Ben Silbermann

Before Pinterest (which launched in March 2010), Silbermann worked at Google in the online advertising group.^[7][1] However, after a short time with the company he left and started designing his own iPhone apps with friends. After his initial application, Tote, failed to gain traction,^[8] he teamed up with Evan 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 became Chief Executive Officer and a member of the Board of Directors. During this time, Silbermann was listed on the Forbes billionaires 30 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 in San Francisco, California.^[12]