But the TechCrunch pieces aren't the reason Instagram suceeded. There are plenty of companies who got TechCrunch coverage that failed (most of them).
I read stories about the Instagram founder doing a "bar test". He would show people his app in a noisy bar, with half of their attention. If they couldn't figure it out, then the app was too complicated or too hard to explain.
He also had some very unscalable experience at previous Stanford company (don't remember the name now).
The press can only explain the a product -- it doesn't make the product fit the market.
I read stories about the Instagram founder doing a "bar test". He would show people his app in a noisy bar, with half of their attention. If they couldn't figure it out, then the app was too complicated or too hard to explain.
He also had some very unscalable experience at previous Stanford company (don't remember the name now).
The press can only explain the a product -- it doesn't make the product fit the market.