Evan Spiegel is the skunk at the founder’s party

Coca-Cola Consolidated

13/09/2024 15:44

(The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist.  The opinions
expressed are her own.)
    By Jennifer Saba
       NEW YORK, Sept 13 (Reuters Breakingviews) - The Snap
architect blamed his $16 bln social media network’s stock slump
on tepid ad growth. Self-awareness is a positive sign, and
attention to detail is a creative plus. But after 13 years it
might be time for Spiegel to seek outside help.
    Full view will be published shortly.
    Follow @jennifersaba on X
    
    CONTEXT NEWS 
    Snap co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Evan Spiegel
wrote a post on Sept. 3 explaining that the social media
company’s share price lagged the market because advertising
revenue was growing slower than Snap’s competitors.
    “The growth of our digital advertising business is one of
the most important inputs to our long term revenue potential,
and investors are concerned that we aren’t growing faster,” he
wrote.
    Investor and Y Combinator co-creator Paul Graham wrote a
blog post in September arguing for the merits of startup
founders staying involved in the business rather than switching
to hiring outside managers and becoming more hands off as the
company grows. 

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Graphic: Meta's shares outperform Snap's    https://reut.rs/3XojCR4
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 (Editing by Lauren Silva Laughlin and Sharon Lam)
 ((For previous columns by the author, Reuters customers can
click on  SABA/ 
jennifer.saba@thomsonreuters.com))