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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 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 SILBERMANN

Long People Phones
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 SILBERMANN

Experience Honest Lucky Team
People say doing a startup is like a marathon. It’s actually a roadtrip at night with no headlights.
BEN SILBERMANN

Night People Thinking
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 SILBERMANN

Engineering People Thinking
There’s a lot of pressure to look like the last company that was successful.
BEN SILBERMANN

Entrepreneur Looks Successful
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 SILBERMANN

Basketball Kids Player
I thought Google was the coolest place. People there were so smart and they were all doing these really interesting things. I just felt really lucky to be a part of it even in a small way.
BEN SILBERMANN

Interesting People Smart
Don’t take too much advice.
BEN SILBERMANN

Advice Entrepreneur Levers
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 SILBERMANN

Analysis Ideas Want
I think anyone who makes products has this simultaneous joy and, almost, shame looking at it. You look at it all day and all you can see is all these things you want to make better.
BEN SILBERMANN

Joy Looks Thinking
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 SILBERMANN

Boards Way World
What you collect says so much about who you are.
BEN SILBERMANN

Collect Much Say
If Google teaches you anything, it’s that small ideas can be big.
BEN SILBERMANN

Entrepreneur Google Ideas
We’re trying to do something so that when the average person uses Pinterest, it has to make the service better.
BEN SILBERMANN

Average Better Service Trying Use
I think the thing that I’ve learned is that really great people, they actually want to work on hard problems.
BEN SILBERMANN

People Thinking Want
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 SILBERMANN

Book Collection Kids Nice Planned
One of the things I’ve learned is to be receptive of feedback.
BEN SILBERMANN

Inspirational Inspiring Learn
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 SILBERMANN

Meaningful Pinterest Want
Most people generalize whatever they did, and say that was the strategy that made it work.
BEN SILBERMANN

Made People Strategy
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 SILBERMANN

Entrepreneur Feelings People
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 SILBERMANN

Country Driving Enough Gas Someone
We want the average person to use it and think that it makes the experience of using Pinterest better.
BEN SILBERMANN

Average Pinterest Thinking
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 SILBERMANN

Business Giving Thinking
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 SILBERMANN

Anyone Thinking Yesterday
I always just want to move along to the next step.
BEN SILBERMANN

Moving Steps Want
Just build things and find out if they work.
BEN SILBERMANN

Entrepreneur Starting Work

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.

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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.

Related Topics

Popular Authors

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