How fashion influencer Tezza turned photo filters into an app with $32 million in projected yearly revenue and a newly launched print magazine
- Tezza, an influencer with 1.2 million Instagram followers, launched an app in 2018.
- The app — also called Tezza — now has 2.5 million monthly active users. She also launched a magazine.
- Here’s an inside look into the influencer’s business.
Tessa Barton — better known as Tezza — is building a media empire with 1.2 million Instagram followers, a popular photo-editing app, and now a magazine.
The Tezza app, which is similar to photo-editing tools like Adobe’s Lightroom or VSCO, announced this week that it has surpassed 20 million downloads and has approximately 2.5 million monthly active users.
Tezza’s photo-editing tools have become popular among creators, with a variety of filters that can make any iPhone photo or video look like it was shot on 35mm film or captured on a vintage camcorder.
The app’s primary source of revenue is a subscription fee, which can range between $40 and $60 for yearly subscriptions to Tezza Pro (unlimited photo filters and templates) and Tezza Luxe (which also unlocks video-editing tools). There is also a free option for users.
The company stated that it expects annual recurring revenue of $32 million.
Barton and her husband and cofounder, Cole Herrmann, have bootstrapped the company since its inception in 2018.
“We built the brand from the start to be profitable,” Barton explained. “We were kids in New York who needed to pay our rent.”
Converting social media followers into app users
Growing a social media following aided the two cofounders in developing and expanding the app.
“The number one way to just grow, in general, is to share,” Barton said. “We didn’t run a single paid ad with the app for the first four years.” We didn’t do any marketing. “It was all natural growth.”
By sharing content on social media with the Tezza filters and inviting users to provide early feedback, “they felt like they were a part of it too,” Barton said of her audience. “Then they were telling their friends about it and willing to post about it, and they were excited about it as well.”
When it comes to the future of her company, Barton is thinking beyond photo editing.
“Something we’re really excited about is building an in-app social network that’s really based around learning and being inspired by creators,” Barton said.
Going beyond the phone with print and in-person events
Tezza, according to Barton, is a “home base for creators” where they can interact and collaborate.
An app is one thing, but Tezza is attempting to create a web of media businesses.
Barton’s most recent world-building performance took place during New York Fashion Week in September, when the influencer launched a new magazine, Tezza Magazine.
The 144-page debut issue follows in the footsteps of visual fashion and culture magazines like V Magazine, Puss Puss, and The Face. Its content is inspired by brands with which Barton has worked or admires, as well as art created by Tezza app users.
“We really wanted it to feel like an art book,” Barton explained.
The magazine, which can be purchased for $30 at Iconic Magazines, will be published biannually, with a digital version in the works, according to Barton.
It’s all part of developing a brand that extends beyond the screen.
“We have an app, a magazine, and an art space where we do events,” Barton explained. “We hope to have Tezza Fest one day, where you can come and there will be music, artists, and all kinds of food.”
As the creator economy matures, many of the influencers and creators driving it are still figuring out how to build a business model that lasts — especially as fame and trends come and go.
“Our motto is always ‘done is better than perfect,’ and that’s because the world we live in unfortunately moves really fast,” Barton explained. “Things change quickly, especially when you’re trying to launch a business; you could work on it for years and then things change.” You must be willing to adapt quickly and listen to your community.”
