The Times of India

In 2009, Jan Koum pivoted his failing status app by adding messaging, founding WhatsApp

Jan Koum's initial app idea, focused on status updates, failed. However, the introduction of push notifications transformed it into a messaging phenomenon. This evolution led to WhatsApp becoming a global communication backbone, proving its product-market fit by fulfilling a fundamental human need for instant connection, even serving as a vital lifeline for health organizations.