Instagram's cofounder explains why he thinks people in their 20s have a unique advantage

• Mike Krieger said those in their early 20s can take advantage of their familiarity with youth trends.
• He told the EO YouTube channel that, at that age, you also have the means to execute an idea.
• The Instagram cofounder added that aspiring entrepreneurs should worry less about distractions.

Mike Krieger, chief product officer of Anthropic and cofounder of Instagram, believes that young entrepreneurs have a unique advantage.

Krieger said that those in their 20s benefit from being in a sort of adult limbo — having recently been teenagers themselves, they have a stronger sense of what trends appeal to younger audiences, which Krieger said is especially important when "building in consumer."

Young professionals also possess the means to actualize their ideas, he added.

"You're now able to take those insights and make them into something like a project or maybe even a company," Krieger said in an interview on the EO YouTube channel. "So, it's a very special time in your life, where you're like at the intersection of being a teenager, being really tuned into that, but being able to do those things."

In a follow-up email with Business Insider, Krieger said that being in tune with your audience is fundamental, and the best entrepreneurs prioritize gaining an understanding of who they're trying to appeal to.

"This isn't intuitive, but empathy is crucial during the design process, particularly when you venture beyond familiar territory into different languages, cultural contexts, and demographic groups," he wrote. "Making assumptions about what others desire almost guarantees you'll miss the mark."

Krieger launched Instagram with his co-founder, Kevin Systrom, in October 2010, when they were both in their early 20s. Eighteen months after its birth, Facebook acquired the company for $1 billion.

Krieger still remembers, and swears by, advice he received decades ago.

"Advice that I got when I was 21 and I still think about to this day, is the companies change, the projects change, you know, the economy changes, but the relationships you build in your career will be the relationships that you have over and over again," he said.

He said that his experience interning at a startup only cemented the importance of building a strong network and enduring connections.

"It was full of people who were in their late 30s who had worked together probably three or four times since they were 20, and it really stayed with me," Krieger said. "Remembering that those relationships build on each other and recur, which means that it's, you know, it's worth investing in that time."

As for young entrepreneurs looking to chart a similar path to success, Krieger suggests worrying less about what seem like distractions. Explorations outside your main project could help you build a vital knowledge base for the future, he added, and not every step "needs to make logical sense."

"There's definitely things that — side projects I did or explorations I did, where at the time I was like, 'Am I wasting my time here?'" Krieger said. "But actually later, I find that it was connected to the next thing I did."

Progress can be non-linear, he added, but it's best to have patience with the process.

"Just trust that if you're driving towards a direction, it might take some very strange routes to get there, but as long as you're learning, I think that that's fine," Krieger said.

For those looking to home in on a specific purpose, Krieger told BI that entrepreneurs should lean on their creativity.

"The most compelling entrepreneurs possess an almost science fiction-caliber imagination," Krieger told BI. "Ask yourself, 'What future world do I wish existed?' and then consider, 'How can I create that with today's tools?'"