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Instagram Started as a Bourbon App. Kevin Systrom Made One Smart Cut.

By Kevin Systrom · Product & Building · 1 min read

Systrom built a location app called Burbn. Nobody used the locations. Everyone used the photos.

Key Points

Burbn was a check-in app with too many features
Users only cared about one feature: photo sharing
Systrom killed everything else and built Instagram in 8 weeks

What is the one thing people actually use? Photos. So we killed everything else.

The App Nobody Used Right

Kevin Systrom built Burbn. Check-ins, plans, points, photo sharing. A kitchen sink.

People signed up. But they ignored the locations and just posted photos.

We stayed in private beta way too long. You want to fail if it's going to fail. Get that feedback.

The Cut

Systrom killed every feature except photos. Eight weeks later, Instagram launched.

It did one thing. It did it perfectly.

One Billion Dollars

Facebook bought Instagram for a billion dollars. Thirteen employees.

The entire company existed because one founder was willing to kill his own product and rebuild.