With over 5.6 billion unique mobile subscribers globally, the surge in spam calls and messages has reached unprecedented levels. As technology advances, so do the tactics of cybercriminals, who use sophisticated methods to infiltrate users’ data, accessing personal and financial information to profit in the billions. To address this growing issue, Truecaller, a Swedish company founded by Alan Mamedi, provides a robust solution.
More than just a caller ID app, Truecaller serves as a digital gatekeeper, identifying unknown callers, flagging potential scams, and empowering users to take control of their communications. Through its vast database and innovative approach, Truecaller has transformed how we stay connected, making mobile safety a reality for millions.
The unique idea of an online call directory began as a simple hobby project, but it quickly gained 10,000 users within its first week of inception. Today, Truecaller has 420 million monthly active users worldwide, with nearly 60% coming from India alone.
On the 40th birthday of Alan Mamedi, the co-founder and CEO of Truecaller, we bring a few lesser-known yet interesting facts about him.
Name: Alan Mamedi
Date of Birth: October 30, 1984
Net Worth: Unknown
- Alan Mamedi, a Swedish entrepreneur of Kurdish descent, began his career as a salesman at The Phone House while pursuing his Bachelor of Science at KTH Royal Institute of Technology in 2004. After two years, he ventured into entrepreneurship, launching Bidding.se, a unique bid auction site, in 2006, followed by Möbeljakt.se, Sweden’s largest search engine for home interiors, in 2007. Within just three months, Bidding.se was acquired, marking Mamedi’s first major success. In 2008, he joined Birdstep Technology as Chief Architect, further honing his skills in tech and innovation.
- Frustrated by a barrage of spam calls, Alan Mamedi and his friend from KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Nami Zarringhalam, had a quick brainstorming session that led to the idea of Truecaller. However, they later discovered some of the annoying calls had been from their relatives abroad. This experience sparked the concept of an online phone directory that could include numbers from across the globe, and thus “Truecaller” was born. Driven by their own frustration with fraudulent calls, the co-founders built the app entirely themselves, tackling both the design and coding aspects from scratch.
- Truecaller’s early days were challenging, as founders Alan Mamedi and Nami Zarringhalam struggled to find investors who believed in their vision for a global phone directory. Many potential investors saw the concept as too ambitious and risky, which left the duo with no choice but to bootstrap their project. Despite these obstacles, Truecaller’s rapid, organic growth eventually drew the interest of investors. Four years after its founding, in 2014, Truecaller secured $8.8 million in funding from Sequoia Capital, marking a significant turning point for the company and fueling its expansion.
- Today, Truecaller is the world’s largest verified mobile phone community, dedicated to helping smartphone users avoid hoax calls. In 2023 alone, the app identified over 2.4 trillion unknown calls and flagged more than 47 billion spam and fraud calls worldwide, underscoring its impact in enhancing mobile security on a global scale.
- Unlike his previous venture, Bidding.se, Alan Mamedi has no plans to sell Truecaller. “If I were forced to sell the company, then I would start crying because I love what I do,” he expressed his deep commitment to the platform. Mamedi believes his mission is to build something truly innovative and impactful.
- In 2015, Alan Mamedi and Nami Zarringhalam were honoured as “Best Startup Founders,” a recognition of their visionary work in establishing Truecaller as a global leader in caller identification and spam prevention. Truecaller was nominated for the “Best Enterprise, SaaS or B2B Startup.”
- There is a famous 50-word statement that Alan always uses to convince smartphone users to use Truecaller:
“Do you ever experience an unknown number calling you and you wished you knew who it was? Truecaller has an extensive database of public, mobile, and even prepaid numbers. The app also has a built-in spam filter, unwanted call protection, and a new name feature to look up anyone in the world!”
At such a young age, Alan Mamedi has already made a remarkable impact through his innovative contributions. On his birthday today, let’s celebrate his achievements and wish him continued success and groundbreaking advancements in the tech world.
The post is a part of a B’day Series where we celebrate the birthday of renowned personalities from the Tech Industry, very frequently. The series includes Entrepreneurs, C-level Executives, innovators or renewed leaders who moved the industry with his exponential skill set and vision. The intent is to highlight the person’s achievements and touch base on the little-known but interesting part of his life. You can see the list of all earlier celebrated tech personalities, including Mark Zuckerberg, Marissa Mayor, Sean Parker, Andy Rubin, Julian Assange, Sir Richard Branson, and Sergey Brin, by following this link or subscribing to your daily newsletter.
