Instagram : Rejected Facebook Intern → $400M founder

Read time: 4.5 minutes

Hello Rebels

Fun one-liner 🏖️

Why do entrepreneurs love the jungle? Because it's full of wild and untapped opportunities!

Onto Today’s story….

Picture this: A lanky, nerdy kid obsessively tinkering with computers in his bedroom, dreaming of creating something that would change the world.

Fast forward a few years, and that same kid is sitting across from Mark Zuckerberg, negotiating a billion-dollar deal that would make history.

This isn't the plot of a Silicon Valley TV show.

This is the real-life story of Kevin Systrom, the co-founder of Instagram.

From Beats to Bytes 🎧

In his teens, Kevin's obsession with computers took an interesting turn.

He started writing programs that would prank his friends by hacking their AOL Instant Messenger accounts.

Picture this: you're chatting with your crush, and suddenly your cursor starts moving on its own. Creepy? Maybe. Genius? Absolutely.

But Kevin's parents weren't exactly thrilled when these antics got the family AOL account blocked. Oops!

The Italian Job 🇮🇹

Fast forward to his college, and during his junior year, Kevin packed his bags and headed to Florence, Italy for a study abroad program.

He brought along a fancy camera, ready to capture every picturesque Italian scene.

But his professor had other ideas.

The professor took away Kevin's high-end camera and handed him a Holga - a cheap, plastic camera that was about as far from high-tech as you could get.

At first, Kevin was skeptical.

But then something magical happened.

He fell in love with the low-fi, retro-style photos the Holga produced.

The imperfections, the unexpected light leaks, the dreamy quality - it was all so... Instagram-worthy (though Kevin didn't know it yet).

This experience planted a seed in Kevin's mind.

What if you could make any photo look this cool, this artistic, this hip?

It was a question that would change everything.

The Google Years 🔍

Fresh out of college, Kevin landed a job at Google.

He had gone there straight out of college, and the large corporate environment was starting to feel like a straightjacket for someone who had always wanted to be an entrepreneur.

"I always had this itch," Kevin admits.

"I wanted to get back in the social space."

Bourbon Night 🥃

It was becoming more and more obvious to Kevin that he had to pursue his passion for photography and social sharing full-time.

He was ready to start his own thing, something that married those two interests.

On nights and weekends, Kevin poured his time and energy into side projects.

He developed a few business ideas, but in late 2009, he decided to concentrate on one: a site that would combine his passion for photos with location check-ins and social gaming.

He called it Burbn, inspired by his favorite whiskey.

(Pro tip: When naming your startup, maybe don't do it after a few drinks of said whiskey.)

The $500K Cocktail 💰

Kevin's big break came over cocktails at a party for a startup called Hunch.

There, he met Steve Anderson, a Bay Area venture capitalist.

Kevin showed Anderson the Burbn prototype, and something clicked.

Even though Burbn was still just an idea, Anderson committed $250,000 on the spot.

Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz, two of Silicon Valley's top VCs, matched that amount.

Suddenly, Kevin had $500,000 to turn his idea into reality.

He quit his day job and started to focus on building his app.

The Leap 🚀

During this time, Kevin would often work on Burbn at a local coffee shop, just to see other humans.

There, he bumped into Mike Krieger, who was working on his own apps.

One day, Kevin let Mike download Burbn.

Mike's reaction? "I wasn't super enthusiastic about location-based things, but Burbn was the first one that I loved."

A month later, over breakfast, Kevin asked Mike to quit his job and join Burbn as a co-founder.

Mike's response was classic Silicon Valley: "Count me interested; we'll talk more."

The Dynamic Duo 👥

Mike didn't jump in right away.

Instead, the pair decided to test their partnership, working on small projects after hours and on weekends.

It was like a startup bromance, and after a few weeks, Mike was convinced.

He quit his job at Meebo and joined Kevin full-time.

But there was a catch: Mike needed a work visa, which would take three months to process.

While they waited, Kevin and Mike took a hard look at Burbn.

They realized something crucial: it was too similar to Foursquare, which was already taking off.

Burbn had gotten some hype in tech blogs, but it wasn't really going anywhere.

They had a tough decision to make.

Should they push forward with Burbn, or pivot to something new?

The Pivot 🔄

In August, Kevin and Mike made a decision that would change everything: they scrapped Burbn almost entirely and decided to build a new app from the ground up.

It was a huge risk.

They had already put so much time and effort into Burbn.

But they noticed something interesting: In Burbn, users loved the photo-sharing feature more than anything else.

"We decided that if we were going to build a company, we wanted to focus on being really good at one thing," Kevin explains.

So, they stripped Burbn down to its bare bones, focusing solely on photo sharing.

But something was still missing.

The app felt... bland.

The Eureka Moment 💡

Frustrated and needing a break, Kevin decided to take a trip to Mexico with his girlfriend, Nicole.

Little did he know, this vacation would provide the missing piece of the puzzle.

Picture this: Kevin is walking on the beach, venting to Nicole about the app.

Nicole, probably wishing she was sipping a margarita instead of listening to startup talk, drops a bombshell:

"I wouldn't want to post my photos on the app," she says.

"They wouldn't look good enough. They're not as good as your other friend Greg's."

Kevin's ears perked up.

Greg, it turned out, was using filter apps to enhance his photos.

And just like that, the final piece clicked into place.

"Well," Nicole said, probably hoping this would end the conversation, "you should probably have filters then."

In that moment, Instagram was born.

From Codename to Instagram 📸

Kevin rushed back to his hotel room, fired up his laptop, and started figuring out how to create filters.

By the end of the day, Kevin had created the first Instagram filter: X-Pro II.

To test it out, he took a picture of a stray dog on the beach, with Nicole's foot in the frame.

It wasn't exactly a masterpiece, but it was the first-ever Instagram photo.

Back in San Francisco, Kevin and Mike brainstormed names for their new creation.

After a week of back-and-forth, they settled on Instagram - a mix of "instant" and "telegram."

For the next eight weeks, they worked day and night to perfect Instagram.

Mike handled the Apple iOS software, while Kevin worked on the back-end code.

The Launch 🚀

At 12:15 a.m. on October 6, 2010, Instagram went live on the Apple app store.

Kevin and Mike, exhausted but excited, figured they'd have at least six hours before anyone discovered the app.

They were ready for some well-deserved sleep.

But within minutes, downloads started pouring in from all over the world.

By the end of the first day, 25,000 people had signed up for Instagram.

Kevin and Mike were ecstatic... for about five minutes.

Then their servers crashed under the weight of all that traffic.

Cue a panic-induced all-nighter as they scrambled to get the servers back online and keep them running.

So much for that good night's sleep!

Viral Explosion 💥

By the end of the first week, Instagram had been downloaded 100,000 times.

Another week passed, and another 100,000 people jumped on board.

Two months after launch, the Instagram community had grown to a million users.

People loved how Instagram made their phone photos look unique and cool.

The app's design was simple and intuitive - no clutter, no complicated features, just beautiful photos and a heart to show your appreciation.

Kevin and Mike were riding high, but they knew this was just the beginning.

They kept laptops with them at all times, ready to fix any issues that popped up.

Once, Mike was dining at a fancy farm-to-table restaurant when the system crashed.

He ended up troubleshooting from inside a chicken coop - the only place he could get a signal.

Talk about dedication!

The $7 Million Question 💼

As Instagram's user base exploded, investors started circling.

Just nine months after launch, Instagram secured another $7 million in funding from a group of high-profile investors, including Jack Dorsey and Chris Sacca.

The company was still lean - just four employees centered around four desks in a ramshackle San Francisco office.

But they were making waves in the tech world.

Kevin's philosophy was simple: "Focus on one thing and do it really, really well."

They resisted the temptation to add unnecessary features or premium options.

Instead, they poured all their energy into perfecting the core product.

This laser focus paid off.

By January 2012, Instagram had 15 million users.

Two months later, that number jumped to 27 million.

The Billion-Dollar Dance 💃

As Instagram's popularity soared, the big players in tech started to take notice.

Twitter, Facebook - everyone wanted a piece of the photo-sharing sensation.

Kevin found himself in an enviable, if slightly overwhelming, position.

Twitter was offering around $500 million.

Sequoia Capital wanted to invest $50 million.

And then there was Facebook...

Mark Zuckerberg invited Kevin to his home in Palo Alto for a series of dinners to discuss "philosophy."

But it was clear Zuck had more than philosophy on his mind.

Kevin was drowning in choices.

Should he sell to Twitter?

Take Sequoia's investment and stay independent?

Or join forces with Facebook?

The Game of Thrones Decision 👑

On a fateful Saturday in April 2012, Kevin found himself back at Zuckerberg's house.

This time, it wasn't for philosophical discussions.

Zuck laid out an offer that was hard to refuse: $1 billion, including $300 million in cash.

As they negotiated, Zuckerberg's friends arrived for a Game of Thrones viewing party.

(Yes, even tech billionaires have TV nights.)

Kevin spent most of the evening outside, on the phone with lawyers and investors.

The next day, Kevin and Mike made their decision.

They would sell Instagram to Facebook for $1 billion.

Just like that, less than two years after Instagram's launch, Kevin and Mike had built and sold a billion-dollar company.

The Aftermath 🎉

The news of the billion-dollar deal rocked the tech world.

Kevin became an overnight sensation, and Instagram exploded into the mainstream.

But even after the acquisition, Kevin and his team kept their startup mentality.

They continued to work out of their small office, focusing on improving the product rather than getting caught up in the hype.

Kevin's share of the deal was around $400 million and he was a multi-millionaire.

But he didn't let it go to his head.

He continued to live in the same one-bedroom apartment, believing that "not focusing on money makes you sane."

Under Facebook's umbrella, Instagram continued to grow at a staggering pace.

By 2016, just four years after the acquisition, Instagram had surpassed 500 million users.

This massive user base allowed Instagram to finally start generating significant revenue.

Today Instagram generates more than $60 billion.

Both the founders are multi-millionaires.

Instagram's Cultural Impact 🌍

Instagram's influence extended far beyond the tech world.

It changed how people interact with photography, travel, and even food.

The phrase "doing it for the 'gram" entered the cultural lexicon, reflecting how the platform was shaping behavior.

Businesses, especially in the fashion and lifestyle sectors, found a powerful new marketing channel.

Influencer marketing, while not invented by Instagram, exploded in popularity on the platform.

The sweet Marriage

Kevin married his college sweetheart, Nicole Schuetz, who was the inspiration for Instagram’s idea in October 2015.

He had met Nicole in college, where they graduated together.

The wedding took place in Napa, California.

Kevin and Nicole live together in San Francisco, where his sister also lives, while his parents still work and reside in Massachusetts.

The Road Ahead 🛣️

Today, Instagram has over a billion active users and is valued at more than $100 billion.

Its revenue growth has been nothing short of phenomenal.

Kevin says “I promise you, a lot of it is luck. But you make your own luck by working really hard and trying lots and lots of things.”

His journey from a geeky kid coding in his bedroom to a multi-millionaire who changed how we communicate is proof to the power of creativity, tenacity, and a willingness to try many things.

Turning Clicks into Your Own Success Story 🏆

As we wrap up Kevin's incredible journey, let's take a moment to distill some key nuggets of wisdom that you, as an aspiring entrepreneur, can apply to your own ventures:

1. Embrace your inner geek: Kevin turned his childhood obsession with technology into a billion-dollar business. What unique skills or interests from your past can you transform into a venture?

   Remember that time you spent hours organizing your Pokémon cards? What if that obsessive attention to detail could be your startup superpower?

2. Pivot with purpose: Instagram wasn't Kevin's first idea, but it was the one that stuck. Are you willing to abandon your original concept if a better opportunity presents itself?

   If your grand plan to revolutionize the shoelace industry isn't working out, what hidden gem might be lurking in your "failed" idea?

3. Stay lean and focused: Instagram grew to millions of users with a tiny team. How can you do more with less in your biz?

   Can you turn your startup's shoestring budget into a virtue? Maybe "we can't afford facebook ads" can become "We're going to go viral with our insta reels"!

Conclusion: Your Turn to Click 📸

Kevin Systrom's journey from a dorky kid selling candy from his locker to the co-founder of a billion-dollar company is more than just an inspiring tale – it's a blueprint for turning your own wild ideas into reality.

The point is, your "useless" skills might just be the key to your success.

Remember, Kevin Systrom didn't set out to create a billion-dollar company.

He just wanted to make crappy phone photos look cool.

And look where that led him!

Your Instagram-sized success story is waiting to be written.

And hey, don't forget to take a filtered photo of your first day as an entrepreneur – you know, for posterity (and maybe a few likes).

Go on, make us proud.

We can't wait to see what you'll create!

Let the good times roll for you!. 🍨

Yours “Rooting for your success” Vijay Peduru