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Snapchat Raises $50 Million In Series C From A Single, Undisclosed Investor
- edta 13y agoI bet the "Single, Undisclosed Investor" is Tencent
- yellow 13y agoTen cents says it's Tencent.
- stusmall 13y agoWhy do you guess that?
- edta 13y ago"However, it’s now confirmed through court documents and TechCrunch’s inside sources that Tencent has already invested in Snapchat, likely during the Series B round." Given the fact they secretly invested in series B round and didn't disclose it.
- foobarqux 13y agoDST/Milner
- rubyrescue 13y agoIVP?
- skizm 13y agoIs "founder liquidity" exactly like what it sounds? Does that money go right into the founders' personal bank accounts?
- diziet 13y agoSo apparently founder liquidity is something investors do with hyper growth companies to prevent them from selling too early. It is suppose to take the risk out away from the founders and align their incentives towards the higher expected return IPO/gigantic acquisition outcome.
- cheald 13y agoMore or less, yes. The founders sell some of their stake for cash so that they are left free to focus on the company rather than worrying if they are going to make rent.
- mathattack 13y agoExactly. It's very rare that they take all the money off the table, but it's enough to easily pay the bills, while still leaving them with enough of a stake to shoot for the moon.
- danhak 13y agoI don't think anybody's worried about making rent: http://la.curbed.com/archives/2013/12/snapchat_cofounder_just_dropped_21mm_on_a_house_in_venice.php http://la.curbed.com/archives/2013/12/snapchat_cofounder_jus...
- mahyarm 13y agoWhich usually doesn't mean employee liquidity :/
- rhizome 13y agoThe CIA--er, Carlyle Group.
- philip1209 13y agoIn-Q-Tel
- anotherbadlogin 13y agoSnapchat: the next Groupon. Except worse.
- tonywebster 13y agoSo is Snapchat just big enough and hot enough that investors will ignore due diligence red flags? In any other startup, I feel like a year of litigation over an founder's equity stake would send investors running. If you haven't seen the Snapchat deposition video leak on Business Insider, it's well worth a look.
- sskates 13y agoKind of like Facebook?
- cylinder 13y ago$50 million is 5% of the net worth of someone worth exactly $1 billion. That's equivalent to someone worth $150,000 investing $7,500. Not quite a quarter down the slot machine but an amount one can still gamble with and not destroy their life.
- 001sky 13y agoNo offense, but this is a terrible argument. Corporations worth $10's of billions do not exempt themselves from doing due dilligence on $50MM deals. Not by a mile. It is negligent to not have a process that structures investment reviews, of which due dilligence is a key part. The (corporate) materiality threshold is not alone enough of an exuse. It is gross negligence to studiously looking the other way...as your modus operandi. (It doesn't scale).
- accountoftheday 13y agoOne perspective is that a friend got screwed out of shares. Another view is the real drivers behind the company were smart to not give a dispensable person a third of the company, and are seeking a discount on mistakenly made legal commitments by drawing out the litigation. As an investor I would take the second view. The deposition video also shows Spiegel is clearly CEO material.
- deleted 13y ago[deleted]
- EGreg 13y agoI think I'm gonna make a quick startup and sell it for $50M
- LearnAndBurn 13y agoPrior to using Snapchat, I truly wondered what the big deal was. Why is the valuation so high, and what value proposition does it offer? I'm certainly not an expert in the matter, but perhaps my observations can relay some insight to others who just can't seem to grasp it. Snapchat is a tool that primarily allows a user to become closer to (1) acquaintances, and (2) existing friends who may have drifted away over time. Let's rephrase this a few ways to unveil the value. Snapchat is a communication tool that's useful for overcoming shyness. Snapchat allows users to break the ice, facilitate conversation, and overcome awkwardness. Snapchat allows the user to converse with acquaintances and distant friends that would otherwise be too awkward via other methods like texting, email, Facebook, etc. In fewer words, Snapchat makes communication trivial. Just Snap a picture of something, add some silly text or a drawing on top, and push it out to everyone. After all, what's the harm? The picture goes away, and if no one Snaps back it doesn't really matter. There's no evidence of a failed attempted communication, e.g., an un-responded email, text without a reply, comment on a wall without a Like or a response. In this way, Snapchatting is a lot like fishing. Cast your snaps, see which old friends or acquaintances reply, and strike a conversation, hang out, hookup, etc. later on. The disposable aspect of Snapchat provides a new medium for conversation starting. You know what conversation leads to? Deeper friendships. And who's really interested in knowing who your friends are? If you aren't making "new friends" on Facebook, but elsewhere, you can see why Facebook might be startled. But that fear starts to compound when you consider aging relationships are being nurtured on Snapchat as well. After all, if you aren't reconnecting with your current friends on Facebook, what good is it? All that's left is the News Feed and what everyone is up to. Hm. Enter Snapchat's "My Story" feature, where you can essentially create a 24-hour lasting Snap, very similar to status updates on Facebook. Interesting. I'm not sure Facebook being cool or uncool has much to do with it. I suggest the bigger factor is being able to communicate with peers, despite shyness. Overcoming awkwardness, facilitating conversation with a lack of confidence, or whatever you want to call it... Snapchat is a layer below Facebook. Said another way, turning acquaintances into friends (Snapchat) pre-empts the need for maintaining friendships (Facebook).
- mathattack 13y agoInteresting. I thought it was the opposite direction. Since the nature of a snap is short term, people are more likely to pay attention because it will be gone. Thoughts?
- nashequilibrium 13y agoDoes anyone doubt that Facebook actually offered $3billion and google $4billion? Could that have been done as hype? Snapchat Landed Sony Entertainment CEO Michael Lynton As An Investor, Board Member. http://www.businessinsider.com/snapchat-sony-entertainment-ceo-investor-2013-12#ixzz2nCkwsu5P http://www.businessinsider.com/snapchat-sony-entertainment-c...
- michaelochurch 13y agoPresumably a joke originally, but suddenly relevant: http://www.quora.com/Silicon-Valley/What-is-spider-pooping-and-what-does-it-have-to-do-with-Silicon-Valley-Venture-Capital http://www.quora.com/Silicon-Valley/What-is-spider-pooping-a...
- samstave 13y agoUh.... this cannot seriously have been a thing? Is this how I have to get Thiel to invest in me?
- michaelochurch 13y agoI can't tell if it's (a) exactly the sort of thing that would catch on among the VC elite-- which is what makes it so damn believable and funny-- but hasn't, or (b) if it's a real thing. I'd guess mostly (a), but who knows.
- samstave 13y agoWell, michaelochurch... guess we can see if we benefit from this practice. I am free at 4pm, your toilet or mine?
- foobarqux 13y agoDoes SecondMarket still let you buy securities of private companies?
- robbiemitchell 13y agoOnly if the companies shares allow it (and, if applicable, the company itself approves it.)
- foobarqux 13y agoMy question is are the shares of any company available for purchase currently? I didn't find a list on the site.
- vtmountainman 13y agothese guys are so incredibly douchey i can't be bothered to use their shit.
- pshin45 13y agoI feel like Snapchat would be the perfect way for flash sales sites like Groupon et al to advertise - Think targeted/exclusive limited-time-only coupons. It would be Daily Deals 2.0 - Mobile-first and and ultra time-constrained to induce even more impulse purchases.
- deleted 13y ago[deleted]