Trip Adler & John Adler | How Scribd Survived When Everything Fell Apart

Scribd was supposed to be a rocket ship bound for great startup success. Instead, it nearly collapsed. In this episode, Trip Adler shares the real story behind building Scribd, the company once called the “Netflix for books.” Like many startups, the business hit a wall after explosive early growth. Much of the founding team left, and for years it looked like the company might not survive. But while others walked away, Trip stayed. Over nearly two decades, he rebuilt Scribd piece by piece, eventually growing it into a company generating more than $300 million in revenue. Along the way, he learned one of entrepreneurship’s hardest lessons: sometimes success simply comes from refusing to quit. We also hear from Trip’s dad, John Adler, an entrepreneur himself, who understands firsthand what it means to struggle through the brutal middle years of building a company. Together, they explore the question every founder eventually faces: when is a company worth fighting for? 🎙️ HOST: David Rusenko — founder of Weebly (acquired by Square for $365M), now backing early-stage founders at Leap Forward Ventures.