Before selling WhatsApp for $19 billion, co-founder Jan Koum once relied on food stamps to feed his family. Years later, he signed the deal in the same office where he collected them

As a 16-year-old, Ukrainian native Jan Koum and his mother moved to the United States in search of better days, relying on government assistance to get by on a daily basis. Fast forward to a few years later when the CEO of the messaging service WhatsApp returned to the same social services office where he had once collected food stamps to sign a deal that would make his company part of Facebook in a $19 billion acquisition.

The journey from a financially difficult childhood to building one of the world’s most widely used messaging services is what Koum’s story is all about. In February 2014, Facebook announced its acquisition of WhatsApp, co-founded by Koum and Brian Acton, in a deal that included cash, Facebook shares and restricted stock units.

For Koum, the signing location carried a personal meaning. According to Forbes, he chose the building where he had once stood in line for food stamps as a teenager.

From Ukraine to Silicon Valley

Koum grew up in a rural village outside Kyiv, Ukraine, in a family that struggled financially. His father worked in construction, while his mother was a homemaker. The family lived in a house without hot water, and Koum later recalled the restrictions and suspicion that shaped life in the Soviet Union.

When he was 16, he and his mother moved to Mountain View, California, leaving his father behind. Government assistance helped them secure a small apartment and food stamps. Koum worked sweeping floors at a grocery store, while his mother took up babysitting to support the family.

Their difficulties continued after his mother was diagnosed with cancer. They relied on her disability benefits, and Koum lost both parents by 2000, according to Forbes.

Despite these challenges, he developed an interest in computers. He taught himself computer networking using second-hand manuals, which he would return after reading. He later enrolled at San Jose State University and worked as a security tester at Ernst & Young.

A Yahoo job changed his life

In 1997, Koum met Acton while working on an assignment at Yahoo and the two developed a friendship, eventually becoming colleagues at the internet company. Koum left university to work there full-time, focusing on infrastructure engineering.

After years at Yahoo, both of them became disillusioned with their work and left in 2007. They travelled through South America and explored what they might do next. Both of them had also applied for jobs at Facebook but were rejected.

The experience did not end their ambitions in technology. In 2009, Koum bought an iPhone and saw an opportunity in Apple's recently launched App Store.

How WhatsApp became a messaging giant

Koum initially wanted to build an app that would let people display their status next to their names in their phone contacts. Users could indicate whether they were busy, working out or unavailable.

He incorporated WhatsApp in February 2009, but the early versions were unreliable. As the app struggled, Koum considered abandoning the project. Acton encouraged him to continue for a few more months.

Push notifications from Apple helped guide the product’s direction. Over time, WhatsApp’s status feature has become a real time communication tool for people. Koum added messaging at that point and the service began to gain users.

WhatsApp was a fast way to communicate over the internet, unlike traditional texting, including with people in other countries. It also made it easy for people to connect with their existing contacts through its use of phone numbers.

The $19 billion deal

In February 2014, Facebook agreed to acquire WhatsApp for a reported $19 billion, making it one of the most significant technology acquisitions at the time. The agreement included $4 billion in cash, $12 billion in Facebook shares and another $3 billion in restricted stock units.

WhatsApp had grown from a small startup into a global communications platform used by hundreds of millions of people. CNBC reported in 2017 that the service had more than one billion users worldwide.