---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We want to do one thing and do it really…"
description: "\"We want to do one thing and do it really well. For us, that's communications between people who are friends and relatives.\" — Jan Koum"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ea/jan-koum-9456_communication_we-want-to-do-one-thing-and-do-it-really_2794741.png"
---

#  We want to do one thing and do it really well. For us…

![“We want to do one thing and do it really well. For us, that's communications between people who are friends and relatives.” quote by Jan Koum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ea/jan-koum-9456_communication_we-want-to-do-one-thing-and-do-it-really_2794741.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ea/jan-koum-9456_communication_we-want-to-do-one-thing-and-do-it-really_2794741.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ea/jan-koum-9456_communication_we-want-to-do-one-thing-and-do-it-really_2794741.png)

> “We want to do one thing and do it really well. For us, that's communications between people who are friends and relatives.”

[Jan Koum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-koum/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Specializing in a single domain allows mastery and high‑quality outcomes, especially in personal communication tools.

**In simple terms:** Focus on one thing to excel.

Key Takeaway

Choose one core skill and perfect it.

Themes

focus mastery communication quality

Mood

motivational strategic

Type

inspirational practical

When to use this quote

- building a messaging app
- creating a niche service
- improving a personal skill
- launching a focused startup

Key Concepts

business strategy product design specialization

Questions to Reflect On

- What single skill could you deepen right now?
- How can you stay flexible while staying focused?

A Different Perspective

Over‑specialization may limit adaptability to market shifts.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Communication](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/communication/) [Communications People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/communications-people-3405237/) [Friends](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friends/) [Friends And Relatives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friends-and-relatives/) [Friends Relatives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friends-relatives-270704/) [Friendship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friendship/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [People Friends](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people-friends/) [Really Communications](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/really-communications-3405236/) [Relatives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/relatives/) [Us](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/us/) [Who](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/who/)

## Related quotes

> [Never be too quick to criticize yourself. It's not fair to all of your friends and relatives, who are dying to do it for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/texas-bix-bender/never-be-too-quick-to-criticize-yourself-it-s-not-fair-to-all-of-your/)

[Texas Bix Bender](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/texas-bix-bender/)

> [At death our friends and relatives either draw nearer to us and are found out, or depart farther from us and are forgotten. Friends…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/at-death-our-friends-and-relatives-either-draw-nearer-to-us-and-are/)

[Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/)

> [The death of our close friends and relatives proves that how close the death is to us!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/javad-alizadeh/the-death-of-our-close-friends-and-relatives-proves-that-how-close/)

[Javad Alizadeh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/javad-alizadeh/)

> [We can't all be friends and relatives as the world is; most of us have to be strangers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-malamud/we-can-t-all-be-friends-and-relatives-as-the-world-is-most-of-us-have/)

[Bernard Malamud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-malamud/)

> [“I sat beside my parents in the sanctuary filled with friends and relatives. They should have been our wedding guests. Instead, they’d come to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerry-lonsdale/i-sat-beside-my-parents-in-the-sanctuary-filled-with-friends-and/)

[Kerry Lonsdale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerry-lonsdale/)

> [“All my friends and relatives have always taken a condescending tone to my writing, and never ceased urging me in a friendly way not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-chekhov/all-my-friends-and-relatives-have-always-taken-a-condescending-tone/)

[Anton Chekhov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-chekhov/)

> [I am convinced that material things can contribute a lot to making one's life pleasant, but, basically, if you do not have very good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-rockefeller/i-am-convinced-that-material-things-can-contribute-a-lot-to-making/)

[David Rockefeller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-rockefeller/)

> [The Sellout is about friends and relatives who have touched me in real ways.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-beatty/the-sellout-is-about-friends-and-relatives-who-have-touched-me-in/)

[Paul Beatty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-beatty/)

> [It is true, we do not like to lose a good, kind companion, a wife, a husband, a child, a brother, a sister, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-taylor/it-is-true-we-do-not-like-to-lose-a-good-kind-companion-a-wife-a/)

[John Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-taylor/)

> [Eating well, being around the table with the family or friends or relatives - it doesn't get any better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lidia-bastianich/eating-well-being-around-the-table-with-the-family-or-friends-or/)

[Lidia Bastianich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lidia-bastianich/)

> [So when I write characters and situations and relationships, I try to sort of utilize what I know about the world, limited as it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-kaufman/so-when-i-write-characters-and-situations-and-relationships-i-try-to/)

[Charlie Kaufman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-kaufman/)

> [Friends are relatives you make for yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eustache-deschamps/friends-are-relatives-you-make-for-yourself/)

[Eustache Deschamps](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eustache-deschamps/)

> [Thank goodness, we can choose our friends. We have to take our relatives as they are, and be thankful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/thank-goodness-we-can-choose-our-friends-we-have-to-take-our/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [But there's the paradox of fiction - why do you cry when a fake character dies? It's the basis of art. You engage with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-gruber/but-there-s-the-paradox-of-fiction-why-do-you-cry-when-a-fake/)

[Michael Gruber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-gruber/)

> [“We are a rotating cast of aspects of self that are shown to one person, or in one setting, and hidden in another. Memorial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/molly-haskell/we-are-a-rotating-cast-of-aspects-of-self-that-are-shown-to-one/)

[Molly Haskell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/molly-haskell/)

## More by Jan Koum

> [Clearly, you can't believe everything you read in the press.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-koum/clearly-you-can-t-believe-everything-you-read-in-the-press/)

[Jan Koum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-koum/)

> [A lot of companies are global.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-koum/a-lot-of-companies-are-global/)

[Jan Koum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-koum/)

> [WhatsApp's extremely high user engagement and rapid growth are driven by the simple, powerful and instantaneous messaging capabilities we provide.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-koum/whatsapp-s-extremely-high-user-engagement-and-rapid-growth-are-driven/)

[Jan Koum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-koum/)

> [I only have one idea, that is WhatsApp, and I am going to continue to focus on that. I have no plans to build…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-koum/i-only-have-one-idea-that-is-whatsapp-and-i-am-going-to-continue-to/)

[Jan Koum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-koum/)

> [A lot of times, people start out with a lot of good ideas, but then they don't execute. They lose the purity of their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-koum/a-lot-of-times-people-start-out-with-a-lot-of-good-ideas-but-then/)

[Jan Koum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-koum/)

> [Facebook, Google, Apple, Yahoo - there's a common theme. None of these companies ever sold. By staying independent, they were able to build a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-koum/facebook-google-apple-yahoo-there-s-a-common-theme-none-of-these/)

[Jan Koum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-koum/)

> [No one wakes up excited to see more advertising, no one goes to sleep thinking about the ads they'll see tomorrow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-koum/no-one-wakes-up-excited-to-see-more-advertising-no-one-goes-to-sleep/)

[Jan Koum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-koum/)

> [I had so much fun in early days learning about networking, security, scalability and other geeky stuff.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-koum/i-had-so-much-fun-in-early-days-learning-about-networking-security/)

[Jan Koum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-koum/)

> [The difficult part for us is adding features without making the product more complicated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-koum/the-difficult-part-for-us-is-adding-features-without-making-the/)

[Jan Koum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-koum/)

> [We continue to grow, and, just like with countries like China or other countries where we are not doing particularly well, we take a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-koum/we-continue-to-grow-and-just-like-with-countries-like-china-or-other/)

[Jan Koum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-koum/)

> [It's important for people to have freedom to use whatever product they want. We have no problems with other people using other apps, so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-koum/it-s-important-for-people-to-have-freedom-to-use-whatever-product/)

[Jan Koum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-koum/)

> [We're obsessed with making sure that voice and video work well even on low-end phones.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-koum/we-re-obsessed-with-making-sure-that-voice-and-video-work-well-even/)

[Jan Koum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-koum/)

> [The F-word here is focus.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-koum/the-f-word-here-is-focus/)

[Jan Koum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-koum/)

> [We're not interested in bombarding our users with, 'Hey, play this game, play this game, play this game.' It gets annoying, it gets in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-koum/we-re-not-interested-in-bombarding-our-users-with-hey-play-this-game/)

[Jan Koum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-koum/)

> [Everybody I meet who uses 'WhatsApp', I ask them a question: 'How did you hear about it?' And they say, 'My friends, my sister…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-koum/everybody-i-meet-who-uses-whatsapp-i-ask-them-a-question-how-did-you/)

[Jan Koum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-koum/)

[Explore all 72 Jan Koum quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-koum/)

## More Communication quotes

> [Some people still believe you should just fall in line with what's going on - and that's scary. It makes a mockery of freedom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-robison/some-people-still-believe-you-should-just-fall-in-line-with-what-s/)

[Emily Robison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-robison/)

> [The problem posed by indirect speech acts is the problem of how it is possible for the speaker to say one thing and mean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-searle/the-problem-posed-by-indirect-speech-acts-is-the-problem-of-how-it-is/)

[John Searle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-searle/)

> [We should have a conversation when we hang up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benedict-cumberbatch/we-should-have-a-conversation-when-we-hang-up/)

[Benedict Cumberbatch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benedict-cumberbatch/)

> [Sing like no one's listening, love like you've never been hurt, dance like nobody's watching, and live like its heaven on earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/sing-like-no-one-s-listening-love-like-you-ve-never-been-hurt-dance/)

[Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/)

> [A poet is wounded into speech, and he examines these wounds, meticulously, to discover how to heal them. The bad poet harangues at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-r-delany/a-poet-is-wounded-into-speech-and-he-examines-these-wounds/)

[Samuel R. Delany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-r-delany/)

> [“To engage in dialogue is to serve others via whatever is real inside you; to engage in debate is to ultimately serve the illusions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oli-anderson/to-engage-in-dialogue-is-to-serve-others-via-whatever-is-real-inside/)

[Oli Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oli-anderson/)

> [What it comes down to for me is this: Will the technologies of communication in our culture, serve to enlighten us and help us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-waters/what-it-comes-down-to-for-me-is-this-will-the-technologies-of/)

[Roger Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-waters/)

> [In dialogue, there is opposition, yes, but no head-on collision. Smashing heads does not open minds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-tannen/in-dialogue-there-is-opposition-yes-but-no-head-on-collision-smashing/)

[Deborah Tannen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-tannen/)

> [A dialogue is very important. It is a form of communication in which question and answer continue till a question is left without an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jiddu-krishnamurti/a-dialogue-is-very-important-it-is-a-form-of-communication-in-which/)

[Jiddu Krishnamurti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jiddu-krishnamurti/)

> [I get afraid of the dark if I'm in a great deal of dark, and I have to move around inside of that fear...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emil-ferris/i-get-afraid-of-the-dark-if-i-m-in-a-great-deal-of-dark-and-i-have-to/)

[Emil Ferris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emil-ferris/)

> [I've been in a serious conversation with one of my children, and a fan has come up. I've been in a public bathroom and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-reddy/i-ve-been-in-a-serious-conversation-with-one-of-my-children-and-a-fan/)

[Helen Reddy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-reddy/)

> [Life as we know it is fundamentally unsatisfying. I think most folks feel this to be true. They know that a life of aimless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-yates/life-as-we-know-it-is-fundamentally-unsatisfying-i-think-most-folks/)

[Michael Yates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-yates/)

> [Disability, in general, hasn't been included in the conversation about inclusivity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-winston-george/disability-in-general-hasn-t-been-included-in-the-conversation-about/)

[Jason Winston George](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-winston-george/)

> [“Women will be at least 50 percent of the communications community workforce … from executive suite to interns. Why? The “integrated” agency will be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yoram-wind/women-will-be-at-least-50-percent-of-the-communications-community/)

[Yoram Wind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yoram-wind/)

> [There are certain things you must not say in spite of the fact that supposedly democracy means free speech. No. You are not allowed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-eubank-sr/there-are-certain-things-you-must-not-say-in-spite-of-the-fact-that/)

[Chris Eubank Sr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-eubank-sr/)

[Browse all 21,506 Communication quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/communication/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "We want to do one thing and do it really well. For us, that's communications between people who are friends and relatives.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Jan Koum"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-koum/we-want-to-do-one-thing-and-do-it-really-well-for-us-that-s/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Communication"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-koum/we-want-to-do-one-thing-and-do-it-really-well-for-us-that-s/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ea/jan-koum-9456_communication_we-want-to-do-one-thing-and-do-it-really_2794741.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ea/jan-koum-9456_communication_we-want-to-do-one-thing-and-do-it-really_2794741.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ea/jan-koum-9456_communication_we-want-to-do-one-thing-and-do-it-really_2794741.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“We want to do one thing and do it really well. For us, that's communications between people who are friends…” — Jan Koum",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Jan Koum",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-koum/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "We want to do one thing...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-koum/we-want-to-do-one-thing-and-do-it-really-well-for-us-that-s/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-koum/we-want-to-do-one-thing-and-do-it-really-well-for-us-that-s/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
