Brian Acton was fired from Facebook in 2006. Rejected by Twitter in 2008. He was called ‘delusional’ by VCs in 2009 but today, his app has 2 billion users. Here’s the incredible story of how Brian Acton built WhatsApp after a decade of failures.
2006: Brian Acton was leading Yahoo’s ad platform and after 11 years at the company, he quit.
His next stop? Facebook.
His answers got him immediately rejected. But that rejection would change everything…
2008: Still unemployed, Acton interviewed at Twitter. They also said no.
His famous tweet after the rejection:
‘Got denied by Twitter HQ. That’s ok. Would have been a long commute.’
Little did Twitter know, they just passed on a future billionaire.
Down but not out, Acton met Jan Koum at a weekly ultimate frisbee game.
Both ex-Yahoo employees.
Both rejected by Facebook.
Both frustrated with how phones worked.
One conversation would spark a revolution in messaging. The insight was simple but powerful:
In 2009, people were paying 25$ per text. Phone companies were making billions. But the iPhone App Store had just launched.
What if messaging could be free?
With $250,000 in savings, Acton made a bet:
He gave Koum money to keep working on the idea while he looked for a job.
The first version of WhatsApp (they made) crashed constantly.
Users: 10
Revenue: $0
But something interesting was happening…
When Apple launched push notifications, everything changed:
• Users got pinged when they had messages
• Battery life improved
• The app became addictive
Downloads started doubling every month.
The growth was insane:
2011: WhatsApp raises $8M from Sequoia Capital.
Valuation: $25M
The same VCs who called them ‘delusional’ two years earlier were now begging to invest.
But Acton and Koum had an unusual approach to building their company:
The WhatsApp Manifesto:
• No ads. Ever.
• No games or gimmicks
• No user data collection
• No marketing budget
‘No one wakes up excited to see more advertising.’ – Brian Acton
The anti-Facebook approach was working.
By 2013, WhatsApp had more users than Twitter.
Growth was vertical:
• 2009: 250,000 users
• 2011: 1 million
• 2013: 200 million
• 2014: 500 million
All with just 50 employees. Then Facebook came knocking…
The same company that rejected Acton now wanted to buy his company.
The price?
$19 BILLION
The largest private acquisition in tech history. But the story doesn’t end there.
2018: Facebook starts pushing for ads on WhatsApp.
Acton’s response?
He walked away from $850M in unvested stock options.
His tweet that shook Silicon Valley:
‘It is time. #deletefacebook’
Today, WhatsApp has 2B+ users.
Larger than Instagram.
Bigger than Facebook Messenger.
The app that started with two guys playing frisbee now powers 100B messages per day.
Key lessons from Acton’s journey:
1. Rejection is redirection
2. Simple > Complex
3. Principles > Profits
4. Start small, think big
5. Stand your ground
Most importantly:
Your biggest setback might be setting you up for your biggest comeback.
Written by Oscar Hoole
– Deeprows Tech
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