Kevin Systrom
Kevin Systrom
Kevin Systrom is an American entrepreneur and programmer, best known as the co‑founder and CEO of Instagram, an online mobile photo, video sharing application. This social networking service for iPhone, Android and Windows Phone that allow users to apply a filter to a photo and share it on the service or on other social networks like Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, and Flickr. In 2013, Systrom was listed in the Forbes 30 under 30 list under the Social/Mobile category. Together with Mike...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionEntrepreneur
Date of Birth30 December 1983
CityHolliston, NY
CountryUnited States of America
I actually think some of my best moments in life have been while I was with people from Instagram - whether it's super late nights getting a release out or being able to travel to places I'd never visited and meeting some of the most interesting people I've ever met.
People always told me photos have been done. My feeling was, these people are wrong.
I really appreciate crafts. I like cooking. I love food and drink. I love owning that through Instagram. Although that can be challenging at times because it doesn't fit people's stereotypes of a technical founder.
What people tell you and how they act is very, very different sometimes.
I've always been into taking my photos, cropping them square, putting them through a filter in Photoshop.
You need to fail in order to find the right solution.
The best feature is less features.
I always look toward teens on Instagram to really understand what's going on. For some reason, when you're a teen, you just understand the world better than anyone else.
What's awesome about social media is you curate your own experience. That leads to the rise of niche celebrities, who are actually just as popular as mass celebrities, but because there's no incentive for traditional media to invest in them as celebrities, they find a home where people can follow them on Instagram.
On the intimate relationships, I'd say you can be someone who wouldn't normally get attention in traditional media and come onto Instagram and build this massive following.
I love challenging the notion that, in order to be a tech founder, you have to be holed up in a dark room wearing a T-shirt and baggy jeans.
We're just taking people and shifting them from taking photos anyway to taking them on Instagram.
Every startup should address a real and demonstrated need in the world - if you build a solution to a problem lots of people have, it's so easy to sell your product to the world.
I think not focusing on money makes you sane because in the long run it can probably drive you crazy.