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Slack Platform Launch

slackhq.com

11–20 of 226 posts

Re: Slack Platform Launch

#11
post #7

Does anyone know how you can apply for a Slack Fund grant? I'd love to create a Browserling integration. Browserling (www.browserling.com) is a live interactive cross-browser testing service and this integration would let you embed a live browser directly in Slack. Use case: Let's say a user reports a bug in IE10 on Windows 7 in your webapp. You just use `/browserling windows7 ie10 URL` command in Slack and that will…

You can email them slackfund@slack.com

Re: Slack Platform Launch

#12
post #7

Does anyone know how you can apply for a Slack Fund grant? I'd love to create a Browserling integration. Browserling (www.browserling.com) is a live interactive cross-browser testing service and this integration would let you embed a live browser directly in Slack. Use case: Let's say a user reports a bug in IE10 on Windows 7 in your webapp. You just use `/browserling windows7 ie10 URL` command in Slack and that will…

You can email them slackfund@slack.com

Awesome, thanks!

Re: Slack Platform Launch

#13
post #2

I feel like the world has lost it's mind slightly. When a 2 year old startup launches an $80m fund. I mean I understand they want to be a platform and can see the strength in funding projects that will empower a platform model but still. This is the point at which I think we're really in a boom heading in that bubble direction, and I was never one to fall in to the trap of calling it a bubble before. Love slack, love…

Slack makes a ton of money and it is unimaginable to me (and many others) that it's not going to be a massive force. It has been a revelation to literally every entrepreneur I know - and I'm from Virginia not SV (although I recently moved to NYC - same deal).

Now that it has established itself beyond almost any doubt, its INVESTORS have established an $80M bet around those who make the company a core component of their strategy. Slack, which has very low burn, seems to have contributed to this fund but we can safely assume it was a small amount (if at all).

This is a sign of strength. We're still creating transformational companies with real revenue models, and these companies often facilitate other great companies. Tech is strong - valuations may be wrong one way or another, but tech is a great place to deploy capital.

Re: Slack Platform Launch

#14

I'm sorry, I've scoffed at other valuations and investments, but I'm just completely beside myself. Why does a chat room need "apps"? It's kind of weird actually. There's two sorts of people that defend these announcements, I've found: The first thinks that they are going to build an "amazing" platform some day and that they'll follow this model for "growing revenue". So of course they defend it. And then there's the…

Have you ever even USED Slack? The apps are amazing, it's 50% of why people use Slack. There have been apps since I've known about it which has been almost since it launched.

Re: Slack Platform Launch

#15
post #4

Please guys, no. Don't build your startup on top of another platform. Remember Facebook? Remember Twitter? That 80M is a farce by the VCs that actually re-contributes back into Slack, not so much for you.

Agreed. Read my other comments on this thread and you'd think I'm a super Slack fan, but be wary - other people's platforms when they're this young are opportunities but you don't know what the next few years bring.

ON THE OTHER HAND: Twitter and Facebook make money on ads, and that's what caused them to change course. Salesforce apps are still a huge business and that's closer to Twitter/FB than Slack.

Re: Slack Platform Launch

#16
post #2

I feel like the world has lost it's mind slightly. When a 2 year old startup launches an $80m fund. I mean I understand they want to be a platform and can see the strength in funding projects that will empower a platform model but still. This is the point at which I think we're really in a boom heading in that bubble direction, and I was never one to fall in to the trap of calling it a bubble before. Love slack, love…

That's the difference from being just a tool, or a platform. The former is easy to copy and replace, the latter goes in monopoly position once you have an ecosystem around you (see Salesforce, Facebook).

$80M is the price they have to pay to go in monopoly position as soon as possible and become a platform.

Re: Slack Platform Launch

#17
post #4

Please guys, no. Don't build your startup on top of another platform. Remember Facebook? Remember Twitter? That 80M is a farce by the VCs that actually re-contributes back into Slack, not so much for you.

It depends, if having a slack integration will benefit your business and theirs and they are willing to help fund it, seems like a win win.

Of course you are correct that you would never want to bet your business on their platform.

Re: Slack Platform Launch

#18

I'm sorry, I've scoffed at other valuations and investments, but I'm just completely beside myself. Why does a chat room need "apps"? It's kind of weird actually. There's two sorts of people that defend these announcements, I've found: The first thinks that they are going to build an "amazing" platform some day and that they'll follow this model for "growing revenue". So of course they defend it. And then there's the…

Have you ever even USED Slack? The apps are amazing, it's 50% of why people use Slack. There have been apps since I've known about it which has been almost since it launched.

50% that's a stretch.

Useful, yes, 1/2 of interactions, questionable.

Re: Slack Platform Launch

#19
post #17
post #4

Please guys, no. Don't build your startup on top of another platform. Remember Facebook? Remember Twitter? That 80M is a farce by the VCs that actually re-contributes back into Slack, not so much for you.

It depends, if having a slack integration will benefit your business and theirs and they are willing to help fund it, seems like a win win. Of course you are correct that you would never want to bet your business on their platform.

Until they are in your business also...

Re: Slack Platform Launch

#20
post #2

I feel like the world has lost it's mind slightly. When a 2 year old startup launches an $80m fund. I mean I understand they want to be a platform and can see the strength in funding projects that will empower a platform model but still. This is the point at which I think we're really in a boom heading in that bubble direction, and I was never one to fall in to the trap of calling it a bubble before. Love slack, love…

I think it's a fantastic idea, but I struggle to comprehend how they can possibly think that $80 million is an appropriate amount of money for such a venture.
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