Ben Silbermann
{{Short description|American Internet entrepreneur}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Ben Silbermann
| image = Silbermann face.jpg
| alt =
| caption = Silbermann at the South By Southwest Interactive conference in March of 2012 in Austin, Texas, United States
| birth_name =
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1982|7|14}}
| birth_place =
| nationality = American
| other_names =
| known_for = Co-founding Pinterest
| occupation = Executive Chairman of Pinterest
| alma_mater = Yale University (BA)
| spouse = Divya Bhaskaran
}}
Ben Silbermann (born July 14, 1982) is an American Internet entrepreneur.{{Cite web |title=Ben Silbermann |url=https://www.forbes.com/profile/ben-silbermann/ |access-date=2023-09-19 |website=Forbes |language=en}} He is the co-founder and executive chairman of Pinterest, a visual discovery engine{{Cite web|url=https://help.pinterest.com/en/guide/all-about-pinterest|title=All about Pinterest|website=Pinterest help|language=en|access-date=2019-08-03}} which lets users organize images, links, recipes and other things.
Early life
Silbermann was born in Iowa in 1982.{{cite web|title=30 Under 30: The Essential Names to Know - Ben Silbermann, 29, and Evan Sharp, 29, Pinterest co-founders|url=http://www.elle.com/pop-culture/best/30-under-30-the-essential-names-to-know-655416#slide-28|publisher=Elle|date=May 11, 2012}}{{Cite web |last=Flynn |first=Liz |date=2019-06-09 |title=10 Things You Didn't Know About Ben Silbermann |url=https://moneyinc.com/ben-silbermann/ |access-date=2023-06-27 |website=Money Inc |language=en-US}} He was raised in Des Moines, Iowa. His parents, Jane Wang and Neil Silbermann, are ophthalmologists.{{cite news| url=https://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/story/2011-10-28/pinterest-Ben-Silbermann/50979542/1 | work=USA Today | title=Most Popular E-mail Newsletter | date=2011-10-28}} 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.{{cite journal|last=Hempel|first=Jessi|title=Is Pinterest the Next Facebook?|url=http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2012/03/22/pinterest-silbermann-photo-sharing/|journal=Fortune|date=April 9, 2012|volume=165|issue=5|pages=109–114|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120906092253/http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2012/03/22/pinterest-silbermann-photo-sharing/|archivedate=September 6, 2012}}
Career
Before Pinterest (which launched in March 2010), Silbermann worked at Google in the online advertising group.{{cite news|last=Shontell|first=Alyson|title=Meet Ben Silbermann, The Brilliant Young Co-Founder Of Pinterest|url=http://articles.businessinsider.com/2012-03-13/tech/31158694_1_google-experience-products-silbermann-said|newspaper=Business Insider|date=March 13, 2012|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20121013204528/http://articles.businessinsider.com/2012-03-13/tech/31158694_1_google-experience-products-silbermann-said|archivedate=October 13, 2012}} 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,{{cite video |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KGgyma8cALQ |title=Ben Silbermann at Startup School 2012 |accessdate=19 July 2013}} he teamed up with Evan Sharp to create a pinboard product that would eventually be named Pinterest. 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."{{cite journal |last=Matthew |first=Panzarino |date=May 30, 2013 |title=Pinterest's Ben Silbermann on turning his collection hobby into a product and not making money |url=https://thenextweb.com/insider/2013/05/30/pinterests-ben-silbermann-on-turning-his-collection-hobby-into-a-product-and-not-making-money/ |journal=The Next Web}} 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."{{Cite web |date=2019-02-13 |title=Interviews with the world's best entrepreneurs |url=https://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/article/best-entrepreneur-interviews |access-date=2023-06-27 |website=British GQ |language=en-GB}} 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.{{Cite news |last=Griffith |first=Erin |date=2022-06-28 |title=Pinterest's Ben Silbermann steps down as chief executive. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/28/business/pinterest-ben-silbermann.html |access-date=2023-09-26 |issn=0362-4331}} 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.
Personal life
Silbermann is married to Divya Bhaskaran, with whom he has two children.{{cite web |title=Ben Silbermann |url=https://www.forbes.com/profile/ben-silbermann/#6c952f0a644d |website=Forbes |accessdate=November 17, 2018}} His wife graduated from Clark University in 2004 with a degree in Psychology. The couple resides in San Francisco, California.
References
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Category:American people of Chinese descent
Category:Businesspeople from Des Moines, Iowa
Category:Businesspeople from San Francisco
Category:American technology company founders
Category:American billionaires