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Comment by pdog | Hacker News Reader

For those wondering why, check out slides 14 and 15 of the 2013 KPCB Internet Trends report:

http://www.slideshare.net/kleinerperkins/kpcb-internet-trend...

Uh, that doesn't explain how they're making money, or plan to. More users = more photos transmitted = more bandwidth = more money burned, and not earned.

I imagine it's actually fairly simple for them to integrate ads: you'll have to watch a ~10 second ad before you can see your message.

Edited to add: Not to mention that they have a captive audience--you'll have to watch the ad, which I have to think is prime ad space that they can charge for.

I don't think that model will ever work. Most SnapChats are trivial random stuff. Cute but you're not going to sit through 10 seconds of Citibank's credit card pitch to see your buddy with a small carrot sticking out his nose. Secondly, SnapChat's are typically under 5 seconds. So it's like watching 2 hour long commercial for a 1 hour show.

On the contrary, 5 seconds for an Ad is the sweet spot before people get pissed off. Look at YouTube videos. They require you to watch about 10 seconds before you get the "skip ad" option and it seems to be working great for them.

Ooooh, they know exactly where the future lies and where to invest. That is why they have had such stellar performance.

http://www.businessinsider.com/venture-capital-kingpin-klein...

Everyone looks at these kinds of things with wide eyed astonishment. We are talking Pets.com era stupidity in valuations.

To your point, PG wrote a complete essay on exactly why GROWTH matters so much to valuations - http://www.paulgraham.com/growth.html

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