Instagram Founders Leave Company

Ronn Torossian, CEO, 5WPR

Sometimes, crisis PR is about averting a crisis before it strikes. Your message and how you manage that message can go a long way toward determining if potentially bad news blows up in your face or if it just washes over you with your brand integrity intact.

Recently, had the opportunity to live out that truism when co-founders, Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger both announced they would be leaving the company they founded, which is owned by Facebook.

After the announcement was made public, whispers that at least one of the founders did not get on well with Facebook CEO began to grow louder. To avoid a contentious news cycle, Facebook and Instagram had to jump out ahead of the developing story and set the record straight… or at least offer their version of the story, even as Systrom and Krieger were offering theirs.

Systrom, the CEO, and Krieger, the CTO, kept their initial narrative gracious and upbeat, focusing on the positive of their time at Instagram, and looking ahead at the opportunity to “explore our curiosity and creativity” in new and different ways. Krieger tweeted that he and Systrom “started Instagram hoping to build something that would bring out people’s creativity and spirit for exploration…” He added that “now it’s time for the next chapter. A huge thank you to everyone in the community…”

Systrom was similarly positive, saying, “The Instagram journey is one I won’t forget… Building simple products that solved universal problems. Now we look back and are proud and grateful to have been part of that journey… Thank you to the entire community…”

Again, the messaging was positive and gracious, yet some pointed out some people “missing” from the messaging. Namely, Zuckerberg and the other Facebook leadership. That absence has many thinking about the “ongoing tension” between the Instagram founders and Facebook that has been widely reported since Facebook bought Instagram.

Possibly in an attempt to diffuse some of these lines of thinking, Systrom published a blog post that said they were leaving because “Building new things requires that we step back, understand what inspires us, and match that with what the world needs…” Systrom added that he and Krieger were both “excited for the future of Instagram and Facebook.”

So… tension averted and rumors silenced? Well… not really. Everyone waited for Facebook to weigh in. Zuckerberg issued a statement that was, by any measure, cordial and hopeful: “I’ve learned a lot working with (Krieger and Systrom) for the past six years, and have really enjoyed it… I’m looking forward to seeing what they build next.”

All things considered, that was a very fond farewell from the boss. So, while there may be some in the tech media who continue to speculate about “animosity” between Systrom and Zuckerberg, or “regret” from the Instagram founders that they sold too soon and for too little, that message doesn’t seem to be finding any purchase among the principles, who have all chosen, at least publicly, to move on to greater things.

Ronn Torossian is CEO of 5WPR, a leading PR firm.