Episode 32: The Snap Inc. IPO
Acquired - A podcast by Ben Gilbert and David Rosenthal
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Snap! Acquired is live on the scene reporting from the "Super Bowl" of 2017 tech events: Snap Inc's hugely anticipated (and just plain huge) IPO. What does the future hold for this plucky “camera company”? Will Snap's IPO endure as tech's most important picture-frame since the 2012 debut of Facebook, or is it destined to fade as just another snapshot? We debate!
Topics covered include:
- Reference to our previous Acquired episode on Snap covering Facebook’s failed attempt to acquire the company in 2013, which goes deep on Snap’s origins and early history
- Snap’s busy years since: launching Discover, Lenses, Geofilters, new Chat, Memories, an ads API, acquiring Bitmoji, and, of course, debuting Spectacles
- The incredible document that is Snap's S-1 filing (read starting from the “BUSINESS” section on p.93)
- Snap Inc’s “unique” voting structure
- Evan Spiegel’s “CEO Award” bonus for successfully completing an IPO: an extra 3.0% of the company worth more than $600M
- Snap’s IPO pricing, first day of trading “pop”, and momentum carried into day two
- Introducing a new show section (for IPOs): Narratives!
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- Snap's opportunity is winning television ad dollars
- Snap is a cult of the “product genius”
- Snap has a growth problem… and its name is Instagram (Stories)
- Snap has a cost problem: the (first?) gross margin negative IPO
- Wall Street to Evan: “we trust you… for now"
- Chris Sacca’s biggest email fail of 2012
- …And of course all the classics from the Acquired canon: waves, moats, flywheels, network effects, starting small and more!
The Carve Out:
- Ben: The Bill Simmons Podcast with Ben Thompson
- David: The Art of War, also Evan Spiegel’s Carve Out for 2013 :)
