A surprisingly detailed, easy to read chronological look at Snapchat. The book acts as a Snapchat origin story as it follows the creators from conception all the way to an IPO.

Another business-related title, HOW TO TURN DOWN A BILLION DOLLARS: THE SNAPCHAT STORY by Billy Gallagher, begins with stories of frat life at Stanford (not unlike the fictionalized Frat Girl by fellow Stanford alum, Kelly Roache). Livin' hard, playin' hard and taking risks seems a theme for Gallagher and his friends, Snapchat founders Reggie Brown, Bobby Murphy and current CEO Evan Spiegel. The attitude of privilege, arrogance, and entitlement is pervasive. This book would likely give our students some insights into the seeds of a rather toxic Silicon Valley culture about which they have frequently heard. Booklist says, "Gallagher spends as much time on the excesses, lawsuits, and high employee turnover at Snapchat as he does on the technology." In fact, parent company Snap has just this week confirmed layoffs for 120 engineers after a significant redesign – that aspect may appeal to some of our entrepreneurial students who often look for examples of overcoming adversity and beginning anew. They, too, may even ultimately agree with the recent New York Times article, "Silicon Valley is Over, Says Silicon Valley" which extols the opportunities and benefits on investing in the Midwest.

Links in live review:
http://money.cnn.com/2018/03/08/technology/snapchat-layoffs/index.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/04/technology/silicon-valley-midwest.html

Social media is taking over the world! I liked learning more about the creation of Snapchat and the issues that came about in the first few years of the company's existence. Being able to have more insight into the company by reading this book has allowed for me to better understand what goes into creating and running a business.

Billy Gallagher explores the man behind Snapchat, the formidable Evan, from the companies inception through the IPO. A unique peek behind the scenes provides readers with some of the technical details behind different people, product offerings and the creation process but without the depth and passion of truly coming to know any of the real players. Technically accurate and well documented, it reads more like a long wikipedia entry then a biographical or business text. Worth a look if you'd like to learn more but be prepared to absorb a lot of dates, names and technical information.