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Ben Silbermann

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ben Silbermann
Silbermann at the South By Southwest Interactive conference in March of 2012 in Austin, Texas, United States
Born (1982-07-14) July 14, 1982 (age 42)
NationalityAmerican
Alma materYale University
OccupationExecutive Chairman of Pinterest
Known forCo-founding Pinterest
SpouseDivya Bhaskaran

Ben Silbermann (born July 14, 1982) is an American Internet entrepreneur.[1] He is the co-founder and executive chairman of Pinterest, a visual discovery engine[2] which lets users organize images, links, recipes and other things.[1]

Early life

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Silbermann was born in Iowa in 1982.[3][4] He was raised in Des Moines, Iowa. His parents, Jane Wang and Neil Silbermann, are ophthalmologists.[5] In 1998, Silbermann attended the Research Science Institute at MIT. He graduated from Des Moines Central Academy and Des Moines Roosevelt with the class of 1999. He then graduated from Yale University in the spring of 2003 with a degree in Political Science.[6]

Career

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Before Pinterest (which launched in March 2010), Silbermann worked at Google in the online advertising group.[7][1] However, after a short time with the company he left and started designing his own iPhone apps with friends. After his initial application, Tote, failed to gain traction,[8] he teamed up with Evan Sharp to create a pinboard product that would eventually be named Pinterest.[7] Silbermann says that the genesis of Pinterest 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."[9] Raising capital to start Pinterest was a hurdle that Silbermann thought laterally about. Silbermann entered the NYU Stern Business Plan Competition. "The prize was meeting with venture capitalists First Mark Capital in New York, which gave us half our money."[10] A little over nine years after starting Pinterest, the company held its IPO in April 2019 which valued the company around 12 billion dollars.

On June 28, 2022, it was announced Silberman would step down as Chief Executive Officer and transition to the role of Executive Chairman.[11][1] Google executive Bill Ready will become Chief Executive Officer and a member of the Board of Directors. During this time, Silbermann was listed on the Forbes billionaires 30 under 30 list.[1]

Personal life

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Silbermann is married to Divya Bhaskaran, with whom he has two children.[12] His wife graduated from Clark University in 2004 with a degree in Psychology. The couple resides in San Francisco, California.[12]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e "Ben Silbermann". Forbes. Retrieved 2023-09-19.
  2. ^ "All about Pinterest". Pinterest help. Retrieved 2019-08-03.
  3. ^ "30 Under 30: The Essential Names to Know - Ben Silbermann, 29, and Evan Sharp, 29, Pinterest co-founders". Elle. May 11, 2012.
  4. ^ Flynn, Liz (2019-06-09). "10 Things You Didn't Know About Ben Silbermann". Money Inc. Retrieved 2023-06-27.
  5. ^ "Most Popular E-mail Newsletter". USA Today. 2011-10-28.
  6. ^ Hempel, Jessi (April 9, 2012). "Is Pinterest the Next Facebook?". Fortune. 165 (5): 109–114. Archived from the original on September 6, 2012.
  7. ^ a b 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.
  8. ^ Ben Silbermann at Startup School 2012. Retrieved 19 July 2013.
  9. ^ Matthew, Panzarino (May 30, 2013). "Pinterest's Ben Silbermann on turning his collection hobby into a product and not making money". The Next Web.
  10. ^ "Interviews with the world's best entrepreneurs". British GQ. 2019-02-13. Retrieved 2023-06-27.
  11. ^ Griffith, Erin (2022-06-28). "Pinterest's Ben Silbermann steps down as chief executive". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-09-26.
  12. ^ a b "Ben Silbermann". Forbes. Retrieved November 17, 2018.
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