This is a great idea! While I did enjoy the bull/bear cases, I think that having skin in the game will allow for readers to have a clear understanding of the companies you really like, and I appreciate how open you've been to community feedback.
To answer your prompt, the tech company I'm most intrigued by is Snapchat. For most of my teenage life, it served as the primary method of communication between me and my friends. Even now at 22, most people my age continue to use Snapchat frequently as a medium of communication or as a social media platform (through Stories). The platform remains essential for teens. Most high schoolers forgo communicating with friends through text in favor of Snapchat, and the traditional "number swap" strangers go through when they meet has been replaced by a quick Snapcode scan.
Despite a large, loyal following, I've been fairly bearish on Snapchat since its IPO. Snapchat has consistently failed to monetize its user base. A quick scroll through Snapchat's Discover page (where content created by third-party media companies lives) will make you understand why Snap's ad system hasn't been as lucrative as competitors like Instagram. The content is as clickbaity and sensationalist as it gets, and there are much better short-form content options for users to choose from on apps like TikTok and YouTube.
While I'm not confident that Snapchat will ever be able to scale through ads in the manner that Instagram did (and TikTok seems to be doing), what I am intrigued by is its venture into Snap Minis. If you've ever used Snapchat, you know that the application always opens with the camera. Users have the option to swipe right for personal communication (compare this to Whatsapp, WeChat, etc), and swipe left for Stories and Discover (compare this to content networks like Instagram and TikTok). Snap Minis is intriguing because it's one of the first times that Snapchat has expanded the core features of its communication platform, which has a much larger moat around it than Snap's social network. To play off of one of Turner Novak's ideas on his recent Invest Like the Best appearance (https://www.airr.io/quote/5f1404fcb9cbbfccde56e535), Snap Minis follows the same gameplan that WeChat used to become the Swiss-Army knife of Chinese apps by opening up their API for third-party developers to develop lightweight apps inside their platform. Given Snapchat's daily active users, a Mini app that resonates with people could achieve rapid success, creating a positive feedback loop among developers that generates more creative and useful mini apps. It's already happened in China, with companies like PinDuoDuo becoming one of the fastest-growing startups in Chinese history off the back of WeChat integration. If this can happen, which seems to be Snapchat's plan, it will become an immensely valuable platform and command a much higher valuation than its current EV suggests.
Sorry for the long-winded rambling, but it does feel rather cathartic to get all these ideas out! Again, I love the content thus far and I really look forward to reading more from you in the future! - Ben
this is my favorite newsletter :)
This is a great idea! While I did enjoy the bull/bear cases, I think that having skin in the game will allow for readers to have a clear understanding of the companies you really like, and I appreciate how open you've been to community feedback.
To answer your prompt, the tech company I'm most intrigued by is Snapchat. For most of my teenage life, it served as the primary method of communication between me and my friends. Even now at 22, most people my age continue to use Snapchat frequently as a medium of communication or as a social media platform (through Stories). The platform remains essential for teens. Most high schoolers forgo communicating with friends through text in favor of Snapchat, and the traditional "number swap" strangers go through when they meet has been replaced by a quick Snapcode scan.
Despite a large, loyal following, I've been fairly bearish on Snapchat since its IPO. Snapchat has consistently failed to monetize its user base. A quick scroll through Snapchat's Discover page (where content created by third-party media companies lives) will make you understand why Snap's ad system hasn't been as lucrative as competitors like Instagram. The content is as clickbaity and sensationalist as it gets, and there are much better short-form content options for users to choose from on apps like TikTok and YouTube.
While I'm not confident that Snapchat will ever be able to scale through ads in the manner that Instagram did (and TikTok seems to be doing), what I am intrigued by is its venture into Snap Minis. If you've ever used Snapchat, you know that the application always opens with the camera. Users have the option to swipe right for personal communication (compare this to Whatsapp, WeChat, etc), and swipe left for Stories and Discover (compare this to content networks like Instagram and TikTok). Snap Minis is intriguing because it's one of the first times that Snapchat has expanded the core features of its communication platform, which has a much larger moat around it than Snap's social network. To play off of one of Turner Novak's ideas on his recent Invest Like the Best appearance (https://www.airr.io/quote/5f1404fcb9cbbfccde56e535), Snap Minis follows the same gameplan that WeChat used to become the Swiss-Army knife of Chinese apps by opening up their API for third-party developers to develop lightweight apps inside their platform. Given Snapchat's daily active users, a Mini app that resonates with people could achieve rapid success, creating a positive feedback loop among developers that generates more creative and useful mini apps. It's already happened in China, with companies like PinDuoDuo becoming one of the fastest-growing startups in Chinese history off the back of WeChat integration. If this can happen, which seems to be Snapchat's plan, it will become an immensely valuable platform and command a much higher valuation than its current EV suggests.
Sorry for the long-winded rambling, but it does feel rather cathartic to get all these ideas out! Again, I love the content thus far and I really look forward to reading more from you in the future! - Ben