Welcome to the second edition of this series where we uncover the game-changing decisions behind wildly successful products.

Today, we are diving into a tool millions (myself included) love to use for work and side projects: Slack.

Slack launched in 2013 but didn’t take off until a few years later. I still remember the first time I used it (back in 2017).

I was hooked.

The setup was seamless, conversations were so easy to manage, and those quirky one-liners? They had me smiling at my screen.

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When I first used Slack, I realized I was discovering a new way of working. The more I used it, the more it felt like finding a perfect rhythm.

Years later, that feeling hasn't faded. If anything, it's deepened.

But Slack's brilliance goes beyond its intuitive interface and simplified communication. Its evolution from a failed company's internal tool to a workplace essential reveals something remarkable about product development.

For PMs, Slack's journey is a blueprint full of insights we can apply to our challenges.

The Origin of Slack

Slack's journey from gaming to communication is a story of unexpected success.

It all began in 2009 with Tiny Speck, a company that created a game called Glitch in 2011.

However, Glitch struggled to find a sustainable audience and was shut down in 2012.

Amid this setback, the team focused on the internal tool they had built during Glitch’s development. This tool simplified team communication, which evolved into Slack.

Slack has over 38.8 million daily active users today and has changed workplace communication globally.

But how did Slack do all this? What was its behind-the-scenes force?

Let's dig in!

What Problem Were They Solving

Tiny Speck started with a big dream to create something different from traditional games. Their game, Glitch, was designed as a creative and collaborative online world where players could explore, build, and interact without the pressure of competition.

Here’s a sneak peek:

(If you haven’t already, be sure to read the comments in the video's comment section. I still can’t believe how many are still missing this age-old game)

Most multiplayer games at the time focused on battles or challenges, but Tiny Speck wanted to offer players a relaxing and creative alternative.

The idea was to offer a unique social gaming experience that brought people together in a fun and imaginative way.

To make it attractive, Tiny Speck adopted a freemium model. Players could enjoy the game for free but had the option to buy in-game items and perks.

Yet, this vision did not resonate with the market, and several reasons influenced it.

1. High development costs: Developing Glitch required more time and money, especially with its detailed graphics and complex features. However, the revenue from the game could not cover these costs.
2. Small audience appeal: Glitch was quirky and creative, which some players loved. However, most gamers did not want to play it, so it never became popular.
3. No perfect market fit: The gaming market already had established genres and audiences. Glitch did not fit into any of them, making it hard to attract and keep players.

Despite the failure, the experience did not go in vain.

Tiny Speck's challenges while building Glitch showed them a bigger problem - their internal team had disorganized communication. This realization set the stage for a bold pivot, leading to the creation of Slack.

Instead of focusing on their game, they turned their attention to solving a problem they experienced firsthand, which turned out to have a much larger market potential.

The Turnaround

Instead of giving up after failing at Glitch, the Tiny Speck team focused on improving team communication, which is a challenge they faced first-hand during game development.

They realised their tools for managing conversations, sharing updates, and tracking progress were messy and inefficient. Emails, chat threads, and other apps were scattered and hard to manage.

That wasted time and caused misunderstandings.

They decided to fix this by creating a tool to organize their internal communication. This tool was simple, effective, and helped their team work better.

After friends and colleagues tested their internal tool, they got positive feedback. They realised that other teams, especially developers, might struggle with similar communication issues.

This pivotal moment inspired the team to pivot and transform their tool into a product for the wider market. So, this is what Slack meant 10 years ago:

Slack's goal was to make team communication clear and efficient. But, it was not just about messaging. It also offered features like searchable conversations, integrations with apps like Google Drive, and file sharing.

These features made it easy for teams to stay on the same page without switching between multiple tools.

They also had a freemium model.

This meant that teams could use Slack free of charge and only pay for advanced features when they required them. As a result, it was easy for anyone to try the product without committing, and this helped Slack grow rapidly through word of mouth.

Our teams tell us they’re working together and solving problems much faster, because although they are spread across the globe, Slack makes it like you’re in the same room. [Source]

Pam Whitmore
Group manager, business systems, IT, Intuit

Primary Target Audience

Slack initially wanted to target a wide range of audiences, from small businesses to creative teams.

However, they quickly realized this approach could dilute their efforts.

Through trial and error, they found that developers were the ideal audience because they are open to new tools that improve workflow, value efficiency, and often influence organizational decisions.

By narrowing the focus to this group, Slack gathered precise feedback and personalized the product to meet the developers’ specific needs.

This strategy positioned Slack for quick adoption within tech companies.

Developers also became strong advocates, recommending the tool to their teams and driving wider adoption.

Identifying this audience wasn’t easy, but the process taught Slack an important lesson: finding the right audience takes experimentation, understanding user behavior, and focusing on solving specific problems.

The Impact of Having a Clear Target User Persona

Within 24 hours of launching their beta version in 2013, Slack gained 8,000 users, growing to 50,000 in just a few weeks. This rapid adoption showed the effectiveness of targeting developers and tech teams.

As these users shared the tool with others, Slack's user base expanded beyond the tech industry.

The pivot to Slack was not just about solving a problem.

It was about solving the right problem.

The team’s decision to focus on communication instead of games marked the beginning of their massive success.

Look at the positive feedback given by a Slack user in its initial days:

By utilizing Slack, we are creating a working environment with high transparency where we can realize flat, open, speedy communication, allowing us to motivate each other by connecting people to people and people to systems. [Source]

Takashi Soda
Senior executive officer, Musashi

Execution

Slack's journey from an internal tool to a widely adopted communication platform is the best example of effective execution, but how did they do that?

2013: launch

Slack began as an internal communication tool for Tiny Speck during the development of their game, Glitch. Recognizing its potential, they launched a beta version in August 2013.

2014-15: rapid growth

Slack's user base expanded rapidly, with daily active users increasing from 15,000 at launch to over 1.1 million by June 2015. This growth was driven by word of mouth, as early adopters recommended the platform to others.

The freemium model allowed teams to try Slack for free, lowering the barrier to entry and encouraging widespread adoption.

Here’s how Slack grew with time:

2014-15: funding and investment

In October 2014, Slack secured $120 million in Series D funding, valuing the company at $1.12 billion. The team used this investment to improve the product, expand the team, and scale infrastructure to support the growing base.

2015 onwards: continuous improvement from feedback

Slack's commitment to user feedback led to the development of features like threaded conversations, which organize discussions around specific messages and reduce channel clutter.

Also, Slack is integrated with tools such as GitHub, Trello, and Salesforce, making it a central hub for team collaboration. This responsiveness improved the platform's functionality and built a loyal user base.

Slack executed its plan, resulting in significant growth and market penetration by focusing on a niche market, adopting a freemium model, and improving regularly based on user feedback.

Impact

• By 2020, Slack had over 12 million daily active users, reflecting its overall adoption across various industries.
• The company made $400.6 million in 2018, which increased to $630.4 million in 2019. In 2020, its revenue had reached $902.6 million.
• By 2020, over 750,000 organizations used Slack, including nearly 80% of Fortune 100 companies like IBM, Amazon, Airbnb, and PayPal. This prompted competitors like Microsoft to work on their communication platforms, such as Microsoft Teams, to capture a share of the growing market for team collaboration tools.
• In 2021, Salesforce acquired Slack for $27.7 billion, indicating strong confidence in its value and future potential.
• After its acquisition by Salesforce in 2021, Slack's revenue was included in Salesforce's "Platform and Other" segment, which reported $5.967 billion in 2023.

Slack Today

As of December 2024, Slack continues to be a leading platform for team communication and collaboration. Since its acquisition by Salesforce in 2021, Slack has integrated advanced features to improve productivity and user experience.

• Slack has introduced AI-powered tools, including AI Agents within apps, so users can interact with third-party AI directly in Slack. This integration aims to simplify workflows and provide intelligent assistance.
• A new feature called Slack Lists allows users to manage projects and tasks within the platform, improving project management capabilities.
• Slack serves over 200,000 paid customers and is used in 150+ countries, while 77 of the Fortune 100 companies use Slack. This shows Slack's importance in enterprise communication.

However, the competition has intensified. Microsoft Teams, launched in 2017, has become an influential rival, especially due to its bundling with Office 365.

As of 2023, Microsoft Teams has over 300 million monthly active users, compared to Slack’s reported 20 million daily active users in 2022.

One reason for Teams' success is its integration with Microsoft’s ecosystem, which makes it the default choice for many organizations already using Office tools.

What Should PMs Learn From The Success of Slack

#1 Pivot when things don’t work.

Sometimes, the boldest and smartest move is knowing when to let go.

Slack’s pivot from Glitch to a communication tool is a textbook example of turning failure into opportunity.

As a PM, it’s your responsibility to identify when a product or feature isn’t gaining traction—and act decisively. Recognizing failure isn’t accepting defeat; instead it’s about clearing the path for success.

Start by asking yourself:

• Is this idea solving a real, urgent problem?
• Are the metrics showing moving in the right direction at the right pace?
• Does the market need this, or are we forcing it?

When the answer is “no,” don’t hesitate. Gather your team, analyze the learnings, and shift focus to something more promising.

Slack didn’t waste time mourning Glitch—they built a world-class product by solving a problem they felt personally.

You can do the same.

#3 Focus on solving real problems.

Slack worked because it addressed a pain point everyone could relate to—inefficient communication.

Think about your product: Is it solving a problem your users genuinely care about

Here’s a quick way to find out:

1. Talk to your users: through direct interviews, surveys, or user forums. What frustrates them the most? What are they trying to achieve? Dig deeper by analysing support tickets, social media comments, and product usage data to uncover hidden pain points and unmet needs. Conduct competitive analysis and user testing sessions to identify where your product might fall short compared to others.
2. Prioritize problems based on impact and urgency. A minor inconvenience won’t move the needle, but a bottleneck that costs time or money will.
3. Test and validate the user’s willingness to pay. If you learn that they will not pay for your solution, you might be solving the wrong problem.

Solving real problems leads to real impact.

If your product solves a pain point that keeps people awake at night, success is almost inevitable.

#4 Listen to users like it’s your job (because it is)

Some of Slack’s most-loved features—like threaded conversations and emoji reactions—came directly from user feedback. That didn’t happen by chance. Slack built systems to gather and act on feedback effectively.

Here’s how you can replicate this:

• Create feedback loops. Use tools like NPS surveys, customer interviews, and live chat to hear from your users regularly.
• Prioritize recurring themes. If you hear the same feedback repeatedly, it’s a signal to act.
• Close the loop. Let users know when you’ve implemented their suggestions. It builds trust and shows them you’re listening.

Remember, users are your co-creators. The more you involve them, the better your product becomes.

#5 Select the right pricing model

Slack’s freemium model wasn’t just clever—it was strategic.

It eliminated friction for new users and allowed teams to experience the product’s value before committing.

Here’s how you can adopt this approach:

• Offer a free version. Focus on delivering core value upfront without charging a dime.
• Design for conversion. Highlight premium features that solve advanced needs, creating a natural path for users to upgrade.
• Make it easy. Ensure upgrading is seamless, whether it’s a single click or a simple integration.

The freemium model isn’t just about attracting users—it’s about building trust and demonstrating value before asking for a commitment.

How This Applies to You

Slack’s success isn’t just luck—it results from deliberate decisions, bold pivots, and relentless user focus. The good news? These principles aren’t exclusive to Slack.

Whether building a startup from scratch or working on a mature product, these lessons can be your north star. Stop chasing every idea, start solving real problems, and involve your users every step of the way.

What’s one thing you can apply to your product today? Hit reply and let me know—I’d love to hear your thoughts.

That’s all for today!

Talk soon,
Sid