Seedcamp Podcast, Episode 67: Phil Libin, Co-Founder of Evernote, scaling as a CEO

In the ‘Seedcamp Podcast Series’ we talk with key people in the tech startup industry to hear their stories and gleam key advice and learnings from their experiences.

Phil Libin, Co-Founder and Chairman of Evernote and Managing Partner of General Catalyst Partners, joined Carlos Espinal for a chat at Web Summit.  

Phil and Carlos discuss everything from his long-standing career as a CEO, looking at his key advice for managers making the transition from early-stage leader to the CEO of a growth company, to the origins of Evernote, and in Phil’s new role in Venture Capital, what the future of apps looks like. Phil gives insight into the thoughts that led to him stepping down as CEO of Evernote as the company scaled. Debating when to recognise that someone skilled in running larger organisations makes sense for your business and that you can hire the best talent.

Phil Libin moved to America from Russia when he was 8 years old. One of the co-founders of Evernote, he served as CEO of the Silicon Valley-based software company from 2007 to 2015, and currently serves as Executive Chairman.

In September 2015, Libin joined General Catalyst Partners as its fourth general partner in Silicon Valley. Prior to joining Evernote, Libin founded and served as President of CoreStreet, a company that provided credential and identity management technologies to governments and large corporations. In 2009, CoreStreet was acquired by ActivIdentity, now owned by HID Global.

Libin was also Founder and CEO of Engine 5, a Boston-based Internet software development company acquired by Vignette Corporation (VIGN) in 2000 for $26 million. Post-acquisition, Libin served as principal architect and chief technologist for applications at Vignette. Libin graduated from Bronx Science in 1989 and attended Boston University with a concentration in Computer Science, but did not complete his degree.

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