Snap co-founder and CEO Evan Spiegel leads a company facing a plummeting stock price, competition from larger industry rivals, and heartbreaking job cuts, but he’s not giving up.
Speaking Wednesday at Vox Media’s Code Conference in Beverly Hills, Calif., with Kara Swisher and Scott Galloway, Spiegel said: “We believe we are far from reaching our full potential. I have tried to keep doing it.”
Snap’s stock has lost about 76% of its value since the beginning of the year. Last week, the company laid off his 20% of its workforce, or more than 1,200 of his employees. This is one of the biggest waves of layoffs in the tech industry in recent times. The company has also decided to cancel at least six of his products, including the self-flying camera drone Pixy.
At the same time, Spiegel is looking to take on some of its main competitors with social media giant Meta. Meta last year invested his $10 billion in his AR/VR-related initiatives similar to what Snap has long been working on, such as its Spectacles video recording glasses. Hardware project.
“What gives me a lot of hope is that, as you know, historically in our industry, spending big money doesn’t always correlate with long-term success. He added that if a company’s competitors “have a lot more money,” that doesn’t mean they will win. I think many of them no longer have to make difficult choices.”
Snap has been hit hard by recent inflation and global economic uncertainty, as well as recent changes to Apple’s privacy settings that make it harder for social media companies to advertise to mobile users. One of the technology companies.
These factors have resulted in hiring freezes and layoffs at some of the world’s most valuable companies, including Google and Facebook. But the impact was particularly strong at Snap, a relatively small company with few revenue streams. The company also expanded its workforce last year, hiring more than 2,000 people.
Even with its recent financial difficulties, Snap has continued to grow its user base significantly, with approximately 347 million daily users. But to keep it going, the 32-year-old CEO will have to fend off this recession and fierce competition.
After being asked about how he balances being a father with his duties as CEO, Spiegel said:
“I feel a huge responsibility, so I haven’t found a magical solution or answer,” Spiegel said. “And I feel like I’m being pulled in a million directions all the time.”
This article has been clarified to add additional context
