And Secret was the reaction against the mandatory real name policy of Facebook. And Ello was the reaction against the overloaded UI of Facebook. And Pair was the reaction against perceived lack of privacy for person-to-person communications.

Snapchat benefits from survivor bias, and until its financials are out in the open, we won't know whether it's a legitimate cash-flowing operation or yet another project sustained by large liquidity injections until the music stops.