26-Year-Old Programmer Built a $1 Billion App In 2 Years — After Following His Girlfriend’s Advice
How a failed passion project turned into one of the most iconic apps of our time
How a failed passion project turned into one of the most iconic apps of our time
Kevin Systrom left Google frustrated.
Having spent almost three years as a product manager at the company, Kevin was eager to take on more responsibility and apply his nuclear drive to something tangible. Instead, he was offered by his boss to take up golf.
Having spent almost three years as a product manager at the company, Kevin was eager to take on more responsibility and apply his nuclear drive to something tangible. Instead, he was offered by his boss to take up golf.
His next stop was NextStop, a location recommendation app startup. With FourSquare leading the way, check-in apps were all the rage in the late 2000s, and a small team meant Kevin could get more responsibility and take initiative.
He did. After a year of honing his coding skills at the startup, Kevin decided to create a check-in app of his own.
A hostel in Mexico seemed like the right place to pursue his terrible idea, so Kevin packed his flip-flops and bought two tickets out of California — one for himself, one for his girlfriend. That second ticket would become the best investment Kevin Systrom ever made.
“You should probably add filters”
Burbn — Kevin’s first grown-up brainchild — sounded good on paper. Unlike other check-in apps, Burbn allowed users to post photos and videos along with their check-ins.
Burbn — Kevin’s first grown-up brainchild — sounded good on paper. Unlike other check-in apps, Burbn allowed users to post photos and videos along with their check-ins.
Investors liked the idea, and Kevin received two checks — one from Baseline Ventures, and another from Andreessen Horowitz — totalling $500,000.
Burbn was easy to build, but it was even easier for users to forget. 80 people — that’s how many joined Burbn over nine months. Kevin recalls having his friends meet his parents via the app, and reconnecting with long-lost acquaintances.
But whenever he showed the app to ‘outsiders’ — a.k.a. potential users like you and me — they would nod enthusiastically and then dismiss the app minutes later.
It was a tight-knit community of enthusiastic location-sharers. But it wasn’t growing. Something had to be done.
It was a tight-knit community of enthusiastic location-sharers. But it wasn’t growing. Something had to be done.
During their Mexico trip, Kevin asked his girlfriend why she didn’t post any pictures on Burbn. She said that her iPhone 4 photos didn’t look as good as some of Kevin’s friends’. He explained that his friends were using photo filters.
Kevin: 'She goes ‘oh, well, you should probably add filters.’ We came back from that walk, I went straight to the room, got on my laptop and I made the first filter, which was X-Pro II.”
Within weeks, Burbn was stripped of all features except photo sharing. The gutted version was downloaded 25,000 times on day one.
How do you call an app that sends instant camera shots at the speed of a telegram? That’s right. Instagram.
How do you call an app that sends instant camera shots at the speed of a telegram? That’s right. Instagram.
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