How'd they pull it off? Well, personel was definitely key. "Headed by Bill Nguyen — who sold Lala to Apple in late 2009 — the company has attracted a wealth of talent. It has seven founders including Nguyen and company president Peter Pham, who previously founded BillShrink. And its chief of product is DJ Patil, who was previously LinkedIn’s chief scientist."
Yeah - I'll say it again for emphasis - Personel was definitely key. Show me someone who was able to succeed in the past, and 9 times out of 10 - I'll put money on them to figure out a way to succeed in the future, and it looks like that is what Sequoia Capital, Bain Capital, and Silicon Valley Bank.
For more info on this new photo-sharing/social app - check out techcrunch. In the mean time, download the app, and add me (name: SiLK). Let's get it!