They said it couldn't be done
What they said
“I really don't see the value of sharing photos with some 'artistic' filter applied to them.”
What actually happened
Users
2B+ monthly active users; 500M daily Stories users
by December 2023
The Founder
The Numbers
Oct 2010
Apr 2012
Jun 2018
Jun 2020
Dec 2023
The Journey
August 2010
PivotSystrom and Krieger pivot: strip Burbn to photos-only after noticing photo feature had all the engagement.
October 2010
LaunchInstagram launches on App Store — exclusively iPhone. 25,000 users on day 1; crashes servers.
December 2010
Milestone1 million registered users — 3 months after launch.
April 2011
Milestone10 million users — 6 months after launch. Still iPhone-only, zero revenue.
December 2023
Milestone2B+ monthly active users; $40B+ estimated annual revenue contribution to Meta.
The Pattern
“Win one narrow beachhead. Then expand from there.”
Related products
Sketch in a browser — Adobe offered $20B to make it stop
Adobe-Figma deal terminated after UK/EU regulatory blocks; Adobe pays Figma $1B termination fee
Rent a stranger's home — the idea every investor called crazy
$9.9B revenue, 450M+ guest arrivals
Getting in a stranger's car — the idea regulators tried to kill
$44B+ revenue, 10.8B trips completed
Chat about Instagram loads when this section enters view.