The company has been vague on its plans to lead and monetize image-driven conversations, but has suggested investors put faith in the vision of its co-founder Evan Spiegel, whom it introduced in its investor roadshow as a “once-in-a-generation founder.” 
 
 The 26-year-old will walk away with a roughly 17 percent stake valued at $4.05 billion 
 
 Spiegel and co-founder Bobby Murphy will each be selling 16 million shares in the IPO that earned them $272 million apiece. The listing on the New York Stock Exchange is expected to take place this week and could value the company at as much as $22 billion, which would make it the biggest U.S. tech IPO in years. To justify its suggested valuation and fend off concerns about slowing user growth, Snap has emphasized how important Snapchat is to its users, how long they spend on the app and the revenue potential of the emerging trend for young people to communicate with video rather than text. Investors bought the shares despite them having no voting power, an unprecedented feature for an IPO despite years of rising concerns about corporate governance from fund managers looking to gain influence over executives.
– Those who remember the hype when Alibaba priced its initial public offering of stock in 2014 will get to relive that excitement Wednesday when Snap does the same. Reuters reports the owner of the Snapchat messaging app will serve up a number at the end of the trading day, with expectations of anywhere between $14 and $16 a share and a possible valuation of more than $20 billion. What the buzz is on this "eagerly awaited" IPO: Recode offers a quick-hit Q&A, including such queries as: "What could possibly go wrong with Snap going public?" Kids, teens, and young adults are the ones who use Snapchat the most, but it's the older generations who are more likely to be investors. The elder set's confusion over the vanishing messages could be a problem, per MarketWatch. All eyes would be on Snap CEO Evan Spiegel right now—if anyone could find him. The Wall Street Journal takes a closer look at the company's "elusive" (and apparently reticent) founder. "Evan doesn't talk much," shrugs an early investor. The company's plans for the future are an important piece of the IPO puzzle. Sources tell the New York Times those plans may involve a drone. Despite Snapchat's sluggish user growth and the company's hefty hosting costs, Mad Money's Jim Cramer believes the trade will be a "phenomenal" one. "I think the good absolutely outweighs the bad here," he says, per CNBC. Lock them up? Find out why a big block of investors will agree not to sell their Snap stock for at least a year at Business Insider. A Barron's Next primer ponders whether Snap will follow in the footsteps of Facebook (up 250% since its own IPO) or Twitter (not doing quite as well).