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Consumer Social App
Instagram: The Power of Radical Simplification
How Kevin Systrom stripped down a cluttered check-in app to create a photo-sharing phenomenon that gained 25,000 users in its first 24 hours.
1 billion+ users
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25K users in 24 hours
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Launched Oct 2010
Instagram's story is a masterclass in the power of pivoting and simplification. Kevin Systrom originally built Burbn, a location-based check-in app with photo sharing, but it was too cluttered and confusing. By stripping it down to just photo sharing with filters, Instagram launched to explosive growth—gaining 25,000 users in its first 24 hours.
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