When a notable startup threatens Facebook, one of two things happens: Mark Zuckerberg will attempt to buy the company. Or he will threaten to destroy it
In the cases of Twitter and Snapchat, Zuckerberg reportedly did both. For Twitter, the acquisition offer came first, in 2011, followed by the threat that Facebook would simply create its own product to bury Twitter. (Facebook also came close to hiring Twitter cofounder Jack Dorsey while he was temporarily ousted from his company.)
With Snapchat, the game plan flipped. Zuckerberg first threatened the company by releasing Facebook lookalike app, Poke. When that failed, he offered to buy, and Snapchat CEO Evan Spiegel turned down a reported $3 billion acquisition offer in what has become the defining moment in the 23-year-old’s young career.
