Podcast Summary: The Foundr Podcast with Nathan Chan

Episode 597: How She Built a $38M App with ZERO Ads | Tezza Barton
Release Date: October 16, 2025

Episode Overview

This episode features an in-depth conversation between Nathan Chan (host, Foundr CEO) and Tezza Barton, the co-founder of the Tezza app—a creative editing platform boasting over 25 million downloads and $38 million in revenue, achieved without paid advertising in its first four years and a notably lean team of 15–16 employees. Tezza shares her journey from a creatively nurturing upbringing, through the early failures and heartbreaks, to building a brand that treats an app like a beauty label and her philosophy of community-first, intentional growth over raising capital.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Creative Roots and Entrepreneurial DNA

[02:10]

• Tezza attributes her drive to create to her upbringing in a family filled with artists and entrepreneurs, describing it as a “Norman Rockwell” upbringing surrounded by family that worked and dreamed together.
  • “From a young age... I knew I was going to start something, so it was always kind of just— it was there, you know.” (Tezza, 02:58)
• Early ventures included running a candy shop at baseball games and teaching local art classes.

2. First Businesses and the Birth of Tezza

[03:35]

• Photography was her first "real" business, teaching her about clients and creative service.
• After moving to NYC with her husband Cole (developer and co-founder), they cycled through multiple 'failed' ventures before their first successful physical product: collage kits.
  • Lived with "negative dollars" in their account, which motivated urgent action and experimentation.
• The idea for the Tezza app emerged from Tezza’s mission: democratizing creativity for everyone, especially those often told they're not creative.

3. Mission Born from Tragedy and Drive

[05:18]

• Tezza’s entrepreneurial fire was stoked by the sudden loss of her sister at 17, who had been a true dreamer and left a list of “100 things to do before I die.”
  • “I just felt this immense responsibility to seize the moment and treat every day like a gift and not waste another minute.” (Tezza, 07:36)
• Partnering creatively with her husband, she gained new perspectives and synergies necessary for Tezza app’s eventual success.

4. The Power of Creative Partnerships

[09:08]

• Nathan and Tezza discuss the importance of finding the right creative partner—someone who fills skill gaps and brings out the best in each other.
  • “People look at the one person... but there is somebody that's kind of tugging and pulling at that, that really can really bring the true beauty out in something.” (Tezza, 11:09)

5. Bootstrapping and Growth Metrics

[12:02]

• Tezza app stats:
  • 25M+ downloads
  • $38M in revenue (last year)
  • 15–16 employees
• Entirely bootstrapped, no ads for the first four years.

6. Building Community Before Product

[13:10], [16:07]

• Community building was foundational: direct, authentic interactions via DMs, comments, meetups, and content, years before the app's launch.

• Community was engaged in the product-building process, making them loyal users and passionate advocates.

  “We really did build the community first. We didn't just build, you know, the tech and hope people to come.” (Tezza, 15:26)

• Tezza’s prior audience (as a photographer/blogger) led to an organic, invested user base at launch.

7. Early Challenges & Listening to Users

[20:51]

• Launch day was both exciting and traumatic—initial subscription pricing was misaligned, leading to negative user reactions in the app store.
• The team swiftly adapted:
  • “We should have listened to the community, because we did, and it worked out and we made it through. In the first year, we had over a million downloads...” (Tezza, 21:50)
• User gratitude propelled organic growth; no ads required as users did genuine word-of-mouth marketing.

8. Intentional Growth and Keeping Lean

[22:47], [25:02]

• Deliberate decision to keep the team small and to bootstrap:
  • “When you do bootstrap a business every dollar, you're, like, watching so closely... We know what works because we've done it so slowly.” (Tezza, 23:13)
• Both founders struggled to delegate due to the passion and personal nature of their involvement but recognized the need to grow and let go as the company scaled.

9. Adapting to Founder's Growing Pains

[28:06]

• Nathan and Tezza share mutual struggles transitioning from creator/operator to leader/manager and the tension between building, creative work, and leadership responsibilities.
  • “In order for me to ever get back to being the creative person that I want to be... there is a way to build process and to build teams around you...” (Tezza, 29:28)

10. Advice to Aspiring App Founders

[30:03], [30:23]

• Find technical partners or developers.
• Differentiate boldly: Treat software like a beauty or lifestyle brand to emotionally connect with users.
• Start with marketing and community: Reverse-engineer features based on potential for organic virality and deep resonance in social culture.
  • “We almost do it reverse, right? ... we come up with—because we're bootstrapped—how am I going to reach people through marketing? What kind of feature am I going to build that's really going to connect?” (Tezza, 31:26)

11. Creative, Experiential Marketing

[33:08], [34:41]

• Naming filters after real experiences (e.g., “Wildflower”) and hosting themed events provided standout brand experiences.
• Collaborations, especially with strong brands like Summer Fridays and 818, enabled cross-community engagement.
  • First Summer Fridays collab: “...it absolutely went viral. And it still is one of the most used presets today.” (Tezza, 36:12)
• Advice: Provide real value and pitch creative, relevant partnerships even as a small brand; persistence and idea quality trump status.

12. Handling Rejection, Early Stumble, and Persistence

[40:37]

• Failed early ventures were essential learning experiences—success might simply require more time and iteration, not a new idea.
  • “Just because it doesn’t work at first, don’t give up. I think things take a lot of time.” (Tezza, 41:44)

13. Founder’s Current Season: Growth & Reinvention

[42:22]

• Tezza is now in “growth mode,” feeling a responsibility to her expanded community and eager to expand the influence and utility of the Tezza brand.

14. Future of Creator Culture & Predictions

[43:10], [47:26]

• Tezza predicts that:
  • Only creators/businesses with deeper intention and meaning will stand out as content volume explodes; community and culture-shifting matter.
  • Brands built by those who know how to shift culture—not just amass a following—will dominate.
• Nathan’s take: The next “big thing” is live streaming for raw, continuous interaction and storytelling, predicting it's still “early days.”
• Tezza adds: Gen Alpha's appetite for “aesthetic” will marry curation with live, raw content.

15. AI and Preserving Human Magic

[48:19]

• AI will enhance productivity by removing grunt work (sorting, importing photos, etc.) and support, but curated, intentional human experience will remain at Tezza’s core.
  • “Everything at Tezza is... curated. It’s a curated experience. We don’t want to have just thousands... of ways to edit, but [edit options are] curated by me and my team and it’s intentional.” (Tezza, 48:53)

16. Final Wisdom: Small, Niche Brands Can Win Big

[49:45]

• Tezza’s parting advice: Ignore the “raise huge, sell quick” narrative. Deeply niche, passionate brands can be incredibly successful and are more relevant than ever.
  • “You don't always have to think, I'm going to build this massive, massive brand... the more you niche down... you will find success.” (Tezza, 50:12)

Notable Quotes & Moments

• On the cost of innovation:
  “There is benefit to being naive when you start a business because you just roll with the punches.” (Tezza, 20:51)
• On community-first growth:
  “We built the community first. We didn't just build tech and hope people would come.” (Tezza, 15:26)
• On intentionality:
  “Everything at Tezza is... curated. We don’t want to have just thousands... of ways to edit, but it’s curated by me and my team and it’s intentional.” (Tezza, 48:53)
• On persistence:
  “Just because it doesn’t work at first, don’t give up. I think things take a lot of time.” (Tezza, 41:44)
• On niching down:
  “The more you niche down, the more you speak directly to a community, and you're the most passionate person in the room about it, you will find success.” (Tezza, 50:14)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• 02:10 – Tezza’s entrepreneurial upbringing
• 05:18 – How tragedy fueled her mission and drive
• 13:10 – Building Tezza app as a passion project and first steps towards community
• 16:07 – Building a community before launching the product
• 20:51 – Launch day ups & downs; listening to user feedback
• 22:47 – Deliberate lean growth strategy and resisting premature scaling
• 25:02 – Struggles of letting go, even as team grows
• 30:23 – Advice for aspiring app founders & current app-building climate
• 33:08 – Unique naming conventions and experiential marketing
• 36:21 – Impact and origin story of the Summer Fridays filter collaboration
• 42:22 – Which “season” Tezza is in as a founder
• 43:39 – Predictions for the next phase of creator culture
• 48:19 – AI and preserving the “human” aspects of creativity
• 49:45 – Final thoughts: The power of niche brands

Episode Tone & Takeaway

Open, raw, and deeply relatable, the conversation illustrates the realities and rewards of bootstrapping, creative partnership, and staying intentionally small. Tezza’s journey demonstrates that world-class brands can be built through creative grit, an obsessive focus on community, and bold differentiation—without the need for large capital infusions or rapid, reckless scaling.

Essential takeaway:
You don’t need to build a unicorn or play by Silicon Valley rules to create lasting impact, wealth, and joy—a passionate, purpose-driven, customer-first approach is a potent competitive advantage.