Ben Silbermann
Ben Silbermann
Ben Silbermann is an American Internet entrepreneur who co-founded and is CEO of Pinterest, a virtual pinboard which lets users organize images, links, recipes and other things. The website allows users to create and manage theme-based image collections called "pinboards". Examples include events, interests, hobbies and more. Users can browse other pinboards for inspiration, 're-pin' images to their own collections and/or 'like' photos...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionEntrepreneur
Date of Birth14 July 1982
CityDes Moines, IA
CountryUnited States of America
Ben Silbermann quotes about
Just build things and find out if they work.
I used to wake up and look at our analytics and think, 'What if yesterday was the last day anyone used Pinterest?' Like, everyone collectively decided, 'We're done!' Over time I got more confidence.
I want Pinterest to be human. The Internet's still so abstract... To me, boards are a very human way of looking at the world.
I look around my neighborhood, and I see people hailing a cab or ordering their food and then paying for it all with their phone. I've read about that stuff for a really long time, and now it's starting to become commonplace.
When Pinterest works well, it helps you find things that are meaningful to you. We want to build a system that helps you do that.
What you collect says so much about who you are,
One of the things I've learned is to be receptive of feedback.
If Google teaches you anything, it's that small ideas can be big.
As a kid, I always idolized entrepreneurs. I thought they were cool people in the way that I thought basketball players were cool people. It's cool that some people get paid to dunk basketballs, but I'm not one of those people.
I think the thing that I've learned is that really great people, they actually want to work on hard problems,
I use Pinterest for everything. Book collections, trips, hobbies. It's all there. I planned my wedding on it. When I had a kid, I planned all his stuff on it. So it was nice to discover that I wasn't the only one.
I kind of think of engineering like the chefs at a restaurant. Nobody's going to deny chefs are integrally important, but there's also so many other people who contribute to a great meal.
There's a lot of pressure to look like the last company that was successful.
I'd never managed anyone before, so I don't have a lot of experience. But I'm lucky - I have a lot of team members who have a really honest relationship with me.