Great article Ryan, I am (as I'm sure most founders reading this are) actively working on my startup's story - so I found it very useful. One thing that interests me is how the story changes over time. This seems to have been the case with Instagram. Like you said, Burbn was a very different product and over time they realized people were using it mostly for photos so they restarted with what is now Instagram. Was the well-crafted story you described there from the beginning, or was it developed as they worked with users and iterated through early products? Stories definitely give a company direction, allow designers and engineers to focus more on the few important features that really matter, and make it easier to speak to users, but it seems that getting to that story can be a journey in and of itself.
Thanks! Figuring out a startups story is often the most difficult part of the entrepreneurial journey, and can take weeks, months or even years. With Burbn, they began with a very different story, but over time it changed into what became Instagram. Where the trouble lies is figuring out what features are most unique and compelling with your product, and focusing on those. In the next article I'm going to break this process down and I think it will answer your question on how an entrepreneur like Kevin could start with a product like Burbn, and wittle it down into a product like Instagram.
Well done Ryan. I felt like you read by mind. We are in the middle of incorporating many of these points into our design process.
Thanks Chuck! I'm glad it was helpful and it was your tweet that really provided the thesis for the article.
A very timely post, indeed! Would like to hear more...
Thanks! Look for the next article sometime next week. I'm going to discuss taking a products story, and turning it into a product flow.