Fifth-Time Startup Founder Phil Libin's Journey: From Refugee to Evernote CEO

As a seasoned entrepreneur with over 25 years of experience building and leading startups, I've learned that success lies in creating products that resonate with yourself or a community you understand well, rather than trying to change minds or convince others." - Phil Libin

1. Phil Libin has been running startups for 25 years and has learned that he cannot change people's minds; instead, he focuses on finding people who already agree with his approach.
2. Libin is the co-founder and CEO of All Turtles and Mmhmm and is currently on his fifth company.
3. He is best known for founding Evernote.
4. Libin was born in the Soviet Union and came to the US as a refugee in 1979.
5. Growing up in the Bronx in the 80s, he became interested in computers and learned how to program.
6. He was motivated by the sense of agency he gained from programming and the idea that he could build things that he wanted to see exist in the world.
7. Libin never planned on being an entrepreneur; he thought he would get a traditional job as a lawyer, doctor, or engineer.
8. His first company, Engine Five, was started in 1997 during the first dotcom bubble.
9. Engine Five built some of the first shopping carts and tools for buying things on the internet.
10. The company was sold to Vignette in 2000.
11. Libin's second company, Core Street, was a security company that sold to governments and banks.
12. Core Street taught Libin the importance of building products rather than just providing consulting services.
13. Evernote was not Libin's idea; it was started by a team of people led by Stepan Pachikov in 2007.
14. The team wanted to build an external brain or cognitive prosthesis.
15. Evernote was made for the team's own use and aimed to help people remember things and be more productive.
16. Libin's current company, All Turtles, builds products that are great at something specific and aims to solve problems for developers.
17. At Evernote, Libin learned the importance of having a clear product point of view and being on the side of the user, even if it means going against the interests of the company paying for the serv
18. He also believes in building products for oneself or for a community one understands well.
19. Libin thinks that successful products require changing people's behavior in some way and that it is better to spend energy finding people who already like the product than trying to convince those
20. He has learned that he cannot change people's minds and prefers to take people from "yes" to "definitely."
21. Libin has been running startups for 25 years and has never changed anyone's mind from "no" to "yes."
22. Libin recommends building for oneself or for a community one already understands when starting a company.
23. He believes that successful companies ask people to change their behavior in some way, and that this is an opportunity rather than a problem.
24. Libin's approach is to focus on finding people who already agree with his approach and getting them excited about the product, rather than trying to convince those who do not.

Source: EO via YouTube

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