Jan Koum introduced WhatsApp on net forum in 2009

We all know by now the happy ending to the WhatsApp story: Facebook bought the startup in February for a jaw-dropping $19 billion. Given that, it’s fun to look back on how founder Jan Koum launched WhatsApp into the world.

He apparently posted comments around the internet. Rahul Sood, general manager of Microsoft Ventures says he found one from back in the day, when the two used to frequent the same internet forum. Sood shared it on LinkedIn, calling it ‘‘one of the best introductions from a future billionaire ever’’.

His post contains a warning about a bug that will crash the app. Koum also writes, “Yo Check out my iPhone app (it’s free bitches)…basically next time you go driving and can’t pick up your phone, simply set your status to, ‘Driving my F430, call me later’ or ‘At the Laguna Seca racing’ and all your contacts will know it’s pointless calling you.

Would love to hear your feedback.” He obviously got the feedback he wanted and much more. With the sale of his company, he’s now worth about $6.8 billion.

—Business Insider.in