SSnapchat
Founder ownership story Evan Spiegel led the product and company while Bobby Murphy built the early engineering platform after they co-founded Snapchat in 2011. Snap’s 2017 IPO filing reported beneficial ownership of about 21.8% for each founder before the offering, with roughly 44% voting power each. At the $24 billion IPO valuation, those holdings represented several billion dollars of paper value.
Source: Snap IPO filingfFacebook / Meta
Work-for-equity story In 2005, artist David Choe was hired to paint murals at Facebook’s first Palo Alto offices. He reportedly chose Facebook stock instead of a cash payment commonly reported at about $60,000. The exact number of shares was not publicly confirmed. When Facebook prepared for its 2012 IPO, major news reports estimated that his stake was worth approximately $200 million.
Source: ABC News, 2012SStripe
Founder ownership story Patrick and John Collison co-founded Stripe in 2010 to make online payments easier for businesses. They built its early technology and grew the company as founders, gaining an ownership stake through the work of building the business. Stripe’s February 2026 employee tender offer valued the company at approximately $159 billion. Their individual ownership percentages have not been publicly confirmed.
Source: Stripe, 2026☮Craigslist
Employee ownership story Jim Buckmaster joined Craigslist in 1999 as lead programmer, helped redesign and expand the service, became chief technology officer and then chief executive in 2000. Public court records show that after eBay’s 2004 investment, Buckmaster owned 29% of Craigslist, Craig Newmark owned 42.6% and eBay owned 28.4%. Based on the same transaction price, Buckmaster’s 29% holding was valued at approximately $32.7 million at that time.
Source: Delaware Court of ChancerySSnapchat
Founder ownership story Evan Spiegel led the product and company while Bobby Murphy built the early engineering platform after they co-founded Snapchat in 2011. Snap’s 2017 IPO filing reported beneficial ownership of about 21.8% for each founder before the offering, with roughly 44% voting power each. At the $24 billion IPO valuation, those holdings represented several billion dollars of paper value.
Source: Snap IPO filingfFacebook / Meta
Work-for-equity story In 2005, artist David Choe was hired to paint murals at Facebook’s first Palo Alto offices. He reportedly chose Facebook stock instead of a cash payment commonly reported at about $60,000. The exact number of shares was not publicly confirmed. When Facebook prepared for its 2012 IPO, major news reports estimated that his stake was worth approximately $200 million.
Source: ABC News, 2012SStripe
Founder ownership story Patrick and John Collison co-founded Stripe in 2010 to make online payments easier for businesses. They built its early technology and grew the company as founders, gaining an ownership stake through the work of building the business. Stripe’s February 2026 employee tender offer valued the company at approximately $159 billion. Their individual ownership percentages have not been publicly confirmed.
Source: Stripe, 2026☮Craigslist
Employee ownership story Jim Buckmaster joined Craigslist in 1999 as lead programmer, helped redesign and expand the service, became chief technology officer and then chief executive in 2000. Public court records show that after eBay’s 2004 investment, Buckmaster owned 29% of Craigslist, Craig Newmark owned 42.6% and eBay owned 28.4%. Based on the same transaction price, Buckmaster’s 29% holding was valued at approximately $32.7 million at that time.
Source: Delaware Court of ChancerySSnapchat
Founder ownership story Evan Spiegel led the product and company while Bobby Murphy built the early engineering platform after they co-founded Snapchat in 2011. Snap’s 2017 IPO filing reported beneficial ownership of about 21.8% for each founder before the offering, with roughly 44% voting power each. At the $24 billion IPO valuation, those holdings represented several billion dollars of paper value.
Source: Snap IPO filingfFacebook / Meta
Work-for-equity story In 2005, artist David Choe was hired to paint murals at Facebook’s first Palo Alto offices. He reportedly chose Facebook stock instead of a cash payment commonly reported at about $60,000. The exact number of shares was not publicly confirmed. When Facebook prepared for its 2012 IPO, major news reports estimated that his stake was worth approximately $200 million.
Source: ABC News, 2012SStripe
Founder ownership story Patrick and John Collison co-founded Stripe in 2010 to make online payments easier for businesses. They built its early technology and grew the company as founders, gaining an ownership stake through the work of building the business. Stripe’s February 2026 employee tender offer valued the company at approximately $159 billion. Their individual ownership percentages have not been publicly confirmed.
Source: Stripe, 2026☮Craigslist
Employee ownership story Jim Buckmaster joined Craigslist in 1999 as lead programmer, helped redesign and expand the service, became chief technology officer and then chief executive in 2000. Public court records show that after eBay’s 2004 investment, Buckmaster owned 29% of Craigslist, Craig Newmark owned 42.6% and eBay owned 28.4%. Based on the same transaction price, Buckmaster’s 29% holding was valued at approximately $32.7 million at that time.
Source: Delaware Court of Chancery
