Storeo

What they Do Best

iOS application extending Instagram Stories duration beyond 15 seconds.

Main Industry

Social Media

Platform

Instagram

Type of Product

Mobile App

Target

B2C

Price Range

$1 - $49

Business Model

Subscription

Free Plan

Pricing Details

Available for free or $9.99 Paid plan

Revenue Estimates

$32,400

Monthly Website Traffic

Revenue Per Traffic

$0.00

Idea to Money

3 days to attain 10 in app purchases and 100 downloads

Founders

Employees

Year Started

2017

Dedication

They took around 150 hours to design and build the production version and launch it in the App Store

Market Insights / Trends

instagram stories app

Industry Incumbent

HootSuite ($150M/year)

How They Came Up With The Idea

Brandon had a friend named Martin who worked in marketing for construction contractors. Martin often created Instagram Stories for his clients but found that the 15-second time limit was never enough for him to convey everything he wanted. To work around the time limit, he had to manually split up the videos using a desktop editing app. This approach, however, was very time-consuming. Martin realized there must be an easier way and had an idea for an app that could automatically split longer videos into 15-second Instagram Story segments. He shared his idea with his friend Brandon, a software developer, was confident he could build the app. The two friends decided to start a business together. They agreed that Brandon would build the app, while Martin would handle sales and marketing. Any profits from the app would be split 50/50 between them. Brandon immediately started building the app based on Martin’s idea.

How They Built The First Version

Brandon was aware that React Native was the perfect choice for building the app as it allowed for building the UI using Javascript - a language that he was proficient in. Initially, he had to learn React Native, which took him about 20 hours to understand the basics and develop a basic prototype. He spent another 130 hours designing and building the production version, which was then launched on the App Store. Prior to the launch, they conducted a beta test with approximately 20 people, who really appreciated the app and identified a few bugs that Brandon and Martin weren’t aware of.

Growth Channels

Martin shared the Storeo app with his 12,000 Instagram followers initially. During the first weekend, the app was downloaded 100 times, and 10 in-app purchases were made. Martin also focused on building relationships with influencers and people with large followings, which was an effective way to spread the word. Many of these individuals shared information about Storeo on their Instagram accounts and blogs, resulting in increased visibility. Further, Storeo was featured in several prominent blogs, including Buffer, Later, and SocialMediaExaminer.

Main Growth Channel

Influencers

SEO

Tech Stack

- React Native - Javascript

Tools

- Instagram

Full Case Study

Brandon built a simple Instagram utility app as a side project and earns $2,700 per month in passive income.