Evan Spiegel: Turning Down a Billion Dollars
Distinguish between being 'kind' and being 'nice' in your workplace. Nice is about making people feel good; kind is about wanting the best for them—which sometimes means having tough conversations. When feedback comes from a place of genuine care (kindness), people are more receptive and grow faster
1h 58mKey Takeaway
Distinguish between being 'kind' and being 'nice' in your workplace. Nice is about making people feel good; kind is about wanting the best for them—which sometimes means having tough conversations. When feedback comes from a place of genuine care (kindness), people are more receptive and grow faster. Build a culture where honesty and support coexist, creating fertile ground for creativity without fear.
Episode Overview
Evan Spiegel, co-founder and CEO of Snap Inc., discusses the philosophy behind Snapchat's creation, his inspiration from innovators like Edwin Land and Steve Jobs, and how he's built a company culture centered on kindness, creativity, and making technology more personal. He shares insights on why Snapchat opens to the camera, the invention of Stories, and his vision for computing that brings people together rather than isolating them.
Key Insights
Technology Should Bring Us Together, Not Pull Us Apart
Spiegel observed how computers historically pulled people away from one another—into buildings for mainframes, indoors for desktops, and now constantly staring at phone screens. He built Snapchat with the vision that computing should support human connections and bring us outside, opening to the camera to ground users in the present moment rather than in feeds of other people's content.
Distribution Matters More Than Perfect Products
Spiegel's first startup, Future Freshman, failed despite having great software because they spent 18 months building the perfect product without considering distribution. Their competitor Naviance had secured distribution through college counselors, making the choice obvious for customers. This taught him to focus on scalable distribution channels and getting products in front of users quickly.
Kind vs. Nice: Building a Creative Culture
Spiegel distinguishes between being 'kind' and being 'nice.' Nice is about making people feel good; kind is about wanting the best for someone, which sometimes requires tough conversations. A kind culture allows honest feedback to be heard because it comes from a place of genuine care, helping people grow faster. Fear is the opposite of creativity, so kindness creates fertile ground for innovation.
Vertical Video and Stories Were Obvious—Execution Was Hard
When Snapchat launched vertical video and Stories, it seemed obvious to Spiegel that people would watch video the same way they hold their phones all day—vertically. The hard part wasn't having the vision; it was the determination and consistency in pursuing it, even when no one used Stories for the first six months and advertisers resisted vertical formats.
Notable Quotes
"Technology gets more and more and more and more personal. And so I think as technology gets more deeply interwoven in our lives, the founders who are thinking about making technology more personal and how it, you know, how the things they're inventing like fit into and support humanity, I think that's a real advantage."
"I think the hard part is not necessarily seeing what the future could look like. I think a lot of people have different visions for the future. I think the thing that's been maybe different about Snap or Snapchat is like our determination and consistency in pursuing that vision."
"There's a big difference between kind and nice. When you're being kind, it means you really want the best for somebody, right? And sometimes that means a tough conversation. Nice is about making people feel good right kind is about wanting the best for them."
"Fear is almost like the opposite of creativity."
Action Items
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1
Prioritize Distribution Early
Don't spend years perfecting a product without considering how you'll get it into users' hands. Identify scalable distribution channels early and build with them in mind. Test your distribution strategy alongside your product development.
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2
Create Space for Honest Feedback Through Kindness
Establish a culture where tough conversations come from a place of genuine care for people's growth. When giving feedback, focus on wanting the best for someone rather than just making them feel good. This creates psychological safety that accelerates growth.
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3
Challenge Inherited Technology Constraints
Question why technology works the way it does. Many design decisions (like permanent storage, horizontal video, etc.) were based on past constraints that no longer apply. Look for opportunities where old assumptions can be reimagined for current capabilities.
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4
Build Products You and Your Friends Would Use
Start by creating something you genuinely want to use with the people around you. Being your own first customer helps you iterate quickly and ensures you're solving real problems, not theoretical ones.