Post: #1

The founders of Snapchat (a photo-sharing service) have just turned down an offer of 3 billion dollars from Facebook.

Snapchat is a photo sharing service whcih allows people to share messages or pictures, which then auto-delete a few seconds later. It's often used for sexual messaging.

http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/technology/...regret-it/

I don't use Facebook. And I have never head of Snapchat. But this strikes me as being mad. How can such a simple service be worth 3 billion dollars?

And why would the people behind Snapchat turn it down?!!

Post: #2

You obviously haven't heard this "walked into a bar" joke:

Quote:A million guys walk in to a Silicon Valley bar. None of them buy anything. The bar is declared a rousing success.

Post: #3

Hotmail turned down several offers from Microsoft before finally accepting an absurdly massive one.

Either strategic or they honestly believe that they can do better than 3 billion on their own. If you valued your company at worth more than 3 billion long term, would you sell?

Post: #4

The kid Spiegel, family already billionaires.

Post: #5

(11-14-2013 04:02 PM)WestIndianArchie Wrote:  The kid Spiegel, family already billionaires.

That explains it. Otherwise, still a stupid mistake not to take the money. Just like Groupon. There is nothing revolutionary about either. These guys all think they're Facebook or Twitter, both actual new thinking products. Snapchat and Groupon are just incremental improvements and therefore will lose much market share once someone makes a new incremental improvement. Also, why not take the 3 million for Snapchat? Does anyone really want to be known as making a IM app that was a bit better than the rest. Is that a life mission worth sacrificing 3 billion for?

Post: #6

(11-14-2013 03:56 PM)Suits Wrote:  Hotmail turned down several offers from Microsoft before finally accepting an absurdly massive one.

Either strategic or they honestly believe that they can do better than 3 billion on their own. If you valued your company at worth more than 3 billion long term, would you sell?

Yes.

Post: #7

At some point, for people, it is no longer just money, it is an ego thing. I go the highest value ever per subscriber or some other thing to brag about.

We, or the majority of us, having never been in the world they are playing in, don't understand what drives them.

Post: #8

(11-14-2013 05:03 PM)samsamsam Wrote:  At some point, for people, it is no longer just money, it is an ego thing. I go the highest value ever per subscriber or some other thing to brag about.

We, or the majority of us, having never been in the world they are playing in, don't understand what drives them.

Yeah, the ultra rich are a strange lot.

It is just a competition for them.

Post: #9

I'd take $3billion - once you have a certain amount of money, any extra won't really change your lifestyle right? I mean does a guy with $3billion in the bank have a very different lifestyle to somebody with $20billion?

Even if you're worth only $50 million, you can eat at a 5 star restaurant every day, stay in the most expensive hotel rooms and fly wherever you want to...

Post: #10

(11-14-2013 04:51 PM)ryanf Wrote:  

(11-14-2013 03:56 PM)Suits Wrote:  Hotmail turned down several offers from Microsoft before finally accepting an absurdly massive one.

Either strategic or they honestly believe that they can do better than 3 billion on their own. If you valued your company at worth more than 3 billion long term, would you sell?

Yes.

Me too, but money isn't my measuring stick of a good life.

For some people, its all just a game, life is good when you are in the game and wealth is just a means of keeping score.

For me, once I have $250,000, I'm banking it and never working more than 10 hrs a week for cash again. Although I'll probably do a lot of volunteer work/travel to keep busy.

Post: #11

(11-14-2013 06:38 PM)Suits Wrote:  

(11-14-2013 04:51 PM)ryanf Wrote:  

(11-14-2013 03:56 PM)Suits Wrote:  Hotmail turned down several offers from Microsoft before finally accepting an absurdly massive one.

Either strategic or they honestly believe that they can do better than 3 billion on their own. If you valued your company at worth more than 3 billion long term, would you sell?

Yes.

Me too, but money isn't my measuring stick of a good life.

For some people, its all just a game, life is good when you are in the game and wealth is just a means of keeping score.

For me, once I have $250,000, I'm banking it and never working more than 10 hrs a week for cash again. Although I'll probably do a lot of volunteer work/travel to keep busy.

Sure it's not a measuring stick of life, plenty of wealthy people have issues. No denying that. However, if you had $3 billion, the law of diminishing returns kicks in. How much would your life improve if you had 5 instead of 3? That's like bickering over whether you can notch a 9.8, but holding out because you might have a chance at a 9.9.

Post: #12

He's going to sell it next year for more to FB, this is FB's second offer the guy is gambling that Mark Zuckerberg comes back with a higher price tag.

Post: #13

I'd sell in a second for $3billion.

First order of business:

Buy an island and setup a RVF resort full of every ethnicity of girl. Only RVFers are allowed and ratio would be 30:1 girls.

How do you get on the island?

Give me one rep point.

Hahahahaha the place would implode at some point....

Post: #14

(11-14-2013 06:23 PM)WalterBlack Wrote:  I'd take $3billion - once you have a certain amount of money, any extra won't really change your lifestyle right? I mean does a guy with $3billion in the bank have a very different lifestyle to somebody with $20billion?

Even if you're worth only $50 million, you can eat at a 5 star restaurant every day, stay in the most expensive hotel rooms and fly wherever you want to...

That is my point.

At that level it is just Scoreboard.

(Not speculating here, this is what I have learned with conversations with people at this level and the few levels below).

Post: #15

This reminds me of how Facebook turned down Yahoo's $1 billion offer back in 2006.

Peter Thiel, Facebook's first major investor tells the story like this. Yahoo made the offer and Thiel and another venture capitalist Jim Breyer were both in favor of taking it:

Quote:"Both Breyer and myself on balance thought we probably should take the money," recalled Thiel. "But Zuckerberg started the meeting like, 'This is kind of a formality, just a quick board meeting, it shouldn't take more than 10 minutes. We're obviously not going to sell here'."

The way Thiel tells it, Zuckerberg knew that there were a ton of features he was going to add to Facebook in the future and that Yahoo was low-balling their offer since they knew nothing of his plans.

So, the question here is, do Snapchats founders have similarly clear plans for expansion like Zuckerberg did with Facebook?

Post: #16

They should call it SNATCHchat since that's all people use it for: nude pics.

Post: #17

On the face of it, this makes little sense, but, they might be playing hardball, they might think they can develop it into something better and more lucrative on their own, OR, they might be a bit paranoid, or just keen to reach out to the non-facebook using market.
Facebook is better placed to make use of this app, but wouldn't it fly in the face of their openness, (i.e. the recent stuff about anti-bullying) and data-sharing with certain government agencies? Plus, Snapchat is not as family-friendly as Facebook, and you would either have to restrict use or charge for it as an extra, since policing it would be difficult
Maybe the business model that Pax Dickinson has for Glimpse would be better for Snapchat to adopt here? https://weneedglimpse.com/

Post: #18

Facebook is desperate to recover the young audience, 18 & below, to make it cool again. Teens aren't using FB like they did years ago. FB is aging and they are desperate to keep the growth going, thus willing to part with a few B's. Look at what happened to Tumblr, its all but irrelevant now after the Yahoo acquisition. This will be a brilliant move if they develop a widely used platform, but as with anything, its a role of the dice.

Post: #19

The Chinese are supposedly offering them over 4 billion. They are a few companies who are looking to buy snapchat. They are just playing the bidding war.

Post: #20

(11-14-2013 07:06 PM)McQueensPlayboyRules Wrote:  First order of business:

Buy an island and setup a RVF resort full of every ethnicity of girl. Only RVFers are allowed and ratio would be 30:1 girls.

How do you get on the island?

Give me one rep point.

Seriously, though. This could be a reasonable move for Roosh at some point.

A chain of super secret hotels spread around the globe. RVF membership (500+ posts) would give you the opportunity to visit when there is room.

Even if each room is full only half the time, they'd just be rented apartments with no staff and as such, I'd be cheaper than a hotel and more comfortable than a hostel.

If it costs $300 per month to rent a city center apartment in Bangkok and there is only 50% occupancy, one night's stay would be $20, which would be awesome for a place that was already set up for seduction. Props, MP3 player with great speakers pre-loaded with the official RVF Bang sound track, a huge supply of condoms, etc.

Naturally, the rates would go down considerably if you had a longer stay.

Post: #21

^ I'm sure it's come up before, but I see the RVF evolving into something like the Freemasons in the future.

Once all the major cities have data sheets, you'll most likely have members living there who have spots locked down.

Their own inside jokes, vocab, strategies, connects, etc.

Post: #22

(11-15-2013 03:24 AM)LeBeau Wrote:  ^ I'm sure it's come up before, but I see the RVF evolving into something like the Freemasons in the future.

Once all the major cities have data sheets, you'll most likely have members living there who have spots locked down.

Their own inside jokes, vocab, strategies, connects, etc.

In two hundred years people will talk about secret RVF conspiracies

Post: #23

Facebook would of scrubbed it and probably would try to integrate it with instagram. It's a toy all tho. It's only prospects to make money isbd you have to watch a 10 sec ad before you open videosnaps or some shit.

Post: #24

I think too the top guys at Snapchat enjoy a life of pat each other on the back pseudo-glamour.

Think of all the hot chicks working there that catch a glimpse of one of the guys that will be worth 300 million or more. It's like, or it actually IS, being famous.

Once you sell, you're out, or just an employee, what can you do-- walk around Manhattan with your stockbrokerage statement, saying " I WAS the guy that started Snapchat."

These guys aren't partiers who want to relax on an island in Greece--what will they do all day? --the founders of Google still hang around some office complex in the South Bay. It's not even a pretty place, just a sea of office parks.

Post: #25

Should have taken that 3 billion. Whoops!

Snapchat Implicated in Canadian Child Porn Scandel