WhatsApp cofounder overcame many obstacles

The path to success is never a straight line. You get knocked down and the cards aren’t always in your favor. But If you think you don’t have the right background or skills to be successful, let’s use this story to prove otherwise.

Jan Koum overcame his obstacles by taking matters into his own hands. While working as a janitor in his teenage years, he would buy manuals from a used bookstore to learn computer programming. He joined local hacker groups and worked day and night to learn everything possible. 

Despite growing up in poverty and not graduating college, Jan Koum built a business that changed the lives of billions of people. To bring it full circle, when he was signing the deal for Facebook to buy WhatsApp, Jan Koum chose to drive down the street to the building he used to wait in line to collect food stamps so he could let everything truly sink in. 

As always, reminding you to build wealth by following the two PFC rules: 1.) Live below your means and 2.) Invest early and often.

-Vivi & Shane

p.s. if you haven’t heard, we just launched the PFC Business Circle! It’s a 10 week cohort for entrepreneurs who want to grow their business and connect with like-minded people. It’s limited to 25 members and admission is by application only. Check out the link in our bio for details!

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Jeremy Circle

Hi, I’m Jeremy! I retired at 36 and currently have a net worth of over $4 million. 

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