Leadership Style Behind Pinterest

Extracted 19MAR2012 from http://mashable.com/2012/03/11/pinterest-first-investor/

“I was Pinterest’s first investor.” That’s a sentence I bet you wish you could say. Here at SXSW, I find myself sitting opposite angel investor Brian Cohen who happily owns that distinction...

“They listened,” Cohen said — repeatedly. The investor, who also mentored Silbermann, constantly marveled at how Silbermann listened to advice from investors, customers and partners. “They were incredibly open for input. That’s really important as an instructive element for social entrepreneurs—anyone—[they were open] to those angel investors who care deeply about their success.”... “I used to see him in New York just taking out small rooms to meet with customers. I’d never seen anything like it.”

Besides listening, there is one other attribute that Cohen believes plays a role in Pinterest’s success, “They’re just happy.” In almost everything they do, Cohen sees “almost a child-like fascination.”

...When I ask him if there are any potential danger signs for the white-hot brand, Cohen deflected a bit and only offered the expected advice: “They have to stick to their knitting …improve usability.” Cohen, though, does see the difficultly of transitioning to the “commercial stage.”