Disappointment disguise as Blessings: In 2009, he tweeted 'Facebook turned me down' In 2014: he sold his company to Facebook for $21.8bn

Brian Action has hit the big jackpot! In 2009, he applied for a job in both Facebook and Twitter and was turned down by both companies. 5 years later, Facebook bought his company, Whatsapp, for $21.8billion.

Forbes Profile of Brian Acton

Computer engineer Brian Acton applied for a job at Facebook in 2009 and didn't get it. In August 2014 Facebook paid Acton more than $3 billion in stock and cash as part of its $19 billion acquisition of WhatsApp, the messaging startup he co-founded with fellow programmer Jan Koum.