YC
Ben Silbermann at Startup School SV 2016
@ Y Combinator
11/09/16
Takeaways
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Ben Silbermann
11/09/16
@ Y Combinator
I grew up in Iowa, outside of Des Moines, and initially thought I would become a doctor, influenced by my family background.
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Ben Silbermann
11/09/16
@ Y Combinator
In college, I majored in political science after realizing that medicine might not be the right path for me.
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Ben Silbermann
11/09/16
@ Y Combinator
Having my own laptop with high-speed internet in college was transformative, allowing me to access a wealth of information and fall in love with the internet.
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Ben Silbermann
11/09/16
@ Y Combinator
I started thinking about how the internet could solve various problems, which sparked my excitement for technology.
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Ben Silbermann
11/09/16
@ Y Combinator
After graduating, I took a job at a consulting firm in Washington, D.C., while working on small internet projects with friends on the side.
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Ben Silbermann
11/09/16
@ Y Combinator
One of my early projects was a tool that allowed users to try on glasses online, inspired by my experiences in my parents' optical shop.
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Ben Silbermann
11/09/16
@ Y Combinator
I eventually moved to California to work at Google, where I was in online sales and operations, while continuing to explore side projects.
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Ben Silbermann
11/09/16
@ Y Combinator
My girlfriend encouraged me to stop talking about my ideas and start building them, which motivated me to leave Google and pursue my own projects.
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Ben Silbermann
11/09/16
@ Y Combinator
After leaving Google, I teamed up with friends to create a tool for gathering medical records across families, but the team eventually disbanded as they pursued their PhDs.
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Ben Silbermann
11/09/16
@ Y Combinator
I then partnered with a friend to build products for the iPhone, inspired by the potential of the new technology.
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Ben Silbermann
11/09/16
@ Y Combinator
Our first idea was to create an app that digitized catalogs, which we called Tote, but it faced challenges in development and approval.
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Ben Silbermann
11/09/16
@ Y Combinator
Despite the difficulties in raising funds during the economic collapse of 2008, we managed to secure our first investment through a college business plan competition.
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Ben Silbermann
11/09/16
@ Y Combinator
With the initial funding, we hired engineers to help develop our iPhone app, but faced delays in getting it approved.
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Ben Silbermann
11/09/16
@ Y Combinator
While waiting for the app approval, I collaborated with a friend to create a tool for collecting things online, which eventually evolved into Pinterest. In the early days of Pinterest, we thought it would be cool to create a tool for ourselves to collect things, which we believed could also help others see the world differently.
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Ben Silbermann
11/09/16
@ Y Combinator
When we released Pinterest, it didn't grow quickly at first, but we kept going because we thought it was a really cool product that we enjoyed using.
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Ben Silbermann
11/09/16
@ Y Combinator
To find our first users, I emailed friends, but they didn't really get it. The initial users were actually people I grew up with, using it for everyday things like home design and food planning.
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Ben Silbermann
11/09/16
@ Y Combinator
We organized a marketing event with bloggers who seemed like the kind of people that would enjoy Pinterest, and they introduced the service to their audiences.
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Ben Silbermann
11/09/16
@ Y Combinator
In the beginning, we did desperate things to attract users, like changing Apple Store computers to display Pinterest, hoping to create buzz.
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Ben Silbermann
11/09/16
@ Y Combinator
I took customer support calls personally, which taught me the importance of caring for users and understanding their needs.
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Ben Silbermann
11/09/16
@ Y Combinator
I learned that early adopters come from diverse backgrounds, not just tech-savvy individuals, and that we needed to be open to feedback from all kinds of users.
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Ben Silbermann
11/09/16
@ Y Combinator
Listening to users is crucial, but you also need to use judgment to decide which parts of the product to invest in based on their feedback.
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Ben Silbermann
11/09/16
@ Y Combinator
As Pinterest grew, we built a research team to understand users better, especially those from different countries or infrastructures.
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Ben Silbermann
11/09/16
@ Y Combinator
When raising money, we had to articulate how big we thought Pinterest could be, which helped us attract ambitious and creative people to the team.
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Ben Silbermann
11/09/16
@ Y Combinator
Fundraising has never been a goal for us; it's just a tool to get the resources needed to build the product and service we want.
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Ben Silbermann
11/09/16
@ Y Combinator
To attract great people to our startup, we hosted barbecues at our small apartment, creating a relaxed environment to connect with potential recruits.
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Ben Silbermann
11/09/16
@ Y Combinator
I preferred to recruit builders—people who wanted to be known for what they created rather than what they said, and who were curious about many things. I started as a cartoonist before becoming an engineer, which attracted many early team members who were outsiders to technology.
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Ben Silbermann
11/09/16
@ Y Combinator
While the core problem Pinterest addresses remains the same, our ambition has expanded significantly over time.
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Ben Silbermann
11/09/16
@ Y Combinator
I envision Pinterest as a catalog of ideas where users can publish and personalize their preferences, making it easier to act on those ideas.
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Ben Silbermann
11/09/16
@ Y Combinator
Many services provide objective answers, but few help individuals discover what truly suits them, which is a gap I want Pinterest to fill.
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Ben Silbermann
11/09/16
@ Y Combinator
I believe technology often pressures people to project an image of who they think others want them to be, rather than allowing them to explore their true selves.
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Ben Silbermann
11/09/16
@ Y Combinator
One of the perks of starting a company is hiring people who are more skilled than you in various areas, which has greatly benefited Pinterest.
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Ben Silbermann
11/09/16
@ Y Combinator
In moments of self-doubt, I learned that many successful entrepreneurs faced similar challenges and grew by making mistakes and learning from them.
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Ben Silbermann
11/09/16
@ Y Combinator
The biggest risk for a startup is the founders becoming discouraged and burning out, which can be exacerbated by tying personal worth to the company's success.
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Ben Silbermann
11/09/16
@ Y Combinator
I actively seek mentors and peers who can provide support and guidance, especially those who have built larger companies than mine.
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Ben Silbermann
11/09/16
@ Y Combinator
As a founder, my role is to drive clarity on what we're building and to create an organization that empowers others to contribute to that vision.
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Ben Silbermann
11/09/16
@ Y Combinator
The culture at Pinterest is built on values that prioritize user obsession and diversity in skills and backgrounds, which I believe leads to better products.