There is hardly anyone these days who doesn’t know about Snapchat. After all, it is one of the most popular social networking apps at the moment. However, do you know who owns Snapchat or how it all started? Unlikely!
And you’re not the only one. Most people don’t know much about the incredible minds behind the apps that are an integral part of our lives. Of course, there are exceptions, such as Jeff Bezos, who rose to fame by becoming one of the richest people in the world thanks to Amazon. Or Elon Musk, who is about to take over Twitter. And, of course, Mark Zuckerberg, who owns Facebook.
But not all founders get into the limelight. Many feel that Snapchat should be owned by another tech giant. But they are deeply mistaken. And it’s time to learn more about who owns Snapchat and created the app that has changed our social media presence.
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Who Owns Snapchat: The Minds Behind the App
As we said before, Snapchat is not backed by a large corporation like Google. In fact, it is part of Snap Inc., a company that originally operated under the name Snapchat Inc. However, in 2016 it rebranded and is now called Snap Inc.
Behind the success of this company are two people who launched it and became co-founders in September 2011. If you want to know who owns Snapchat, it’s Bobby Murphy and Evan Spiegel.
Bobby Murphy is not only the co-founder of Snapchat, but also the CTO. Therefore, he owns 15% of the company’s shares, and Evan Spiegel – 13%. This social network has been a huge success for both of these men and there is no sign that they will stop.
You must not have often seen Bobby Murphy, who prefers to work behind the scenes. In fact, the only time he talks to the media is when he has to do some tech-based interviews.
Evan Spiegel, in fact, is the face of the company. He is responsible for all public relations work. That’s why more and more people only think of Spiegel when they think about who owns Snapchat.
The couple goes back in time as they both hail from Stanford University. They were fraternity brothers when they first met. Bobby Murphy was actually two years older than Spiegel.
Interestingly, Spiegel didn’t even graduate when Snapchat was founded. He dropped out of Stanford to run this startup. And since then, he hasn’t looked back. This decision made him a billionaire when he was only 25 years old. Indeed, Spiegel is currently worth $13.6 billion. Bobby Murphy’s net worth is slightly higher at $14.9 billion.
Interesting and Inspiring Snapchat Operations
Aspiring entrepreneurs can learn a lot from how Murphy and Spiegel have managed their company and partnership since its inception. Few co-founders continue to work together at such an incredible pace for so many years. But Snapchat owners never lost ground.
Do you want to know something interesting? Although they own 30% of the company’s shares along with the ether, they do not have voting rights. These shares are owned by public shareholders.
Think about how much they have achieved with their startup. Spiegel became the youngest billionaire in 2015, and Murphy’s success is no less. Murphy made the Forbes 30 Under 30 list in consumer technology three years after the company was unveiled to the public.
To date, Snapchat has over 300 million active users. Indeed, billions of messages are published on the platform every day. It’s unbelievable how good some people are at dropping out of college. This gives you another valuable lesson for entrepreneurship. You don’t always need a college degree to be successful. If you have an amazing idea and the courage to implement it, nothing will stop you.
How it all started for Snapchat
Murphy and Spiegel weren’t the only ones behind Snapchat. When the company launched in 2011, it had three founders, including Evan Spiegel, Bobby Murphy and Reggie Brown. In fact, the original idea for Snapchat came from Brown.
He wanted to create a platform where users could post videos and photos that would disappear after a while. He shared this idea with Spiegel, who was very imbued with it. Together they approached Murphy, who knew how to program.
Murphy was as excited as he believed that this idea would be a huge success among young Internet users. The three launched Picaboo. But controversy soon arose as Murphy and Spiegel felt that Brown did not contribute much to the project compared to them. Consequently, Brown was fired after a couple of months.
Murphy and Spiegel then renamed Picaboo Snapchat. When the social media platform eventually went public, Reggie Brown was paid $157 million and listed as a co-founder for his contributions.
Are you wondering why Spiegel and Murphy have been able to work together so well for so long? This is because they clearly knew their responsibilities. They set goals for themselves and did not interfere with each other’s work. From the start, Spiegel was in charge of PR and business management, with Murphy as chief executive officer. The couple recognized their talents and skills and used them for the benefit of their company.
The explosive success of Snapchat
Snapchat has come a long way since its inception. Its success is such that Facebook has been desperately trying to buy it for several years. But the founders of Snapchat stood their ground. They are not interested in selling their business.
Facebook even offered around $3 billion for the social networking platform as it wanted to change its user base. But the founders refused.
If Snapchat’s success teaches us anything, it’s that there’s always a market for unique and innovative ideas. All you have to do is take the first step. It is important not only to know who owns Snapchat, but also to understand how these two men achieved such an incredible feat.
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