California High School Nets $24 Million From Snapchat Investment, All Thanks to Curious VC Dad
While some educational institutions may struggle to find the best approach to dealing with Snapchat on their campuses, Saint Francis High School in Mountain View, California, faces a different challenge altogether: how to handle the millions of dollars it gained from its early investment in the immensely popular disappearing-image app.
The private Brothers of Holy Cross school invested $15,000 in Snapchat back in 2012 as part of the company’s initial funding. This investment, thanks to parent Barry Eggers who advocated for it, has grown significantly since then. It is now projected to have a value of $24 million based on Snap’s current valuation following its recent initial public offering, which placed the company’s value at $28.3 billion (though the stock has dropped by 11 percent as of Tuesday).
Eggers, who co-founded the venture capital firm Lightspeed Venture Partners, recalls the pivotal moment that led to the school’s investment. He came home one day to find his daughter Natalie and her sophomore friends engrossed in their phones and laughing. Intrigued, he asked them what they were doing, and their response changed the trajectory of Snapchat and Saint Francis High School. Eggers and his business partner, Jeremy Liew, sought out Snapchat’s co-founders, Evan Spiegel and Bobby Murphy, who were working out of their dorm at Stanford University. This meeting resulted in an early investment and eventually led to Snapchat having space in Lightspeed’s building just 10 days later. Eggers also managed to present the investment opportunity to Saint Francis’s Growth Fund board. The initial $500,000 investment in Snapchat included $15,000 from Saint Francis and $485,000 from Lightspeed.
After Snap’s initial public offering, the school has reportedly sold 1.4 million of its 2 million shares.
In a letter to parents on March 2, school president Simon Chiu shared the exciting news and expressed his gratitude for these extraordinary times. Chiu explained that the investment has given the school a significant boost in achieving its ambitious goals outlined in its strategic plan. One of these goals is to make Catholic education more accessible, as well as to attract and retain staff, and enhance programs and facilities. Currently, the annual tuition at the co-ed school is $17,370, and over 15 percent of its approximately 1,765 students receive financial aid. The school has already provided more than $3 million in financial assistance this year through its endowment, fundraisers, and donations.
For Eggers, this entire process has been a tremendous success not only for the school but also for Lightspeed, which has invested over $8 million in Snapchat. The value of their stake in the company is now nearly $2 billion.
It all started with Eggers walking into his kitchen.
"I have the unexpected blessing of sharing this experience with my children," Eggers wrote. "It has been incredible to witness the remarkable progress of Evan, Bobby, and Snap from that simple conversation at the kitchen table with my daughter."
