When Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger met at Stanford, social networking wasn’t on their radars. Systrom had a marketing and engineering background; Krieger was a Brazilian-born designer fascinated by user experience and emotional engagement. Their friendship grew from a shared belief: technology should feel human, intuitive, and delightful.
Years later, that philosophy would become the heartbeat of Instagram, a platform that changed not only how we share memories, but how we see ourselves.
Kevin Systrom: the art of simplicity
Born in 1983 in Massachusetts, Systrom grew up with a passion for photography and engineering. He worked at Google in product management, dealing with early versions of Gmail and Google Calendar. But something was missing from his experience. He wanted to build his own product.
After leaving Google and prototyping a check-in app called Burbn, he noticed users gravitated toward one small feature: posting photos. The rest of the app features (check-ins, badges, points) felt like noise.
This would become one of Systrom’s defining instincts: “Good design is what you remove, not what you add“. He stripped away everything except photo sharing.
Mike Krieger: the user experience guru
Krieger, born in São Paulo in 1986, brought the empathy and design discipline that Systrom needed. At Stanford, he studied symbolic systems (a blend of psychology, human-computer interaction, and cognitive science).
He was particularly obsessed with the “first-time experience”: that moment when a user opens an app and immediately gets it. His goal was comfort.
Together, Systrom and Krieger formed one of the most harmonious duos in modern tech history.
Building Instagram
In October 2010, the pair launched Instagram, a name blending “instant camera” and “telegram”. Its mission was simple: share beautiful moments effortlessly. Within 24 hours, 25,000 users signed up. Within two months, it hit one million. By 2012, it had become a cultural phenomenon.
Several innovations made Instagram irresistible:
Instagram wasn’t loud. It wasn’t cluttered. It was carefully intentional. It brought Polaroid-style pictures online. And people were hungry for that kind of digital serenity.
The philosophy behind the filters
Systrom’s love for photography shaped Instagram’s early aesthetic: warm, nostalgic, dreamy. Filters were emotional tools. A few taps could turn mundane moments into memories, flattening the difference between professional photographers and casual users. The platform democratized visual storytelling.
Krieger ensured that the app felt gentle and frictionless. Scrolling through Instagram was like flipping through a personal magazine of your life and your friends’ lives.
The world fell in love with the app and its serenity.
The Facebook acquisition
In 2012, Facebook bought Instagram for roughly $1 billion. It was one of the most famous acquisitions in tech history. Many questioned the decision: Instagram had only 13 employees and zero revenue. But Zuckerberg saw what others missed: Instagram was the future.
Systrom and Krieger stayed on as leaders, preserving Instagram’s identity even as it grew into a commercial and cultural powerhouse. They expanded the platform thoughtfully:
Stories, in particular, changed everything. It made Instagram more spontaneous, less curated, and far more addictive. The platform became a daily diary.
The tensions
As Instagram grew, maintaining simplicity became more challenging. Influencers, advertising, and algorithmic feeds transformed the app’s feel.
Systrom and Krieger fought quietly and diplomatically to preserve Instagram’s soul. They resisted aggressive Facebook-style data collection. They pushed for moderation that felt fair. They tried to keep creativity above commerce.
But harmony was fading. The pressures of running a global platform clashed with their minimalist philosophy.
The departure
In 2018, Systrom and Krieger abruptly left Instagram. Official statements were polite, but insiders spoke of creative disagreements with Facebook leadership, especially around autonomy and the push toward heavier monetization. Systrom said: “We’re ready for the next chapter.”
Translated: Instagram was no longer theirs.
Life after Instagram
Since leaving, both founders have explored new ventures. Systrom co-launched Artifact (2023), a personalized news app driven by AI and design ethics. Krieger has focused on privacy-focused tools and design in emerging tech.
Both remain advocates for tech made with intention, beauty, and human-centred values, a contrast to the hyper-optimized platforms dominating today’s internet.
The legacy of Systrom and Krieger
Few apps have shaped culture as profoundly as Instagram. It rewired how we travel, eat, remember, compare ourselves, and express identity. It birthed influencers, micro-businesses, and global aesthetics.
At its core was the philosophy Systrom and Krieger shared: “Technology should make the ordinary feel meaningful. Design should disappear.”