Commentary

Can Slack Outsmart Facebook?

Successful platforms, products, and operating systems can't exist in a vacuum. As Apple, Google, and Facebook figured out years ago, they’re only as strong as the ecosystems that developers build around them.

Taking a page from these tech titans, Slack Technologies is starting an $80 million venture fund to support the creation of apps and add-ons that complement its business-focused group-messaging service.

To that end, the fund has already has invested in Awesome -- a tool that organizes Slack activity -- along with a productivity software maker, and a toolkit for building chat bots.

Slack is financing more than half of the total fund, while the rest should come from its existing backers, including Accel Partners and Andreessen Horowitz. To further encourage a complementary ecosystem, Slack is also readying the release of an app directory to show users how they can integrate apps into their chat rooms. At last count, there were about 150 such applications.

It’s ideas like this that have made Slack a company to watch in the white hot mobile messaging space. Since the spring, the startup has more than doubled its daily active users to 2 million, and nearly tripled its subscriber base to about 570,000.

Standing apart from rival messaging services -- namely Facebook -- Slack has convinced subscribers to fork over monthly fees for premium features. Between its WhatsApp unit and Facebook Messenger, Facebook already dominates the mobile messaging space.

Complicating Slack’s expansion plans, however, Facebook also recently rolled out “Work Chat” -- a new messaging app designed specifically for business teams.

 

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