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How many businesses do you know that have become a unicorn in less than a year? Not many right? Imagine a startup achieving this milestone in just 8 months, that sounds too good to be true. Well, this is exactly what Saas company Slack pulled off that left the world speechless! Let’s get insights from this remarkable startup journey on how they became a game-changer in the way teams communicate and collaborate.

From a game to Saas product: How Slack came into the picture

Slack, the popular workplace communication tool, was founded in 2013 by a team including Stewart Butterfield, Eric Costello, Cal Henderson, and Serguei Mourachov. But did you know Slack was not originally what the founders were working on?

Initially, Butterfield and his team were working on creating an online video game called “Glitch” which had an internal communication feature. However, he realised there was a gap in the market for a dedicated team messaging application, and that’s when the team pivoted towards building Slack.

Epic startup journey: From $0 to $1 billion

The success of Slack can be attributed to several key factors so, let’s explore them one by one.

1. A brilliant free product

Let’s understand why is Slack so great. First off, the product itself is top-notch. It’s super easy to use and has a really intuitive interface that people love. And here’s the best part – it seamlessly integrates with all your favourite tools like Google Drive, Trello, and Dropbox, making it the go-to spot for all your team’s communication and collaboration needs. That’s what makes Slack such a key player for teams all over the world.

2. Quick user adoption

The Slack app quickly became popular shortly after its preview release in August 2013. Within 24 hours, the firm reported 8,000 users, which grew to 15,000 after 2 weeks only. By 2014, Slack had a whopping 30,000 teams using their platform sharing 200 million messages monthly. Moreover, the company converted 73,000 free users into paid subscribers along with 285k Daily Active Users (DAU).

But how did they crack this?

The answer is quite simple- they tested out the beta version of the app to other companies like Medium. By doing so, this SaaS firm could get actionable feedback to resolve any potential issues and tips improve their product experience with Slack. Later, users started to flood X (formerly Twitter) with positive reviews of Slack, which was the best word-of-mouth marketing strategy.

3. Customer-first approach

The company is always looking for ways to enhance the user experience and add new features that make communication more efficient. This dedication to innovation has helped Slack stay ahead of the curve and continue to grow at a rapid pace.

Additionally, Slack’s strong emphasis on customer service and support has played a significant role in its journey to $1 billion. The company has built a reputation for providing excellent customer service, responding to queries and issues promptly, and going above and beyond to ensure customer satisfaction.

4. Minimal marketing spend

Of course, no discussion of Slack’s success would be complete without mentioning its genius marketing strategy. Slack has managed to generate a buzz around its product through word-of-mouth marketing and clever planning of releasing its “beta version” as a “preview release” to attract users.

Besides, Slack positioned itself at the top purely from organic traffic with most of its customers coming from their website alone. This approach helped the firm build a solid brand identity and loyal community without spending millions of dollars on achieving this from traditional marketing.

The takeaway

Slack’s inspirational journey to reaching a unicorn valuation of $1 billion in just 8 months is a testament to the power of a great product, innovative thinking, and exceptional customer service. By focusing on these areas, Slack has been able to establish itself as a leader in the workplace communication space and build a loyal following.