Which Pinterest co-founder left the company in April 2012?

Pinterest co-founder Paul Sciarra left the company in April 2012.

Sciarra co-founded Cold Brew Labs with Ben Silbermann and helped build the early products that led to Pinterest. In April 2012, he departed Pinterest and moved into a consulting role as an entrepreneur in residence at Andreessen Horowitz, the venture-capital firm. His departure helped clarify the company’s leadership structure: Silbermann became Pinterest’s official chief executive.

The timing matters because Pinterest was entering a major growth period. The service had gained attention for letting users organize visual discoveries on themed boards, and the company was expanding its product, engineering, and business operations. Evan Sharp, Pinterest’s other major early co-founder, remained associated with product and design rather than leaving at the same time.

Readers sometimes confuse Sciarra’s departure with a change in Pinterest’s founding team as a whole. He left his operating position, but his role in the company’s origin remained part of Pinterest’s early history. Bill Ready became CEO much later, in 2022, after Silbermann moved to an executive-chairman role.