Instagram

On April 5, 2012 Instagram was valued at 500 million dollars as part of a new round of funding with investors. Just a few days later, Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook, negotiated to buy it for $1 billion, $300 million cash and $700 million in Facebook shares. CNN called it one of the biggest deals in recent business tech history — not too shabby for a business only 18 months old, and a great inspiration to small companies everywhere. However, Facebook’s acquisition received mixed reviews and many raised eyebrows in the technology and business world.