Ben Silbermann
Ben Silbermann | |
|---|---|
| Born | July 14, 1982 Des Moines, Iowa, U.S. |
| Occupation | Internet entrepreneur |
| Years active | 2010–present |
| Known for | Co-founder and executive chairman of Pinterest |
Ben Silbermann (born July 14, 1982) is an American Internet entrepreneur known for co-founding and serving as executive chairman of Pinterest, a platform designed for visual discovery that allows users to curate images, links, recipes, and various other types of content.
Early life
Silbermann was born and grew up in Des Moines, Iowa. His parents, Jane Wang and Neil Silbermann, both practiced as ophthalmologists. In 1998, he attended the Research Science Institute hosted by MIT and completed his secondary education at Des Moines Roosevelt High School in 1999. He later graduated with a Political Science degree from Yale University in 2003.
Career
Before founding Pinterest in March 2010, Silbermann briefly worked within the online advertising division at Google. After departing Google, he collaborated with friends to develop iPhone applications; however, his initial app, Tote, failed to attract significant users. Motivated by his childhood enthusiasm for collecting and the absence of an online tool to share collections, he teamed up with Evan Sharp to establish Pinterest. To secure funding for the startup, Silbermann participated in the NYU Stern Business Plan Competition, which led to meetings with venture capitalists from First Mark Capital who contributed half of the company’s seed capital.
Pinterest made its public market debut in April 2019 with an approximate valuation of $12 billion. On June 28, 2022, Silbermann transitioned from CEO to Executive Chairman. Bill Ready, a former executive at Google, took over as CEO and joined the company's Board of Directors. Silbermann has earned recognition on the Forbes billionaires list as well as the 30 under 30 list.
Personal life
Silbermann is married to Divya Bhaskaran, who graduated in psychology from Clark University. They reside in San Francisco, California with their two children.
References
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- Living people
- 1982 births
- American people of Chinese descent
- Businesspeople from Des Moines, Iowa
- Businesspeople from San Francisco
- Yale College alumni
- American technology company founders
- Y Combinator people
- Pinterest people
- American billionaires
- Theodore Roosevelt High School (Iowa) alumni
- American chief executives