WHATSAPP FACTS

17 FACTS ABOUT WHATSAPP

1. WhatsApp founded in 2009 by former Yahoo! employees Brian Acton and Jan Koum
2. Sequoia Capital invested $8 million in 2011
3. 70% of users are active on a daily basis
4. WhatsApp says they are adding 1 million users everyday.
5. They currently employ 50 people
6. 32 engineers working on WhatsApp, i.e. one engineer is responsible for 14 million active users!!
7. 400 million active users in December
8. Rising to 450 million active users according to Facebook’s press release
9. The app is the 5th most downloaded app on Android
10. WhatsApp doesn’t sell ads and zero have appeared on the app
11. Twitter and Facebook had the chance to hire founder Brian Acton but didn’t!
12. The total value of the deal: $19 Billion ($4 billion in cash, $12 billion in stock, and $3 billion in restricted stock)
13. $1 Billion Break-up fee should the deal not go through.
14. Jan Koum keeps a note from Brian taped to his desk that reads “No Ads! No Games! No Gimmicks!” To keep them focused on building a pure messaging experience.
15. WhatsApp spent ZERO cash on marketing, PR and user acquisition
16. WhatsApp’s messaging volume is approaching the entire global telecom SMS volume
17. On Dec 31st 2013 users sent a total 54 billion messages during the day (3x increase from 2012)

HOW IT BECAME SO POPULAR?

Looking at those numbers reads like a fairy tale and is an inspiration to aspiring entrepreneurs. But what exactly made WhatsApp so popular? Here’s a short list that contributed to its increasing usage since 2009:

• All you need to sign up is your phone number
• WhatsApp tapped into your contact list to display friends already using the app.
• 2G & 3G data plans paved the way for affordable messaging across borders (all you need for WhatsApp is an internet connection)
• Free for a year and $0.99 a year for unlimited messages
• MMS was rarely used due to its cost, WhatsApp made it affordable with its photo sharing feature
• Cross platform compatibility (still includes Symbian!!) saw users in emerging marketing jump on the bandwagon