One of the most enjoyable aspects of writing this book has been talking to other authors about their experiences. I truly appreciate all the authors who generously gave me their time and advice, notably Alex Banayan, Nick Bilton, Matthew Berry, Blake Harris, Kevin Roose, and Ashlee Vance. A special thank-you to Larry Langton and Langton Media for inspiring me to think about this book and these characters in a new light.
Thank you to Mary Ritti and the Snapchat PR team for their help with fact-checking.
I am very grateful to all of the teachers, students, and alumni of The Haverford School, where I learned to read and write and, most important, how to appreciate both. In particular I must thank Richard Duffany for teaching me the mechanics of writing at a young age.
Thank you to my classmates and professors at Stanford University for constantly challenging me while making me feel at home. I am particularly grateful to everyone at The Stanford Daily, especially Kate Abbott, Kathleen Chaykowski, Marwa Farag, Brendan O’Byrne, Margaret Rawson, Stephanie Weber, and Zach Zimmerman. Thank you for teaching me to chase important stories.
I owe so much to my fellow writers and editors at TechCrunch, particularly John Biggs, Alexia Bonatsos, Mike Butcher, Matt Burns, Josh Constine, Jordan Crook, Kim Mai-Cutler, Ned Desmond, Eric Eldon, Anthony Ha, Leslie Hitchcock, Susan Hobbs, Ryan Lawler, Ingrid Lunden, Matthew Panzarino, Jon Shieber, Colleen Taylor, and Alex Wilhelm. Thank you for teaching me how to cover startups and ask the right questions, and for allowing me to make mistakes.
Thank you to my coworkers at Khosla Ventures, Vinod Khosla, Samir Kaul, Keith Rabois, David Weiden, Ben Ling, Kathy Chan, Nick Moryl, and Hari Arul. Thank you for giving me my first job and teaching me to see the potential in nascent ideas.
Thank you to all my friends and classmates at the Stanford GSB for your nonstop support as I wrote and edited this book during the past year. In particular, I want to thank Mannie Ajayi, Dhruv Amin, Ashley Brasier, Jake Bullock, Patrick Chase, Pam Chirathivat, David Demres, Caroline Duffy, Calen Engert, Savannah English, Claire Fisher, Dana Gingrich, Jill Greenberg, Zach Horat, Devin Kelsey, Sam Krieg, Tim Latimer, Jeff Lyon, Alex Maceda, Lauren Martinez, Kelsey Mason, Mihir Mehta, Alex Menke, Robbie Mitchnik, Taylor Ray, Annie Robertson, Bobby Samuels, Steph Scott, Whitt Virgin-Downey, Frances Wehrwein, and Megan Welch.
I’m very grateful to share my life with great friends. Thank you to Chris Baldock, Sam Barsh, Lauren Birks, Gigi Constable, Chase Disher, Skylar Dorosin, Tim Dougherty, Bob Greco, Joey Grubb, Cam Hutton, Hunter Kodama, Cam Lindsay, Chelsea Lewis, Nick Mahowald, Eric Malumed, Tyler Marks, Bonnie McLindon, Peggy Moriarty, Sean O’Brien, Danny Organ, Philip Origlio, Caitlyn Pura, Nolan Pura, Will Rockafellow, John Romer, David Roos, Louie Schley, Robby Schwenke, Jake Silverman, Lauren Taylor, Stuart Upfill-Brown, Michelle Valentine, Roberto Vargas, Dru Warden, and Jack Werner.
Most importantly, my family. I am blessed to have an incredible family that is extremely supportive. Thank you to Eileen McAneny Gallagher, Nick Gallagher, Dennis Gallagher, Paul and Lisa Badame, Tim O’Brien, Carol O’Brien and Ken O’Brien, Kim O’Brien Langton and Larry Langton, Ross DiBono and Lucille DiBono, Ross DiBono II, Cynthia DiBono Weaver, Reverend Jack McNamee, Ro Seavey, and Jay Weiner. To my dad, Mike, I wish we could have spent more time together. Rest in peace.
Sadly, too many names have been omitted from these acknowledgments. There are countless people who helped me in this process in small ways they may not even realize. Thank you.
And finally, thank you to you, the reader. I hope you’ve enjoyed it.
WORKS CITED
Prologue: Initial Public Offering
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Chapter One: Rush
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Chapter Two: Future Freshman
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Chapter Three: Million-Dollar Idea
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Gallagher, Billy. “The Snapchat Lawsuit, Or How to Lose Your Best Friend over $70 Million.” TechCrunch, March 7, 2013. https://techcrunch.com/2013/03/07/snapchat-lawsui/
Shontell, Alyson. “These Leaked Videos Could Lead to a Huge Payday for Ousted Snapchat Co-Founder.” Business Insider, November 20, 2013. http://www.businessinsider.com/snapchat-lawsuit-video-depositions-2013-11
________. “SNAPCHAT LAWSUIT VIDEOS: After a 37-Second Pause, Snapchat’s CEO Describes Regrets about the Friend He Ousted.” Business Insider, November 25, 2013. http://www.businessinsider.com/snapchat-lawsuit-videos-2013-11
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Chapter Four: The Other Startup
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Constine, Josh. “Flaming Wreckage of Clinkle Rebuilds as a Referral Service.” TechCrunch, December 29, 2015. https://techcrunch.com/2015/12/29/i-know-you-thought-it-was-dead-but/
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Del Rey, Jason. “Clinkle’s Still a Hot Mess as Its Big Shot COO Departs (Updated).” Recode, March 13, 2014. http://www.recode.net/2014/3/13/11624542/clinkles-still-a-hot-mess-as-its-big-shot-coo-departs
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Efrati, Amir. “Startup’s Deep Roots: Stanford.” Wall Street Journal, April 3, 2013. http://www.wsj.com/article_email/SB10001424127887324020504578396912443242512-lMyQjAxMTAzMDAwMzEwNDMyWj.html
Fitchard, Kevin. “Clinkle Becomes a Tech Celebrity Magnet, Landing Richard Branson as an Investor.” GigaOm, September 26, 2013. https://gigaom.com/2013/09/26/clinkle-becomes-a-tech-celebrity-magnet-landing-richard-branson-as-an-investor/
Gallagher, Billy. “Stanford University Is Going to Invest in Student Startups Like a VC Firm.” TechCrunch, September 4, 2013. http://techcrunch.com/2013/09/04/stanford-university-is-going-to-invest-in-student-startups-like-a-vc-firm/
________. “Clinkle Raises Celebrity-Filled $25M Round as It Gears Up to Eliminate the Physical Wallet.” TechCrunch, June 27, 2013. http://techcrunch.com/2013/06/27/clinkle-raises-celebrity-filled-25m-round-as-it-gears-up-to-eliminate-the-physical-wallet/
Mac, Ryan. “Clinkle up in Smoke as Investors Want Their Money Back.” Forbes, January 22, 2016. http://www.forbes.com/sites/ryanmac/2016/01/22/clinkle-up-in-smoke-as-investors-want-their-money-back/#5dced7db35b6
Rowley, Jason D. “The Startup Funding Graduation Rate Is Surprisingly Low.” Mattermark, September 28, 2016. https://mattermark.com/startup-graduation-rate-surprisingly-low/
Shontell, Alyson. “A SILICON VALLEY DISASTER: A 21-Year-Old Stanford Kid Got $30 Million, Then Everything Blew Up.” Business Insider, April 14, 2014. http://www.businessinsider.com/inside-story-of-clinkle-2014-4?op=1
Thompson, Nicholas. “Stanford and Its Startups.” New Yorker, September 11, 2013. http://www.newyorker.com/business/currency/stanford-and-its-start-ups
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________. “The End of Stanford?” New Yorker, April 8, 2013. http://www.newyorker.com/tech/elements/the-end-of-stanford
Tiku, Nitasha. “Clinkle Is Bribing College Students with a Vending Machine Full of Cash.” Valleywag, November 25, 2014. http://valleywag.gawker.com/clinkle-is-bribing-college-students-with-a-vending-mach-1663325836
Chapter Five: Lawsuit Possible
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Driver, Carol. “CANNES LIONS: Entrepreneur Evan Spiegel Reveals He Drew Ghost Logo for Snapchat on His Computer in His Dorm Bedroom.” Daily Mail, June 22, 2015. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-3134555/CANNES-LIONS-Billionaire-Evan-Spiegel-reveals-drew-ghost-logo-Snapchat-computer-dorm-bedroom.html
Gallagher, Billy. “The Snapchat Lawsuit, Or How to Lose Your Best Friend over $70 Million.” TechCrunch, March 7, 2013. https://techcrunch.com/2013/03/07/snapchat-lawsui/
Wenerd, Brando. July 31, 2014 tweet, Twitter. https://twitter.com/brandonwenerd/status/494895839467147265/photo/1
Chapter Six: The Fight
Gallagher, Billy. “The Snapchat Lawsuit, Or How to Lose Your Best Friend over $70 Million.” TechCrunch, March 7, 2013. https://techcrunch.com/2013/03/07/snapchat-lawsui/
Chapter Seven: Snapchat
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________. “Get Rich U.” New Yorker,Bonanos, Christopher. “The Man Who Inspired Jobs.” New York Times, October 7, 2011. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/07/opinion/the-man-who-inspired-jobs.html
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Gallagher, Billy. “No, Snapchat Isn’t about Sexting, Says Co-Founder Evan Spiegel.” TechCrunch, May 12, 2012. https://techcrunch.com/2012/05/12/snapchat-not-sexting/
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Chapter Eight: Sexting
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