Riffing on Twitter last night, CEO Dick Costolo offered up what appears to be an official endorsement for Snapchat and the ephemeral app’s $10bn valuation.
Costolo’s reason for the endorsement? “Crazy growth, clear monetization path, & one of the best social product thinkers out there,” he said. The unprompted statement comes across as flirtatious, but also jabs at Facebook, which has repeatedly tried and failed to duplicate Snapchat’s feature set.
News of Snapchat’s near-$10bn valuation broke yesterday, as reports surfaced that Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers will invest up to $20 million in the company.
No revenue a problem?
According to Costolo, the lofty deal isn’t absurd at all — even if the company isn’t making any real money yet.
Snapchat at $10b not absurd. Crazy growth, clear monetization path, & one of the best social product thinkers out there. Long (figuratively)
— dick costolo (@dickc) August 27, 2014
With 100 million users, Snapchat’s future monetization plans aren’t yet clear. The company has expressed interest in pursuing in-app purchases but is also reportedly in talks with advertisers and news sites.
Perhaps Costolo knows something we don’t?