Ben Silbermann on starting
Ben Silbermann24 quotes“Just build things and find out if they work.”
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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 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 Don’t take too much advice.
Ben SilbermannBen Silbermann I look around my neighborhood, and I see people hailing a cab or ordering their food and then paying for it all with their phone. I’ve read about that stuff for a really long time, and now it’s starting to become commonplace.
Ben SilbermannBen Silbermann We’re trying to do something so that when the average person uses Pinterest, it has to make the service better.
Ben SilbermannBen Silbermann
Original quotes
From our community writers
It is beneath pale blue skies, amongst sycamore trees, and afoot dirtied leaves, my heart, and soul finds peace.
Olivia CliffordOlivia Clifford A wounded heart never stops bleeding.
Ashley PrzywolskiAshley Przywolski I swear the stars align at night just to see you smile.
C.R. ElliottC.R. Elliott I get so lost in your midnight eyes I forget we’re running out of time.
Ana DeeAna Dee The worst thing is not to share our pain with each other when you can.
Ayaka HaseAyaka Hase Love was created for so many reasons and you will always be one of them.
Karla GaleanaKarla Galeana Tired of being tired burnt out from putting our fires.
Jamil ElhageJamil Elhage In the darkness there are no shadows to fear.
Sarah J. MarvinSarah J. Marvin
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More on starting
I’ve got a long way to go to being the ultimate best, but I think my time is now. And I’m starting to enter my prime.
Kevin DurantKevin Durant I can play with that opportunity or not. This is my right, or poetic license, as someone who is building an artefact of fantasy – this implicit pact with the reader is my starting point.
Agustin Fernandez MalloAgustin Fernandez Mallo I’m really not vocal and expressive, but I’m starting to get more comfortable to open up.
Adrian PetersonAdrian Peterson I never use nature as a starting point.
Adolph GottliebAdolph Gottlieb The question is not if the candidate’s heart is favorable to Christianity, but if he has Christ as his starting point even for politics, and will speak out His name!
Abraham KuyperAbraham Kuyper I am interested in anything about revolt, disorder, chaos-especially activity that seems to have no meaning. It seems to me to be the road toward freedom…
Jim MorrisonJim Morrison Rather than starting inside, I start outside and reach the mental through the physical.
Jim MorrisonJim Morrison Most filmmaking is about shaking hands and just starting.
Abel FerraraAbel Ferrara
