Tumblr Chief Executive Officer David Karp, a 26-year-old who started the company in 2007, signed a note announcing Yahoo!'s $1.1 billion acquisition with the salutation, "F--- yeah."
Karp, a high school dropout, said in a blog post on Monday that he was "elated" to sell Tumblr, while stressing that the New York-based blogging service wouldn't be changing under its new owner's influence. In Yahoo's statement announcing the deal, the company said it "promises not to screw it up."
"Our headquarters isn't moving. Our team isn't changing. Our road map isn't changing," Karp said. "Our mission - to empower creators to make their best work and get it in front of the audience they deserve - certainly isn't changing."
Karp received his payday after taking pains not to emphasize revenue at Tumblr, a network of more than 100 million often-irreverent blogs. Tumblr only started accepting advertising last year. Karp told the Los Angeles Times in 2010 that he was opposed to Web advertising, saying "it really turns our stomachs."
UrbanBaby funds
Karp founded the company using money and experience he had acquired as a software consultant for the website UrbanBaby. The CEO grew up on Manhattan's Upper West Side and dropped out of high school before moving by himself to Tokyo when he was 17. He founded Tumblr after returning to New York and learning computer programming. He still hasn't earned his high school diploma.
The company, which provides the building blocks for popular blogs like Reasons My Son is Crying and Food on My Dog, has been expanding to new floors of its headquarters in New York's startup-friendly Flatiron District. The offices are adorned with eclectic artwork, with beer on tap.
"Everything that Tumblr is, we owe to this unbelievable community," Karp said in his post. "We won't let you down."
Karp, a high school dropout, said in a blog post on Monday that he was "elated" to sell Tumblr, while stressing that the New York-based blogging service wouldn't be changing under its new owner's influence. In Yahoo's statement announcing the deal, the company said it "promises not to screw it up."
"Our headquarters isn't moving. Our team isn't changing. Our road map isn't changing," Karp said. "Our mission - to empower creators to make their best work and get it in front of the audience they deserve - certainly isn't changing."
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For Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer, the deal adds a service with more than 13 billion monthly page views and brings more young entrepreneurs into the fold. Yahoo bought Summly, the developer of a news-reading application, for $30 million in March, people familiar with the transaction said at the time. The deal made 17-year-old founder Nick D'Aloisio a millionaire.
Karp received his payday after taking pains not to emphasize revenue at Tumblr, a network of more than 100 million often-irreverent blogs. Tumblr only started accepting advertising last year. Karp told the Los Angeles Times in 2010 that he was opposed to Web advertising, saying "it really turns our stomachs."
UrbanBaby funds
Karp founded the company using money and experience he had acquired as a software consultant for the website UrbanBaby. The CEO grew up on Manhattan's Upper West Side and dropped out of high school before moving by himself to Tokyo when he was 17. He founded Tumblr after returning to New York and learning computer programming. He still hasn't earned his high school diploma.
The company, which provides the building blocks for popular blogs like Reasons My Son is Crying and Food on My Dog, has been expanding to new floors of its headquarters in New York's startup-friendly Flatiron District. The offices are adorned with eclectic artwork, with beer on tap.
"Everything that Tumblr is, we owe to this unbelievable community," Karp said in his post. "We won't let you down."