When WhatsApp sold to Facebook for $19 Billion people were stunned. What makes this messaging app worth $19 billion? We dove deep into WhatsApp's growth engine to understand how its grown so fast and what makes it so valuable to Facebook.
5. ORIGINAL PROBLEM:
MISSED PHONE CALLS
Koum, the founder, built an address book app that also showed the
current status of your friends.
He was tired of missing phone calls while at the gym.
6. The Early Pivot
• Original app was buggy and crashed
• Apple launches push notifications in iOS
• Koum adds push notifications to WhatsApp
• Users use the change in status to ping each
other—the notification becomes the message
7. The Early Pivot
• Koum realizes he’s built mobile messaging and
pivots from address book status manager to
messaging app
• User base explodes to 250,000 with pivot
8. Remarkable Focus on Product
• Laser focus on core user experience—no
ads, no games, no gimmicks
• No user acquisition spend
• Focus on maximum utility
• Focus on broad adoption and
interoperability, not just smartphones
10. Whatsapp’s aha! moment
• The cheap alternative to SMS and MMS
messaging with no limits
• Additional features like photo, video and group
texting
• Super simple to use—uses your existing contact
book, no rebuilding of a social graph
• Cross-platform, not closed like BBM and iMessage
11. GLOBAL Focus
• Feature phones focus across carriers
• Super-simple to send pictures, video and
texts overseas
• Unlocks pent-up text demand from
restrictive carrier charges & plans
13. Word of mouth drives growth
• No paid advertising
• No marketing
• Not a press darling
• “Near perfect market information”
14. The YEAR LONG TRIAL
• No cost to use for first year, $0.99 per
year thereafter
• Sets paid expectation, but eliminates
friction from network building
• Creates lock-in and habit prior to charging
15. Today’s Growth engine
• Facebook effect helps fuel growth
• Face challenges in US market with low
messaging rates and in China with tough
competition
• Will they introduce voice calling next?
16. Growth Engines
Case Studies of How Today's Most Successful Startups
Unlock Extraordinary Growth
DOWNLOAD ON AMAZON.COM