Hisham Sarwar
Brian Acton was a software engineer in 2009 finding it hard to get a job. He had years of experience of working with corporate giants like Apple and Yahoo. Such was the luck that he was turned down by Twitter in May followed by Facebook who rejected Brian for a job in August, a struggling year for the computer expert.
Few years later today, this a combined $3 billion mistake.
After trying hard to land a job in a reputable corporate company, Brian Acton was left with no option but to choose startup route and pick up entrepreneurship as an option. History reveals it was a wonderful choice as he co-founded WhatsApp, a cloud based messaging app.
The app became instant hit overnight and got to number one position for consumer choice of instant messaging all over the world for both IOS and Android. It is Free, it is fast and very easy to use with simple interface, facts which contribute to the success of this instant messaging app sensation.
Today in 2016, 44.4 million messages are sent with every 60 seconds on WhatsApp.
Also See: What Happens online in 1 minute.
WhatsApp is now a Facebook property as the company was purchased by Facebook in Feb, 2014 for stunning $16 billion (cash/stock).
Acton still has at-least 20% stake in the company. What an impressive story of hard luck, persistence and innovation. Here is a flash back at tweet of Brian in 2009. They say “Fortune favors the brave“.
