An Unsuccessful Video Game Turned Into a $26 Billion Startup...

🌈 Abstract

The article discusses the remarkable success story of Slack, a B2B SaaS startup that became the fastest-growing in history, reaching a $1 billion valuation in just 8 months. It covers Slack's origins as a video game company called Glitch, the team's pivot to building an internal communication tool that eventually became Slack, and the key factors that enabled Slack's rapid growth and success.

🙋 Q&A

[01] Slack's Rapid Growth and Success

1. What were some key milestones in Slack's early growth?

• Slack launched in 2014 and gained 8,000+ users in the first 24 hours and 12,000+ join requests in the first week
• Slack raised $120 million in funding just 6 months after launch, valuing the company at $2.7 billion
• The company grew 5-10% per week, and within 2 years had raised $840 million with a $5.1 billion valuation

2. What factors contributed to Slack's rapid success?

• Slack was never meant to be a business software tool, but rather started as a video game company called Glitch
• The Slack team built an internal chat app to improve their own company's communication, which they then released to the public as Slack
• The founders had deep expertise and "founder-market fit" in the challenges of team communication and collaboration
• Slack's features and focus on enabling employees to "be less busy" resonated strongly with users

3. How did Slack's growth compare to other startups trying to disrupt work?

• Many startups have tried to disrupt aspects of work, but few have managed to do it as effectively and quickly as Slack
• Slack's rapid growth, reaching a $1 billion valuation in just 8 months, made it the fastest-growing B2B SaaS startup in history

[02] Slack's Origins and Pivot

1. What was Slack's original business before pivoting?

• Slack originally started as a video game company called Glitch, which had surrealist landscapes and extensive customization options

2. How did Slack's founders come to build the Slack product?

• The Glitch team was struggling with internal communication, especially across different departments
• So they built an internal chat app to improve their own company's communication, which eventually became the Slack product

3. What was the founders' prior experience that contributed to Slack's success?

• Slack's co-founder Stewart Butterfield had prior entrepreneurial experience, having founded and sold the company Flickr to Yahoo for $35 million
• The founders' deep understanding of the challenges of team communication and collaboration, from their prior experiences, gave them strong "founder-market fit"