Whatever you think of the sky-high valuations of Snapchat, its need to start proving it can make money from those 350m snaps shared every day is clear. According to Spiegel, the desire has been there from the start.

“We didn’t think we were ever going to raise venture capital so we were planning very early on to generate a revenue plan,” he told TechCrunch in , although a few months later he was espousing a familiar startup line: “In the grand scheme of priorities, reaching scale is more important.”

Two obvious ways of making money present themselves: in-app purchases and advertising. For much of 2013, Snapchat appeared to be veering towards the former.

“In-app transactions will come first. We think we can build really cool stuff people want to pay for. The app is now a part of everyone’s day-to-day lives. That means that they will – I at least would – pay for a more unique experience,” he added in . Lees verder →