WhatsApp CEO 併購後繼續保持獨立
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始人的理念異同，這筆交易愈發耐人尋味。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的聯合創始人兼首席執行長(CEO)庫姆(Jan Koum)一直拒絕在應用程序內引入廣告，其主要收入就是用戶支付的每年99美分的使用費。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，Facebook的扎克伯格(Mark Zuckerberg)則開創了一種在線廣告的新模式，能夠根據用戶的興趣和關係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成友誼，並最終談判達成前述交易。這宗交易足以令庫姆成爲一名億萬富豪，並將這家共有55名員工的初創企業併入Facebook這張社交網絡。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.
週四庫姆接受了《華爾街日報》(The Wall Street Journal)專訪，這是他在交易宣佈後首次接受媒體採訪。庫姆稱最終說服他賣掉WhatsApp的關鍵轉折是，扎克伯格提出WhatsApp將作爲一塊獨立業務繼續經營，且保持不內置廣告的模式。庫姆認爲今後WhatsApp將單獨作爲Facebook的一個實體繼續運營，幫助Facebook在成長的同時實現收入來源的多元化。Below are edited excerpts of the interview with Mr. Koum:
以下是經過編輯的訪談內容：WSJ: What have the past 24 hours been like?
《華爾街日報》：過去24小時你的感覺如何？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.
交易宣佈後馬克（即扎克伯格）在週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，並打消團隊疑慮，保證WhatsApp保持自己獨立運營。馬克說考慮到WhatsApp已經取得的成就，他最不願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》：您曾多次表示要打造一塊獨立業務，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，要找到一個令我們感興趣的對話切入點非常難。但在我們認識對方後，這些年來我們對彼此越發尊重。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後，我們之間進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.
兩週前馬克提出了一些非常有趣的想法，他對我們兩家公司關係的定位更像是一種夥伴關係，即WhatsApp將保持完全自我獨立。WSJ: What do you have in common with Mr. Zuckerberg?
《華爾街日報》：你和扎克伯格有什麼共同點？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：我們都擔負着連接世界、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的眼光。有時我們會談論五年、十年後移動通訊的可能模樣。他對這一問題的預見和我幾乎一樣。WSJ: Where do you think WhatsApp fits into Facebook's broader plans for growth?
《華爾街日報》：你認爲WhatsApp如何在Facebook宏大的增長計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模式，這一點在很大程度上要歸功於馬克。只要看看通用電氣(General Electric)和其他大型企業，你就會發現他們不會只做一件事情。他們會做很多業務以創造種種收入來源。其實今天早上我還在思考，爲何上世紀90年代末期只專注跑車業務的保時捷(Porsche)，現在卻涉足運動型多功能車(SUV)、轎車以及其它種種車型，這是因爲業務多元化是一件好事。We're actually making this business stronger by bringing in yet another type of revenue stream in the future.
實際上我們是在通過引入另一類收入來源讓我們的業務在今後變得更強。WSJ: You are taking a seat on Facebook's board. Was that his idea or Mr. Zuckerberg's?
《華爾街日報》：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》：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，並在保護隱私和用戶數據等問題上發表自己的看法？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：實話實說，我對Facebook的內部指標和統計數據以及該公司如何運作、產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，但他仍然堅持我加入董事會並幫助他進行決策，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.
我想我永遠會有我的觀點和理念，我也會和他分享。但在未來數月或數年的時間裏我的工作重點將是WhatsApp。WSJ: What will determine the success of this deal in the coming years?
《華爾街日報》：決定這宗交易在今後幾年成功的因素是什麼？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，關鍵是保持獨立。這事關我們能否保持自己運營，正如我們在交易談判和宣佈時強調的那樣。同時這事關我們的成長。我們仍然肩負使命，我們的用戶規模要繼續擴大，達到10億、20億的量級。我們將不斷前進，直到地球上每一個人都有一種能負擔得起且可靠的方式和朋友愛人溝通爲止。
