If that's the takeaway you got from my post, then I'm sorry: I was not able to articulate myself well.
There's no doubt that he's talented and gifted. And it's possible that I'm absolutely wrong and Evan and Snapchat are planning some amazing features. But I highly doubt that, and I would propose that it would be more pragmatic to take the cash offered and do something more meaningful.
That money isn't coming out of thin air. Why is the onus not on Facebook or Google to use the $3 billion and $4 billion they were going to use to buy Snapchat on something more meaningful? Why is it Spiegel's responsibility? Especially if he didn't ask for the offers in the first place?
Completely agree. Whenever I see articles about how "[founder] rejects offer from Google/FB/Apple for [$X]" and the resulting criticism that the founder must be shortsighted, I never see any discussion on the other side fo the fence. Why on earth does Google or Facebook think Snapchat is worth any money? Somebody over there does, do they have the same mentality as Spiegel?
There's no doubt that he's talented and gifted. And it's possible that I'm absolutely wrong and Evan and Snapchat are planning some amazing features. But I highly doubt that, and I would propose that it would be more pragmatic to take the cash offered and do something more meaningful.