Two friends founded WhatsApp in 2009 after getting rejected by Facebook in 2008. No advertisements! No gimmicks! No games! A basic premise that enabled a simple messaging service. Today, WhatsApp has over 2.24 billion active users worldwide, making it the most popular messaging app. Jan Koum was born in Ukraine in 1976 and Brian Acton in Michigan in 1972 A.D. Jan’s family immigrated to the United States when he was 16, facing financial hardship. Both attended San Jose State University, working as security testers at Yahoo during the dot-com boom. They became friends at Yahoo and later worked at Ernst and Young and Apple. In 2009, Koum bought an iPhone, inspiring him to create WhatsApp due to the high cost of international calls.
WhatsApp was launched for the first time in the United States on February 24, 2009. The app was initially only available for iPhone users, but it was later released for other mobile platforms. They chose this name ‘WhatsApp’ because it sounded very much like what’s up, check in with someone. After launching WhatsApp, they approached a wide range of people to promote and spread the app. They faced initial setbacks in raising funds, with numerous rejections from investors. They prioritized user privacy by not collecting personal data or running ads. They had a “no ads, no gimmicks” philosophy and so initially struggled to gain users, but they persisted. In 2009, Apple released the push notifications upgrade for the first time in history. This update was created to notify users when they’re not using an installed application. Jan took advantage of this shift and tweaked WhatsApp so that it sends push alerts to contacts. The app’s simplicity and cross-platform compatibility attracted a growing user base.
In 2011, they faced technical challenges, like server crashes and bugs. Despite adversity, they kept the app free for the first year to encourage adoption. The app finally started gaining traction, reaching 200 million users by 2013. In 2014, Facebook acquired WhatsApp for 19 billion US dollars, one of the largest tech acquisitions ever. Both Koum and Acton had applied for jobs at Facebook in 2007 but were rejected. And just 7 years later, in 2014 Jan became a board member of Facebook after WhatsApp acquisition. Koum and acton both came to the United States with nothing. But through hard work and determination, they were able to build a successful company that served billions of people and became billionaires. WhatsApp’s success has had a major impact on the way people communicate.
WhatsApp’s global popularity:
-WhatsApp has over 2 billion monthly active users worldwide, making it the most popular messaging app.
-WhatsApp is accessible in over 180 countries.
-It is particularly popular in mobile-first economies.
-Over 50 million companies utilize WhatsApp for marketing endeavors.
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