Ben Silbermann, the man behind Pinterest, graduated from Yale University in 2005 with degrees in economics and mathematics.
At Yale, Ben met his future co-founder of Pinterest, Paul Sciarra, who was attending New York University at the time.
The two first met when they were students at Wilbur Cross High School in New Haven, Connecticut, which both of them attended during their high school years.
Who is Ben Silbermann?
Ben Silbermann was born in 1979 in Portland, Oregon. He grew up in Portland, later moving to Washington State for a time, before he and his family moved to Danville, California for his father’s job. In 1997, Ben enrolled at Yale University where he studied English and worked on a literary magazine.
After graduating from Yale with a BA degree, Ben worked as an editor for Booklist Magazine before going on to be an editorial associate at Penguin Books.
In 2009, Ben founded a web company called Pinterest which has grown incredibly popular since its launch and is now worth billions of dollars. Its headquarters are located in San Francisco while its servers are based out of New York City.
He Started Pinterest from His Dorm Room
A few years ago, Ben Silbermann had an idea for a website to help people organize their photos. He pitched it to his roommate at Yale University, Paul Sciarra, and they spent hours hunched over a computer in their dorm room trying to perfect their creation.
They gave it a quirky name—Pinterest—and opened an office across from San Francisco’s Ferry Building six months later.
After two years of start-up life, Pinterest became one of Silicon Valley’s hottest companies. The company raised $150 million in venture capital funding from big-name investors including Andreessen Horowitz and Bessemer Venture Partners.
Other Interesting Facts
In 2012, Ben along with his team unveiled a new version of Pinterest’s website. In 2015, Time Magazine reported that Pinterest was valued at $11 billion.
And as of January 2016, Facebook acquired Pinterest for more than $11 billion.
What Can You Do at Pinterest?
Pinterest is a great place to learn what people are interested in. It’s also a great place to make sure your products are on top of mind for shoppers. (This might seem obvious, but it is not.) There are millions of Pinners.
If you find that your ideal customer is an active Pinner, then there is no better platform for you than Pinterest—or any digital platform for that matter!
You can even showcase your home on Pinterest when you want to sell it for cash. Click here to find other cash home buyers New Orleans options.
Conclusion
So, there you have it, an introduction to what I believe is one of our most inspiring Yalies. As someone once said, inspiration can be found in even your closest friend, but mentors are rare.
Ben is a great inspiration and mentor to many who know him across the globe.