📊 Telegram Operating Details from Founder Pavel Durov:
- Users: ~1 billion
- Ads: Never run an ad
- Team: 30 full-time employees
- Leadership: Pavel Durov is the sole director, equity holder, and product manager, directly involved with every engineer and designer
- Recruitment: No HR; recruits via www.contest.com, a platform with cash prizes for engineering challenges. Top performers may get job offers.
💡 Comparison: WaaatsApp had 55 employees and 450M users when sold to Facebook for $19B in 2014.
Telegram’s lean operation shows how efficiency can drive massive growth.