A 26-year old Google employee built a billion dollar app in two years based on advice from his girlfriend.

@audos.ai

27.1K followers · usually 23.1K views a post

Views

1.0M

Likes

49.4K

Comments

113

Shares

1.8K

SoundTikTok sound · original sound - audos.ai

Why it worked

The video uses a compelling 'zero to hero' narrative structure about a well-known tech success story, which naturally captures audience interest. The fast-paced editing and clear, concise storytelling make the complex history of Instagram easy to digest.

Summary

The video tells the origin story of Instagram, explaining how Kevin Systrom pivoted from his initial app idea, Burbn, to create a photo-sharing platform. It highlights the pivotal moment when he added filters to the app, which ultimately led to its acquisition by Facebook.

Structure

1Introduction to Kevin Systrom's story
2The frustration at Google
3The pivot to building Burbn
4The realization of the photo-sharing potential
5The addition of filters and the birth of Instagram
6The acquisition by Mark Zuckerberg

On-screen text

A 26-YEAR OLD GOOGLE EMPLOYEE BILLION DOLLAR APP IN TWO YEARS BASED ON ADVICE FROM HIS GIRLFRIEND KEVIN SYSTROM WAS FRUSTRATED AT GOOGLE I WANT MORE RESPONSIBILITY TAKE UP GOLF INSTEAD STORY THAT TOOK PLACE AFTER THAT CONVERSATION RESIGNED THEN QUITS THAT BUILDING BURBN A LOCATION BASED CHECK-IN APP INSTEAD OF VIDEOS HE GETS 80 USERS THAT WAS UNTIL KEVIN REALIZED THE APP MORE THAN LOCATIONS BUT KEVIN'S GIRLFRIEND WOULDN'T POST THE PHOTOS UNTIL HE SHOWED HER THAT BY ADDING FILTERS SHE COULD MAKE THEM LOOK BETTER AH-HA MOMENT KEVIN STRIPS THE APP OF EVERYTHING EXCEPT POSTING PHOTOS AND FILTERS AND IN LESS THAN 2 YEARS MARK ZUCKERBERG BUYS INSTAGRAM FOR A BILLION DOLLARS

Original caption

How to build a billion dollar app in 2 years #business #apps #startups #entrepreneur #Tech

More from @audos.ai

More breakout videos from this creator.

Transcript

A 26-year old Google employee built a billion dollar app in two years based on advice from his girlfriend. Kevin Systrom was frustrated at Google. He wanted more responsibility but his boss responded by telling him to take up golf instead. And we heard about his insane story that took place after that conversation on the book Two Weeks Notice recommended by the Life Coach School podcast. So he quits Google, joins a startup and then quits that and flies to Mexico to build his own startup. So while in a hostel in Mexico he starts building Burbn, a location based check-in app similar to Foursquare but with pictures instead of videos. Over the course of 9 months he gets 80 users. That was until Kevin realized that people used the app more for photos than locations. But Kevin's girlfriend wouldn't post the photos until he showed her that by adding filters she could make them look better. That was the ah-ha moment. Kevin strips the app of everything except posting photos and filters and in less than two years Mark Zuckerberg buys Instagram for a billion dollars.