And yet, VCs will still attempt to pattern match.

Wait, there's nothing in this article about Pinterest paying bloggers to use Pinterest. Did they engage in that practice, or did they just give bloggers invites to spread around.

I love this:

Investors did want to offer all sorts of feedback about what Pinterest should change. A few years ago, VCs wanted things to be text-oriented and real-time, while Pinterest is visual and more timeless.

Pinterest with text?! Ain't nobody got time for that! :)

I like that he called the interaction on Twitter and Facebook BS.

And this is fun:

In its earlier days, most investors weren’t willing to buy into Pinterest and its non-technical founders. (These days, that’s no longer the case.) “There are lots of ways for investors to say no to you, and I’m pretty sure I’ve heard every single one,” Silbermann said.

If you don't have lots of investors saying no to you, you're not taking enough risk.

I disagree that investors seek nontechnical founders.

But they're willing to look the other way if you get massive traction.

Is "grassroots marketing" a growth hack?