Success stories of startups and investors in them. Snapchat and Benchmark Capital Partners

When Snap Inc. went public in March 2017 with a valuation of $25 billion, the second-highest valuation of any social media and messaging company since 1999.

#VENTURE

#INVEST

#ВЕНЧУР

total yield

The total is invested:

$13,5 million

Share in the company after the IPO:

Yield:

$3,2 billion

23 700%

When Snap Inc. went public in March 2017 with a valuation of $25 billion, the second-highest valuation of any social media and messaging company since 1999. At the time of the IPO, the stake owned by venture capital firm Benchmark Capital Partners was worth about $3.2 billion.

Benchmark invested $13.5 million in Series A as the sole investor in this round. Benchmark's investment was led by partners Matt Kohler and Mitch Lasky, the latter of whom became a mentor to Snap founder Evan Spiegel.

Back in 2013, Snapchat was considered nothing more than an app that allowed college students to send nude photos to each other. While the public and media underestimated what Snapchat would become, Mitch Lasky and Benchmark saw the potential - they noted how Snapchat was mentioned in the same breath as companies like Facebook (banned in the Russian Federation), Instagram and Twitter. And after learning more about the company and its founder, Benchmark became convinced that this initially highly specialized application had a great future.

Benchmark invested $13.5 million in Series A as the sole investor in this round. Benchmark's investment was led by partners Matt Kohler and Mitch Lasky, the latter of whom became a mentor to Snap founder Evan Spiegel.

Back in 2013, Snapchat was considered nothing more than an app that allowed college students to send nude photos to each other. While the public and media underestimated what Snapchat would become, Mitch Lasky and Benchmark saw the potential - they noted how Snapchat was mentioned in the same breath as companies like Facebook (banned in the Russian Federation), Instagram and Twitter. And after learning more about the company and its founder, Benchmark became convinced that this initially highly specialized application had a great future.

The key to Benchmark's success with Snapchat was the firm's ability to go beyond the app's public perception. Where others saw fashion, they saw a promising company. Then it’s a matter of technique: come early with large funding, provide mentoring and direction for development.