I thought it was only right to dedicate a blog post to the man who’s app gets me through stressful days. I love at the end of a long day to just scroll through pictures of flower bouquets and fields. Some people use this app for recipes, project inspiration, or even shopping. You probably guessed by now that I am talking about Pinterest. Ben Silbermann, the CEO and cofounder of Pinterest, is one of the richest millennials and self-made billionaires in the world.
Every entrepreneur starts with an interest or a problem (or usually both!). For Silbermann, he enjoyed collecting things as a kid. “Collecting tells a lot about who you are,” he said. He also mentioned that, after looking online, “there wasn’t a place to share that side of who you were.” Silbermann had a hunch to create a virtual pinboard.
He took to this hunch to a liquid network to get other input and help. He did this by entering 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.” This was a catalyst for the creation of Pinterest. He now has a net worth of $1.5 billion.
I also love Pinterest, so it was interesting to read about the inspiration behind the app. It is funny that an app meant to share collections turned into a place to find inspiration for creativity.