Ben Silbermann famous quotes

06-13-2025

I think the thing that I've learned is that really great people, they actually want to work on hard problems,
-- Ben Silbermann

#Thinking #People #Want
Just build things and find out if they work.
-- Ben Silbermann
If Google teaches you anything, it's that small ideas can be big.
-- Ben Silbermann

#Ideas #Entrepreneur #Google
There's a lot of pressure to look like the last company that was successful.
-- Ben Silbermann

#Successful #Entrepreneur #Looks
One of the things I've learned is to be receptive of feedback.
-- Ben Silbermann

#Inspirational #Feedback
I used to wake up and look at our analytics and think, 'What if yesterday was the last day anyone used Pinterest?' Like, everyone collectively decided, 'We're done!' Over time I got more confidence.
-- Ben Silbermann

#Thinking #Yesterday #What If
I was obsessed with this idea that these things that you collect, they just say so much about who you are. I can't say it came from hard-nosed business analysis... It was just something I really want to see built.
-- Ben Silbermann

#Ideas #Want #Analysis
I always just want to move along to the next step.
-- Ben Silbermann

#Moving #Want #Next
I want Pinterest to be human. The Internet's still so abstract... To me, boards are a very human way of looking at the world.
-- Ben Silbermann

#Want #Pinterest #Way
We want the average person to use it and think that it makes the experience of using Pinterest better.
-- Ben Silbermann

#Thinking #Average #Want
We're trying to do something so that when the average person uses Pinterest, it has to make the service better.
-- Ben Silbermann

#Average #Trying #Pinterest
As a kid, I always idolized entrepreneurs. I thought they were cool people in the way that I thought basketball players were cool people. It's cool that some people get paid to dunk basketballs, but I'm not one of those people.
-- Ben Silbermann

#Basketball #Kids #Player
I always read about these stories of entrepreneurs - it's like they're in the desert with no water, and they're the ones that survive. But I've been really fortunate to have people on my team who are optimistic about the future and who know that if you work through hard times that there's usually something good at the end.
-- Ben Silbermann

#Team #Optimistic #Hard Times
I look around my neighborhood, and I see people hailing a cab or ordering their food and then paying for it all with their phone. I've read about that stuff for a really long time, and now it's starting to become commonplace.
-- Ben Silbermann

#Phones #Long #People
I use Pinterest for everything. Book collections, trips, hobbies. It's all there. I planned my wedding on it. When I had a kid, I planned all his stuff on it. So it was nice to discover that I wasn't the only one.
-- Ben Silbermann

#Nice #Book #Kids
Most people generalize whatever they did, and say that was the strategy that made it work.
-- Ben Silbermann

#People #Strategy #Made
Don't take too much advice. Most people who have a lot of advice to give ~ with a few exceptions ~ generalize whatever they did. Don't over-analyze everything. I myself have been guilty of over-thinking problems. Just build things and find out if they work.
-- Ben Silbermann

#Business #Thinking #People
I think anyone who makes products has this simultaneous joy and, almost, shame looking at it. You look at it all day and all you can see is all these things you want to make better.
-- Ben Silbermann

#Thinking #Joy #Looks
People say doing a startup is like a marathon. It's actually a roadtrip at night with no headlights. You think you're going to Toledo but you're actually going to Miami and you might not have enough gas so you might need to buy gas from someone who might take you out if you aren't driving well
-- Ben Silbermann

#Night #Thinking #People
The companies that I really admire the most are the ones that have a deep visceral understanding of why people use their service, and they figure out ways of making money that are completely consistent with how people are feeling and what they are doing at the time.
-- Ben Silbermann

#People #Entrepreneur #Understanding
What you collect says so much about who you are,
-- Ben Silbermann

#Who You Are
I thought Google was the coolest place. People there were so smart and they were all doing these really interesting things. I just felt really lucky to be a part of it even in a small way.
-- Ben Silbermann

#Smart #People #Interesting
I kind of think of engineering like the chefs at a restaurant. Nobody's going to deny chefs are integrally important, but there's also so many other people who contribute to a great meal.
-- Ben Silbermann

#Thinking #Engineering #People
When Pinterest works well, it helps you find things that are meaningful to you. We want to build a system that helps you do that.
-- Ben Silbermann

#Meaningful #Want #Pinterest
Don't take too much advice.
-- Ben Silbermann

#Advice #Too Much
I'd never managed anyone before, so I don't have a lot of experience. But I'm lucky - I have a lot of team members who have a really honest relationship with me.
-- Ben Silbermann

#Team #Lucky #Honest

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