Key Takeaways

  • Evan Spiegel's core innovation strategy at Snap mirrors Safi Bahcall's "Loonshots" concept, balancing a stable, large organization with a nimble, creative core.
  • Snapchat's innovation comes from a very small, flat design team, typically 9-12 people, operating without hierarchy. As Spiegel puts it, “We have a very very small... design team um that is constantly innovating and and creating new things.”
  • The team prioritizes “velocity of design work,” requiring new designers to present work on their first day and generating hundreds of ideas weekly.
  • A "brutal critique process" is central to shedding ego and rapidly refining concepts, paired with an open-door policy for submitting any idea, regardless of perceived quality.
  • Snapchat's unique innovation process, inspired by "Loonshots," provides a blueprint for companies needing to balance operational scale with relentless, radical experimentation.

The Snapchat's Innovation Process (Inspired by Loonshots)

Organizational Structure: Maintain both a large, hierarchical organization for scale and operational rigor, and a small, flat, non-hierarchical team for innovation.

Leadership Role: Leaders are responsible for creating a healthy, functioning relationship and mutual respect between the large, structured organization and the small, innovative team.

Design Team Structure: The design team is flat and non-hierarchical, allowing new ideas to emerge from anywhere. (Currently 9-12 people)

Velocity of Design Work: Prioritize rapid creation and iteration. Designers present new work weekly, often hundreds of ideas. New designers present work on their first day.

Critique Process: Engage in an 'absolutely brutal critique process' on a regular basis to facilitate learning and improvement.

Ideation Principle: Adopt the saying: 'If you want to have a good idea, you have to have lots of ideas.' Focus on generating many ideas to find the few great ones, shedding preciousness around individual concepts.

Open Submission: There is 'no gate to showing me work every week.' Any idea, regardless of perceived quality, can be brought to the design meeting for review.

Designer Rotation: Rotate designers through different products and verticals frequently to bring fresh perspectives, avoid boredom, and foster new ideas across the company's diverse offerings.

When This Works (and When It Doesn't)

This method shines for companies that need to balance large-scale operational efficiency with continuous, radical innovation. It works by deliberately separating and then fostering dialogue between these two organizational types. It's particularly effective for driving product differentiation through design and rapid experimentation, as seen with Snapchat's constant stream of new features. Evan Spiegel says when he read Safi Bahcall's book, he thought, “oh my gosh that kind of explains a lot of how we think about innovation at Snap.”

However, this approach isn't a silver bullet. Early-stage startups, especially those with fewer than 10 people, might lack the "large, hierarchical organization" component to balance against. The "brutal critique process" demands a mature team culture where feedback is seen as objective and not personal; without that, it risks demotivation or conflict. It also requires leaders who can effectively mediate between the structured operations and the free-flowing innovation team, preventing friction rather than creating it.

What to Do With This

For a founder struggling to maintain innovation velocity while shipping products, try this: Dedicate a recurring 90-minute "Loonshot Lab" meeting each week. Before it, require every team member – from engineering to marketing – to sketch 3-5 wild ideas related to your product or user experience. Make new hires present work on their first day. During the meeting, enforce a "no gate" rule: every idea gets shared. Then, run an "absolutely brutal critique process," not of the person, but of the idea itself. This ritual forces rapid ideation, helps your team detach from their individual concepts, and creates a repeatable engine for discovering your next big feature. As Spiegel emphasizes, "if you want to have a good idea, you have to have lots of ideas."