'Born Out Of Instagram': Entrepreneur Builds $300M Business Using Social Media Influencers

One entrepreneur figured out how to turn people's love for Instagram photos into a business that did nearly a third of a billion dollars in revenue last year. 

What To Know: While scrolling social media in 2011, Wesley Ng got the idea to start a business selling phone cases that could be customized with photos from Meta Platforms Inc.'s META Instagram.

Casetify has now sold more than 15 million phone cases, and in 2022 the company generated $300 million, according to CNBC.

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Ng touts Casetify as "one of the first very first brands to be born out of Instagram."

Targeting social media influencers helped spread the word about the new startup. Ng realized those popular figures would then turn around and recommend his product to their thousands of followers.

Casetify was built using the Instagram influencer strategy, which many businesses use today. It allows companies to maximize their reach without having to spend a lot of money on marketing.

The increased visibility Casetify received as a result of this strategy helped the company to ultimately be featured in social media posts by top celebrities such as rapper and songwriter Drake and media personality and businesswoman Kylie Jenner.

The company even ended up inking deals with Walt Disney Co DIS and NASA.

Nowadays, Casetify is exploring other platforms such as TikTok and expanding its product offerings beyond phone cases.

It also shifted away from online-only offerings in recent years and now has 25 brick-and-mortar locations, giving customers the chance to see the quality of the products firsthand before buying. 

Ng is now experimenting with new "style labs" where customers can come in and have their designs printed on products and walk out within 30 minutes. 

"That’s instant gratification," he says. 

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This story is part of a new series of features on the subject of success, Benzinga Inspire.

Some elements of this story were previously reported by Benzinga and it has been updated.

Photo: Dennis from Pixabay.