Cleaner to Billionaire
Jan Koum worked as a cleaner at a store, a college dropout who created whatsApp, got the billion dollar idea over a cup of tea; co-founded whatsApp with a friend Brian Acton; the Facebook that rejected his candidature for the job once, bought the App for US$19.3 billion and today the duo founders stand with reported net worth US$10 billion and US$ 2.9 billion respectively
By Mukesh Sharma
With one billion daily users across the world, WhatsApp has become a part of day-to-day life. Where ever one is, one remains in touch with one’s near and dear ones round the clock. Indeed WhatsApp has created a sense of togetherness in the world.
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| Jan Koum & Brian Acton who have created the sense of togetherness in the world |
The life story of genius Jan Koum reads like a rags to riches.
Born on Feb24, 1976 in Kiev, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union, he moved with his mother and grandmother to Mountain View, California(US) in 1992 at the age of 16. Before his father could join the family, he died in 1997 in Ukrain.
Young Jan worked as a cleaner at grocery store. His mother worked as a babysitter in early days of struggle.
Battling for better life, at the age of 18, the promising Jan developed interest in computer programming. So he enrolled himself at San Joe State University and also continued a job with Ernst and Young as a Security Tester. At this juncture, Jan met one Brian Acton. Soon both became good friends.
Later in 1997, Jan got a job in Yahoo as an infrastructure Engineer. So he dropped out of college. Brian Acton also joined Yahoo. Both worked with Yahoo for a long nine years. In September, 2007, both left the job with Yahoo and applied for job with Facebook. The candidatures of both were rejected.
In 2009, Jan got an idea for an App over a cup of tea at his friend’s Fishman’s kitchen counter. Jan decided to name it as WhatsApp as it sounds like what’s up.
Later on Feb24, 2009, Jan Koun incorporated whatApp as a company with tittle WhatsApp Inc in California. Further he also convinced his friend Brian Acton to join the company with a co-founder status after Brian managed to bring in $ 250,000 in seed funding.
On Feb9, 2014, Zuckerberg of Facebook invited Jan Koun for dinner at his residence and formally proposed a deal to join Facebook as a one of board of directors with profit share. After 10 days Facebook also announced that it was acquiring whatsApp for US $ 19.3 billion.
Another co-founder of whatsapp Inc Brian Acton is an American computer programmer. Born in Michigan and grew up in central Florida. He studied at Lake Howel High School and also graduated from Stanford University in 1994.
A momentary idea over a cup of tea changed the destiny of Jan Koum and Brian Acton.
The world shall remain grateful to Jan Koum for instilling the sense of togetherness in the world what even different religions failed to do.
