When people ask about the future of Snapchat, what they often mean is “How long can Evan Spiegel and company keep this up?” The torrid growth rate; the seemingly endless investment rounds; the deliberate rollout of new products releases that have thus far avoided alienating users.
Eventually, each one of these defining characteristics of Snapchat’s rise will fade. What follows are the considerable challenges of creating a profitable company that must compete fiercely with other social media rivals for ad dollars.
The best way to understand what Snapchat’s future will look like is to consider several key questions Mr. Spiegel and his team of executives will have to deal with in the near term. (This article is the first in a series by The Information on the big strategic questions facing the most valuable private technology companies.)
