Ben Silbermann

Advertising Week New York 2016 - Day 2
NEW YORK, NY - SEPTEMBER 27: Ben Silbermann speaks onstage at the Fast Company Founders panel on the Times Center Stage during 2016 Advertising Week New York on September 27, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by John Lamparski/Getty Images for Advertising Week New York)John Lamparski — Getty Images for Advertising Week New York
  • Age
    35
  • Title
    CEO and cofounder
  • Company
    Pinterest

A soft-spoken Iowa native, Silbermann seems like an unlikely trendsetter. But he's built one of the Valley's hottest social media upstarts. Founded in 2010, Pinterest has become a vibrant repository for some of the most interesting trends on the Internet, from cars to weddings to architecture to tattoos. It's also a virtual gold mine of data for advertisers and retailers, propelling the still-private business to a valuation of roughly $12.3 billion in June. Its 175 million monthly active users have "pinned" more than 100 billion ideas to date, yet Silbermann says the company is still "only beginning to understand" how social media impacts consumers' lives. The most overrated trend of the moment? "Expensive juice."

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