John R. "Trip" Adler III is an American tech executive who has been the chief executive officer (CEO) of Created by Humans since 2024. He co-founded Scribd in 2007, and was the CEO until 2023.
Early life and education Adler grew up in Palo Alto, California and attended Gunn High School. He graduated from Harvard University with a biophysics degree. His father, John R. Adler, is a neurosurgeon at Stanford University and also an entrepreneur.
Career After graduating from Harvard, Adler contemplated starting various online ventures, including a ride-sharing service, a Craigslist-type site for colleges called Hulist, a call center called 1-800-ASKTRIP, and a social media site called "Rate your happiness."
Adler received inspiration for Scribd from a conversation with his father, who had difficulty publishing an academic paper in a medical journal. Adler then built Scribd with Jared Friedman, a fellow Harvard student, and they attended Y Combinator in the summer of 2006. Scribd was launched from a San Francisco apartment in March 2007.
In 2024, Adler co-founded Created by Humans.
Personal life As a member of the Harvard Surfing team, Adler participated in the first Ivy League Surf Championships in May 2003. He also plays the saxophone.Christmas at Scribd featuring Trip Adler In 2007, Adler earned the company's first $17 in revenue by playing the saxophone outside Scribd's office at Christmas time.
Awards and recognition Named to TIME’s list of tech pioneers of 2010 Named to Bloomberg Businessweek’s list of best young entrepreneurs Forbes 30 Under 30
References
External links Adler's profile page on Scribd Scribd CEO Trip Adler on the Economics of Ebook Subscription Models, the ‘Big Five,’ and the Competition on Digital Book World Scribd CEO Explains His 'Eureka' Moment on CNBC Scribd CEO Trip Adler Speaks! on All Things Digital