From Immigrant To Billionaire: The Inspiring Story Of Eric Yuan And The Rise Of Zoom

Success Stories: Eric Yuan and Zoom - From Immigrant To Billionaire: The Inspiring Story Of Eric Yuan And The Rise Of Zoom

In today's digital age, video conferencing has become a vital tool for businesses, schools, and individuals alike. Among the many video conferencing platforms available today, Zoom stands out as one of the most popular and widely used. However, few people know the incredible story of the man behind this groundbreaking platform: Eric Yuan.

Success Stories: Eric Yuan and Zoom

Born and raised in China, Eric Yuan had a passion for technology from a young age. He earned a degree in applied mathematics and computer science before joining a Silicon Valley startup called WebEx in 1997. There, he quickly rose through the ranks to become the company's Vice President of Engineering. 

Despite his success at WebEx, Eric was frustrated with the limitations of the company's video conferencing technology. He believed that video conferencing should be easy, reliable, and accessible to everyone, regardless of their technical expertise. So, in 2011, he founded Zoom Video Communications. 

At first, Zoom faced stiff competition from established players like WebEx and Skype. But Eric was determined to make Zoom the best video conferencing platform in the world. He focused on creating a user-friendly interface, reliable technology, and a seamless user experience. And his efforts paid off. 

Today, Zoom has more than 300 million daily active users and is valued at over $100 billion. Eric Yuan, who owns around 20% of the company, has a net worth of over $13 billion, making him one of the richest people in the world. 

But Eric's success story is about much more than just building a successful company. It's a testament to the power of hard work, determination, and perseverance. As an immigrant to the United States, Eric faced numerous obstacles on his journey to success. But he never gave up on his dreams. 

Success Stories: Eric Yuan and Zoom

Zoom is currently the world's largest video communication platform. People of different classes and professions in every part of the world now know this platform by one name as 'Zoom'. Zoom can be easily used on all types of digital devices like mobile or computer. As a result, many people have become dependent on this digital platform for video conferencing.

This app became very popular especially during the pandemic. Professionals from various industries to businessmen, teachers and students have continued their studies or office work using Zoom amid the lockdown. As a result, many individuals and organizations have been saved from the loss.

Even after the pandemic, employees of many organizations are now using Zoom to communicate with each other while working from home. With the help of this platform, the work of meeting can be done at home with one click. 

In addition to meetings, various types of work such as lectures, meetings or meetings can be done online with Zoom. Due to such various facilities, the number of users of Zoom has increased tremendously in the last few years. At the same time, Zoom's business has also seen great growth.

But how was Zoom so successful? Let's know about the start story of this hugely popular platform, its progress, income, business management method and current status one by one.

Start of zoom

In 2011, Zoom app was invented by Eric Yuan, an engineer. Eric was born and raised in China. After studying mathematics, computer applications and geology from a university in China, he went to Japan in 1995 to join a 4-month training program.

Bill Gates went to give a speech in Japan the same year. Eric became interested in America's Silicon Valley after hearing that speech by Bill Gates. However, despite his great interest, he could not get an American visa because he could not speak English well. After 9 consecutive applications, he was granted an American visa.

Finally, he came to America and joined a new startup company named 'WebX' in Silicon Valley. In 2007, WebX was acquired by a multinational company called Cisco. Eric was then appointed as the company's vice president of engineering.

In 2011, he built a video conferencing platform for use in his company. However, the higher-ups of the company did not approve his use of this platform. As a result, Yuan quit his job and founded a company by himself. At first he named his company 'Saasbee, Inc.' Later in May 2012, the name of the organization was changed to 'Zoom'. Currently the name of the company is 'Zoom Video Communications Inc'. 

Eric Yuan chose the name 'Zoom' for his company for an interesting reason. In America, an artist and children's book creator named Thatcher Hurd had a popular book called 'Zoom City'. From there, Eric decided to use the word 'Zoom' as the name of his company.

An experimental version or 'beta version' of the Zoom app was released in September 2012. At that time, a maximum of 15 people could participate in a video conference with the app. Stanford University became Zoom's first customer in November of that year. However, the app has not yet been opened for public use.

Finally, on January 15, 2013, Zoom officially came to the market. Within a month of its release, Zoom reached 40,000 subscribers. And within May of that year, the number of Zoom users crossed 10 lakh. 

Progress

In July 2013, Zoom signed a partnership agreement with several software manufacturers. Zoom's market share continues to increase as a result of signing agreements with these software companies that serve various corporate business organizations. At the same time, new and interesting features are added to the Zoom app.

Joining meetings via multiple screens or devices, HD and wireless screen sharing or calendar integration with platforms such as Google Calendar and Microsoft Outlook are added to Zoom. Due to these advantages, Zoom reaches a unique position compared to other video conferencing software in the market.

By 2015-16, Zoom was integrated with all the popular platforms like 'Slack', 'Salesforce' and 'Skype for Business'. Then in April 2017, the company launched a special type of 'telehealth service'. Through this, doctors could communicate with remote patients and advise them. This service of Zoom can be launched on a larger scale in the future.

Apart from Zoom's famous tool 'Zoom Meeting', the platform has various subscription-based tools to suit different needs including 'Zoom Phone', 'Zoom Video Webinar' and 'Zoom Room'. But let's know how Zoom's business is managed. 

The Freemium Business Model

All Zoom users can use its common features for free. But to use its advanced features one has to spend money. This business model is known as 'Freemium Business Model'.

This business model is quite common among different types of software applications. Because most people want to use any new app or service available for free. As a result, many users of those software are created initially. This makes it easier to attract potential customers, as well as get a lot of feedback from users. Later, by analyzing these responses, necessary changes can be made according to the needs of the users.

Zoom's advanced features include cloud recording, group messaging, live streaming, or caption translation of user conversations during meetings. And if you want to use these features, you have to spend money. 

Zoom's popularity during the Covid pandemic

Zoom's market share has grown significantly due to the Covid pandemic. Due to social distancing and lockdown at that time, many organizations brought their operations online. The employees of those organizations then started working from their homes. And several such platforms, including Zoom, have become popular during the pandemic to communicate with each other while working from different locations.

The number of people participating in Zoom meetings increased by 2,900% between 2020 and 2021, largely due to the pandemic. An average of 300 million people joined Zoom meetings every day in April 2020 alone. Also, on a single day in April that year, the app was downloaded and installed 3.5 million times. The highest number of Zoom app downloads in a single day.

Zoom was downloaded a total of 485 million times in 2020. And in September 2021 alone, the app was downloaded 23 million times on Google Play and App Store combined.

As a result, Zoom ranks among the fastest growing apps in 2020 and 2021. Again in 2020, Eric Yuan, the founder of Zoom, was awarded the title of 'Businessperson of the Year' by Time magazine.

Zoom announced the opening of a new technology center in Bengaluru, India in July 2020 amid growing popularity. Various business activities including engineering and IT will be conducted in that center, the company said. In August of the same year, Zoom opened a new data center in Singapore..

Income

Zoom has become quite a profitable company over the past few years. And its net income is also increasing every year. Zoom's revenue has been increasing every year since 2017. But this platform saw its biggest success in 2021. Zoom's revenue that year was $2.6 billion. Compared to the previous year, i.e. in 2020, its income was 622 million dollars. In other words, compared to 2020, Zoom's income has increased almost 4 times in 2021.

As of the end of FY 2022, Zoom's market value was $5,78,00,18,000. Zoom's massive growth within a decade of its release in 2012 has set Zoom apart from other apps.

From this extraordinary success of the platform, it can be assumed that Zoom will maintain its position in the world of video conferencing for a long time. 

Top 20 Facts About "Eric Yuan and Zoom" 

1. Eric Yuan is the founder and CEO of Zoom Video Communications, Inc.
2. He was born on February 20, 1970, in Shandong Province, China.
3. Yuan grew up in a small village where his family didn't have running water or electricity.
4. He was inspired by a speech from Bill Gates and moved to the United States in 1997.
5. Yuan joined WebEx, a video conferencing company, in 1997 and stayed with the company when it was acquired by Cisco Systems in 2007.
6. He left Cisco in 2011 to start his own video conferencing company, which eventually became Zoom.
7. Zoom was launched in 2013 and went public in 2019, with a market capitalization of over $16 billion.
8. Yuan owns over 20% of Zoom's outstanding shares, making him a billionaire.
9. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Zoom's user base grew significantly, as more people started working and socializing from home.
10. In 2020, Zoom's revenue was $2.65 billion, up from $622.7 million in 2019.
11. Yuan has won numerous awards for his contributions to the tech industry, including the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award in 2018.
12. He was also named one of Time magazine's 100 most influential people in the world in 2020.
13. Yuan is known for his customer-focused approach and dedication to providing a high-quality user experience.
14. He has said that he spends a significant amount of time talking to Zoom users and using their feedback to improve the product.
15. Yuan is also committed to sustainability and has set a goal for Zoom to become carbon-neutral by 2022.
16. In addition to English, Yuan is fluent in Mandarin and has given interviews in both languages.
17. Yuan is married with three children and lives in California.
18. He is a philanthropist and has donated millions of dollars to various charities and organizations.
19. Yuan is a member of the board of directors for the US-China Education Trust, which works to promote US-China relations through education and exchanges.
20. In his free time, Yuan enjoys hiking, reading, and spending time with his family.

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