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
The best products in the world have a point of view. The worst products have none.
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.
When people say that college isn't worthwhile and paying all this money isn't worthwhile, I really disagree. I think those experiences and those classes that may not necessarily seem applicable in the moment end up coming back to you time and time again.
Great products sell themselves.
I was never as focused in math, science, computer science, etcetera, as the people who were best at it. I wanted to create amazing screensavers that did beautiful visualizations of music. It's like, "Oh, I have to learn computer science to do that."
I think Instagram at its best is where you feel like you're getting the most authentic version of the person on the other side of the camera.
Above all else, products spread when they're useful and they're usable
You can be a couple in London who happen to take pictures of their breakfasts every day - it's called @symmetrybreakfast - and you can gain hundreds of thousands of followers overnight because people are genuinely interested in your unique angle on the world.
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.
If you've got an idea, start today. There's no better time than now to get going.
I promise you, a lot of it is luck. But you make your own luck by working really hard and trying lots and lots of things.
Focusing on one thing and doing it really, really well can get you very far.