WhatsApp is a global messaging app that has exploded in popularity over the past several years. However, despite the fact that the app has spent a considerable amount of time in the spotlight and under the scrutiny of the public eye, there are still some things that many people don’t know. With that in mind, here we present our list of 15 things you probably didn’t know about WhatsApp. Check out part one below, and stay tuned for part two, coming soon!
Number Fifteen: WhatsApp Was Named After a Popular Phrase
One of its founder, Jan Koum, named the app WhatsApp because it sounded similar to “What’s Up?”. Who knew!
Number Fourteen: Its Founders Haven’t Spent a Dime on Marketing
According to an infographic, the app hasn’t spent anything on marketing. Instead, the app relies on its promises of no ads and no gimmicks to keep it going strong.
Number Thirteen: The Company Is Worth More Than NASA’s Budget
In 2014, Facebook bought WhatsApp for $19 billion. This is more than NASA’s budget – which is notoriously high – that year. In 2014, NASA’s budget was $17 billion.
Number Twelve: 30 Billion Messages Are Sent and Received Every Day
It’s true! WhatsApp is the world’s number one messaging app, and more than 30 billion messages are sent and received every single day. As of February 2016, up to one billion people use the app.
Number Eleven: Its Founders Were Rejected by Facebook
Despite the fact that Facebook bought the app for $19 billion in 2014, the app’s founders, Jan Koum and Brian Acton, both applied to Facebook before making WhatsApp – and were rejected. Facebook could have saved a lot of money by hiring them.
Number Ten: It Wouldn’t Exist Without Yahoo
Both of the app’s founders worked at Yahoo before making the app. Before making the app, Koum relied on his savings he earned with Yahoo to get by, so without those savings, who knows what he’d be doing now.
Number Nine: Its Founders Literally Had to Be Hunted Down by Investors
Sequoia Capital invested $7 million in the app in 2011; however, Sequoia partner Jim Goetz struggled to contact Koum and Acton to propose this to them. According to Goetz, the firm couldn’t find an address for the two and only knew that they were based in Mountain View, California. He had partners visit the city and walk around to try and locate them. Stay tuned for part two of our list of 15 things you didn’t know about WhatsApp, coming soon!