Tuesday, February 10, 2015

Unexpected Sustance

                                                     Pic image: mastermarketingla.com


Jan Koum, founder of WhatsApp, born and raised in the Ukraine from a poor family. At the age of 16 years, he was desperate to move to USA, in pursuit of what we know as the “American Dream”. At the age of 17, he could only eat from the government allocation. He almost became a bum. Sleep roofed sky, paved ground. To survive, he worked as a cleaner in supermarket. “Life is so bitter”, Koum thought.

His life is increasingly steep when his mother was diagnosed cancer. They survive only with government health benefits. Koum then studied at San Jose University. But then he chose to drop out, preferring to learn programming autodidact.

Because of his skills as a programmer, Jan Koum accepted to work as an engineer at Yahoo. He worked there for 10 years. In that same place, he friends with brian Acton. Both make application WhatsApp in 2009, after resigned from Yahoo. Both had applied for Facebook, which was raising popularity at the time, but rejected by Facebook. Facebook may deeply regret ever reject their application.

After the official WhatsApp bought up at 19 billion dollars a few month ages, Jan Koum does a touching ritual. He came to the place where he used to be, at the age of 17 years, every morning to stand in line to get food rations from the government. He head to the wall where he had rested queue. Remembering the difficult moments, where even he didn’t have money to buy food. Slowly, his tears melt. He never thought his company was purchased by high price.

He then recalled his mother who was died by cancer. His mother who was willing to sew clothes for him to save. “No money, boy...”. Jan stunned. He regretted that he never tell this happy news ti his mother.


Sustenance came from unexpected way and form. Poor young man who was get free meal now becomes a billionaire.

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