Passion Turns into Profit: The Story of Tezza’s Success
Tessa Barton and Cole Herrmann launched their own photo editing app, Tezza, for two reasons: passion and practicality. In 2017, as a newly married couple, they struggled to pay the $2,800 monthly rent in New York City. They tried a variety of side gigs – producing jeans, selling wall decals, writing and selling books – but none proved to be profitable ventures. Not only that, these products took up too much space in their small studio apartment.
At that time, Herrmann was a full-time software engineer and Barton was a freelance photographer who was gaining influence on social media. One day, they had the idea to combine their skills and create and sell custom photo filters for Adobe Lightroom.
Within weeks, the filters gained traction and provided the foundation for the couple to launch their own photo editing app, Tezza. Based in Los Angeles, the company generated $26.5 million in revenue last year, averaging $2.2 million per month, according to CNBC Make It.
“We started this without the intention of turning it into a business. It truly began as a passion project, but also as a way for us to hopefully make some extra income to cover our rent and survive in New York City,” Herrmann said.
Creativity and Learning from Mistakes
Barton’s photography career began at the age of 16 when she took photos around her hometown of Utah, edited them in a high-fashion magazine style, and shared them on Instagram. Eventually, brands like Urban Outfitters and Free People – both subsidiaries of URBN – reached out and offered to pay her for photoshoots.
By 2016, Barton and Herrmann had moved to New York, and her social media account had attracted around 20,000 followers. “We worked from 10 p.m. to 3 a.m. to build the brand. It involved a lot of tears, challenges, and mistakes,” Barton shared. The couple even thought it was a foolish idea that would never succeed. But with relentless effort, they created modern, trendy filter and frame templates, advertised them on social media platforms, and received an enthusiastic response.
Tezza became famous and is now a fierce competitor to other photo editing apps like Lightroom and VSCO on the App Store. Currently, Tezza has only 12 employees to save costs and maintain control over the brand’s “creative vision,” said Herrmann.
The basic version of the app is free, and users can pay to access different features. The most expensive subscription is $59.99 per year, which includes full access to the recently released video editing tool.
Barton and Herrmann serve as the company’s CEOs. Barton said their sole short-term goal is to continue experimenting and finding new methods to create more creative filters.
Reference: CNBC