Evan Spiegel, left, gives the Hook 'em Horns gesture to a sold-out crowd while Andrew Watts, Texas-Austin, looks out into the filled auditorium. Watts moderated Spiegel's discussion with students in Austin.
The Delta Sigma Pi network is what enabled the chapter to host Spiegel. A brother who has known Spiegel for years convinced him to give a talk on-campus that students would find interesting and enlightening. Spiegel spoke about the popularity of Snapchat, how students can get involved in entrepreneurship and startups, as well as his thoughts regarding the future of the application.
The chapter promoted the event on Facebook and its popularity led to members realizing they needed to find an alternative way to allow students to hear Spiegel speak since a larger venue was not available. To accommodate the students, the event was live streamed. Beta Kappa worked with Spiegel to ensure he was comfortable with the event logistics.
The chapter utilized a protected live stream since speakers can be concerned about recorded events for both personal and copyright reasons. This alternative to a larger venue was a great way to increase the capacity of the event. These streams were not recorded and not shared publically. In total, more than 600 students heard Spiegel speak, 150 of which saw him via the live stream.
This professional event was a great learning experience for brothers because they worked with school officials, school police/fire department representatives, and Spiegel’s private security. Planning large-scale events, handling crowds, and moderating a discussion on stage are just a few of the skills brothers picked up.
The intra-chapter communication was a task all its own. Volunteer information packets were distributed ahead of time and a Facebook group was utilized. This proved to be an extremely useful system and will be used throughout the rest of Beta Kappa Chapter’s speaker series. They are looking forward to using that experience toward their next large event this semester with Mark Cuban, owner of the Dallas Mavericks, Chairman and CEO of AXS tv, and investor on ABC’s Shark Tank.