When I worked at Yahoo, I saw a lot of acquisitions. Some succeeded, and some failed. I think I have learned from that. Brian Acton More Quotes by Brian Acton More Quotes From Brian Acton 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 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 product service building process 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
