上周四，爆款應用Snapchat的母公司Snap Incorporated提交了上市申請。

公司在申請上市的文件中稱：“我們的產品幫人們表現自己，活好當下，了解世界，一起開心玩耍?！痹谔岬狡淞餍械难坨R設備Spectacles時，文件中還明確表示“Snap Inc.是一家相機公司”。

但Snapchat并非剛成立就是現在這樣。如今在紐交所首次公開上市只是這家成立于2011年的公司的最新發展，26歲的首席執行官埃文·斯皮格爾也希望上市時按公司250億美元的估值盡可能多地融資。以下是該公司的簡史。

三人相逢斯坦福

Snap Incorporated, the parent company of the wildly popular messaging app Snapchat, on Thursday filed to go public.

"Our products empower people to express themselves, live in the moment, learn about the world, and have fun together," the company's S-1 filing reads. It also stated, plainly: "Snap Inc. is a camera company"—a reference to its popular Spectacles eyewear.

But it wasn't always that way. An IPO on the New York Stock Exchange—in which 26-year-old CEO Evan Spiegel will likely hope to raise money near Snap's eye-popping $25 billion valuation—is only the latest milestone for a company that first appeared in 2011. Here's a brief look at how it got here.

Three Classmates Meet at Stanford University

埃文·斯皮格爾、羅伯特·“鮑比”·墨菲和弗蘭克·雷金納德·“雷吉”·布朗四世2010年左右在斯坦福大學相識。斯皮格爾（當時沒畢業）學的是產品設計，墨菲學的數學和計算機科學，布朗專業是英語。三人都是該校兄弟會成員，斯皮格爾負責外聯部。斯皮格爾和墨菲研發了“未來新生”，一款用來幫助學生、家長和輔導員指導入學過程的工具。那年夏天這款產品還紅火了一陣。

不可不提的Picaboo

Evan Spiegel, Robert "Bobby" Murphy, and Frank Reginald "Reggie" Brown IV meet at Stanford University around 2010. Spiegel (who didn't graduate) studied product design, Murphy studied mathematical and computational science, and Brown studied English. All were members of the Kappa Sigma fraternity, for which Spiegel served as social chair. Spiegel and Murphy begin work on "Future Freshman," a tool to aid students, parents, and counselors in the college admissions process. It launches with little fanfare that summer.

Meet 'Picaboo'

新創意，新產品。三人組里斯皮格爾和布朗都是大三學生；墨菲已經畢業，所以著手開發后來起名為“Picaboo”的短消息應用。（2013年布朗曾起訴斯皮格爾和墨菲，稱創意是他最早提出的；后來訴訟以1.575億美元和解。）三人在洛杉磯斯皮格爾父親家中做出了產品原型，給每人安排了頭銜（斯皮格爾是首席執行官；墨菲是首席技術官；布朗是首席營銷官），并于2011年7月發布了新聞稿。稿中宣布，“扔掉之前過時的照片信息應用吧，新的Picaboo可以讓你和女朋友互發照片偷偷看一下，不會保存下來！”“大膽分享性感新發型，讓他幫你挑選火熱新裝備，不用擔心緊張照片會永遠存在相冊里。”雖然這款應用主要針對女性用戶，但價值定位已經明確。“誰會想把每張照片永遠存在相冊里呢？”新聞稿里問道?！胺凑覀儾幌?？”確實如此。

再見，Picaboo。你好，Snapchat

New idea, new product. The trio—Spiegel and Brown are juniors; Murphy has graduated—begin work on an ephemeral messaging app they soon dub "Picaboo." (A 2013 lawsuit Brown files against Spiegel and Murphy claims he thought of the idea; the parties later settle for $157.5 million.) The co-founders build a prototype at the Los Angeles home of Spiegel's father, obtain titles (Spiegel, CEO; Murphy, CTO; Brown, CMO) and issue a press release in July 2011. "Toss out those old, last-season photo messaging apps because now Picaboo let's [sic] you and your girlfriends send photos for peeks and not keeps!" proclaims the release. "Show off your sexy new hairstyle or let him choose that hot new outfit, without the hassle and stress of knowing that these images will be saved into your camera gallery forever." Though the app is solely targeting female users, its value proposition is already clear. "Who actually wants every photo of themselves to last forever in the record books?" the release asks. "Umm, not us?" Exactly.

So Long, Picaboo. Hello, 'Snapchat'

他們發現，“Picaboo”這個名字已經被新罕布什爾州一家出版和印刷圖片的公司占用。為避免市場混淆，三位創始人重新起了名字，叫“Snapchat”，不過保留了黑白色“鬼臉殺手”的標志。

Snapchat在谷歌安卓上發布

The name "Picaboo," it turns out, is a name already in use by an older New Hampshire-based company that published and printed images. To avoid market confusion, the co-founders rechristen their invention "Snapchat." It retains its familiar black-and-yellow colors and "Ghostface Chillah" logo.

Snapchat Launches on Google Android

當時Snapchat還只有蘋果iOS版本，但已經顯示強勁增長勢頭。2011年末，每天活躍用戶才1000人，到2012年初已達10萬人。2012年10月發布了適配谷歌安卓移動系統的版本，到了年末……

里程碑：日活躍用戶一百萬

By now Snapchat—still exclusively on Apple's iOS mobile operating system—is beginning to show growth. The app counts 1,000 daily active users by late 2011, then 100,000 by early 2012. It expands to Google's Android mobile operating system in October 2012 and finishes the year with...

Milestone: 1 Million Daily Active Users

隨著2012年社交巨頭Facebook在納斯達克上市——雖然小有波折，還是成為史上最大規模的科技股上市案之一。彼時Snapchat正在慶祝日活躍量達到100萬用戶。這個用戶量已經不小了，尤其是在年輕的千禧一代中間，所以《紐約時報》也開始關注?！皢栴}是Snapchat應用本身是否值得信任，”2012年《紐約時報》編輯尼克·比爾頓寫道，也引發了人們對這款應用曇花一現的擔心?！癝napchat的隱私政策稱，照片會迅速從服務器上抹掉，但并不能保證每次都能刪掉信息數據。”

Snapchat融到了錢，也遇到了對手

As social networking giant Facebook prepares for its 2012 IPO on the Nasdaq exchange—despite hiccups, it will end up being one of the largest tech-industry offerings in history—Snapchat celebrates reaching one million daily active users. It's enough critical mass, particularly among younger Millennials, to be noticed by the New York Times. "There is also the issue of whether Snapchat itself is trustworthy," writes Nick Bilton in May 2012, raising concerns about the popular app's ephemerality. "Snapchat’s privacy policy says that while it tries to quickly erase photos from its servers, it 'cannot guarantee that the message data will be deleted in every case.'"

Snapchat Raises Money and Meets Its Match

頂著對隱私保護的質疑，Snapchat繼續增長。借助智能手機硬件升級的東風，又獲得風投公司光速創投2012年4月的資金援助（48.5萬美元），Snapchat添加了視頻功能，用戶除了靜態圖片還能互發視頻信息。公司受到的關注越來越多，據稱Facebook首席執行官馬克·扎克伯格2012年12月跟斯皮格爾和墨菲面談，隨后Facebook上線了Poke功能，幾乎是Snapchat的翻版。2013年初，光速創投注資不到一年，Snapchat完成了1350萬美元融資，由基準投資公司領投，有報道稱當時該公司估值超過7000萬美元。

故事功能、智能濾鏡上線，無視Facebook

Snapchat keeps growing despite ongoing privacy concerns. Thanks to improving smartphone hardware and an April 2012 cash infusion ($485,000) by Lightspeed Venture Partners, Snapchat adds video support, allowing its users to exchange video messages in addition to still photos. As the company continues to attract attention, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg reportedly meets with Spiegel and Murphy in December 2012—then launches Poke, a near-clone of Snapchat. In early 2013, less than a year after the LVP investment, Snapchat closes a $13.5 million funding round led by Benchmark Capital, reportedly valuing the startup upwards of $70 million.

Stories, Smart Filters, and Spurning Facebook

2013年Snapchat上線了“我的故事”功能，后來改名為“故事”，用戶可以按時間線展示圖片或視頻收藏。同時添加了智能濾鏡（用戶可以在照片上加入實際時間，外部溫度或時速等），還可以重播之前的瞬時消息。當年晚些時候，《華爾街日報》稱斯皮格爾和墨菲拒絕了Facebook以30億美元收購提議，當時公司一分錢收入都沒有。

在Snapchat中加入“聊天”功能

In 2013 Snapchat launches the feature "My Story"—later just "Stories"—allowing users to broadcast a linear collection of photos or videos. It also adds Smart Filters (allowing users to layer on their images the actual time, outside temperature, or speed) and the ability to replay ephemeral messages. Later that year, the Wall Street Journal reports that Spiegel and Murphy rejected a $3 billion cash offer from Facebook to acquire the startup, which had yet to generate a single penny of revenue.

Putting the 'Chat' in Snapchat

信不信由你，Snapchat自從2011年獲得融資后，花三年才上線了“聊天”功能。之前用戶只能向另一個人（或一群人）發送照片或視頻，聊天功能上線后，兩位用戶可以在交談中互傳瞬時信息，包括簡單文本。幾個月后，日活躍用戶量達到5000萬。

現狀：地理位置濾鏡，付費廣告

If you can believe it, it took Snapchat three years from its 2011 founding to actually launch a feature called "Chat." Instead of transmitting single images or videos from one person to another (or one person to many), Chat allows two users to exchange ephemeral media, including simple text, in a threaded conversation. A few months later, the company celebrates reaching 50 million daily active users.

Now Showing: Geofilters, Paid Advertisements

新功能紛紛上線。2014年Snapchat推出了基于地理位置的篩選功能（例如在照片篩選框里可以輸入“紐約布魯克林”），還上線了第一款付費廣告，內容電影Ouija的品牌故事。投資者當然很喜歡。（實際上，2014年底Snapchat融到了驚人的4.856億美元，領投方為凱鵬華盈，公司估值達到100億美元。）另一方面，Facebook悄悄下線了Poke。

Snapchat推出媒體內容聚合功能Discover和鏡頭功能

The features just keep coming. In 2014 Snapchat introduces location-specific Geofilters (e.g. a photo filter saying "Brooklyn") as well as its first-ever paid advertisement, a Brand Story for the film Ouija. Investors rejoice. (Indeed, Snapchat ends the year by closing a whopping $485.6 million funding round led by Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, valuing the startup north of $10 billion.) Elsewhere, Facebook quietly shutters Poke.

Snapchat Debuts Discover, Lenses

到2015年，Snapchat已成為最熱門的社交媒體平臺。但市場上其他媒體品牌，例如《人物》、《時尚 Cosmopolitan》，甚至《華爾街日報》如何參與？別急，Snapchat有Discover功能，專門從精選媒體選取優質內容，《財富》雜志編輯艾琳·格里菲斯稱之為“熱門內容俱樂部”。好像還嫌不夠熱鬧，Snapchat又推出了鏡頭功能，通過圖像識別技術提供新的虛擬功能（例如口吐彩虹或是長出卡通狗耳朵等）。

里程碑：日活躍用戶1億人

By 2015 it's clear that Snapchat is one of the hottest social media platforms around. But how do established brands—e.g. People, Cosmopolitan, and even the Wall Street Journal—get involved? Behold Discover, an exclusive new area for Stories from select publishers and what Fortune's own Erin Griffith calls "the hottest club around." As if that's not enough, Snapchat also debuts Lenses, which use image-recognition technology to give users new virtual abilities (like vomiting rainbows or gaining cartoon dog ears).

Milestone: 100 Million Daily Active Users

三年時間里，Snapchat從百萬用戶增長到1億用戶，換句話說三分之一美國人或所有越南人都是其用戶，有些用戶恨不得24小時都開著Snapchat。

聊天2.0，地理位置濾鏡2.0，記憶功能，自制表情功能

In three years' time, Snapchat manages to go from its first million daily active users to 100 million. In other words, the equivalent of one-third of the United States—or the entire population of Vietnam and then some—open Snapchat in the span of 24 hours.

Chat 2.0, Geofilters 2.0, Memories, Bitmoji

2016年Snapchat又推出了幾項新功能。聊天升級了，加入了表情、語音和視頻通話以及筆記功能。地理篩選功能可以自行定制或是購買。保存快照和故事的功能也上線了，還起了個華麗的名字叫“記憶”。自制表情，即卡通頭像服務也加入應用。（與此同時，Facebook旗下的Instagram也推出了模仿版“故事”功能。）很快Snapchat日活躍用戶達到1.5億，完成了18億美元的天價融資，估值達到約200億美元。為了慶祝躍升巨富，首席執行官斯皮格爾向超模女友求婚，當然也是在Snapchat上宣布的。

新名字，新產品

Snapchat splashes into 2016 with several new features waiting in the wings. Chat gets an upgrade, adding stickers, voice and video calling, and notes. Geofilters now have the ability to be designed or bought. Memories, a fancy name for the ability to save Snaps and Stories, appears. And Bitmoji—the cartoon avatar service—is integrated into the app. (Elsewhere, Facebook-owned Instagram rolls out Stories, a carbon copy of Snapchat's feature.) Soon Snapchat counts 150 million daily active users and closes a monster $1.8 billion funding round that values the company around $20 billion. To celebrate his great fortune, CEO Spiegel proposes to his supermodel girlfriend—via Snapchat, of course.

New Name, New Product

如果Snapchat推出短信息應用以外的產品，公司還能叫Snapchat么？首席執行官斯皮格爾表示，不一定。如今其已經改名為Snap公司，重新定位為“相機公司”，同時推出了Spectacles眼鏡，一款內置視頻相機，幫用戶保存記憶的太陽眼鏡。這也是該公司第一次脫離智能手機，業界和用戶都是一片歡騰。

申請上市

If Snapchat introduces a product beyond its eponymous mobile app, is it still Snapchat? According to CEO Spiegel, not quite. The company renames itself Snap Inc., repositions itself as a "camera company," and introduces Spectacles, sunglasses with an integrated video camera that allow the wearer to create Memories. It's the first time the company breaks free from the smartphone, and buzz is at a fever pitch.

Snap Inc. Files For IPO

科技業眾人皆知的大秘密終于成真了，Snap向紐交所提交了首次上市申請。上市后斯皮格爾的身家會超過《財富》500強里很多位首席執行官。正如斯皮格爾2011年7月說過的：“做自己熱愛的事情同時賺大錢沒什么錯。盡！情！搖！擺！”（財富中文網）

作者：Andrew Nusca

譯者：夏林

The technology industry's worst-kept secret finally comes true as Snap Inc. files for an initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange. The move could make Spiegel worth more than many Fortune 500 CEOs. In the words of Spiegel in July 2011: "Nothing wrong with doing what you love and making $$$. Swag. It. Out."