9781422270455

chapter 1

STORY OF A STARTUP

THE POWER OF PINTEREST Ben Silbermann’s childhood years were filled with a love of collecting, encompassing everything from colorful stamps to dried-out insects that he’d gather and pin to cardboard. Little did anyone know that he would grow up to turn his deep connection to collecting things into a dynamic digital platform that would soon become one of the most magnificent innovations of the 21st century. The path to Pinterest began in 2009, when Silbermann shared his idea for an online platform that would showcase people’s collections with Evan Sharp and Paul Sciarra. Both men played instrumental roles in helping Silbermann shape this idea into a multi billion dollar company. Nowadays, more than 400 million people around the world visit Pinterest every month, grabbing everything from recipes to home decorating tips from the jaw-dropping 240 billion ideas (and counting) that have been saved on the website. Continually evolving, Pinterest has become one of the tech industry’s great success stories, impacting lives around the globe every day.

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