WOW STORY OF THE DAY: From Multiplayer Misfire to Messaging Monarch: How Slack Turned a Side Tool into a $27B Prize

Image Source: Russel Shaw Design

What began as a failed multiplayer game studio (Tiny Speck) spawned an internal chat tool that employees couldn’t live without. That side project became Slack—an obsession for workplaces worldwide, a freemium growth machine, and ultimately a $27B acquisition by Salesforce. Slack’s rise is a masterclass in pivoting, product-market fit, and virality.

The origin story

Slack’s roots are surprisingly humble: a small team building a game needed better internal communication. The in-house messaging system they built solved everyday coordination pain—searchable conversations, channels for context, and integrations to reduce app switching. Users outside the studio loved it. The founders paused the game, productized the chat tool, and launched Slack as a standalone product that focused on making work less noisy and more productive.

Why Slack worked
• Notable updates: Slack launched with a simple value proposition—replace chaotic email threads and disjointed chat with organized channels, threaded conversations, and fast search. The interface felt modern, friendly, and instantly usable.

• Major takeaways: The freemium model lowered adoption friction; teams could start for free, experience immediate value, and upgrade as usage scaled. Viral growth happened organically: one team invited another, templates spread, and integrations became sticky.

• Important points: Deep integrations with developer tools, cloud storage, and enterprise apps turned Slack into an automation hub—reducing context switching and making workflows more efficient. Bots, workflows, and app ecosystems accelerated product dependence.

• Strategic moves: Slack invested heavily in developer APIs and a marketplace, betting the platform would be more valuable if third parties built on top of it. That ecosystem approach drove retention and enterprise adoption.

• Cultural impact: Slack’s tone—playful, human, and design-forward—helped it become part of company culture, not just infrastructure. The product’s UX made it cool to use and easy to evangelize internally.

Challenges and evolution

As Slack scaled, it faced competition from established players (Microsoft Teams) and the complexity of selling to large enterprises. It responded by beefing up security, compliance, admin controls, and enterprise pricing—shifting from a viral consumer-style product to trusted corporate infrastructure.

The $27B exit and legacy

Salesforce acquired Slack in a blockbuster deal around a $27 billion valuation, integrating it into a broader CRM and enterprise software strategy. Beyond the price tag, Slack changed how organizations communicate—popularizing channels, searchable history, and app-centric workflows—and proved that a team tool born out of necessity can become foundational to modern work.

Sources: TechCrunch, The Verge, Forbes, Reuters, CNBC, Wired

Stay Ahead – Explore Now! WOW STORY OF THE DAY: Fueling the Future: How Reliance Aims to Turn India into an AI Superpower