Kevin Systrom facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Kevin Systrom
Systrom in 2018
Born	(1983-12-30) December 30, 1983 (age 41) Holliston, Massachusetts, U.S.
Education	Stanford University (BS)
Occupation	Businessman
Known for	Co-founder and former CEO, Instagram
Board member of	Walmart (2014–2018)
Spouse(s)	Nicole Schuetz ​ (m. 2016)​

Kevin Systrom, born on December 30, 1983, is an American computer programmer and businessman. He is best known for creating Instagram with Mike Krieger. Instagram is now one of the biggest photo-sharing apps in the world.

Systrom was named one of America's Richest Entrepreneurs Under 40 in 2016. As Instagram's CEO, he helped the app grow very fast. By September 2017, Instagram had 800 million users each month. He left his role as CEO of Instagram on September 24, 2018.

Meta Platforms (then Facebook, Inc.) bought Instagram for $1 billion in 2012. This was a huge amount for a company that only had 13 employees. Today, Instagram has over one billion users. It also brings in over $20 billion for Meta Platforms every year.

Early Life and Education

Kevin Systrom was born in Holliston, Massachusetts, on December 30, 1983. His mother, Diane, was a marketing executive. His father, Douglas, worked in human resources.

Systrom went to Middlesex School in Concord, Massachusetts. There, he started learning about computer programming. He became interested in coding by playing Doom 2 and making his own game levels.

While in high school, he worked at Boston Beat. This was a store that sold vinyl records in Boston.

College Years at Stanford

Systrom went to Stanford University. He graduated in 2006 with a bachelor's degree. He studied management science and engineering. At Stanford, he was part of the Sigma Nu fraternity.

He chose not to take a job offer from Mark Zuckerberg. Instead, he spent time studying photography in Florence, Italy. Systrom was also chosen for a special program at Stanford. This program led to an internship at Odeo, which later became Twitter.

Building a Career in Tech

Working at Google

After finishing college, Kevin Systrom joined Google. He worked on products like Gmail, Google Calendar, and Docs. He spent two years at Google as a product marketer. Systrom left Google because he wanted to move into a different program.

The Idea for Burbn

Systrom created a first version of what would become Burbn. He showed it to investors at a party. The idea came to him during a trip to Mexico. His girlfriend didn't want to post her photos because they didn't look good enough. The solution was to use filters to make photos look better. Systrom then created the X-Pro II filter, which is still used on Instagram.

After his first meeting with investors, he decided to quit his job. He wanted to see if Burbn could become a real company. Within two weeks, he received $500,000 in early funding.

From Burbn to Instagram

In San Francisco, Systrom and Mike Krieger built Burbn. It was an HTML 5 service where users could check into places. They could also make plans, earn points, and post pictures. However, they realized Burbn had too many features. Users wanted something simpler.

So, they decided to focus on just one thing: photo-sharing. This led to the creation of Instagram. Just one month after launching, Instagram had 1 million users. A year later, it had more than 10 million users.

Instagram's Success

In 2010, Systrom co-founded Instagram with Mike Krieger. It started as a photo-sharing service and later added video sharing.

In April 2012, Facebook bought Instagram for $1 billion. At that time, Instagram only had 13 employees. Mark Zuckerberg promised that Instagram would continue to grow on its own. This allowed Systrom to keep leading Instagram. Systrom said that joining Facebook helped them grow. They could use Facebook's experience in building a business.

Systrom saw Instagram as a media company. This is why big companies like The Walt Disney Company started using video ads on Instagram in 2014.

On September 24, 2018, it was announced that Systrom would be leaving Instagram.

Artifact App

On January 31, 2023, Krieger and Systrom launched Artifact. This was an app that used AI to show news. It was available on the App Store and Google Play. As of January 12, 2024, Artifact is in the process of shutting down.

Ideas on Copying in Tech

Instagram has sometimes been accused of copying features from its competitor, Snapchat. Kevin Systrom believes that new services are often "remixes" of existing ideas. He said that all ideas become original when you add your own style to them. Systrom also noted that you can find the origins of almost any app feature somewhere in tech history. He explained that this is just how Silicon Valley works.

Forbes Recognition

In 2014, Systrom was included in the Forbes "30 Under 30" list. This was for his work in the "Social/Mobile category."

In 2016, Forbes magazine said Systrom was a billionaire. His estimated wealth was $1.1 billion. This happened because Facebook's stock value grew a lot.

Personal Life

In February 2016, Systrom met with Pope Francis at the Vatican. They talked about how images can connect people. They discussed uniting people across different countries, cultures, and generations.

On October 31, 2016, Systrom married Nicole Schuetz. She is the founder of a clean-energy investment company. They met at Stanford University and got engaged in 2014.

See also

In Spanish: Kevin Systrom para niños