Instagram has evolved from a simple photo-sharing app to one of the world‘s most influential social media platforms and a multi-billion dollar business for parent company Meta. How did it all begin and grow to where Instagram is today? Let‘s dive into the key events and innovations that have shaped Instagram‘s history.
Origins: From Burbn to Focusing on Photos
It all started in San Francisco in 2009 when Stanford graduate Kevin Systrom was working on a prototype app called Burbn. The app allowed users to check in at locations, post future plans, share photos and more – taking inspiration from Systrom‘s interest in bourbon whiskeys.
Fellow Stanford alum Mike Krieger soon joined as co-founder, contributing his software expertise to the development of Burbn. After attending a fateful event hosted by Silicon Valley firm Hunch in early 2010, Systrom secured $500,000 in seed funding from Baseline Ventures and Andreessen Horowitz to build on Burbn.
However, when Systrom and Krieger reassessed their project, they realized Burbn was trying to do too much. They decided to focus solely on photo-sharing, noticing it had emerged as the most popular feature among Burbn users. They renamed the app Instagram – combining "instant camera" with "telegram" in reference to the app‘s instant photo sharing capabilities.
Early Funding Rounds & Rapid Growth After Launch
From March to April 2010, Systrom and Krieger worked intensely on developing the first version of Instagram for iOS. On October 6th 2010, Instagram officially launched on Apple‘s App Store. Within the first day, it already had over 25,000 users signing up. By mid-December of 2010, Instagram had reached 1 million users.
This staggering early growth attracted big investors. In February 2011, Instagram raised $7 million in a Series A funding round led by Benchmark Capital. One year later in April 2012, the company raised $50 million more led by Sequoia Capital, valuing the company at $500 million at that time. Clearly Instagram was onto something huge.
Being Acquired by Facebook for $1 Billion
On April 9th 2012, just a year and a half after Instagram launched, social media giant Facebook announced its intention to acquire Instagram for approximately $1 billion in cash and stock. This massive deal recognized the fast growth and huge potential of Systrom and Krieger‘s unique photo-sharing app.
Mark Zuckerberg saw synergies between Facebook and Instagram, but agreed to keep Instagram independent under the leadership of Systrom and Krieger. At that point Instagram had 30 million registered users, but bringing Instagram under Facebook‘s wing allowed it to tap into Facebook‘s resources and user base to fuel much faster growth.
Expanding Platforms: Android & New Features
Up until April 2012, Instagram was only available on iOS devices. As part of the Facebook acquisition, Systrom and Krieger committed to releasing an Android version soon, which arrived that very same month on April 3rd 2012.
This opened up Instagram to a much broader global mobile audience and kickstarted its user growth trajectory towards 1 billion monthly active users over the next decade. More product innovations would follow…
In August 2016, Instagram launched Instagram Stories – a feature that allows users to post photos and videos that expire after 24 hours. Snapchat pioneered this format of ephemeral content sharing, but Instagram quickly adopted it within Stories and the format has become a core part of the app‘s user experience.
Other additions like IGTV for longer-form vertical video, Instagram Live streaming, and tools like Boomerang extended Instagram‘s capabilities beyond just static photo sharing into a rich, multi-media social platform.
New Leadership Under Adam Mosseri
Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger unexpectedly announced their resignation from Instagram in September 2018. Differing perspectives with Mark Zuckerberg and Facebook‘s leadership reportedly led to their decision to step down.
Adam Mosseri, a long-time Facebook executive who was head of News Feed at the time, took over as the new Head of Instagram moving forward. Mosseri steered Instagram further into entertainment, shopping features and augmented reality filters while preserving the app‘s essential focus on visual sharing and content creation.
The Rise of Influencers, Creators & Commerce
A major cultural impact of Instagram has been the rise of influencers and content creators who leverage Instagram to build huge audiences around their personal brands. These include celebrities, athletes, musicians and more – sharing a glimpse into their lifestyles, interests and relationships with fans.
For businesses and brands, Instagram presented a visual storefront to attractively showcase products using free platforms like Instagram Shopping and Instagram for Business. The use of influencer marketing took off, partnering individuals with brands to promote products.
Between these cultural shifts, entertaining features like Instagram Reels short videos, and an addiction to the dopamine hit of likes and comments, Instagram has become indispensable to the lives of over 1 billion people worldwide.
Monetizing a Photo-Sharing Giant
Of course, running a platform with over a billion active users requires major resources. Following Facebook‘s playbook, Instagram began focusing on advertising in its main feed and Stories as primary revenue streams.
Slowly but surely, more ads from brands and businesses began appearing in the app. But Instagram also drove revenue through affiliate fees on product drops via creators, and taking a cut of transactions in Instagram Shopping.
From 2019 to 2020, as Instagram ramped up monetization, its estimated annual ad revenue shot up from $8 billion to over $20 billion. Clearly Instagram had figured out how to turn its enormous reach into big business – without significantly disrupting its beloved user experience.
The Road Ahead
Instagram has come incredibly far from its early days as a unique photo filter app in 2010. It has kept an iron grip on culture and visual content sharing for over a decade – no small feat in the rapid-fire tech industry.
But it will continue evolving. Instagram recently announced it is exploring NFTs and digital collectibles. And its leadership may change again as metaverse ambitions shift priorities at parent company Meta.
But for now, Instagram remains focused on what it does best – empowering artistic expression through shareable imagery and video, with all the messaging, entertainment and shopping needed to facilitate self-expression. The next decade promises to take that mission even further.
