How to Turn Down a Billion Dollars

by Billy Gallagher

  Vogels, Josey. “Textual Gratification: Quill or Keypad, It’s All about Sex.” Globe and Mail, May 3, 2004. https://www.theglobeandmail.com/technology/textual-gratification-quill-or-keypad-its-all-about-sex/article1136823/?page=all

  Chapter Nine: Betrayal

  Ballhaus, Rebecca, Peter Nicholas, and Alexandra Berzon. “Two Top Sony Movie Executives Are Longtime Obama Supporters.” Wall Street Journal, December 19, 2014. https://www.wsj.com/articles/two-top-sony-movie-executives-are-longtime-obama-supporters-1419033876

  Bertet, Elsa. “Michael Lynton Timeline.” Variety, September 6, 2007. http://variety.com/2007/film/news/michael-lynton-timeline-1117971490/

  Colao, J. J. “Snapchat: The Biggest No-Revenue Mobile App since Instagram.” Forbes, November 27, 2012. https://www.forbes.com/sites/jjcolao/2012/11/27/snapchat-the-biggest-no-revenue-mobile-app-since-instagram/#57abce9d7200

  Flynn, Kerry M. “Michael M. Lynton.” Harvard Crimson, May 23, 2012. http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2012/5/23/Lynton-CEO-Sony/

  Hempel, Jessi, and Adam Lashinsky. “Countdown to the Snapchat Revolution.” Fortune, December 18, 2013. http://fortune.com/2013/12/18/countdown-to-the-snapchat-revolution/

  Isaac, Mike. “Snapchat Closes $60 Million Round Led by IVP, Now at 200 Million Daily Snaps.” AllThingsD, June 24, 2013. http://allthingsd.com/20130624/snapchat-closes-60-million-round-led-by-ivp-now-at-200-million-daily-snaps/

  Spiegel, Evan. “Evan Spiegel USC Commencement Speech|USC Marshall School of Business Commencement 2015.” YouTube video, May 15, 2015. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Ng0fXIITt0

  ________. “How Did David Kravitz and Daniel Smith Get Recruited to Snapchat?” Quora, April 17, 2013. https://www.quora.com/How-did-David-Kravitz-and-Quora-User-get-recruited-to-Snapchat

  ________. 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

  Stevenson, Seth. “Snapchat Releases First Hardware Product, Spectacles.” Wall Street Journal, September 24, 2016. https://www.wsj.com/articles/snapchat-releases-first-hardware-product-spectacles-1474682719

  Vega, Sebastian. “CEO of Snapchat Discusses New Media.” Daily Trojan, February 19, 2015. http://dailytrojan.com/2015/02/19/ceo-of-snapchat-discusses-new-media/

  Wagner, Kurt. “Inside Evan Spiegel’s Very Private Snapchat Story.” Recode, May 9, 2016. https://www.recode.net/2016/5/9/11594144/evan-spiegel-snapchat

  Wallenstein, Andrew. “Sony’s Michael Lynton Poised to Hit Jackpot with Snapchat Investment (Exclusive).” Variety, December 12, 2013. http://variety.com/2013/biz/news/sonys-michael-lynton-poised-to-hit-jackpot-with-snapchat-investment-exclusive-1200947334/

  Chapter Ten: A Not-So-Innocent Toy

  “Mitch Lasky.” Crunchbase. https://www.crunchbase.com/person/mitch-lasky#/entity

  Carlson, Nicholas. “Zuckerberg’s Huge Win: Instagram Proves to Be a Bargain at $1 Billion.” Business Insider, September 11, 2012. http://www.businessinsider.com/facebook-instagram-zuckerberg-growth-9-2012

  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

  Eldon, Eric. “Sources: Snapchat Raising ‘North of $10M’ at around $70M Valuation, Led by Benchmark’s Mitch Lasky.” TechCrunch, December 12, 2012. https://techcrunch.com/2012/12/12/sources-snapchat-raising-north-of-10m-at-around-70m-valuation-led-by-benchmarks-mitch-lasky/

  Gallagher, Billy. “Facebook and Snapchat Go Toe to Toe: Why It’s Good for Both Companies.” TechCrunch, December 17, 2012. http://techcrunch.com/2012/12/17/facebook-and-snapchat/

  ________. “Snapchat Releases Video Sharing, Is Prototyping Monetization Features (Oh, and It’s Still Not for Sexting).” TechCrunch, December 14, 2012. http://techcrunch.com/2012/12/14/snapchat-does-video/

  ________. “You Know What’s Cool? A Billion Snapchats: App Sees over 20 Million Photos Shared per Day, Releases on Android.” TechCrunch, October 29, 2012. http://techcrunch.com/2012/10/29/billion-snapchats/

  McLaughlin, Kelly. “The ORIGINAL Venice Canals in LA That Have Vanished Forever beneath a Sea of Concrete.” Daily Mail, June 8, 2015. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3114848/Venice-America-s-history-shows-canals-hidden-pavement.html

  Takahashi, Dean. “Benchmark’s Mitch Lasky: Game Publishers Will Evolve or Die (Interview).” VentureBeat, July 17, 2012. https://venturebeat.com/2012/07/17/mitch-lasky-game-publishers-will-evolve-or-die-interview/view-all/

  Tzu, Sun. The Art of War. date unknown. https://www.amazon.com/Art-War-Sun-Tzu/dp/1599869772/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1501497433&sr=1-1&keywords=the+art+of+war

  Chapter Eleven: Poked

  Carlson, Nicholas. “Zuckerberg’s Huge Win: Instagram Proves to Be a Bargain at $1 Billion.” Business Insider, September 11, 2012. http://www.businessinsider.com/facebook-instagram-zuckerberg-growth-9-2012

  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

  Constine, Josh. “Facebook Launches Snapchat Competitor ‘Poke,’ an iOS App for Sending Expiring Text, Photos, and Videos.” TechCrunch, December 21, 2012. https://techcrunch.com/2012/12/21/facebook-poke-app/

  ________. “Mark Zuckerberg Is the Voice Behind the ‘Poke’ Notification Sound and Wrote Code for the App.” TechCrunch, December 21, 2012. https://techcrunch.com/2012/12/21/mark-zuckerberg-voice-of-poke/

  Gallagher, Billy. “Snapchat Co-Founder Evan Spiegel Responds to Poke: ‘Welcome, Facebook. Seriously.’” TechCrunch, December 21, 2102. http://techcrunch.com/2012/12/21/snapchat-co-founder-evan-spiegel-responds-to-poke-welcome-facebook-seriously/

  ________. “Facebook and Snapchat Go Toe to Toe: Why It’s Good for Both Companies.” TechCrunch, December 17, 2012. http://techcrunch.com/2012/12/17/facebook-and-snapchat/

  ________. “Snapchat Releases Video Sharing, Is Prototyping Monetization Features (Oh, and It’s Still Not for Sexting).” December 14, 2012. TechCrunch, http://techcrunch.com/2012/12/14/snapchat-does-video/

  Malik, Om. “Snapchat Rises: Why Poke’s Decline Shows Facebook’s Inability to Invent.” GigaOm, December 26, 2012. https://gigaom.com/2012/12/26/snapchat-rises-why-pokes-decline-shows-facebooks-inability-to-invent/

  Panzarino, Matthew. “Facebook’s Poke: A Snapchat-like App That Lets You Send Messages That Expire after 1, 3, 5 or 10 Seconds.” Next Web, December 21, 2012. https://thenextweb.com/facebook/2012/12/21/facebook-announces-poke-a-snapchat-like-app-that-lets-people-send-private-messages-that-expire-after-1-3-5-or-10-seconds/#.tnw_0pq4RGGG

  Rusli, Evelyn M. “In Rejecting Facebook, Snapchat Still Extracts Value.” Wall Street Journal, November 15, 2013. https://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2013/11/15/in-rejecting-facebook-snapchat-still-extracts-value/

  Siegler, M. G. Untitled. Paris Lemon, December 21, 2012. http://parislemon.com/post/38489227402/facebook-poke-for-mobile

  Taylor, Colleen. “Data Shows Online Buzz about Snapchat Is Skyrocketing after the Launch of Facebook Poke.” TechCrunch, December 28, 2012. https://techcrunch.com/2012/12/28/data-shows-online-buzz-about-snapchat-is-skyrocketing-after-the-launch-of-facebook-poke/

  Wingfield, Nick, and Mike Isaac. “Mark Zuckerberg, in Suit, Testifies in Oculus Intellectual Property Trial.” New York Times, January 17, 2017. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/17/technology/mark-zuckerberg-oculus-trial-virtual-reality-facebook.html?_r=0

  Chapter Twelve: Reggie’s Return

  Gallagher, Billy. “Snapchat Founders Face New Twist in Legal Battle as Alleged Co-Founder Files to Disqualify Their Lawyers.” TechCrunch, July 1, 2013. http://techcrunch.com/2013/07/01/ephemeral-representa
tion/

  ________. “Snapchat’s Spiegel Admits Brown ‘Came up with the Idea for Disappearing Picture Messages’ in New Court Documents.” TechCrunch, July 1, 2013. http://techcrunch.com/2013/07/01/new-snapchat-docs/

  Mac, Ryan. “Want to Sue a Startup? Hire This Man.” Forbes, April 14, 2015. https://www.forbes.com/sites/ryanmac/2015/04/14/cofounder-lawsuits-luan-tran-snapchat-yik-yak/#79c96b6f3398

  Shontell, Alyson. “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

  ________. “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

  Chapter Thirteen: The Phenomenon

  Benner, Katie. “Snap’s Chief Taps into the ‘Right Now.’” New York Times, February 1, 2017. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/01/technology/snapchat-snap-ceo-evan-spiegel.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Ftechnology&action=click&contentCollection=technology®ion=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=1&pgtype=sectionfront

  Bezos, Jeffrey P. Letter to shareholders, US Security and Exchange Commission, April 2016. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1018724/000119312516530910/d168744dex991.htm

  Colao, J. J. “In Less Than Two Years, Snapchat Is an $860 Million Company.” Forbes, June 24, 2013. https://www.forbes.com/sites/jjcolao/2013/06/24/snapchat-raises-60-million-from-ivp-at-800-million-valuation/#506ba341677d

  ________. “In Less Than Two Years, Snapchat Is an $860 Million Company.” Forbes, June 24, 2013. https://www.forbes.com/sites/jjcolao/2013/06/24/snapchat-raises-60-million-from-ivp-at-800-million-valuation/#506ba341677d

  Drimal, Chloe. “DRIMAL: Newest Diet: Facebook Cleanse.” Yale Daily News, March 27, 2013. http://yaledailynews.com/blog/2013/03/27/drimal-newest-diet-facebook-cleanse/

  ________. “DRIMAL: Snapchat: The Phenomenon.” Yale Daily News, December 7, 2012. http://yaledailynews.com/blog/2012/12/07/drimal-snapchat-the-phenomenon/

  ________. “DRIMAL: Profile of a SWUG.” Yale Daily News, September 24, 2012. http://yaledailynews.com/blog/2012/09/24/drimal-profile-of-a-swug/

  Elman, Josh. “‘How Will They Make Money?’ Is the Wrong Question.” Medium, June 11, 2013. https://medium.com/i-m-h-o/how-will-they-make-money-is-the-wrong-question-a5890c2c2cc0

  Gallagher, Billy. “Taco Bell Asks Twitter Followers to Add Them on Snapchat, Users May Soon See Snaps from Brands.” TechCrunch, May 1, 2013. http://techcrunch.com/2013/05/01/taco-bell-joins-snapchat/

  Herrman, John. “Meet the Man Who Got inside Snapchat’s Head.” BuzzFeed, January 27, 2014. https://www.buzzfeed.com/jwherrman/meet-the-unlikely-academic-behind-snapchats-new-pitch?utm_term=.njpqz3oO87#.suoBzJA67M

  Jurgenson, Nathan. “Pics and It Didn’t Happen.” New Inquiry, February 7, 2013. https://thenewinquiry.com/pics-and-it-didnt-happen/

  ________. “Digital Dualism versus Augmented Reality.” Cyborgology, February 24, 2011. https://thesocietypages.org/cyborgology/2011/02/24/digital-dualism-versus-augmented-reality/

  Levy, Steven. “Snapchat’s Non-Vanishing Message: You Can Trust Us.” Backchannel, April 2, 2015. https://medium.com/backchannel/snapchat-s-non-vanishing-message-you-can-trust-us-6606e6774b8b

  Morris, Betsy and Seetharaman, Deepa. “The New Copycats: How Facebook Squashes Competition From Startups” Wall Street Journal, August 9, 2017. https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-new-copycats-how-facebook-squashes-competition-from-startups-1502293444

  McDermott, John. “Brands Experiment with Photo-Messaging Service Snapchat, Facebook Poke.” Advertising Age, January 4, 2013. http://adage.com/article/digital/brands-experiment-photo-messaging-service-snapchat-facebook-poke/238979/

  Primack, Dan. “What Is Behind Snapchat’s Massive Valuation?” Fortune, June 24, 2013. http://fortune.com/2013/06/24/what-is-behind-snapchats-massive-valuation/

  Silverman, Justin Rocket. “Meet the SWUGs of Yale: Women ‘Washed Up’ at 21.” The Cut, April 10, 2013. https://www.thecut.com/2013/04/meet-the-swugs-of-yale-women-washed-up-at-21.html

  Stevenson, Seth. “Snapchat Releases First Hardware Product, Spectacles.” Wall Street Journal, September 24, 2016. https://www.wsj.com/articles/snapchat-releases-first-hardware-product-spectacles-1474682719

  Tiku, Nitasha. “Source: Snapchat Cofounders Unloaded Personal Stock for $20 M.” Valleywag, June 25, 2013. http://valleywag.gawker.com/source-snapchat-cofounders-unloaded-personal-stock-for-574730704

  Wasserman, Todd. “Is Snapchat the Next Frontier for Marketers?” Mashable, January 3, 2013. http://mashable.com/2013/01/02/snapchat-marketers/#wgdSNMg2aEq3

  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 Fourteen: Stories

  Anderson, Tom. “Technology Advancing Art: Photo Apps Are the Folk Art of Our Generation.” TechCrunch, September 30, 2011. https://techcrunch.com/2011/09/30/technology-advancing-art-photo-apps/

  Constine, Josh. “Facebook Admits Some Decrease of Usage amongst Young Teens for the First Time.” TechCrunch, October 30, 2013. https://techcrunch.com/2013/10/30/facebook-teens-drop/

  Crook, Jordan. “With an Eye on Revenue, Snapchat ‘Experiments’ with a Click-to-Buy Button.” October 3, 2013. TechCrunch, https://techcrunch.com/2013/10/03/with-an-eye-on-revenue-snapchat-experiments-with-a-click-to-buy-button/

  Gallagher, Billy. “A Tale of Two Patents: Why Facebook Can’t Clone Snapchat.” TechCrunch, June 22, 2014. http://techcrunch.com/2014/06/22/facebook-slingshot-snapchat-patents/

  ________. “Snapchat Now Sees 350M Photos Shared Daily, Up from 200M in June.” TechCrunch, September 9, 2013. https://techcrunch.com/2013/09/09/snapchat-now-sees-350m-photos-shared-daily-up-from-200m-in-june/

  ________. “What’s Ahead for Snapchat? CEO Evan Spiegel Drops Clues in Disrupt Talk.” TechCrunch, September 9, 2013. http://techcrunch.com/2013/09/09/snapchat-future-disrupt-hints/

  Hamburger, Ellis. “Snapchat’s Next Big Thing: ‘Stories’ That Don’t Just Disappear.” Verge, October 3, 2013. https://www.theverge.com/2013/10/3/4791934/snapchats-next-big-thing-stories-that-dont-just-disappear

  Kan, Justin. “Why I Love Snapchat.” Medium, November 13, 2016. https://justinkan.com/why-i-love-snapchat-23d31ea87d3c

  Swisher, Kara. “Instagram Business Lead Emily White to Be Named COO of Snapchat.” AllThingsD, December 3, 2013. http://allthingsd.com/20131203/exclusive-instagram-business-lead-emily-white-to-be-named-coo-of-snapchat/

  Vega, Sebastian. “CEO of Snapchat Discusses New Media.” Daily Trojan, February 19, 2015. http://dailytrojan.com/2015/02/19/ceo-of-snapchat-discusses-new-media/

  Chapter Fifteen: How to Turn Down Three Billion Dollars

  “Makers of Snapchat Turn Down $3 Billion.” Good Morning America, November 15, 2013. https://gma.yahoo.com/video/makers-snapchat-turn-down-3-232317879.html

  Blodget, Henry. “EXCLUSIVE: How Snapchat Plans to Make Money.” Business Insider, November 20, 2013. http://www.businessinsider.com/how-snapchat-will-make-money-2013-11

  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

  Constine, Josh. “Snapchat Snags Facebook’s Mike Randall as Monetization VP.” TechCrunch, June 24, 2014. https://techcrunch.com/2014/06/24/facebook-steals-features-snapchat-steals-talent/

  Hempel, Jessi. “Snapchat Doesn’t Think It Needs an Adult Like Facebook Did.” Wired, March 18, 2015. https://www.wired.com/2015/03/snapchat-doesnt-think-needs-adult-like-facebook/

  MacMillan, Douglas. “Snapchat Poaches Google Veteran in Engineering Push,�
�� Wall Street Journal, February 18, 2014. https://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2014/02/18/snapchat-poaches-google-veteran-in-engineering-push/

  Primack, Dan. “Ex-Snapchat COO Emily White Has a New Startup.” Fortune, March 2, 2016. http://fortune.com/2016/03/02/ex-snapchat-coo-emily-white-new-startup/

  Rusli, Evelyn M. “In Rejecting Facebook, Snapchat Still Extracts Value.” Wall Street Journal, November 15, 2013. https://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2013/11/15/in-rejecting-facebook-snapchat-still-extracts-value/

  ________, and Douglas MacMillan. “Snapchat Spurned $3 Billion Acquisition Offer from Facebook.” Wall Street Journal, November 13, 2013. https://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2013/11/13/snapchat-spurned-3-billion-acquisition-offer-from-facebook/

  Slutsky, Irina. “Meet the Ex-Googlers Running Facebook.” Advertising Age, June 1, 2011. http://adage.com/article/digital/meet-googlers-running-facebook/227833/

  Spiegel, Evan. “Evan Spiegel USC Commencement Speech|USC Marshall School of Business Commencement 2015,” YouTube, May 15, 2015. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Ng0fXIITt0

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

  Thompson, Ben. “The Facebook Epoch.” Stratechery, September 30, 2015. https://stratechery.com/2015/the-facebook-epoch/

  ________. “Old Fashioned Snapchat.” February 24, 2015. Stratechery, https://stratechery.com/2015/old-fashioned-snapchat/

  Tsotsis, Alexia. “Monetization TBD … Instagram Hires Facebook’s Emily White as Director of Business Operations.” TechCrunch, April 2, 2013. https://techcrunch.com/2013/04/02/instagram-hires-facebooks-emily-white-as-director-of-business-operations/

  Wagner, Kurt. “Inside Evan Spiegel’s Very Private Snapchat Story.” Recode, May 9, 2016. https://www.recode.net/2016/5/9/11594144/evan-spiegel-snapchat

  Wortham, Jenna. “Rejecting Billions, Snapchat Expects a Better Offer.” New York Times, November 13, 2013. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/14/technology/rejecting-billions-snapchat-expects-a-better-offer.html