To prevent bureaucracy from stifling creativity, Snap intentionally maintains a small, nine-person design team with a completely flat structure. This setup prioritizes rapid iteration and rewards risk-taking over a culture of seeking promotions, ensuring that great ideas can emerge from anywhere within the group.
Evan Spiegel believes AI will soon automate most day-to-day managerial work like performance tracking, career planning, and feedback collection. This will free up managers to focus purely on leadership and could dramatically increase their span of control, potentially allowing them to oversee double the traditional number of direct reports.
Unlike broadcast-based social media, Snapchat's growth is inherently slower because it relies on communication within smaller groups. Evan Spiegel argues this trade-off creates a more durable service. By being a core utility for maintaining close relationships, the platform builds long-term value and resilience against shifting trends.
Evan Spiegel frames the need for AR glasses as a solution to the social isolation caused by smartphones. He argues people are exhausted from being 'hunched over a screen' and distracted from reality. AR Spectacles aim to integrate computing into the shared physical world, making it a collaborative experience rather than an isolating one.