Going public is 18-month process, while an acquisition is a 6-month process. Going public means going under so much scrutiny, regulatory approval, auditing, magnified 10 times. Having the stomach to do that isn't necessarily in my DNA. My DNA is building a product and a service.

Brian Acton

Categorized in : Service Product Process Building

Close to the Edge by Yes. Such a fun tune to play on bass.

Brian Acton

tunes play fun

Facebook turned me down. It was a great opportunity to connect with some fantastic people. Looking forward to life’s next adventure.

Brian Acton

opportunity adventure people

Dealing with ads is depressing. You don’t make anyone’s life better by making advertisements work better.

Brian Acton

advertisements ads depressing

You never want to be in a position where you can't make payroll.

Brian Acton

never you position want

My DNA is building a product and a service.

Brian Acton

dna product service building

When I joined 'WhatsApp,' I was 38 years old. Opportunity is available to us in all walks of life and at all ages.

Brian Acton

whatsapp old opportunity life

People want chat histories. They're a permanent testimony of a relationship.

Brian Acton

permanent want relationship people

WhatsApp provides phone-number-based messaging, and people asked, 'Isn't that what SMS is?' Yes, but SMS is expensive, antiquated, and what WhatsApp did was modernize and level that playing field. For example, in Europe, if France wants to talk to Belgium, it's extraordinary costly because of border and telecom charges.

Brian Acton

talk extraordinary expensive people

For me specifically, it was important to graduate. In my family, I was one of the first graduates. My mom did not have a college degree. My dad did not have a college degree.

Brian Acton

me dad family mom

I think every acquisition is unique and different. The best strategy is to listen to the founders and follow their lead.

Brian Acton

follow best think unique

Companies that have been built and operated for a long time are the most successful companies.

Brian Acton

long-time successful time long

I myself saw Yahoo become a $100 billion company and then become a $10 billion company, so you always have to look at valuations with a grain of salt and understand it is a point-in-time measure.

Brian Acton

understand myself look you

Building secure products actually makes for a safer world; many people in law enforcement may not agree with that.

Brian Acton

building law people world

Yes, I was a big math and computer geek, that's true. I was driven by the scholastic side of things. For me, it was all about what I could do with math and computers.

Brian Acton

true computers things me

My mom started an air-freight company; my grandmother built a golf course. I have a certain degree of entrepreneurial risk-taking in my family history. Maybe that eventually rubbed off on me a little bit.

Brian Acton

me family mom history

There's a certain degree of speculation that goes into valuations. In so far as the market supports a valuation, everyone who gets a great one deserves it, but they should also be cautious because that speculation is temporary. I saw Yahoo go from $100 billion to $10 billion. It's not a long-term measure.

Brian Acton

measure everyone great go

It's not 100 per cent clear to me what's working about Snapchat.

Brian Acton

about me snapchat clear

You have a certain identity that you present to the world on Facebook, and you have a certain identity that you present with the telephone, and they are different.

Brian Acton

present you identity world

Your insurance broker has your telephone number, but your insurance broker doesn't have your Facebook ID. I think they are very different modes of communication. Commingling them can come with risk and peril.

Brian Acton

insurance your think communication

WhatsApp will bring Facebook another billion users. We will be a billion-user product. Whether there is a direct valuation or an indirect valuation, there is value, and Facebook understands that well.

Brian Acton

product value facebook will