How the Founder of Slack & Flickr Turned Colossal Failures into Billion-dollar Companies

By considering the stories of these über-successful companies, we can find valuable lessons for anyone considering their own business pivot

Stewart Butterfield may not be a household name in the way Gates, Jobs, or Zuckenberg are. However, almost everyone in the tech industry has heard of Slack and Flikr. One is a messaging app. The other is a photo-sharing app.

One thing that they have in common—besides being co-founded by Butterfield—is that these multi-million to billion-dollar companies broke open a market that did not exist prior to their existence.

They were also the product of the ultimate company pivots. More specifically, they were born from failed video game ventures.

Lessons from Slack and Flickr

Switching courses is rarely easy. But by considering the paths of successful companies like Slack and Flickr, we can find valuable lessons for anyone considering their own business pivot.

Don’t be afraid of change

So you’ve heard of Flikr, but have you heard of Game Neverending?