Rejection has a way of deflating motivation unlike any other.
In the middle of 2009, a software engineer named Brian Acton was on the hunt for a new career.
With a dozen years of experience under his belt at Yahoo and Apple, he figured he’d be able to find new work in no time.
But unfortunately for Brian, he had somehow become the software engineer that no one wanted to hire…
First, he applied with Twitter.
He was rejected.
Then, he tried taking his skills to Facebook.
Rejected again.
Feeling frustrated about getting rejected by two tech giants in a row, he went back to Twitter to share his pain.
First, he posted about his Twitter rejection, writing:
Next, he posted about getting denied by Facebook:
After trying and getting rejected at another big tech company, Brian decided to do his own thing…
He teamed up with a colleague, and together, they cofounded a cloud-based messaging app that you’ve probably used and definitely heard of….
It’s called WhatsApp.
And on February 19, 2014, it was acquired by Facebook—the very same company that rejected him only five years earlier—for $19 BILLION.
If Brian Acton’s job application had not been rejected by Facebook, it’s unlikely the world would’ve ever been introduced to WhatsApp.
