
What makes Facebook's $19 billion purchase of WhatsApp all the more intriguing is the contrast between the two companies' founders.
Facebook斥資190億美元收購WhatsApp的交易堪稱大手筆;對比一下兩家公司創(chuàng)始人的理念異同,這筆交易愈發(fā)耐人尋味。
Jan Koum, WhatsApp's co-founder and chief executive, has resisted advertising and built a mobile service that makes money from 99-cent subscriptions.
WhatsApp的聯(lián)合創(chuàng)始人兼首席執(zhí)行長(CEO)庫姆(Jan Koum)一直拒絕在應(yīng)用程序內(nèi)引入廣告,其主要收入就是用戶支付的每年99美分的使用費(fèi)。
Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg, meanwhile, has pioneered a new form of online ads targeting users based on their interests and relationships.
與此同時(shí),F(xiàn)acebook的扎克伯格(Mark Zuckerberg)則開創(chuàng)了一種在線廣告的新模式,能夠根據(jù)用戶的興趣和關(guān)系有針對性的投放廣告。
These differences have been a continual topic of discussion for the two men as they developed a friendship over the past two years and ultimately negotiated the deal that would make Mr. Koum a multi-billionaire and bring his 55-person startup inside the social network.
上述差異一直是這兩人間不斷討論的話題。他們在過去兩年間結(jié)成友誼,并最終談判達(dá)成前述交易。這宗交易足以令庫姆成為一名億萬富豪,并將這家共有55名員工的初創(chuàng)企業(yè)并入Facebook這張社交網(wǎng)絡(luò)。
In an interview Thursday with The Wall Street Journal -- his first since the deal was announced -- Mr. Koum said Mr. Zuckerberg's offer to keep WhatsApp operating as a standalone business with no ads was a key turning point in convincing the startup to sell. Rather than be absorbed into Facebook's business, Mr. Koum sees WhatsApp functioning as a separate arm that will help the social network diversify its revenue streams as it grows.
周四庫姆接受了《華爾街日報(bào)》(The Wall Street Journal)專訪,這是他在交易宣布后首次接受媒體采訪。庫姆稱最終說服他賣掉WhatsApp的關(guān)鍵轉(zhuǎn)折是,扎克伯格提出WhatsApp將作為一塊獨(dú)立業(yè)務(wù)繼續(xù)經(jīng)營,且保持不內(nèi)置廣告的模式。庫姆認(rèn)為今后WhatsApp將單獨(dú)作為Facebook的一個(gè)實(shí)體繼續(xù)運(yùn)營,幫助Facebook在成長的同時(shí)實(shí)現(xiàn)收入來源的多元化。
Below are edited excerpts of the interview with Mr. Koum:
以下是經(jīng)過編輯的訪談內(nèi)容:
WSJ: What have the past 24 hours been like?
《華爾街日報(bào)》:過去24小時(shí)你的感覺如何?
Mr. Koum: Pretty amazing. To say that we're excited and humbled at the same time would be an understatement.
庫姆:棒極了!興奮和榮幸不足以表達(dá)我們此刻的心情。
Mark [Zuckerberg] stopped by the office yesterday after the announcement. We thought it would be good for him to stop by the office and answer any questions people might have and reassure the team that we will stay independent, we will stay autonomous. He talked about how the last thing we want to do, given how much we have achieved, is get in the way of our growth.
交易宣布后馬克(即扎克伯格)在周三順路拜訪了我們的辦公室。這次到訪很好,他回答了員工可能提出的任何問題,并打消團(tuán)隊(duì)疑慮,保證WhatsApp保持自己獨(dú)立運(yùn)營。馬克說考慮到WhatsApp已經(jīng)取得的成就,他最不愿意做的一件事就是阻礙WhatsApp的成長。
WSJ: You have said repeatedly that you want to build an independent business. How did Mr. Zuckerberg finally change your mind?
《華爾街日報(bào)》:您曾多次表示要打造一塊獨(dú)立業(yè)務(wù),扎克伯格最終是如何改變了你的主意?
Mr. Koum: It was very difficult for him to find a good way that would make us be interested in a conversation. But as we got to know each other, we got to respect each other more and more over the years. Once he made it very clear that they are committed to not make changes to the user experience by introducing ads or cluttering the user experience, it became very interesting for us to have a conversation.
庫姆:對馬克來說,要找到一個(gè)令我們感興趣的對話切入點(diǎn)非常難。但在我們認(rèn)識對方后,這些年來我們對彼此越發(fā)尊重。一旦馬克清楚表明Facebook絕不會引入廣告改變或打亂用戶體驗(yàn)后,我們之間進(jìn)行一場對話的想法就變得很有趣了。
Mark proposed something very interesting two weeks ago, where he positioned it more as a partnership. He positioned it more as WhatsApp will stay completely independent and autonomous.
兩周前馬克提出了一些非常有趣的想法,他對我們兩家公司關(guān)系的定位更像是一種伙伴關(guān)系,即WhatsApp將保持完全自我獨(dú)立。
WSJ: What do you have in common with Mr. Zuckerberg?
《華爾街日報(bào)》:你和扎克伯格有什么共同點(diǎn)?
Mr. Koum: We have a shared mission of connecting the world and making it more open. Obviously, what we do is communication, which is part of connecting the world. But we also have a very long-term vision. Sometimes we talk about where mobile and communication will be five years from now, 10 years from now. The way he thinks about it is almost the same way that I think about it.
庫姆:我們都擔(dān)負(fù)著連接世界、提高世界開放程度的共同使命。很顯然我們做的工作是溝通,這是連接世界的一部分。但我們也有非常長遠(yuǎn)的眼光。有時(shí)我們會談?wù)撐迥辍⑹旰笠苿油ㄓ嵉目赡苣印K麑@一問題的預(yù)見和我?guī)缀跻粯印?/div>
WSJ: Where do you think WhatsApp fits into Facebook's broader plans for growth?
《華爾街日報(bào)》:你認(rèn)為WhatsApp如何在Facebook宏大的增長計(jì)劃中找到自己的位置?
Mr. Koum: Mark deserves a lot of credit for realizing that it's good to have different business models in your company. If you look at firms like General Electric or other large companies, they don't just do one thing, they do many different things to generate sources of revenue. I was actually thinking just earlier today how in the late '90s Porsche only used to make sports cars. Now they make SUVs and sedans and all kinds of different models because it's good to have diversification in your business.
庫姆:Facebook能夠意識到一家公司可以包容多種不同的商業(yè)模式,這一點(diǎn)在很大程度上要?dú)w功于馬克。只要看看通用電氣(General Electric)和其他大型企業(yè),你就會發(fā)現(xiàn)他們不會只做一件事情。他們會做很多業(yè)務(wù)以創(chuàng)造種種收入來源。其實(shí)今天早上我還在思考,為何上世紀(jì)90年代末期只專注跑車業(yè)務(wù)的保時(shí)捷(Porsche),現(xiàn)在卻涉足運(yùn)動型多功能車(SUV)、轎車以及其它種種車型,這是因?yàn)闃I(yè)務(wù)多元化是一件好事。
We're actually making this business stronger by bringing in yet another type of revenue stream in the future.
實(shí)際上我們是在通過引入另一類收入來源讓我們的業(yè)務(wù)在今后變得更強(qiáng)。
WSJ: You are taking a seat on Facebook's board. Was that his idea or Mr. Zuckerberg's?
《華爾街日報(bào)》:你將加入Facebook董事會,這是你還是扎克伯格的想法?
Mr. Koum: It was all his idea.
庫姆:這完全是他的主意。
WSJ: Now that you have a board seat, do you want to push for changes at this company and be a voice for protecting privacy and user data?
《華爾街日報(bào)》:既然你在董事會有一席之地,你是否想推動這家公司的變革,并在保護(hù)隱私和用戶數(shù)據(jù)等問題上發(fā)表自己的看法?
Mr. Koum: To be fair to Mark, I don't understand a whole lot about Facebook's internal metrics and statistics and how the company works and different ways to generate revenue. I told him that. He still insisted that I join the board and help him with decisions, which is very flattering.
庫姆:實(shí)話實(shí)說,我對Facebook的內(nèi)部指標(biāo)和統(tǒng)計(jì)數(shù)據(jù)以及該公司如何運(yùn)作、產(chǎn)生收入的種種來源真的不是很清楚。我把這一情況告訴馬克,但他仍然堅(jiān)持我加入董事會并幫助他進(jìn)行決策,對我來說這真是莫大的恭維。
I think I will always have my opinions and philosophy, which I will share with him. But for the next few months or few years my focus will be on WhatsApp.
我想我永遠(yuǎn)會有我的觀點(diǎn)和理念,我也會和他分享。但在未來數(shù)月或數(shù)年的時(shí)間里我的工作重點(diǎn)將是WhatsApp。
WSJ: What will determine the success of this deal in the coming years?
《華爾街日報(bào)》:決定這宗交易在今后幾年成功的因素是什么?
Mr. Koum: For us, it's about staying independent. It's about staying autonomous, as was discussed and announced during the deal. And it's also about growing. We still have a mission. We still need to get to a billion users and then we need to get to two billion users. And we won't stop until every single person on the planet has an affordable and reliable way to communicate with their friends and loved ones.
庫姆:對我們來說,關(guān)鍵是保持獨(dú)立。這事關(guān)我們能否保持自己運(yùn)營,正如我們在交易談判和宣布時(shí)強(qiáng)調(diào)的那樣。同時(shí)這事關(guān)我們的成長。我們?nèi)匀患缲?fù)使命,我們的用戶規(guī)模要繼續(xù)擴(kuò)大,達(dá)到10億、20億的量級。我們將不斷前進(jìn),直到地球上每一個(gè)人都有一種能負(fù)擔(dān)得起且可靠的方式和朋友愛人溝通為止。
來源:可可英語 http://www.ccdyzl.cn/read/201402/277079.shtml