$Snapchat(SNAP)$ Snap hopes its estimated 2017 sales of about $1 billion, up 150% from 2016, will be enough to justify a rumored $25 billion price tag. That valuation hinges on investors' confidence that it can increasingly monetize a fast-growing user base (check out Snap's key stats), following in the footsteps of rival Facebook while avoiding the pitfalls that plagued Twitter.

In the middle of 2009, Facebook was on track for $1 billion in sales over the next 12 months, and three years later it went public at a valuation of $104 billion. Now that Snap is nearing the $1 billion mark, public investors who think its the next Facebook may buy into Snap's $25 billion valuation on its potential for a 300% return over three years