1976
Jan Koum, co-founder of WhatsApp, was born in 1976 in a village near Kyiv in the Soviet Union (now Ukraine).
“a boy named Jan Koum is born to a Jewish family in 1976”
Topic
Jan Koum
8 facts from 1 episode, in date order. These are what speakers said on the shows, each linked to the moment it was said. They aren't independently verified.
1992
In 1992, at age 16, Jan Koum emigrated from Ukraine to Mountain View, California, with his mother and grandmother.
“The Berlin Wall had fallen at this point. They were able to get out of the country and come to America.”
2007
Brian Acton and Jan Koum left Yahoo in November 2007 and took extended time off.
“Brian and Jan have finally kind of had enough and they both leave right at the same”
2008
Both Brian Acton and Jan Koum were rejected when they applied for jobs at Facebook around 2008, and Acton tweeted about it.
“And they are both rejected for jobs at Facebook. Brian even tweets about it.”
2009
Jan Koum incorporated WhatsApp Inc. in California on February 24, 2009, using a template for articles of incorporation and a $100 filing fee.
“So this is on Jan's birthday in 2009, February 24th. He's like, shoot, we got to incorporate this.”
2014
After learning WhatsApp had a meeting with Google's Larry Page, Mark Zuckerberg invited Jan Koum to his house on February 10, 2014, to propose an acquisition.
“Somehow, Facebook and Zach find out that this meeting is scheduled. And he gets Jan over to his house the Monday night before February 10th.”
2018
Jan Koum announced in April 2018 that he was leaving WhatsApp and Facebook, forgoing about $400 million in unvested stock.
“April, the next month, Jan announces on Facebook that he is also going to leave WhatsApp and Facebook. He leaves about $400 million on the table.”
Undated
Jan Koum met Yahoo co-founder David Filo at an Apache security conference, which led to Koum's interview and hiring at Yahoo as an infrastructure engineer.
“he meets Yahoo co-founder David Filo. He's at an Apache security conference.”
Episodes