The success story of 28-year-old Kevin Systrom - the cofounder and CEO of mobile photo sharing service Instagram - has Holliston roots, with his Facebook page listing his hometown as Holliston, which is a suburban town nearly
20 miles west of Boston. Systrom's father, Doug, is a Human Resources VP at Framingham retailer TJX Cos.; and his mother, Diane, is a marketing executive at Zipcar car-sharing firm.

During his growing up years in a tree-framed, two-story house in Holliston, Systrom nurtured an early ambition of using his photographic skills such that he could "inspire others to look at the world in a new way."

When he was a high school student, Systrom was not only adept in using computers, but was also quite popular for his photography, which he said was his way "to show my outlook on the world to everyone."

His inclination towards computers as well as photography was apparently what drew Systrom to found his mobile photo sharing service Instagram - along with Mike Krieger - two years back, with the app chiefly enabling users to add effects to generic smartphone pictures, and share the photos with friends.

And, on Monday, Systrom revealed that popular social network Facebook will acquire his San Francisco-based start-up for a whopping $1 billion in cash and stock --- a deal which, according to a blog run by Wired magazine, will suddenly make Systrom one of the richest exports of Holliston: valued at an astounding $400 million!