Key Moments
Ben Silbermann at Startup School 2012
Y CombinatorKey Moments
Pinterest founder Ben Silbermann shares startup lessons on long journeys, fundraising, and building a passionate team.
Key Insights
Building a successful company is a long, uncertain journey, not a quick sprint.
Early startup struggles, like low user numbers and difficult fundraising, are common.
Successful fundraising requires understanding investors are human and finding ways to create leverage.
Focus on building one core thing exceptionally well before adding complexity.
Community and genuine user connection are crucial for organic growth, especially for visually oriented platforms.
Trust your data and instincts; external advice, while valuable, might not always be right for your unique vision.
THE LONG AND WINDING ROAD OF STARTUP LIFE
Ben Silbermann, founder of Pinterest, emphasizes that building a startup is a marathon, but not a typical one. He likens it to a road trip in a car with limited headlights and gas, where the destination is often unclear and unexpected challenges arise. This profound uncertainty, where every day involves difficult choices with incomplete information, was the hardest lesson for him. Early on, even four months after launching Pinterest, they had only 3,000 registered users, a stark contrast to hyper-growth startups often highlighted in the media. This experience taught him that creating something truly worthwhile takes significant time and perseverance.
THE GRIND OF EARLY ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Silbermann details his personal journey, leaving Google in 2008 to pursue his entrepreneurial ambitions. His initial venture, 'Tote,' an iPhone shopping catalog app, faced significant hurdles. Development and approval times with Apple were lengthy, and the ambitious feature set made shipping difficult. This led to a challenging fundraising environment in 2008, where he encountered common investor rejections like 'call me back in a few months' or 'who else is in.' These experiences underscored the difficulty of securing funding, especially for non-technical founders during economic downturns.
NAVIGATING THE PITFALLS OF FUNDRAISING
Fundraising, Silbermann notes, is a multifaceted challenge. He learned that investors, despite their wealth and experience, are still human and influenced by factors like 'free cookies.' This realization shifted his perspective: investors are people with money, and they can be wrong. A crucial lesson is that if a startup truly needs money and the investor knows they are the sole source, leverage is almost non-existent. Success in this scenario often hinges on creating fear of loss or convincing investors of monumental future success, effectively turning the tables to gain leverage.
THE POWER OF FOCUS AND DESIGN FOUNDATION
The development of Pinterest itself stemmed from lessons learned from prior ventures. After the struggles with the 'Tote' app, the team focused on creating a web-based, simple product that they would personally use. Their key insight was to do one thing exceptionally well: make it look cool. They understood that if the visual presentation was lacking, users wouldn't want to curate collections to share. This led to extensive iteration on the design. They launched when they had one aspect they were proud of and that was worthy of users' time, adopting a lean approach due to limited engineering resources.
BUILDING COMMUNITY AND AUTHENTIC GROWTH
Initial uptake for Pinterest was slow, with little response from friends and family. However, the few active users genuinely loved the product. Instead of drastic changes, Silbermann's strategy became finding more people like them. This led to grassroots marketing efforts like meetups and online campaigns, such as 'Pin It Forward.' This approach focused on connecting with niche communities sharing common interests, demonstrating how the service could be helpful. This was a different strategy than the real-time, feed-based social media prevalent at the time, highlighting the importance of genuine user connections.
TRUSTING YOUR VISION AMIDST EXTERNAL ADVICE
Silbermann advises entrepreneurs to be discerning with advice. While experienced figures in Silicon Valley offer insights, their projections are not infallible. He stresses that the future is unwritten, and investors, despite their track records, have passed on successful ventures. Entrepreneurs must assess advice critically, trusting their own instincts and user data. Pinterest's success defied the trend of real-time, text-based platforms by focusing on visual discovery, something that initially confused many investors but resonated with users, including their own family members.
THE EVOLUTION AND PURPOSE OF PINTEREST
Today, Pinterest has evolved into a significant platform, serving as a major source of referral traffic. What started as a simple collection tool has become a platform for inspiration, helping users plan future activities like redecorating or travel. Silbermann acknowledges that the product's purpose can find itself over time, a process that is acceptable. The company's growth necessitated a shift towards data analysis and technological infrastructure, demonstrating adaptability. He emphasizes Pinterest's duality as both a network connecting millions and a tool for practical life planning.
THE CRITICAL ROLE OF TALENT AND TEAMWORK
A fundamental realization for Silbermann was that Pinterest's challenges, particularly in distribution and design, were as much community and design problems as they were engineering ones. He underscores the importance of building a diverse team of talented individuals who complement each other's skills. He believes the best things are created by groups, and investing in people by giving them ownership is crucial for sustained growth. The company values collaboration, recognizing that the collective effort of a dedicated team can achieve more than any individual.
CORE ADVICE FOR ASPIRING ENTREPRENEURS
Silbermann offers two core pieces of advice: first, build something you genuinely believe in and love, as the entrepreneurial journey is long and demanding. Without passion for the end goal, burnout is inevitable. Second, persevere and don't let others dissuade you from your vision. He highlights the supportive nature of startup communities, like those found at Startup School, and encourages entrepreneurs to invest time in building these connections. These relationships provide essential emotional support during the challenging startup process.
Mentioned in This Episode
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Common Questions
The original company name for Pinterest was Cold Brew Labs. This name was chosen because 'Labs' companies were perceived as cool in the startup scene.
Topics
Mentioned in this video
Mentioned as a social media platform where connections are often superficial, contrasted with the deeper connections formed at Pinterest meetups.
The original name of the company that became Pinterest. 'Labs' was chosen to sound cool.
A startup that shared office space with C Brew Labs (Pinterest).
Provided free hosting credits to C Brew Labs.
Mentioned as a social media platform where connections are often superficial, contrasted with the deeper connections formed at Pinterest meetups.
The company whose app approval process for the App Store was a challenge for the early 'Tote' app.
Mentioned as a successful startup with rapid growth, contrasted with Pinterest's slower initial traction.
Mentioned as a company that investors associated with success and might have passed on.
A visual discovery engine for finding ideas like recipes, home and style inspiration, and more.
A startup accelerator program, mentioned as having a startup (Chardo) that shared office space with C Brew Labs.
Mentioned in the context of its stock certificate being on display in investor offices, symbolizing success.
Mentioned as a popular real-time platform that represented the trend Pinterest was counter to.
An actor who the founders of C Brew labs wished would play them in a movie about the company.
Co-founder of Pinterest, met by Ben Silbermann while he was a graduate student at Columbia.
Co-founder of Y Combinator, commented on the dilapidated apartment C Brew Labs was moving into.
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