---It doesn't matter where you come from, who your parents are, or that your peculiar story is; the tables can turn! Keep hope alive!
In the middle of 2009, Brian Acton was the software engineer that no one wanted to hire. Despite a dozen years of experience at Yahoo and Apple Computer, he got turned down by two of the Internet’s brightest stars at the time. First, Twitter said no in May; then Facebook rejected him in August. Both Jan Koum and Brian Acton applied, and failed, to work at Facebook. “We’re part of the Facebook reject club,” Acton says.
--- Do not fear being part of the 'reject club'...sometimes, certain doors need to be closed to you in order for you to start exploring all that you can be.
When Koum’s mother died of cancer in 2000 the young Ukrainian was suddenly alone; his father had died in 1997. He credits Acton with reaching out and offering support. “He would invite me to his house,” Koum remembers. The two went skiing and played soccer and ultimate Frisbee.
--- Reach out and offer support to many. May we be good friends who leave indelible marks on hearts.
Early WhatsApp kept crashing or getting stuck -only a handful people, mostly local Russian friends had downloaded it. The following month after a game of ultimate frisbee with Acton, Koum grudgingly admitted he should probably fold up and start looking for a job. Acton balked. “You’d be an idiot to quit now,” he said. “Give it a few more months.”
--- Do not give up. Keep trying. The fact that you'll breakthrough doesn't mean it won't get stuck at some point. May you be surrounded by people who will urge you on, not those who will pull down your vision.
The two sat at Acton’s kitchen table and started sending messages to each other on WhatsApp. By early 2011 WhatsApp was squarely in the top 20 of all apps in the U.S. App Store.
--- Do not despise humble beginnings. Initially, it was two men messaging at a kitchen table; today WhatsApp has 450 million users and is adding an additional million users every day.
