Simplicity through prioritization was key to WhatsApp's success, especially during its acquisition by Facebook for $19 billion.

The success of WhatsApp was key to holding on to our values during our transition from 20 million to 1.2 billion users, supported by a unique engineering culture that focuses on simplicity and prioritizes core features over many tasks.

One of the hardest moments for me was when Yahoo offered to buy Facebook for a billion dollars, forcing us to consider our future direction.

WhatsApp and Instagram, both small teams at the time of their acquisitions, leveraged Apple's platform to achieve significant growth and impact.

I was the 19th engineer to join WhatsApp, and we had around 20 million users at that time, which grew to 1.2 billion active monthly users by the time I left.

Historically, companies like WhatsApp and Instagram have been close to achieving unicorn status with very few employees, but a sustained trend of this nature has yet to be established.

Signing the acquisition deal felt surreal, especially with my family by my side, marking a significant moment in my journey and securing the future of our product in women's health.

Yahoo offered to buy Facebook for a billion dollars, which was a significant turning point for the company, as it forced us to evaluate our future and the potential impact of what we were building.

In the mobile era, Apple was ahead while Facebook struggled to keep up, often acquiring companies like Instagram and WhatsApp to strengthen its position.