【Western Archives】

Texts to me: "Why the heck are Western Archivesyou at the stock exchange?"

It's a great question from a close friend who has known me for 21 years — and knows all too well that I'm not a traditional Wall Street reporter (and definitely didn't change careers to stock trading).

But Thursday drew me to the New York Stock Exchange because it was a big day in the world of writing on Snapchat, a once little-known app that I refused to download in college, which has somehow become a huge company that media outlets are betting their future on. This friend knew I was at the NYSE because I had posted it to my Snapchat Story, of course.

Snap Inc., Snapchat's parent company, is now a publicly-traded company. In just five years, Snapchat has gone from being that app created by a Stanford frat boy for sending dick pics to the digital media darling of 2017 that's now worth $28 billion.

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This transition means you too can own a part of Snapchat and help CEO Evan Spiegel on his quests to redefine the "camera." The stock was priced at $24 when the stock market opened it up at about 11:30 a.m. EST. By that time I had already spent 3 hours trolling around the stock exchange seeing what's up: No dick pics but lots of yellow, ghosts and some confusion.

While I waited in line with a few members of the press to enter the NYSE, behind a row of Snapchat executives (you could spot some of them from their yellow ties), Spiegel, his fiancée Miranda Kerr and other members of Snap's team met with executives of the exchange.

But we were able to get a peak inside thanks to the NYSE's official Snapchat story (Here's our Q&A with the man behind it all):

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As us few members of the press navigated our way toward the floor, executives at Snapchat were unveiling their present to the NYSE — a Snapbot, the interactive vending machine that dispenses their video-camera sunglasses, Spectacles. This was also the secretive marketing play that had marketers intrigued.

I complimented former Sony Entertainment CEO Michael Lynton on bringing the Snapbot to NYSE.

"It was all their idea," he said, gesturing at cofounders Evan Spiegel and Bobby Murphy.

When I asked where his Spectacles were, he looked over at his assistant but came back empty handed.

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On the floor, traders were questioning the future of the stock and simultaneously showing off their knowledge of the app to reporters.

"But what are you thinking about Snap stock?" one trader asked over the phone, while holding a water bottle and looking at me with confusion over my presence by his desk as I interviewed Matthew Kobach, NYSE's manager of digital and social media.

"Can you do a snap for our Story," one reporter asked NYSE Chairman Jeff Sprecher.

“Oh, sure. I’ve learned to do the 10-seconds," he said.

Sprecher then preached his confidence in Snap to the media outlet's audience on Snapchat: "Years ago we took Polaroid public, and today we're going to make history with Snap."

Closer to 9:30 a.m., Snapchat's executive team gathered and stared at the American flag — or rather up at cofounders Evan Spiegel and Bobby Murphy (sans the disappearing cofounder, Reggie Brown) who rang the bell.

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Phones up or Spectacles on, Snap Inc.'s team celebrated their exit plan — err, cash infusion — with content that they would later post to Snapchat.

Over the next two hours, dozens of white men stared at screens and took phone calls in an effort to price the business that preferred to be called a "camera company," but investors wanted to refer it as either the next Facebook (yay money!) or the next Twitter (boo).

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It was a moment that was a long-time coming, said another trader. They hadn't seen this type of enthusiasm since Alibaba listed on the NYSE in 2014.

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Media outlet Cheddar, which broadcasts live from the NYSE floor, had upped the excitement in the room and online by live-streaming in 360 on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

They brought in Snap experts, including myself, to discuss the future of the platform. Would this be the end? Will Snap drop in value, just like Twitter, if they can't grow the user base?

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So far, though, so good.

Snapchat came up ahead in its first day. Snap announced Wednesday its shares will begin trading at $17. But the NYSE priced it at $24 in the opening, and it closed just over that price.

It popped by 40 percent in the first hour, sparking excitement. Though, traders on the floor were also distracted with plushie ghosts of Snapchat's mascot, "Ghostface Chillah," new Spectacles and the flashes of yellow.

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As I walked out of the NYSE just before 12 p.m. EST, failing on my own search to find a plushie ghost, I heard two older men, one in a suit and the other in a building services uniform, chatting by the elevators.

"I just don't get it. It makes me feel stupid," said the man in the suit.

If that conversation was about Snapchat, it doesn't matter if he doesn't get it. Wall Street will be closely monitoring Snapchat's future either way.

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