Snapchat

About

Snapchat (Snap Inc.) is a camera and social media company best known for its disappearing-message app. The company was co-founded in 2011 by Evan Spiegel and Bobby Murphy while they were students at Stanford University ¹. Spiegel initially worked with fellow Stanford classmate Reggie Brown to launch a prototype called “Picaboo,” which was later renamed Snapchat ². In 2012, Spiegel left Stanford to focus on Snapchat full-time ².

The company grew rapidly, reaching 500 million monthly active users by 2023 and generating $2.5 billion in revenue that year ³. Snap Inc. went public on the New York Stock Exchange in March 2017, raising $3.4 billion at a valuation of approximately $24 billion, with shares priced at $17 and opening at $24 ⁴.

SV Angel was an early backer of Snapchat, investing alongside other prominent firms ⁵.

Funding History

What Investors Say

No verified direct quotes from SV Angel or Ron Conway specifically about their Snapchat investment were found. Conway’s general investment philosophy applies: “We invest in people first, idea second, market size third” ⁹.

What Founders Say

Evan Spiegel articulated his vision for Snapchat: “We’re not just trying to build a better camera — we’re trying to empower people to express themselves, live in the moment, learn about the world, and have fun together” ¹⁰.

On rejecting acquisition offers, Spiegel emphasized long-term thinking: “There are very few people in the world who get to build a business like this. I think trading that for some short-term gain isn’t very interesting” ¹¹.

On creativity: “One of the saddest things that happens with creativity… I think sometimes it isn’t expressed because of fear. Everyone is born very, very, very creative, but at some point, it can be scary to try to do something new, that feels different” ¹¹.

In a 2025 letter to his team, Spiegel stated that Snap has “the platform, the distribution, the data, and the vision to reinvent personal computing itself” ¹².

Sources