Your Path to a $16B exit? Build a J2ME App
This. This is the answer I have always looked for.<p>> "But, but, how is WhatsApp any different than iMessage / Facebook Messenger / Hangouts?"<p>I have made this exclamation multiple times, and my friends in India and Singapore and other parts of Asia just turned up their palms with a "I dunno, everyone uses it and told me to get it."<p>I refused to use it since I like to use as few messaging platforms as possible (just Google Hangouts right now since it has most of my contacts, voice and video) despite my friends pestering me.<p>J2ME is the most reasonable explanation. I see why it made Whatsapp itself popular. But still? Almost everyone I know who's using it actually uses it on an Android/iOS smart device. Who is this "everyone" of theirs using it on feature phones? I doubt their friends circle intersects that heavily with rural villagers living on $10/day.<p>And also, is this really a viable long-term play for Facebook? How does this contribute towards the rest of their product plays?