The Instagram Case: Why Product Owners Are a Must-Have

In 2010, Instagram wasn’t Instagram. It was Burbn — a cluttered app trying to do everything: location check-ins, gamification, photo sharing, and more.

It didn’t work. It was getting to the point where the project could have died, but something interesting happened.

The turning point came not through the development of new features or aggressive marketing, but from looking deeper.

The team analyzed usage data and saw a clear pattern: users only cared about one thing — sharing photos. They didn’t use any other functionality.

They killed everything else. Doubled down on that one feature. 🚀

Result? Instagram skyrocketed to become the #1 free app in the U.S., and was acquired by Facebook for $1B just two years later.

What does this have to do with Product Owners?

Everything.

Burbn had engineers. But what they needed — and eventually acted like — was a Product Owner mindset:

• Talk to users
• Track behavior
• Test hypotheses
• Kill what doesn’t work
• Focus & Scale on what does

That mindset is not about shipping features. It’s about building value.

Why Product Owners Role Matter More Than Ever

Every day, thousands of new apps launch. The winners aren’t those who ship the most. The winners are those who learn the fastest:

• What problem are we solving?
• Are users actually using this?
• What should we change? Test next? Cut?
• Are we learning or just shipping?

Product Owners sit at the intersection of business, tech, and users. They’re not just backlog managers — they’re growth catalysts.

Conclusion

Success doesn’t come from building more. It comes from building smarter — based on feedback, data, and ruthless prioritization.

That’s why Product Owners aren’t just important. They’re a must-have.

Is there a person in your company who fulfills this role? 👀