Creator Science #288: He gained 190K Instagram followers in 508 days…but wouldn’t do it again | Yoni Smolyar
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Jan 6, 2026 
In this discussion, Yoni Smolyar, an entrepreneur and software engineer, shares his wild journey of posting daily Instagram videos for 508 days, amassing nearly 190,000 followers. He reflects on the lessons learned, notably how fulfilling this challenge led to creator burnout. Yoni also dives into the launch of his app, BrainRot, which targets phone overuse and achieved impressive early traction. He emphasizes the value of authenticity over polish in content creation, warns against audience pigeonholing, and critiques short-form video for its impact on attention spans.
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Unexpected 508-Day Posting Streak
- Yoni posted an unedited video to Instagram every day and hit a 508-day streak unexpectedly.
- He started from zero followers to flex the muscle of posting and learn incrementally through practice.
Use Daily Posts To Build The Habit
- Do daily posting as a forcing function to build the habit and desensitize yourself to cringe.
- After ~30 days it becomes part of your routine and the hardest step—day one—is behind you.
First Viral Story Surprise
- Three weeks in, a 40-second story about putting an offer on a house hit ~50,000 views and drove hundreds of followers.
- The algorithm served it strangely to an older demographic who commented affectionately.