Mark Zuckerberg dropped $1 billion to solve a problem. And today that problem makes $20B a year.

Mark Zuckerberg Mark Zuckerberg dropped $1 billion to solve a problem. And today that problem makes $20B a year. Rewind to 2012. Zuck spots a little photo-sharing app blowing up in the app store. It’s called Instagram. It has just 13 employees and makes no money. But it does have one thing. Photos. You see, people used to post all their photos on Facebook. And now they’re doing it on Instagram. That’s a big problem. Really big. Zuck knows he needs to move fast or this little app could take him down. So he picks up the phone and calls the founder. Then he invites him over for a chat. And cuts straight to the end. Zuckerberg offers $1 billion for the app. At the first meeting. No bankers. No board. No questions. Just 2 guys having a chat. Instagram takes the deal. And just like that, Zuck neutralizes his biggest threat. Today Instagram pulls in $20B a year. Probably the best $1 billion ever spent.