Snap Inc. Protests Rile Venice Community on IPO Day

Protests filled parts of Venice, Calif., the home of Snap Inc., on Thursday, coinciding with the company's initial public offering.Snap has called Venice home since 2011, but the self-proclaimed "camera company" has sprawled out across the Los Angeles neighborhood over the course of five and a half years. BuzzFeed's Alex Kantrowitz recently wrote about the conflicts Snap's growth has created with Venice's residents and fellow businesses -- all of which appears to be coming to a head now as the company goes public.Protests began earlier this week, ahead of the IPO. In response, Snap told Kantrowitz that they'd be focusing future growth outside of Venice as a result of the community outrage over corporate sprawl disrupting the character of the smaller, beach-side area.Despite the protests, Snap's IPO has been a success thus far. The stock (NYSE: SNAP) closed up over 40 percent on the day.TVREV collaborator Zach Servideo of Fabric Media captured some of the scene via Facebook Live earlier on Thursday.TVREV contributor and Delmondo CEO Nick Cicero was live on Cheddar earlier today to discuss video trends around Snap, as well as their own video analytics platform.We'll continue adding to this developing story as the local protests continue.