EO How I built 400 million users app EvernoteㅣPhil Libin (1/2) | EO
Nov 17, 2025
Phil Libin, a five-time startup founder renowned for co-founding Evernote, shares his entrepreneurial journey. He discusses his refugee background and early passion for programming that led him to build innovative software. Phil reveals how Evernote grew to 400 million users through key features like background sync and image search. He emphasizes the importance of having a strong product point of view and building for actual users. He also advocates finding users who already align with your vision, making productivity exciting and relevant again.
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From Early Startups To Evernote
- Phil recounts starting companies from Engine 5 to CoreStreet and eventually joining forces to form Evernote in 2007.
- He describes Evernote's origin as merging two teams to build an 'external brain' they wanted for themselves.
Learning To Build Products Not Consultancy
- Phil tells how Engine 5 was sold to Vignette and how CoreStreet taught him that consulting isn't building lasting value.
- He explains the shift from consulting to building products and the mistakes of making products for customers they weren't part of.
Be Sharply Great At Something
- Great products must be sharply great at something instead of neutral and generic.
- Evernote succeeded by focusing on background sync and image search to stand out among default note apps.