ScoutKit is a tool to help businesses find and manage influencers on Instagram. I was inspired by working with my wife, Charity, on her Instagram presence. It became clear to me that one of the challenges businesses face when trying to do influencer marketing is simply finding influencers. The process for many is to use the Instagram app’s explore feature - this process is slow and untargeted.
ScoutKit was going to improve this process by allowing businesses to connect their profile and build a list of influencers based on their profile and other profiles they selected, like their competitors. Basically, the app would look at the followers of the target profiles and then find the people that those followers followed.
I got the app to an MVP - basic influencer recommendations, minimal UI, etc. I got it to the point I believed was acceptable to submit to Instagram for approval. I was concerned from the beginning my app may not meet Instagram’s Platform Policy. Unfortunately, my concern turned out to be valid - I got rejected with the below reason.
Don’t transfer any data that you receive from us (including anonymous, aggregate, or derived data) to any ad network, data broker, influencer network, or other advertising or monetization-related service.
After the rejection, I tried submitting the app again pivoting from influencer recommendations to basic metrics, but got rejected again for the same reason. I also reached out to some people that work at Instagram through LinkedIn, but didn’t get any promising advice. It was at this point that I decided to reevaluate what I was trying to accomplish.
This experience did highlight the importance of Agile and MVP to me, as I got feedback on the app really quickly. I spent a total of a month on the idea from conception to submission building out the website, the app, and the deployment pipeline. I was also able to keep the cost very low, under $100, to test the idea. I even had a few pre-sales signups.
I could have put a little more effort into getting the app approved, and I may still do that. I decided to stop working on it both for personal reasons and because I became more skeptical of building a business based on a restrictive API.
After working on this project, I took some time to reflect on what I really wanted. I thought I wanted to run my own business - be my own boss. But, this experience showed me that isn’t what I really want. What I really want, what really appeals to me, is autonomy, purpose, and financial freedom.
Those goals are accomplishable, and in some ways more easily accomplishable, working full-time as a developer. Instead of working full-time as a developer and then burning the midnight oil working on a side business, I can simply focus on one thing. This is less stressful and will allow me to not only perform better for my employer and accomplish my career goals, but it will allow me to spend more time with my family - you know, the important stuff.
I still plan on working on side projects that are hopefully useful to people, and perhaps even charging for them; but my motivation is no longer to replace my primary income with my own business. I want my side projects to be more of a creative release for me - a chance to try out new technologies or new techniques; a chance to practice my craft in pursuit of mastery.