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An interview with Snapchat founder Evan Spiegel was cut short after he was asked about founders of tech start-ups falling out with one another.
Metro interviewed the creator of the Snapchat app, which lets users send photos to friends that self-delete after ten seconds. Snapchat sends 400 million photos a day and is valued at $3 billion, with Facebook and Google said to be interested in the firm.
Additionally, former Stanford student Frank Reginald Brown is claiming he helped found Snapchat and is seeking one third of the business. It’s a similar case to the Winklevoss twins, who previously sued Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg for ‘stealing’ their idea for the social networking site.
When asked if Facebook had made a bid for Snapchat, Spiegel said: "Erm, Mark [Zuckerberg] has not made us any formal offers but he remains a good friend and we’re obviously inspired by his business – it’s really remarkable."
When pushed on whether Facebook has made any informal offers, there is a five-second pause, before his aide mimes to Speigel ‘no comment.’
Metro then asked: "Why do so many tech start-ups based on the concept of friendship appear to destroy the personal relationships of the alleged founders?"
Spiegel responded: "Quite frankly, that’s a pretty inappropriate question to ask. It’s no surprise companies that quickly grow in value attract those who may want to also profit from the hard work of others."
Snapchat’s PR tells Metro they’ve asked their last question and the journalist is ushered out.
