From turning down $3 billion from Facebook to building a $100 billion empire, Evan Spiegel reveals the blueprint behind Snapchat.
Evan Spiegel, co-founder & CEO of Snapchat (now Snap Inc.), founded the app while at Stanford and became the youngest billionaire at 25.
In this conversation, Evan and Steven cover how Snapchat almost didn’t exist, Evan’s ‘T-Shaped’ leadership style, getting bullied before founding Snapchat, and the harshest day of his CEO journey.
Chapters:
00:00 Intro
02:29 The Dots That Got You Here
03:33 Did You Feel Like You Fitted In?
03:46 When Did Computers First Come In?
05:02 Things Aren’t as Complicated as They Seem
05:28 You Got Bullied
06:09 What Were You Like as a Kid
07:33 Why CEOs Don’t Do Many Podcasts
08:55 Why Did You Choose Product Design?
10:30 Your Class in Entrepreneurship
11:00 Key Lesson From Entrepreneurship Class
12:02 Big Ambitions
13:26 Entrepreneurship in Europe
16:00 Your First Failure
18:00 How to Know When to Quit
18:50 Why Love & Passion Matter
19:19 Launching Early & Getting Feedback Fast
20:39 How Initial Ideas Can Be Wrong
21:37 How You Started Snapchat
27:03 Customer Feedback to Implement
28:36 Raising Capital
29:46 Investor Feedback
30:17 Building a Social Network Sounds Delusional
31:51 Doubting Snapchat's Success
36:19 Quitting University for Snapchat
37:33 Advice for Young Entrepreneurs
39:27 Are Job Titles Limiting Creativity?
40:34 Hierarchy Issues in Companies
42:22 Innovating at Snapchat
47:59 Importance of Hiring
49:00 Hiring Mistakes to Avoid
51:06 Leadership Traits of a Perfect Hire
52:25 Being Nice vs. Being Kind
53:52 T-Shaped Leadership
56:44 Advice to Younger Evan
59:39 Embedding Company Culture Early
01:01:51 When Company Culture Dilutes
01:03:35 Company Incentives
01:04:25 Worst Early Advice
01:05:47 How Mark Zuckerberg Approached You
01:10:04 Saying No to That Offer
01:13:13 Youngest Billionaire at 25
01:14:19 Managing Romantic Relationships
01:19:23 Ads
01:20:21 Your LinkedIn Bio Joke
01:22:45 Messaging Zuckerberg When They Copied Features
01:26:57 Should Big Tech Monopolies Be Stopped?
01:29:25 Hardest Day When Copied
01:30:30 Leading in Tough Times
01:31:48 Content Moderation Challenges
01:36:28 Why Meta Rolled Back Moderation Policies
01:39:20 Optimism About America
01:40:08 Social Media & Your Kids
01:42:51 Is TikTok's Ban Good for Snapchat?
01:46:07 Snapchat Going Public
01:48:28 Killing Projects You Loved
01:50:15 How Do You Prioritize?
01:52:23 Ray-Ban Spectacles Launch Reaction
01:53:37 Will Kids Learn From AI?
01:56:34 Tradeoffs With AI
01:58:22 Ads
02:00:35 Snapchat in 2025
02:02:14 Importance of Counsels at Work
02:05:34 When to Listen to Your Team
02:06:22 Work-From-Home Policies
02:08:42 Principles of a Successful Entrepreneur
02:10:18 Managing Stress
02:13:10 Worst Days of Snapchat
02:13:50 Do You Have Imposter Syndrome?
02:15:08 Would You Start Another Tech Company?
02:17:23 Hardest Thing You’ve Overcome
02:18:17 Self-Awareness
02:20:45 Do You Feel Impatient as a Leader?
02:21:35 What Would Your Team Say About You?
02:22:12 What Are You Really Good At?
02:26:55 Biggest Question Entrepreneurs Should Ask
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