How to Turn Down a Billion Dollars

by Billy Gallagher

  One of the most enjoyable aspects of writing this book has been talking to other authors about their experiences. I truly appreciate all the authors who generously gave me their time and advice, notably Alex Banayan, Nick Bilton, Matthew Berry, Blake Harris, Kevin Roose, and Ashlee Vance. A special thank-you to Larry Langton and Langton Media for inspiring me to think about this book and these characters in a new light.

  Thank you to Mary Ritti and the Snapchat PR team for their help with fact-checking.

  I am very grateful to all of the teachers, students, and alumni of The Haverford School, where I learned to read and write and, most important, how to appreciate both. In particular I must thank Richard Duffany for teaching me the mechanics of writing at a young age.

  Thank you to my classmates and professors at Stanford University for constantly challenging me while making me feel at home. I am particularly grateful to everyone at The Stanford Daily, especially Kate Abbott, Kathleen Chaykowski, Marwa Farag, Brendan O’Byrne, Margaret Rawson, Stephanie Weber, and Zach Zimmerman. Thank you for teaching me to chase important stories.

  I owe so much to my fellow writers and editors at TechCrunch, particularly John Biggs, Alexia Bonatsos, Mike Butcher, Matt Burns, Josh Constine, Jordan Crook, Kim Mai-Cutler, Ned Desmond, Eric Eldon, Anthony Ha, Leslie Hitchcock, Susan Hobbs, Ryan Lawler, Ingrid Lunden, Matthew Panzarino, Jon Shieber, Colleen Taylor, and Alex Wilhelm. Thank you for teaching me how to cover startups and ask the right questions, and for allowing me to make mistakes.

  Thank you to my coworkers at Khosla Ventures, Vinod Khosla, Samir Kaul, Keith Rabois, David Weiden, Ben Ling, Kathy Chan, Nick Moryl, and Hari Arul. Thank you for giving me my first job and teaching me to see the potential in nascent ideas.

  Thank you to all my friends and classmates at the Stanford GSB for your nonstop support as I wrote and edited this book during the past year. In particular, I want to thank Mannie Ajayi, Dhruv Amin, Ashley Brasier, Jake Bullock, Patrick Chase, Pam Chirathivat, David Demres, Caroline Duffy, Calen Engert, Savannah English, Claire Fisher, Dana Gingrich, Jill Greenberg, Zach Horat, Devin Kelsey, Sam Krieg, Tim Latimer, Jeff Lyon, Alex Maceda, Lauren Martinez, Kelsey Mason, Mihir Mehta, Alex Menke, Robbie Mitchnik, Taylor Ray, Annie Robertson, Bobby Samuels, Steph Scott, Whitt Virgin-Downey, Frances Wehrwein, and Megan Welch.

  I’m very grateful to share my life with great friends. Thank you to Chris Baldock, Sam Barsh, Lauren Birks, Gigi Constable, Chase Disher, Skylar Dorosin, Tim Dougherty, Bob Greco, Joey Grubb, Cam Hutton, Hunter Kodama, Cam Lindsay, Chelsea Lewis, Nick Mahowald, Eric Malumed, Tyler Marks, Bonnie McLindon, Peggy Moriarty, Sean O’Brien, Danny Organ, Philip Origlio, Caitlyn Pura, Nolan Pura, Will Rockafellow, John Romer, David Roos, Louie Schley, Robby Schwenke, Jake Silverman, Lauren Taylor, Stuart Upfill-Brown, Michelle Valentine, Roberto Vargas, Dru Warden, and Jack Werner.

  Most importantly, my family. I am blessed to have an incredible family that is extremely supportive. Thank you to Eileen McAneny Gallagher, Nick Gallagher, Dennis Gallagher, Paul and Lisa Badame, Tim O’Brien, Carol O’Brien and Ken O’Brien, Kim O’Brien Langton and Larry Langton, Ross DiBono and Lucille DiBono, Ross DiBono II, Cynthia DiBono Weaver, Reverend Jack McNamee, Ro Seavey, and Jay Weiner. To my dad, Mike, I wish we could have spent more time together. Rest in peace.

  Sadly, too many names have been omitted from these acknowledgments. There are countless people who helped me in this process in small ways they may not even realize. Thank you.

  And finally, thank you to you, the reader. I hope you’ve enjoyed it.

  WORKS CITED

  Prologue: Initial Public Offering

  Bilton, Nick. “Why I Use Snapchat: It’s Fast, Ugly and Ephemeral.” New York Times, January 27, 2014. https://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/01/27/why-i-use-snapchat-its-fast-ugly-and-ephemeral/

  Dave, Paresh. “Exclusive Interview: How Snapchat Founder Evan Spiegel Feels after the Historic IPO.” Los Angeles Times, March 2, 2017. http://www.latimes.com/business/technology/la-fi-tn-evan-spiegel-bobby-murphy-20170302-story.html

  Farrell, Maureen, Corrie Driebusch, and Sarah Krouse. “Snapchat Shares Surge 44% in Market Debut.” Wall Street Journal, March 2, 2017. https://www.wsj.com/articles/snapchat-parent-snap-opens-higher-in-market-debut-1488471695

  Johnson, Hollis, Alex Heath, and Portia Crowe. “‘Right Now We’re Just Celebrating’: Inside Snap’s Crazy $33 Billion IPO.” Business Insider, March 2, 2017. http://www.businessinsider.com/inside-snapchats-crazy-33-billion-ipo-2017-3?op=1/#a-giant-snap-inc-banner-adorned-the-the-new-york-stock-exchange-on-thursday-signaling-the-companys-hotly-anticipated-ipo-1

  Mahler, Jonathan. “Campaign Coverage via Snapchat Could Shake Up the 2016 Elections.” New York Times, May 3, 2015. https://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/04/business/media/campaign-coverage-via-snapchat-could-shake-up-the-2016-elections.html

  New Yorker cartoon. “Looks like another case of someone over forty trying to understand Snapchat.” New Yorker, April 22, 2016. http://www.newyorker.com/cartoon/a19868

  Spiegel, Evan. “What Is Snapchat?” YouTube video, June 16, 2015. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ykGXIQAHLnA

  Chapter One: Rush

  Auletta, Ken. “Get Rich U.” New Yorker, April 30, 2012. http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2012/04/30/get-rich-u

  Bowles, Nellie. “Three LA Boys: Snapchat’s Evan Spiegel, Tinder’s Sean Rad and Whisper’s Michael Heyward.” Recode, June 11, 2014. https://www.recode.net/2014/6/11/11627844/three-la-boys-evan-spiegel-sean-rad-and-michael-heyward

  Colao, J. J. “The Inside Story of Snapchat: The World’s Hottest App or a $3 Billion Disappearing Act?” Forbes, January 6, 2014. https://www.forbes.com/sites/jjcolao/2014/01/06/the-inside-story-of-snapchat-the-worlds-hottest-app-or-a-3-billion-disappearing-act/#3961325c67d2

  DiGiacomo, Frank. “School for Cool.” Vanity Fair, March 2005. https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2005/03/crossroads-school200503

  Spiegel, Evan. Keynote speech at “Design Yourself” Conference, Stanford Women in Business, April 7, 2013. https://download.docslide.net/documents/design-yourself-conference-opening-keynote-by-evan-spiegel-ceo-of-snapchat.html

  Van Grove, Jennifer. “Snapchat’s Evan Spiegel: Saying No to $3B, and Feeling Lucky.” CNET, November 26, 2013. https://www.cnet.com/news/snapchats-evan-spiegel-saying-no-to-3b-and-feeling-lucky/

  Chapter Two: Future Freshman

  Colao, J. J. “The Inside Story of Snapchat: The World’s Hottest App or a $3 Billion Disappearing Act?” Forbes, January 6, 2014. https://www.forbes.com/sites/jjcolao/2014/01/06/the-inside-story-of-snapchat-the-worlds-hottest-app-or-a-3-billion-disappearing-act/#3961325c67d2

  Nguyen, An Le. “University Explains Kappa Sigma Decision.” Stanford Daily, March 28, 2011. http://www.stanforddaily.com/2011/03/28/university-explains-kappa-sigma-decision/

  Spiegel, Evan, and Nikesh Arora. Interview, YouTube, October 12, 2015. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-UAjGVPFIE

  Chapter Three: Million-Dollar Idea

  Colao, J. J. “The Inside Story of Snapchat: The World’s Hottest App or a $3 Billion Disappearing Act?” Forbes, January 6, 2014. https://www.forbes.com/sites/jjcolao/2014/01/06/the-inside-story-of-snapchat-the-worlds-hottest-app-or-a-3-billion-disappearing-act/#3961325c67d2

  Gallagher, Billy. “The Snapchat Lawsuit, Or How to Lose Your Best Friend over $70 Million.” TechCrunch, March 7, 2013. https://techcrunch.com/2013/03/07/snapchat-lawsui/

  Shontell, Alyson. “These Leaked Videos Could Lead to a Huge Payday for Ousted Snapchat Co-Founder.” Business Insider, November 20, 2013. http://www.businessinsider.com/snapchat-lawsuit-video-depositions-2013-11

  ________. “SNAPCHAT LAWSUIT VIDEOS: After a 37-Second Pause, Snapchat’s CEO Describes Regrets about the Friend He Ousted.” Business Insider, November 25, 2013. http://www.businessinsider.com/snapchat-lawsuit-videos-2013-11

  Spiegel, Evan. Keynote speech at “Design Yourself” Conference, Stanford Women in Business, April 7, 2013. https://download.docslide.net/documents/design-
yourself-conference-opening-keynote-by-evan-spiegel-ceo-of-snapchat.html

  Chapter Four: The Other Startup

  Alden, William, and David Gelles. “In WhatsApp Deal, Sequoia Capital May Make 50 Times Its Money.” New York Times,Auletta, Ken. “Get Rich U.” New Yorker, April 30, 2012. http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2012/04/30/get-rich-u

  Constine, Josh. “Flaming Wreckage of Clinkle Rebuilds as a Referral Service.” TechCrunch, December 29, 2015. https://techcrunch.com/2015/12/29/i-know-you-thought-it-was-dead-but/

  ________. “Clinkle Implodes as Employees Quit in Protest of CEO.” TechCrunch, May 15, 2015. https://techcrunch.com/2015/05/15/clunk/

  Del Rey, Jason. “Clinkle’s Still a Hot Mess as Its Big Shot COO Departs (Updated).” Recode, March 13, 2014. http://www.recode.net/2014/3/13/11624542/clinkles-still-a-hot-mess-as-its-big-shot-coo-departs

  ________. “Why Longtime Netflix CFO Barry McCarthy Just Agreed to Work for Clinkle’s 22-Year-Old CEO.” AllThingsD, October 22, 2013. http://allthingsd.com/20131022/why-longtime-netflix-cfo-barry-mccarthy-just-agreed-to-work-for-a-22-year-old-ceo/

  Efrati, Amir. “Startup’s Deep Roots: Stanford.” Wall Street Journal, April 3, 2013. http://www.wsj.com/article_email/SB10001424127887324020504578396912443242512-lMyQjAxMTAzMDAwMzEwNDMyWj.html

  Fitchard, Kevin. “Clinkle Becomes a Tech Celebrity Magnet, Landing Richard Branson as an Investor.” GigaOm, September 26, 2013. https://gigaom.com/2013/09/26/clinkle-becomes-a-tech-celebrity-magnet-landing-richard-branson-as-an-investor/

  Gallagher, Billy. “Stanford University Is Going to Invest in Student Startups Like a VC Firm.” TechCrunch, September 4, 2013. http://techcrunch.com/2013/09/04/stanford-university-is-going-to-invest-in-student-startups-like-a-vc-firm/

  ________. “Clinkle Raises Celebrity-Filled $25M Round as It Gears Up to Eliminate the Physical Wallet.” TechCrunch, June 27, 2013. http://techcrunch.com/2013/06/27/clinkle-raises-celebrity-filled-25m-round-as-it-gears-up-to-eliminate-the-physical-wallet/

  Mac, Ryan. “Clinkle up in Smoke as Investors Want Their Money Back.” Forbes, January 22, 2016. http://www.forbes.com/sites/ryanmac/2016/01/22/clinkle-up-in-smoke-as-investors-want-their-money-back/#5dced7db35b6

  Rowley, Jason D. “The Startup Funding Graduation Rate Is Surprisingly Low.” Mattermark, September 28, 2016. https://mattermark.com/startup-graduation-rate-surprisingly-low/

  Shontell, Alyson. “A SILICON VALLEY DISASTER: A 21-Year-Old Stanford Kid Got $30 Million, Then Everything Blew Up.” Business Insider, April 14, 2014. http://www.businessinsider.com/inside-story-of-clinkle-2014-4?op=1

  Thompson, Nicholas. “Stanford and Its Startups.” New Yorker, September 11, 2013. http://www.newyorker.com/business/currency/stanford-and-its-start-ups

  ________. “The Trouble with Stanford.” New Yorker, April 12, 2013. http://www.newyorker.com/tech/elements/the-trouble-with-stanford

  ________. “The End of Stanford?” New Yorker, April 8, 2013. http://www.newyorker.com/tech/elements/the-end-of-stanford

  Tiku, Nitasha. “Clinkle Is Bribing College Students with a Vending Machine Full of Cash.” Valleywag, November 25, 2014. http://valleywag.gawker.com/clinkle-is-bribing-college-students-with-a-vending-mach-1663325836

  Chapter Five: Lawsuit Possible

  Colao, J. J. “The Inside Story of Snapchat: The World’s Hottest App or a $3 Billion Disappearing Act?” Forbes, January 6, 2014. https://www.forbes.com/sites/jjcolao/2014/01/06/the-inside-story-of-snapchat-the-worlds-hottest-app-or-a-3-billion-disappearing-act/#3961325c67d2

  Driver, Carol. “CANNES LIONS: Entrepreneur Evan Spiegel Reveals He Drew Ghost Logo for Snapchat on His Computer in His Dorm Bedroom.” Daily Mail, June 22, 2015. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-3134555/CANNES-LIONS-Billionaire-Evan-Spiegel-reveals-drew-ghost-logo-Snapchat-computer-dorm-bedroom.html

  Gallagher, Billy. “The Snapchat Lawsuit, Or How to Lose Your Best Friend over $70 Million.” TechCrunch, March 7, 2013. https://techcrunch.com/2013/03/07/snapchat-lawsui/

  Wenerd, Brando. July 31, 2014 tweet, Twitter. https://twitter.com/brandonwenerd/status/494895839467147265/photo/1

  Chapter Six: The Fight

  Gallagher, Billy. “The Snapchat Lawsuit, Or How to Lose Your Best Friend over $70 Million.” TechCrunch, March 7, 2013. https://techcrunch.com/2013/03/07/snapchat-lawsui/

  Chapter Seven: Snapchat

  “Now That’s a Historical Selfie! A Teen Grand Duchess Anastasia Is Seen Capturing Her Own Reflection in 1913 Russia.” Daily Mail, November 26, 2013. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2514069/Russian-Grand-Duchess-Anastasia-seen-capturing-reflection-1913-Russia.html

  “TigerText.” Crunchbase, n.d. https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/tigertext#/entity

  Auletta, Ken. “Get Rich U.” New Yorker, April 30, 2012. http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2012/04/30/get-rich-u

  ________. “Get Rich U.” New Yorker,Bonanos, Christopher. “The Man Who Inspired Jobs.” New York Times, October 7, 2011. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/07/opinion/the-man-who-inspired-jobs.html

  Colao, J. J. “The Inside Story of Snapchat: The World’s Hottest App or a $3 Billion Disappearing Act?” Forbes, January 6, 2014. https://www.forbes.com/sites/jjcolao/2014/01/06/the-inside-story-of-snapchat-the-worlds-hottest-app-or-a-3-billion-disappearing-act/#3961325c67d2

  Cornelius, Robert. “Robert Cornelius, Self-Portrait; Believed to Be the Earliest Extant American Portrait Photo,” c. 1839. Library of Congress. http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2004664436/

  Eggers, Barry. “Lightspeed’s Snap Story.” Medium, March 2, 2017. https://medium.com/lightspeed-venture-partners/lightspeeds-snap-story-5d3723e97667

  Gallagher, Billy. “No, Snapchat Isn’t about Sexting, Says Co-Founder Evan Spiegel.” TechCrunch, May 12, 2012. https://techcrunch.com/2012/05/12/snapchat-not-sexting/

  Kahney, Leander. “John Sculley on Steve Jobs, the Full Interview Transcript.” Cult of Mac, October 14, 2010. https://www.cultofmac.com/63295/john-sculley-on-steve-jobs-the-full-interview-transcript/63295/

  Kaplan, Dan. “Real Engines of Growth Have Nothing to Do with Growth.” TechCrunch, March 22, 2014. https://techcrunch.com/2014/03/22/the-real-engines-of-growth-on-the-internet/

  Pace, Eric. “Edwin H. Land Is Dead at 81; Inventor of Polaroid Camera.” New York Times, March 2, 1991. http://www.nytimes.com/1991/03/02/obituaries/edwin-h-land-is-dead-at-81-inventor-of-polaroid-camera.html?pagewanted=all

  Sharaf, Shirin. “All the Cool Kids Are Doing It.” Stanford Daily, March 5, 2004. http://stanforddailyarchive.com/cgi-bin/stanford?a=d&d=stanford20040305-01.2.13#

  Spiegel, Evan, and Nikesh Arora. Interview, YouTube, October 12, 2015. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-UAjGVPFIE

  Swisher, Kara. “Full Transcript: Venture Capitalist Jeremy Liew on Recode Decode.” Recode, March 5, 2017. https://www.recode.net/2017/3/5/14809104/transcript-venture-capitalist-jeremy-liew-innovation-silicon-valley-recode-decode

  Wortham, Jenna. “A Growing App Lets You See It, Then You Don’t.” New York Times, February 8, 2013. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/09/technology/snapchat-a-growing-app-lets-you-see-it-then-you-dont.html

  Chapter Eight: Sexting

  “Study Reveals Majority of Adults Share Intimate Details via Unsecured Digital Devices.” McAfee, February 4, 2014. https://www.mcafee.com/us/about/news/2014/q1/20140204-01.aspx?culture=en-us&affid=0&cid=140622&pir=1

  “What They’re Saying about Sexting.” New York Times, March 26, 2011. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/27/us/27sextingqanda.html

  Bilton, Nick. “Disruptions: Indiscreet Photos, Glimpsed then Gone.” New York Times, May 6, 2012. https://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/05/06/disruptions-indiscreet-photos-glimpsed-then-gone/

  Bonanos, Christopher. “Before Sexting, There Was Polaroid.” The Atlantic, October 1, 2012. https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2012/10/before-sexting-there-was-polaroid/263082/

  boyd, danah. “Let Kids Run Wild Online.” Time, March 13, 2014. http://time.com/23031/danah-boyd-l
et-kids-run-wild-online/

  ________. “Teen Sexting and Its Impact on the Tech Industry.” Read Write Web 2WAY Conference 2011, June 13, 2011. http://www.danah.org/papers/talks/2011/RWW2011.html

  Colbert, Stephen. “Evan Spiegel and Bobby Murphy.” The Colbert Report, April 30, 2013. http://www.cc.com/video-clips/z5q514/the-colbert-report-evan-spiegel—-bobby-murphy

  Drouin, Michelle, and Carly Landgraff. “Texting, Sexting, and Attachment in College Students’ Romantic Relationships.” Computers in Human Behavior (via Science Direct), March 2012. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0747563211002329?via%3Dihub

  Gallagher, Billy. “The Snapchat Lawsuit, Or How to Lose Your Best Friend over $70 Million.” March 7, 2013. TechCrunch, https://techcrunch.com/2013/03/07/snapchat-lawsui/

  ________. “No, Snapchat Isn’t about Sexting, Says Co-Founder Evan Spiegel.” TechCrunch, May 12, 2012. http://techcrunch.com/2012/05/12/snapchat-not-sexting/

  Hill, Kashmir. “Snapchat Tells Teen Users: No Nudes!” Splinter, February 20, 2015. http://fusion.kinja.com/snapchat-tells-teen-users-no-nudes-1793845467

  Honan, Mat. “Your Dick Pics Are about to Be All Over the Internet.” Wired, February 17, 2015. https://www.wired.com/2015/02/dick-pics/

  Lacy, Sarah. “Calling Snapchat ‘the Sexting App’ Misses a Huge Shift in Mobile, Photos, and Communication.” Pando, December 16, 2012. https://pando.com/2012/12/16/calling-snapchat-the-sexting-app-misses-a-huge-shift-in-mobile-photos-and-communication/

  Namuo, Clynton. “UNH Study Finds ‘Sexting’ Not so Prevalent.” New Hampshire Union Leader, December 4, 2011. http://www.unionleader.com/article/20111205/NEWS04/712059957