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How to build the next Trello and sell it for $425M or more

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Re: How to build the next Trello and sell it for $425M or more

#11

Post by omouse »

ProAm wrote: post #6
polysaturate wrote: post #2

This article was well written and surprisingly did give a plausible reason why Trello grew and was later acquired.

Trello grew because it was very KISS. The features were so-so but everyone could use it easily. Atlassian just purchased the bottom segment of the project market, the segment that would never use JIRA in a million years because of it's complexity.

Yep, they're consolidating the market and becoming a bigger monopoly. At almost every company, and especially the large ones, JIRA is the "tool" that is used.

I keep wondering whatever happened to all the other tools out there because everyone in corporate life has consolidated on this big complex tool. Maybe all other project and task management tools were too open/open source? Didn't feel enterprise-y enough for managers?

Re: How to build the next Trello and sell it for $425M or more

#12

Post by dgfgfdagasdfgfa »

tbirrell wrote: post #10
janlukacs wrote: post #7

I don't think the author used Jira. Stopped reading at "Trello created a cheaper, simpler, and smaller version of Jira."

I use Jira. Trello is a cheaper, simpler, and smaller version of Jira.

Sounds like you're using jira wrong.

I suppose you can encode anything onto index cards. This doesn't mean it's usable.

Re: How to build the next Trello and sell it for $425M or more

#13

Post by curun1r »

paulplug wrote: post #5

Obviously I wouldn't look at this as a recipe for success, but the author does provide some pretty interesting insights. I do think that it is easy to look back at sparse events like acquisitions and try see patterns, whereas in fact there is a fair amount of luck, timing and personal connections involved in the acquisition game.

> I wouldn't look at this as a recipe for success

I think it is a recipe for success, but that doesn't mean it's easy. You can't just find a successful product that's overly complex and remove a bunch of features and succeed. You need to spend time understanding the market and the customers, figure out the sweet spot to aim for and then what features are actually necessary for that sweet spot and then ruthlessly say no to everything else. Many products have multiple sweet spots in the market and an up-market product can obscure the fact that there's another, more down-market product opportunity. Identifying that opportunity and then executing well is a pretty sure recipe for success, but it's really hard to do.

The people who should take heed of this advice are those who are less creative and visionary but are disciplined and skilled enough to build a quality product. There will always be product opportunities for people who can see 5-10 years out and either predict the future or lead people to their vision of the future. But that's not most people and there's no shame in admitting that. For those of us not in that visionary group, the strategy presented here is a pretty good alternative.

Re: How to build the next Trello and sell it for $425M or more

#14

Post by curun1r »

dgfgfdagasdfgfa wrote: post #12
tbirrell wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I use Jira. Trello is a cheaper, simpler, and smaller version of Jira.

Sounds like you're using jira wrong. I suppose you can encode anything onto index cards. This doesn't mean it's usable.

> Sounds like you're using jira wrong.

So are 90% of Jira's users. That's the point.

Re: How to build the next Trello and sell it for $425M or more

#16

Post by yokisan »

With SaaS, there's almost always room for better. Better to the value of $435m plus? Depends. But enough potential returns to make it worth the effort if you're able and willing.

Another thing Trello had going for it was a decent brand. It didn't (and doesn't) feel project management-y.

Ooh, nice colors. Aww, taco the mascot. And look, not 100 bells and whistles. This initial conditioning is super-valuable. I had the exact same feeling moving from Google docs to Quip (mentioned in the article).

Choosing to add more feeling instead of more features has benefits.

Re: How to build the next Trello and sell it for $425M or more

#19

Post by dollaholla »

curun1r wrote: post #14
dgfgfdagasdfgfa wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sounds like you're using jira wrong. I suppose you can encode anything onto index cards. This doesn't mean it's usable.

> Sounds like you're using jira wrong. So are 90% of Jira's users. That's the point.

Jira used correctly will triumph over Trello used correctly any day of the week. But for the lazy with simple needs, sure use Trello.

Re: How to build the next Trello and sell it for $425M or more

#20

Post by dgfgfdagasdfgfa »

dollaholla wrote: post #19
curun1r wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Sounds like you're using jira wrong. So are 90% of Jira's users. That's the point.

Jira used correctly will triumph over Trello used correctly any day of the week. But for the lazy with simple needs, sure use Trello.

Hmm, I can definitely see that. JIRA can be the slowest, awkward, non-intuitive piece of crap web app out there.
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