- The creator of Snapchat and CEO of Snap Inc., Evan Spiegel, says a good rule of thumb for entrepreneurs is to say no "to 99% of inbound suggestions."
- Spiegel even did this to Mark Zuckerberg in 2013 when the Facebook founder offered to buy Snapchat.
Snap's founder and CEO, Evan Spiegel, is just 27, making him the second-youngest self-made billionaire in the world.
Since its conception in 2011, Snapchat has grown from a humble student project into a multibillion-dollar publicly traded company called Snap Inc.
But the decisions Spiegel has made in the development of his company's app, Snapchat, have often angered its users. Just last week a tweet from Kylie Jenner about the latest update made Snap's stock price plummet.
During a recent event in Berlin, Spiegel talked about his decisions and the biggest lesson he learned in Snapchat's first six months.
Spiegel's '99% rule'
"One of the most important things, especially in the early stage, is getting really good at saying no to everything, because that focus in the early days when resources are very limited is the critical differentiator to building a successful business," Spiegel told a group of young entrepreneurs at the Axel Springer publishing house.
During the first months of Snapchat's life, he often struggled with knowing which proposals and requests to accept and which ones to decline.
"I think a little rule of thumb there is to say no to 99% of inbound suggestions and to really focus on delivering value for your customers," he said.
The famous 'no' to Mark Zuckerberg
This 99% rule has made a difference for Spiegel — several billion dollars' worth, in fact, when he declined Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg's offer in 2013 to acquire Snapchat.
Zuckerberg was willing to pay Spiegel and his cofounder $3 billion for the app. As of Thursday, Snap's market cap was about $20 billion.
Spiegel still prides himself on his ability to say no.
After an update to the app last month, many users complained about the new design. More than 1.2 million people even signed a petition on Change.org demanding a rollback of the update.
Two weeks ago, Spiegel addressed the complaints in his keynote speech at the Goldman Sachs Technology and Internet Conference.
"We're excited about what we're seeing so far," he said. "Even the complaints we're seeing reinforce the philosophy. The frustrations we're seeing really validate those changes."
So no, nothing will be taken back.
Other advice for young entrepreneurs
When Spiegel held his first financing rounds for Snapchat, he was 21 and hadn't yet graduated from Stanford. He went straight from being a student to being a CEO.
But dealing with the pressure that came with the rise of Snapchat wasn't always easy — and the 99% rule is not the only piece of advice he has to give to young entrepreneurs.
"The most important thing is to really have fun and enjoy the process," Spiegel said in Berlin. "Because unless you really get joy from the amount of growth required — as an individual, but also for your business — it can really burn you out."
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