On Monday January 30, I received an amazing opportunity to hear Pinterest Founder and CEO, Ben Silbermann, speak at the Economic Club of Chicago. While Silbermann’s speech was tailored more to the budding entrepreneurs and CEOs in the audience, his story was inspiring to all, even me, a first-year college student.
The story of Pinterest is not one of instant success. It started when Silbermann was in his sophomore year of college at Yale University when he realized that maybe being a doctor wasn’t for him. Instead, he focused on the internet and business. After graduation, Silbermann moved out to Silicon Valley and worked for Google in customer support. After realizing that none of his ideas would be recognized by Google in their current state, he quit and decided to start the project that we now know as Pinterest.
Silbermann’s story doesn’t stop there. He continued to talk about the difficult and lengthy process of finding funding and employees for his company, most of the details you can find in this 2012 Business Insider article. Most entrepreneurial stories are inspiring, and Pinterest is no different, so look below to see what I found interesting and motivating from his speech to the Economic Club of Chicago.
Stay true to what makes you different.
Pinterest was founded on an idea that no one in Silicon Valley or New York thought would be successful. It was so different from the social networks and other websites out there that a place to just collect images or recipes online was unheard of. The people who understood it were the users in the Midwest, the moms that wanted to try new recipes or the self-made fashionistas that wanted to create their own idea board. What made Pinterest different made it successful and has continued to make it successful. It was incredibly refreshing to hear Silbermann talk about his efforts to diversify the company, not only by hiring women and minorities, but people who think differently. It’s what made his team and company work, so embrace what makes your different! If that means wearing two different socks (like Silbermann did above), do it!
Almost nothing will work on the first try.
Pinterest was not Silbermann’s first web project. He tried other internet websites and iOS apps that didn’t launch or seem of any interest to investors. When talking about the success of Pinterest, Silbermann admitted that part of its success was just plain luck. It wasn’t the first startup he had participated in, but they had the funding and he had the personal love for the company and it just ended up working out in the end. It wasn’t an instant success, but it showed that not everything will always work out the way it should and that doesn’t mean you should stop trying. It means you should try until you’re happy with the way it turns out.
Find and surround yourself with people who are different than you.
It’s human nature that we like to surround ourselves with people who are like us. People who have similar opinions and act similarly are safe and easy to talk to; there’s no risk. Silbermann said one of the best decisions was to challenge that human instinct and surround himself with people who weren’t like him. He looked for people of different ages, backgrounds and beliefs. It’s what made everyone different and unique that made his team successful. So, in hearing that, surrounding myself with others who are different from me is a priority. You will never change or listen to others if you are stuck in an echo chamber.
Find a little positivity every day.
One of the moments that stuck the most with me was when asked about what he considered Pinterest to be, Silbermann didn’t call it a social media platform. He described it more as a future-planning tool. He considered Facebook to be a tool to showcase a user’s past, Twitter is a way to showcase a user’s present life and Pinterest was used to plan a user’s future. The future is a very positive and hopeful place; it’s where dreams can be thought up and planned. Pinterest is one of the few positive places left on the internet. Anyone can create an account and start planning their next dream vacation, birthday party or even wedding.