Instagram’s CEO
This is a sobering look at what it takes to build a business vs a product (vs, even smaller scale, a feature).<p>You have to be willing to put in the long hours (err, years) and the schlepping to do all the business-y stuff:<p>* distribution<p>* monetization<p>* back end systems for admin users<p>* sales channels<p>etc, etc<p>Or, you can cash out and assimilate, err integrate, with a larger company that has done that hard work and lose control of your destiny. That's OK, most of us don't have full control of our destiny, and building product can be more fun. It's just a choice you should make with your eyes wide open.<p>I will say that I think he dismisses Snapchat's founders too quickly. Yes, they've been struggling, but they are trying to build a business rather than just integrate with an existing conglomerate.<p>It will be very interesting to see if Systrom et al can build another product, and if so, if they will try to build a business as well.