How Snapchat's CEO Plans to Conquer the Advertising World

His first time at Cannes, Evan Spiegel is already star of the show

Evan Spiegel admits to being a little nervous ahead of his first trip to the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. That's understandable. At 25—an age when many college grads are still backpacking around Europe—the founder and CEO of Snapchat has been given top billing at one of advertising's biggest events.

In a way, it represents an introduction to the ad world for the young company, a social media darling founded in 2011. Snapchat has built an addictive and innovative product that reaches an elusive but alluring audience, and now it must build a billion-dollar business out of it.

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