The Apple Store Hack
Pinterest had a few hundred users. Silbermann was desperate. He'd walk past the Apple Store in Palo Alto and get an idea.
He went inside, changed every display computer to show Pinterest, then stood in the back acting impressed. 'Wow, this Pinterest thing is really blowing up.'
Changed Apple Store displays to Pinterest. Stood in back pretending to be amazed.
Nobody Got It at First
Silbermann emailed every friend he had. Nobody really understood Pinterest. They were polite about it. 'Oh, looks interesting.' Translation: no thanks.
But a small group of people loved it. And they weren't the typical Silicon Valley early adopters.
Friends were polite. A tiny group of non-tech people loved it.
Early Adopters Come From Everywhere
The stereotype says early adopters are tech-forward Silicon Valley types. Silbermann says that's outdated. His first real users were people he grew up with.
They used Pinterest for regular stuff. What their house should look like. What food to cook. If he'd only targeted tech people, Pinterest wouldn't exist.
If he only targeted tech people, Pinterest wouldn't exist.
His Phone Rang Every Time the Site Went Down
Silbermann put his cell number on every customer support email. When the site crashed, his phone lit up with users calling to complain.
He'd sit in coffee shops asking strangers to try Pinterest. He'd watch them click around. Before they pressed a button, he'd ask: what do you expect to see? If reality didn't match, he'd fix it.
Cell phone on support emails. Coffee shop user testing. Obsessive care.