In 2017, the newlyweds were struggling to pay their $2,800-per-month New York rent. They tried a series of side hustles — a denim line,, writing and selling a book — but none were particularly lucrative, and the products took up too much space in their 250-square-foot studio apartment.
— selling collage kits, apparel and a recently launched magazine, in addition to its flagship photo and video editing app. The Los Angeles-based company brought in $26.5 million in sales last year, or $2.2 million per month on average, according to documents reviewed by CNBC Make It. Publicly, the couple's lifestyle was highly aspirational. Behind the scenes, they worked unglamorous hours for 18 months to stay afloat while building their app.
"Every other app was catering to this kind of professional look," Herrmann says. Instead, Tezza went bold. Its photo editing features were simple. The app's bright red design featured chunky fonts and used casual millennial slang to connect to its audience.