Did you know that over 60 per cent of Bhutanese aged 18 to 24 use Snapchat? Snapchat, an American multimedia instant messaging app, was co-founded by Evan Spiegel, who is also its chief executive officer. Spiegel shared this information during the Bhutan Innovation Forum today while discussing his journey to becoming a young billionaire entrepreneur. He emphasised that the key to success is generating many ideas.
Snapchat is a messaging app that allows users to send photos, videos, and messages that disappear after being viewed, making it a unique and engaging platform for communication.
Evan Spiegel, then 22, founded the company while studying product design at Stanford University.
Four years after launching Snapchat, Spiegel became one of the world’s youngest billionaires.
Today, Snapchat has more than 850 million users worldwide.
As a newcomer to entrepreneurship during his time at Stanford, Evan shared that he wasn’t afraid to ask questions about how to start a company.
“It was fun starting the business at such a young age because we didn’t know anything about how to run a company. And so, I think that meant that we felt very comfortable asking for help. We never had to pretend that we knew what we were talking about because we had no idea. We’d never built a company before. And, you know, so many business leaders were so generous with their time and with their help.”
Evan Spiegel said that a common challenge in creativity is the fear of rejection.
He discussed how society often responds to innovative ideas with negativity and doubt. However, he emphasised that design is a repeatable process, which helps in generating new ideas.
Meanwhile, many local entrepreneurs shared how Evan’s insights resonated deeply with their own aspirations and challenges.
They mentioned that creativity and resilience inspire them to approach their ventures with a fresh perspective.
Tandin Tshewang from Bhutan Health Care said “For me, Evan’s session was very insightful because the takeaway that I can take is that in terms of customers centre and in terms of reaching out to the business leaders and expertise because as and when we start the business, we have zero knowledge and everything we must start from scratch. We are very reserved to ourselves, which means you cannot open. What he was saying is don’t stay like that. You need to open; you need to discuss.”
Leki Choden from Dragon Coders said “For a business like Dragon Coders, the number of users is important. Secondly, we should not only focus our business within the country but should think global. Moreover, friends and families are important in starting a business. Like you heard Evan say how it was his mother who used snapchat first. And lastly, I understood that an idea shouldn’t kept a secret. We must share it with others to get feedback.”
In an ever-evolving world, Evan Spiegel’s message about asking questions and embracing vulnerability as essential steps to success resonated strongly. He emphasised that creativity should be celebrated, and every idea, no matter how irrational, has the potential to spark the next big breakthrough.
Samten Dolkar
Edited by Sherub Dorji
