

From 0 to $1B – Slack's Founder Shares Their Epic Launch Strategy - micaeloliveira
http://firstround.com/review/From-0-to-1B-Slacks-Founder-Shares-Their-Epic-Launch-Strategy/

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dang
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8954266](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8954266)

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soneca
It's hard to learn something from this stories. All started with a team
working a few months on something, before they had a prototype they could use
themselves; then a well connected founder who could convince some fairly
famous companies, with dozens of employees to use his prototype; then a famous
founder and a few other related people with enough notority so they could pull
a PR effort for a launch. And get 8,000 signups on the first day.

What could I possibly learn from a startup that got 8,000 signups on launch
day? I either have to pay $20,000 in ads for this or be incredibly lucky to
launch an inpredictable hit 2048-style.

So, fun to read, but no lessons learned here.

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withdavidli
tons of lessons here. everything from using your network instead of paying a
ton on ads, sign up strategy similar to what Google does for their beta
programs (invite only) but theirs was request and receive, learning how use
cases change with scale and population, pricing structure (selling to
enterprise as a whole vs. teams), power structure in decision making, and I
haven't even finished reading the article yet.

~~~
soneca
If I use my network instead of paying a ton on ads I would achieve, in most
optimistc scneario of great persuasion skills of mine, at the most, 100
signups in one day (I would convince a few colleagues, one small blogger, no
big press at all, much less someone's company to adopt my product). And every
other lesson begins with having a critical mass of traction.

Sounds like a blog on great advice on how to be a NBA player. May have a lot
of good advice, but all starts with being, at least, 6 ft 4 (1,95m) tall.

~~~
withdavidli
>much less someone's company to adopt my product

But that's where the nuance in pricing structure came into play. They didn't
need an entire company to adopt, just teams, and they understood the veto
power of the individuals and came up with ways to lower risk of veto.

I'm looking at this on a tatical level, more step by step that can be learned,
instead of the big picture traction gain / considering marketing 2 weeks
before a launch like they mentioned. So let's talk about this. The biggest
point I see in your statement is "your network". If you don't believe your
network is good enough, what are you doing to expand it? This goes back to the
old saying of "it's who you know", but a lot of people never take the next
step to know more people.

So what have you done to get to know more people that would be of help in
these situations?

As for the sports analogy, you don't look at the average to learn, you look at
the person that doesn't belong, any NBA players under 6ft 4 in you example and
how they can compete and excel.

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soneca
Sure, and Slack isn't the 6ft4 player, they are the 7". As I said, I don't
have anything to learn from this story.

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hayksaakian
This:

> These tweets are real, and they're the stuff of founders’ dreams. And yet
> Slack hasn’t run any big integrated marketing campaigns — they don't have an
> elaborate email strategy or buy million-dollar billboards. (In fact, they
> hit those user numbers without a CMO.) So how did the company not only
> launch with enviable momentum, but so quickly win users' hearts? If there’s
> one theme that emerges when founder Stewart Butterfield talks about Slack's
> success, it’s that the company made customer feedback the epicenter of its
> efforts.

Seems misleading, when the article turns to this:

> The big lesson here:Don't underestimate the power of traditional media when
> you launch. Itmustbe your primary concern, starting months beforehand and
> continuing for weeks afterward. Pull the strings you have. Work closely with
> your PR firm to find your hook. It can be personalities on your team,
> impressive customers you already have in the bag, prestigious investors,
> etc. But don't leave it to two weeks beforehand and throw something
> together.

