Ben Silbermann

Ben Silbermann
Silbermann at the South By Southwest Interactive conference in March of 2012 in Austin, Texas, United States
Born 1982 (age 35–36)
Nationality American
Alma mater Yale University
Occupation CEO of Pinterest
Known for Co-founding Pinterest
Spouse(s) Divya Bhaskaran

Ben Silbermann (born 1982)[1] is an American Internet entrepreneur who is the co-founder and CEO of Pinterest, a virtual pinboard which lets users organize images, links, recipes and other things.[2] 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.

Life and career

Silbermann was raised in Des Moines, Iowa. His parents, Jane Wang and Neil Silbermann, are ophthalmologists with a family practice still based in his native city. He is married to Divya Bhaskaran, with whom he has a son, Max.[3] In 1998, Silbermann attended the Research Science Institute at MIT. Subsequently, he graduated from Des Moines Central Academy and Des Moines Roosevelt with the class of 1999. He then graduated from Yale College in the spring of 2003 with a degree in political science.[4]

Prior to Pinterest (which launched in March 2010), Silbermann worked at Google in the online advertising group.[2] However, after a short time with the company he left and started designing his own iPhone apps with a college friend, Paul Sciarra. After their initial application, Tote, failed to gain significant traction,[5] the cofounders teamed up with Evan Sharp to create a pinboard product that would eventually be named Pinterest.[2] Silbermann says that the genesis of Pinterest really came from his love of collecting as a kid. “Collecting tells a lot about who you are,” he said, and when they looked at the web “there wasn’t a place to share that side of who you were.”[6]

References

  1. ↑ "30 Under 30: The Essential Names to Know - Ben Silbermann, 29, and Evan Sharp, 29, Pinterest co-founders". Elle. May 11, 2012.
  2. 1 2 3 Shontell, Alyson (March 13, 2012). "Meet Ben Silbermann, The Brilliant Young Co-Founder Of Pinterest". Business Insider. Archived from the original on October 13, 2012.
  3. ↑ "Most Popular E-mail Newsletter". USA Today. 2011-10-28.
  4. ↑ Hempel, Jessi (April 9, 2012). "Is Pinterest the Next Facebook?". Fortune. 165 (5): 109–114. Archived from the original on September 6, 2012.
  5. ↑ Ben Silbermann at Startup School 2012. Retrieved 19 July 2013.
  6. ↑ Matthew, Panzarino (May 30, 2013). "Pinterest's Ben Silbermann on turning his collection hobby into a product and not making money". The Next Web.
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