Some very interesting notes emerged from the recent news that Snapchat has raised $1.8B and is currently valued at nearly $20B.
The valuation is huge, especially considering the company had less than $60M in revenue last year. That number is estimated to rise to $350M this year and by some estimates rise to $500M or even $1B in the next few years.
Contrast that with Twitter, who had 35 times the revenue of Snapchat and roughly the same daily users, but is valued at $10B. The difference here is of course growth - Snapchat’s user base grew about 50% while Twitter remained flat.
That’s why, Mathew Ingram of Fortune, argues that despite critics who see a potential tech bubble, Snapchat just might be worth that $20B figure.
Another interesting note is some of the venture capitalists involved (who typically jump in earlier) which could potentially signal expectations that Snapchat could reach Facebook-level status.
Oh yeah, remember that Facebook offered $3B for Snapchat in 2013 and was rebuffed.