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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