From $0 to $26 million in one year. The story of a photography startup that made it

A couple started a business from scratch from their tiny apartment. Now the two earn over $26 million a year. And they do it while they sleep.

Tessa Barton and Cole Herrmann, as reported by CNBC, in 2017 lived in a 23-square-meter studio apartment in New York. Tessa was a freelance photographer at the time with a certain following on her Instagram profile, where she won over her followers by showing off her life in the studio apartment and making it look significantly more beautiful than it was.

She and Herrmann, a software engineer, realized they could sell that sense of aesthetics through preset photography filters. Thus, Tessa’s followers could make their lives Instagram-worthy, without the need for expensive cameras or the ability to use editing programs.

That idea gave birth to Tezza, a Los Angeles-based company that produces photo collage kits, clothing, and its popular photo editing app. According to documents examined by CNBC Make It, the company, run by a husband and wife as joint managing directors, had a turnover of $26.5 million last year.

Tezza has been a profitable startup since the beginning, its founders specify, thanks to its lean business model. The editing features take a long time to implement, but once complete they are capable of generating mostly passive revenue, giving Herrmann and Barton time and funds to create more features and expand Tezza into a lifestyle brand.

From university to a startup worth 25 million a year

Tessa Barton used the name “Tezza” for some side jobs she held while attending the University of Utah. She worked as a wedding photographer and content creator for brands like Urban Outfitters, building a strong social media following before being an influencer was even considered a full-time job.

She and Herrmann married and moved to New York in 2016. Barton wanted to channel the artistry in her work into something that would help non-professional creatives explore new ways of making content, but she didn’t know where to start.

The couple tried selling books and invested in a line of denim jackets, unsuccessful business ventures. In the meantime, however, the two noticed that more and more people were interacting with social media posts about Barton’s life, becoming enchanted by a collage of photographs on the wall and the works of art above their bed.

So, they began designing and selling photo collage kits — consisting of printed postcards, artwork, and photographs — so that people could decorate their homes just like Barton and Herrmann’s studio apartment.

The collage kits went viral in the following year, but they were expensive to make, time-consuming, and, above all, the packages to be sent took up a lot of space in the studio apartment.

One day, Barton realized that his followers liked not only his photos’ content but also the look of the photos themselves. Thanks to the cameras and editing tools they already have, the couple didn’t have to spend money to create a set of ready-made filters available for purchase on Adobe Lightroom.

From the launch of the app to the physical spaces

After selling these filters on Lightroom for 15 months, Barton and Herrmann launched the Tezza app in June 2018.

For four years, the couple and an assistant worked alone on Tezza’s product design, social media presence, and marketing. Today the company has 14 employees, including Barton and Herrmann.

Tezza is internationally known as a photo editing app. But Barton and Herrmann want to expand the brand through physical spaces, primarily selling clothing.

The app still remains the company’s main source of revenue. Its free version offers a limited number of filters and editing tools. Users who want more features pay $5.99 or $9.99 per month to gain access to Tezza’s full photo and video editing suite.

Original article published on Money.it Italy 2024-04-25 07:53:00. Original title: Da €0 a €25 milioni in un anno. La storia di una startup di fotografia che ce l’ha fatta