Snapchat is a popular social media app that allows users to send photo and video messages that disappear after being viewed. It was created in 2011 by three former Stanford University students: Evan Spiegel, Bobby Murphy, and Reggie Brown. Spiegel and Murphy have gone on to become billionaires and oversee Snap Inc., the parent company of Snapchat, while Brown was involved in the early stages but did not remain part of the company.
Evan Spiegel
Evan Spiegel is the co-founder and CEO of Snap Inc. He was born on June 4, 1990 in Los Angeles, California. Spiegel attended Stanford University, where he studied product design. It was at Stanford that Spiegel met his future business partners, Bobby Murphy and Reggie Brown.
In 2011, while still a student at Stanford, Spiegel came up with the idea for an app that would allow people to send photo messages that disappeared after being viewed. This app would become Snapchat. Spiegel recruited Murphy to help him code the app, while Brown came up with the original ghost logo and the name “Picaboo.”
The app launched in the App Store in July 2011 under the name Picaboo. It was later renamed Snapchat. Spiegel continued to guide the development of Snapchat as CEO, while also dealing with a lawsuit from Brown over ownership claims.
Snapchat started to gain popularity among younger users. By 2012, Snapchat was processing over 25 images per second. Spiegel made the strategic decision to turn down a $3 billion acquisition offer from Facebook in 2013.
Under Spiegel’s leadership, Snapchat continued to grow and innovate by creating features like Stories and Discover. By the time Snapchat went public in 2017, the company was valued around $33 billion. As the CEO and one of the largest shareholders, Spiegel became a multi-billionaire.
Today, Spiegel remains the CEO of Snap Inc. and continues to oversee the development of Snapchat. He is married to supermodel Miranda Kerr, with whom he has two children. While Spiegel has faced challenges and controversies over issues like Snapchat’s unpopular redesign, he remains one of the youngest and most successful tech entrepreneurs.
Bobby Murphy
Bobby Murphy is the co-founder and CTO of Snap Inc. He was born on July 19, 1988 in Berkeley, California. Murphy studied mathematics and computational science at Stanford University.
At Stanford, Murphy met Evan Spiegel. When Spiegel wanted to turn his idea for an ephemeral photo messaging app into reality, he recruited Murphy to code the app alongside him. While Spiegel focused on design and product, Murphy translated Spiegel’s vision into a functional app.
Murphy ended up coding the entire backend system for the app that would become Snapchat. His system allowed images and videos to be uploaded and transmitted while being deleted after viewing. This is the core of Snapchat’s ephemeral messaging functionality.
After launch in 2011, Murphy worked on improving the Snapchat app as user numbers started to grow. He helped add new features like video messaging, Stories, and Discover. Murphy also oversaw changes to Snapchat’s infrastructure as it scaled from thousands to millions of users.
Like Spiegel, Murphy became a billionaire after Snapchat’s IPO in 2017. As CTO, he continues to run Snap’s engineering team, which creates new products like Spectacles smartglasses. The technology behind Snapchat’s augmented reality filters and lenses also falls under Murphy’s purview.
Outside of his work, Murphy is known for being very private. Not much is known about his personal life except that he married model Emily Ratajkowski in 2018. Murphy maintains a low public profile but remains heavily involved in Snap’s product development as one of the company’s key leaders.
Reggie Brown
The third founder of Snapchat was Reggie Brown. Unlike Spiegel and Murphy, Brown studied English at Stanford University.
Brown met Spiegel and Murphy in the Kappa Sigma fraternity at Stanford. The three became friends, and lived together in the fraternity house.
When Spiegel came up with his idea for disappearing photo messages, he told Brown about it. Brown came up with the original name for the app, Picaboo, along with the ghost logo.
While Spiegel and Murphy did the bulk of the development work, Brown was also involved in the early stages of Snapchat. He marketed the app to Stanford students to help it gain initial traction.
However, Brown ended up in a dispute with Spiegel and Murphy over the ownership of Picaboo/Snapchat. Brown filed a lawsuit against his former partners in 2013, alleging that he deserved an equal one-third share of the company based on their verbal agreement.
Spiegel and Murphy argued that Brown was not an equal partner and owned significantly less equity. The case was eventually settled out of court for a reported $157.5 million. While Spiegel and Murphy retained control of Snapchat, the settlement made Brown a multimillionaire.
Brown has not been involved with Snapchat or Snap Inc. since the lawsuit. While he played a role in coming up with the name and logo, Brown ultimately did not continue with the company in the long run.
Snapchat’s Early History
Here is a brief timeline highlighting Snapchat’s origins and early history:
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 2010 | Evan Spiegel comes up with the idea for an app where photos can disappear after being viewed. |
| 2011 | Spiegel partners with Stanford classmates Bobby Murphy and Reggie Brown to create the app. |
| July 2011 | The app launches in the iOS App Store under the name Picaboo. |
| September 2011 | The app is renamed Snapchat. |
| May 2012 | Snapchat starts gaining traction, with over 25 images being shared per second. |
| November 2012 | Snapchat launches video messaging. |
| October 2013 | Snapchat introduces Stories, a feature for sharing Snaps publicly. |
| 2013 | Reggie Brown sues Spiegel and Murphy over company ownership. |
While Snapchat started as a simple app focused on ephemeral messaging, it quickly evolved with new features and functionality under Spiegel and Murphy’s leadership. By late 2013, Snapchat had already become a cultural phenomenon among teens and young adults. The following years would see massive growth for the company as it redefined the social media landscape.
How Does Snapchat Work?
Snapchat revolutionized social media communication with its ephemeral messaging concept. Here is an overview of how Snapchat works:
Snaps
The core of Snapchat is the Snap, a photo or short video message. Users take a Snap using their camera phone and add filters or effects. When a Snap is sent to friends, they can view it for up to 10 seconds before it disappears permanently. Screenshot alerts let senders know if recipients take screenshots.
Stories
With Stories, users can post Snaps publicly which remain available for 24 hours. Friends can view and respond to Stories to start conversations. Stories also contain Discover channels from media companies and publishers.
Chat
Snapchat also features multimedia chat. Users can have text conversations while seamlessly sending Snaps and videos back and forth. Chat uses strong encryption for privacy.
Lenses and Filters
Snapchat’s real-time special effects and filters powered by augmented reality technology allow users to enhance their selfies and videos. Sponsored lenses include branded content.
Maps and Location
The Snap Map lets users share their locations and see where their friends are. Location tagging on Snaps also allows for location-based filters and lenses.
Memories
Memories is Snapchat’s cloud storage feature. Users can save their sent Snaps, Stories, and videos in Memories to access later. Memories enable editing and curating content.
By combining ephemeral and persistent messaging with fun visual effects, Snapchat created a unique way for friends to communicate. The app promotes authenticity by encouraging users to share casual moments without worrying about permanence.
Snapchat’s Growth and Evolution
Since its launch, Snapchat has grown exponentially to become one of the world’s most popular apps. Here are some key stats about Snapchat’s impressive growth:
- By June 2012, Snapchat was processing 25 photos per second
- In November 2012, users were sending 20 million photos per day
- By April 2013, Snapchat had over 13 million active users
- When Snapchat introduced Stories in 2013, over 1 million Stories were being created per day
- By January 2015, over 60 million photos and videos were being sent per day
- In 2016, the number of daily active Snapchat users exceeded 100 million
- By 2020, Snapchat had 229 million daily active users
Snapchat achieved this meteoric growth by appealing to a younger demographic and constantly innovating. After establishing its popularity with teens, Snapchat has expanded its capabilities:
- Launching additional features like group stories, text chat, and video calls
- Allowing users to curate their content with Memories
- Creating Snap Originals exclusive video content
- Partnerships with media companies for Discover channels
- Augmented reality lenses and games
- Hardware products like camera-enabled Spectacles glasses
Thanks to Spiegel’s product instincts, Snapchat successfully evolves while retaining its fun, conversational nature. The app remains a beloved communication platform despite competition from Instagram and others copying features.
Financial Growth and IPO
As Snapchat’s user base boomed, so did the company’s revenues and valuation. Snapchat began monetizing through advertising and in-app purchases. Here are some financial milestones:
- In 2014, Snapchat made $3 million in revenue
- By 2015, revenue grew to $59 million
- In 2016, Snapchat had revenue of $404 million
- Prior to going public, Snapchat’s valuation reached $17.8 billion by the end of 2016
- Snap Inc. went public in March 2017 with a market cap of over $33 billion
- Snapchat had 187 million daily active users when it IPO’d
- As of 2022, Snapchat’s revenue was over $4.4 billion
This tremendous growth allowed Evan Spiegel and Bobby Murphy to become two of the world’s youngest billionaires when Snap had its IPO. The stock struggled initially but has since rebounded to reach all-time highs.
Snapchat was able to leverage its large user base and their engagement to attract advertising dollars. Younger demographics are traditionally hard for advertisers to reach, making Snapchat appealing. The app offers innovative advertising formats like AR lenses and location-based geofilters.
While Snapchat has yet to become profitable on a GAAP basis, its revenue growth remains strong. The company has significant runway ahead as it monetizes new products and services.
Competition from Facebook
When Snapchat rejected Facebook’s acquisition offer in 2013, many thought the decision foolish. Facebook then tried to crush Snapchat by cloning its features in Facebook and Instagram.
Starting in 2016, Facebook-owned Instagram released near identical versions of Snapchat’s Stories and augmented reality filters. Instagram Stories would eventually surpass Snapchat’s user base.
Facebook also mimicked Snapchat’s camera features, ephemeral messaging, Bitmoji avatars, and more in its apps. Mark Zuckerberg and Facebook saw Snapchat as an existential threat and wanted to destroy it before its IPO.
However, Snapchat managed to survive Facebook’s assault on its innovations. While growth did slow due to competition, Snapchat continues to occupy a unique space built around intimacy and privacy. It appeals to a different audience than Instagram with its conversational, in-the-moment communication style.
Snap CEO Evan Spiegel’s decision to remain independent saved Snapchat’s culture. Instead of being swallowed up by Facebook, Snapchat retains its own identity. As seen in leaked Facebook documents, copying Snapchat has also caused Instagram to shift away from its original vision.
Ultimately, Snapchat found ways to co-exist with Instagram by staying committed to its core product philosophy. Snap continues to experiment with new hardware like wearable cameras and AR glasses to open future growth opportunities.
Conclusion
Snapchat went from a small Stanford startup to a globally dominant social media force in under a decade. Much of this success can be attributed to its founding team:
Evan Spiegel provided the original vision and leadership as CEO. His design background and understanding of the mobile camera were instrumental.
Bobby Murphy built the engineering backbone that enabled Snapchat to scale so rapidly. He led the development of new features that made Snapchat fun and addictive.
Reggie Brown came up with the ghost logo and original name. Although no longer involved, he was part of the genesis.
Of course, countless other employees have contributed to Snapchat’s rise over the years. But Spiegel and Murphy deserve significant credit for growing the app while retaining its innovative spirit against fierce competition. They will go down as two of the most influential figures in social media history.
And despite rivals copying its every move, Snapchat continues to thrive thanks to its focus on privacy and user experience. The disappearing message app these Stanford students dreamed up has left a permanent mark on communication in the mobile age.