Ben Silbermann | |
|---|---|
 Silbermann at theSouth By Southwest Interactive conference in March of 2012 in Austin,Texas,United States | |
| Born | (1982-07-14)July 14, 1982 (age 42) |
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | Yale University |
| Occupation | Executive Chairman of Pinterest |
| Known for | Co-foundingPinterest |
| Spouse | Divya Bhaskaran |
Ben Silbermann (born July 14, 1982) is an AmericanInternet entrepreneur.[1] He is the co-founder and executive chairman ofPinterest, a visual discovery engine[2] which lets users organize images, links, recipes and other things.[1]
Silbermann was born in Iowa in 1982.[3][4] He was raised inDes Moines,Iowa. His parents, Jane Wang and Neil Silbermann, areophthalmologists.[5] In 1998, Silbermann attended theResearch Science Institute atMIT. He graduated from Des Moines Central Academy andDes Moines Roosevelt with the class of 1999. He then graduated fromYale University in the spring of 2003 with a degree in Political Science.[6]
BeforePinterest (which launched in March 2010), Silbermann worked atGoogle in the online advertising group.[7][1] However, after a short time with the company he left and started designing his owniPhone apps with friends. After his initial application, Tote, failed to gain traction,[8] he teamed up withEvan 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 theForbes billionaires30 under 30 list.[1]
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 inSan Francisco, California.[12]
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