Episode 32: The Snap Inc. IPO

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!

Sponsors:

WorkOS: https://bit.ly/workos25
Sentry: https://bit.ly/acquiredsentry
ServiceNow: https://bit.ly/acquiredsn

More Acquired!:

• Get email updates with hints on next episode and follow-ups from recent episodes
• Join the Slack
• Subscribe to ACQ2
• Merch Store!

© Copyright 2015-2025 ACQ, LLC

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!
  • Snap is a “camera company"
  • 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 :)