Alan Schaaf

I don't think display advertising is the future of advertising.

In the early days, it was enough for Imgur to have a team that was focused on building product and engineering. But I realized early on if we were going to be successful, we needed someone who would be a bridge between the company and community.

We want to become the best place on the Internet for self-expression and entertainment. If we have to raise money to achieve that goal and maybe move faster, we'll do it.

It's not always about 'Can you do the job?' It's about 'Can you fit in with the team?'

At Imgur, we need a solid product that works on various platforms, so we're looking at iOS, Android, front end, back end, and devops.

We've talked with over a dozen VCs and angel investors over the years. But we've never clicked with any of them until Andreessen. During our initial meeting, we were bouncing ideas around about where Imgur could go.

I like to think of an image as different from a photo.

Geek culture is all about being super passionate about your interests and not afraid to express them, even if your interests are unpopular.

For millennials, being a geek is a positive thing, and we see people proudly self-identifying themselves as geeks.

The successful entrepreneurs that I see have two characteristics: self-awareness and persistence. They're able to see problems in their companies through their self-awareness and be persistent enough to solve them.

I think it's interesting to know that being a geek isn't the negative thing that it used to be.

On Imgur, introverts can be extroverts. They don't have to worry about curating their own brand and are able to express themselves more authentically. They can go on Imgur and be themselves.