Business Model Canvas Executive Summary

Pintrest is a tool for collecting and organizing things that inspire people.  Users can pin photos and videos to customized pinboards that can be viewed by other Pintrest users and shared via other social media platforms.  The firm, established in 2010, is estimated to have nearly 50 million users and was recently valued at $2.5 billion.

Humans are social and passionate creatures, and Pintrest is one of the few firms that operates squarely in these two spaces.  This is a unique advantage and their main differentiator over other social media platforms.  In addition, the typical Pintrest user, a college-educated female living in a household with an above average income, is a highly sought after customer segment.

The challenge the firm currently faces, and what will ultimately determine its future success or failure, is establishing revenue streams that will not “commodify its users passions" and alienate its loyal user base. One of Pintrest’s key partners, venture capital firms, has financed the firm’s phenomenal growth thus far and will no doubt be looking for a return on their investment in the near future.  Pintrest has recently made efforts to forge closer ties to companies and build a base for the introduction of money-making features.  Pintrest Web Analytics allows business to track how many people are pinning from their website, seeing their pins, and clicking their content.  Whether these are the first steps in developing a successful business model or the first missteps in killing a promising start-up, will be decided by the social and passionate users of Pintrest.