Which website did Alex Fishman use to find early WhatsApp developer Igor Solomennikov?

Alex Fishman used RentACoder.com to find early WhatsApp developer Igor Solomennikov. The search happened while Fishman and Jan Koum were trying to turn Koum's application concept into a working iPhone product.

Fishman, a Russian-speaking friend of Koum's in West San Jose, recognized that the project needed an experienced iPhone developer. He searched the online programming marketplace RentACoder.com and found Solomennikov, a Russian developer. Fishman then introduced him to Koum, helping connect the founders with the technical talent they lacked.

The detail is easy to confuse with later freelance platforms such as Freelancer.com, Guru.com, or Elance.com, but those are not the site identified in the account of WhatsApp's early history. RentACoder was the relevant marketplace in this origin story.

Solomennikov joined the project before WhatsApp's rapid growth. The service initially focused on displaying contact statuses, but Apple's push-notification technology soon helped transform it into a messaging product. That shift made the early developer connection especially important.