, Fab— How a startup that raised the largest seed round in Silicon Valley history blew itself up before it even launched— The dark side of Facebook, where people lie, cheat, and make millions— A profile of Uber's controversial CEO, Travis Kalanick— The mystery of Jody Sherman, a founder who was driven to suicide and left behind a shocking business disasterDisclosure: Alyson owns bitcoin and Snap. She is also an investor in The Spun, a sports-media startup founded by her husband.
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