20VC: Giphy’s Adam Leibsohn on From Being Homeless To Founding a Multi Hundred Million Dollar Startup & The Challenges of Creating One of The World’s Largest Search Engine

Adam Leibsohn is the Founder and COO @ Giphy, the company that brings you joy and laughter through gifs. Earlier this year, Giphy raised a phenomenal $55m Series C financing from the likes of General Catalyst, Lerer Hippeau, Lightspeed and Betaworks. As for Adam he is one of the coolest and most genuine founders I have ever interviewed and is so committed to the startup cause that at one point he went without a home to pay for the startup dream!   In Today’s Episode You Will Learn: 1.) How Adam went from being homeless to the Founder of Giphy? 2.) What were the biggest lessons Adam learnt from his failed startup? When should founders know when is the right time to stop? 3.) Why gifs and why now? What has allowed for the spectacular rise of gifs? 4.) How has Adam created such a unique culture at Giphy? What have been his key learnings? What has worked, what has not worked? 5.) Giphy is now a cultural icon but how does Adam look to turn that into a massive globally profit making business? Items Mentioned In Today’s Show: Adam’s Fave Blog and Newsletter: The Information, Dealbook Adam’s Fave Book: East of Eden As always you can follow Harry, The Twenty Minute VC and Adam on Twitter here! Likewise, you can follow Harry on Snapchat here for mojito madness and all things 20VC. Eve make 1 perfect mattress – made with 3 layer technology and next generation memory foam. It comes packaged in a beautiful box and arrives the day after you order. You get 100 nights to try it with free return pick-up – it really is the perfect mattress for everyone. Just go online to evemattress.co.uk and enter the code 20VC for £50 off. Everybody deserves the perfect start with Eve.   Cooley are the global law firm built around startups and venture capital. Since forming the first venture fund in Silicon Valley, Cooley has formed more venture capital funds than any other law firm in the world, with 50+ years working with VCs. They help VCs form and manage funds, make investments and handle the myriad issues that arise through a fund’s lifetime. So to learn more about the #1 most active law firm representing VC-backed companies going public. Head over to cooley.com and also at cooleygo.com.