Snapchat is going public with a $25 billion (£20 billion) valuation. Clearly, the photo-sharing app has come a long, long way.
When Evan Spiegel, CEO of Snap (the parent company of Snapchat), first launched the disappearing photo app back in 2011, he and his cofounders pitched it to journalists as a great tool for "certified bros" and targeted frat-friendly publications.
In some cases, Spiegel went as far as to say how attractive the Duke girl who modeled for his app was.
In 2014, BroBible editor Brandon Wenerd scrolled through his archives and found this gem of a pitch from Spiegel. (It's similar to a pitch that was used as evidence against Spiegel in a lawsuit about the founding of Snapchat.)
Here's the email Wenerd says he received:
Evan Spiegel called Picaboo — as Snapchat was originally called — "ridiculous," described himself as a "certified bro" whose fraternity was "kicked off last quarter," and boasted that the model they used for the photos is "very good-looking."
Wenerd said BroBible's reaction was, "Dah f---?"
But clearly, the CEO's plan worked. The company now has annual revenues of $400 million (£320 million), it's branching out into hardware, is experimenting with augmented reality tech, and its planned float on the New York Stock Exchange is one of the most eagerly awaited tech IPO's of 2017.
Not too bad for a "ridiculous iPhone app."
If you're curious, here's the version of the email that was used in the Snapchat cofounder lawsuit. Notice in the version above, Spiegel writes "I built" Picaboo. In other emails, the language says "we built," to reference his co-founders Reggie Brown and Bobby Murphy.
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