The idea of disappearing photos led to the creation of "Picaboo" which was later relaunched as "Snapchat." Years later, it's a billion dollar business.
As Picaboo
The Business Insider recently wrote an article about the story of the app itself. "Picaboo" was the product of an idea by Reggie Brown, which involved him wishing he could make a photo that he sent to a girl disappear.
Reggie Brown, along with Bobby Murphy and Evan Spiegel, worked on the app. An ownership fight, however, ensued and it led to Brown getting kicked out of the trio.
The app was renamed to "Snapchat" and it slowly gained a following after Spiegel's cousin used it at his high school. One year later, at 2012, the app found itself with a hundred thousand daily active users, writes BI.
Making Money
Snapchat got its first check from Jeremy Liew of Lightspeed Venture Partners. According to the Business Insider, when Spiegel received the money, he left Stanford and moved himself and his team to his dad's house in LA.
In 2012, the app had millions of daily users.
Legal dispute
Reggie Brown made a reappearance and sued Spiegel and Murphy for cutting him out of the business. Brown was given a settlement money of $158 billion, a detail released only this year.
Stories and Filters
Snapchat launched its Stories feature, a way for snaps to last 24 hours. It hit off and then used ads in its filters, a great way for the firm to earn money.
The app also survived the backlash of getting hacked and an offer from Facebook. By 2015, BI writes that its daily users numbered at 100 million.
Going public
Snapchat went public last February 2. On March 2, it began trading in public markets. According to the Business Insider, its initial public offering had the company netting $3.4 billion.
Unlike its typical stories, Snapchat's story does not go away after 24 hours. It's unlikely to disappear in the near future too.
The firm attributed its success in users with the fact that people eat, sleep, and poop with their smartphones every day. For more news, follow Jobs & Hire.
