The founder of WhatsApp Jan Koum confirmed through a blog post that 450 million users of WhatsApp will continue to experience core values of the messaging app – no ads, no games, and no gimmicks.
Jan Koum was quoted as “WhatsApp’s extremely high user engagement and rapid growth are driven by the simple, powerful and instantaneous messaging capabilities we provide.” he said and noted that there will be no changes on WhatsApp experience.
According to Facebook, they specifically calls out its deal with Instagram as a template on how they will deal with the messaging app. Facebook noted the following statement:
“Facebook fosters an environment where independent-minded entrepreneurs can build companies, set their own direction and focus on growth while also benefiting from Facebook’s expertise, resources and scale. This approach is working well with Instagram, and WhatsApp will operate in this manner. WhatsApp’s brand will be maintained; its headquarters will remain in Mountain View, CA; Jan Koum will join Facebook’s Board of Directors; and WhatsApp’s core messaging product and Facebook’s existing Messenger app will continue to operate as standalone application.”
WhatsApp founder Jan Koum revealed to the media that he has a note on his desk, outlining the focus of the company on building a “focused messaging experience.” The note reads “No Ads, No Games, No Gimmicks.”
According to Sequioa’s Jjim Goetz, Jan Koum’s time growing up in a communist country shaped how he developed WhatsApp for he truly appreciate communication that was not bugged or taped.
When Jan Koum arrived in the United States as a 16-year-old immigrant living on food stamps, he had the extra incentive of wanting to stay in touch with his family in Russia and the Ukraine. After four years of his mentorship at Yahoo with Brian, he began to build WhatsApp.
Sequioa Capital the backer of WhatsApp calls out that the 450 million users of the messaging app growth all came from users, the company spent exactly $0 on marketing and doesn’t even employ a PR person or marketer.
WhatsApp currently employs around 50 people and 32 of them were engineers, with the $19 billion acquisition, it is equivalent to $500 million per engineer.
Here’s the official announcement by Jan Koum on WhatsApp:
Almost five years ago we started WhatsApp with a simple mission: building a cool product used globally by everybody. Nothing else mattered to us.
Today we are announcing a partnership with Facebook that will allow us to continue on that simple mission. Doing this will give WhatsApp the flexibility to grow and expand, while giving me, Brian, and the rest of our team more time to focus on building a communications service that’s as fast, affordable and personal as possible.
Here’s what will change for you, our users: nothing.
WhatsApp will remain autonomous and operate independently. You can continue to enjoy the service for a nominal fee. You can continue to use WhatsApp no matter where in the world you are, or what smartphone you’re using. And you can still count on absolutely no ads interrupting your communication. There would have been no partnership between our two companies if we had to compromise on the core principles that will always define our company, our vision and our product.
On a personal note, Brian and I couldn’t be more proud to be part of a small team of people who, in just under five years, built a communication service that now supports over 450 million monthly active users worldwide and over 320 million daily active users. They have helped re-define and revolutionize communication for the 21st century, and we couldn’t be more grateful.
Our team has always believed that neither cost and distance should ever prevent people from connecting with their friends and loved ones, and won’t rest until everyone, everywhere is empowered with that opportunity. We want to thank all of our users and everybody in our lives for making this next chapter possible, and for joining us as we continue on this very special journey.
