Ben Silbermann on trying
Ben Silbermann24 quotes“We’re trying to do something so that when the average person uses Pinterest, it has to make the service better.”
More from Ben Silbermann
I want Pinterest to be human. The Internet’s still so abstract… To me, boards are a very human way of looking at the world.
Ben SilbermannBen Silbermann Don’t take too much advice. Most people who have a lot of advice to give ~ with a few exceptions ~ generalize whatever they did. Don’t over-analyze everything. I myself have been guilty of over-thinking problems. Just build things and find out if they work.
Ben SilbermannBen Silbermann I used to wake up and look at our analytics and think, “What if yesterday was the last day anyone used Pinterest?” Like, everyone collectively decided, “We’re done!” Over time I got more confidence.
Ben SilbermannBen Silbermann The companies that I really admire the most are the ones that have a deep visceral understanding of why people use their service, and they figure out ways of making money that are completely consistent with how people are feeling and what they are doing at the time.
Ben SilbermannBen Silbermann Just build things and find out if they work.
Ben SilbermannBen Silbermann I’d never managed anyone before, so I don’t have a lot of experience. But I’m lucky – I have a lot of team members who have a really honest relationship with me.
Ben SilbermannBen Silbermann You think you’re going to Toledo but you’re actually going to Miami and you might not have enough gas so you might need to buy gas from someone who might take you out if you aren’t driving well
Ben SilbermannBen Silbermann As a kid, I always idolized entrepreneurs. I thought they were cool people in the way that I thought basketball players were cool people. It’s cool that some people get paid to dunk basketballs, but I’m not one of those people.
Ben SilbermannBen Silbermann People say doing a startup is like a marathon. It’s actually a roadtrip at night with no headlights.
Ben SilbermannBen Silbermann I always just want to move along to the next step.
Ben SilbermannBen Silbermann I use Pinterest for everything. Book collections, trips, hobbies. It’s all there. I planned my wedding on it. When I had a kid, I planned all his stuff on it. So it was nice to discover that I wasn’t the only one.
Ben SilbermannBen Silbermann I kind of think of engineering like the chefs at a restaurant. Nobody’s going to deny chefs are integrally important, but there’s also so many other people who contribute to a great meal.
Ben SilbermannBen Silbermann When Pinterest works well, it helps you find things that are meaningful to you. We want to build a system that helps you do that.
Ben SilbermannBen Silbermann We want the average person to use it and think that it makes the experience of using Pinterest better.
Ben SilbermannBen Silbermann I was obsessed with this idea that these things that you collect, they just say so much about who you are. I can’t say it came from hard-nosed business analysis… It was just something I really want to see built.
Ben SilbermannBen Silbermann Most people generalize whatever they did, and say that was the strategy that made it work.
Ben SilbermannBen Silbermann
Original quotes
From our community writers
With new relationships, we get scared of being loved because we scared of rejection. Don’t let your fears ruin a perfectly good relationship.
Emily BockEmily Bock I love having someone to talk to all night.
Sophie SmithSophie Smith It is a loud war to love you in silence.
Noor BazziNoor Bazzi Don’t let unimportant people have too much power over you.
Hei-Ran ParkHei-Ran Park Remember that your purpose is indeed to be nothing else but YOU, all that you are and all that you want to be.
ShamaShama I like the crazy ones- the ones made of a little bit of human and a lot of star.
Lauren EdenLauren Eden Let go and trust in the higher power to guide you.
Lisa RoseLisa Rose Let the music fill the empty patches of your soul. And heal you.
Makenzie CampbellMakenzie Campbell
Meet the writers
More on trying
That’s not saying that people shouldn’t keep trying to rebel against the facts of existence.
Jim MorrisonJim Morrison The meaning of the Sabbath is to celebrate time rather than space. Six days a week we live under the tyranny of things of space; on the Sabbath we try to become attuned to holiness in time.
Abraham Joshua HeschelAbraham Joshua Heschel We’re reaching for death on the end of a candle We’re trying for something that’s already found us
Jim MorrisonJim Morrison To be true to myself, to be the person that was on the inside of me, and not play games.
Janis JoplinJanis Joplin And if you try to remind them, they hate you for it – they feel like you’re trying to steal their most precious possession.
Jim MorrisonJim Morrison The truth is that you cannot attain God if you have even a trace of desire. Subtle is the way of dharma.
RamakrishnaRamakrishna People are terrified to be set free – they hold on to their chains. They fight anyone who tries to break those chains. It’s their security..
Jim MorrisonJim Morrison I’m not really thinking much… Just sort of, trying to feel.
Janis JoplinJanis Joplin
