Written by: John Wu / Date: February 11 2022
ETEC522: Ventures in Learning Technologies (A1 Analyst Report)
Teacher: Dr. David Vogt
ETEC522: Ventures in Learning Technologies (A1 Analyst Report)
Teacher: Dr. David Vogt
Objective of A1 Analyst Report
This report is aimed to offer a reliable, impartial and independent analysis of Slack's current situation for prospective investors. The report should not be mistaken as an investors relation article or "infomercial" as the critical focus is to analyze, critique and learn from the research gathered to understand about emerging ventures in the Educational Technology market.
Various business analysis and strategic comparison frameworks are included to illustrate Slack's current market position in addition to offering feasible recommendations as to how Slack could leverage its advantages while addressing its shortcomings.
As a disclaimer, the author is not affiliated with Slack. All opinions are merely from the author's own professional opinions and research conducted online.
Slack at a glance: A quick overview
This report is aimed to offer a reliable, impartial and independent analysis of Slack's current situation for prospective investors. The report should not be mistaken as an investors relation article or "infomercial" as the critical focus is to analyze, critique and learn from the research gathered to understand about emerging ventures in the Educational Technology market.
Various business analysis and strategic comparison frameworks are included to illustrate Slack's current market position in addition to offering feasible recommendations as to how Slack could leverage its advantages while addressing its shortcomings.
As a disclaimer, the author is not affiliated with Slack. All opinions are merely from the author's own professional opinions and research conducted online.
Slack at a glance: A quick overview
Founders |
Stewart Butterfield, Eric Costello, Cal Henderson & Serguei Mourachov |
Chief Executive Officer |
Stewart Butterfield |
Slogan |
Work hard and go home |
Headquarters |
San Francisco, CA, USA |
Type of Corporation |
Public |
Year Founded |
2006 |
Revenue (as of 2020) |
$630 million USD |
Key Products and Services |
Business Communication |
Key Competitors |
Microsoft Teams, Google Workspace, Discord, Zoom |
Employees |
1,664 (as of 2019) |
Slack: Mission and Objectives
Slack is a proprietary business communication platform that seeks to link people to the information they need and emphasizes on efficient centralized messaging.
The product's primary objective is to connect teams together, unify systems and drive businesses processes. It creates opportunities for enabling people to learn and work as a team while transforming the way individuals communicate. Think of Slack as a workspace shared among all the members of an organization or educational institution.
Slack is a proprietary business communication platform that seeks to link people to the information they need and emphasizes on efficient centralized messaging.
The product's primary objective is to connect teams together, unify systems and drive businesses processes. It creates opportunities for enabling people to learn and work as a team while transforming the way individuals communicate. Think of Slack as a workspace shared among all the members of an organization or educational institution.
Timeline of Company Development
How Slack works
Workspaces essentially operate as your course, company or team’s central hub and are categorized into channels which functions as separate group chats with their own members and topics. For example, the teacher could have separate channels for class announcements, assignment submission and Q&A for students.
Channels allow participants to send a variety of content as they're designed to make communication between people seamless and replace many of the functions that email once dominated. There are also direct messages, which allows teachers to give comments, send assignment grades and users to chat with one or several people privately.
Overall, Slack has been remarkably consistent in delivering an engaging and easy-to-use platform, and have constantly updated their platform with huge amounts of functionality over the years.
Workspaces essentially operate as your course, company or team’s central hub and are categorized into channels which functions as separate group chats with their own members and topics. For example, the teacher could have separate channels for class announcements, assignment submission and Q&A for students.
Channels allow participants to send a variety of content as they're designed to make communication between people seamless and replace many of the functions that email once dominated. There are also direct messages, which allows teachers to give comments, send assignment grades and users to chat with one or several people privately.
Overall, Slack has been remarkably consistent in delivering an engaging and easy-to-use platform, and have constantly updated their platform with huge amounts of functionality over the years.
Is Slack free to use?
Slack is free to use as it’s commonly referred to as a “freemium” product. Anyone can start a workspace for free but additional features are locked behind a paywall.
Slack is free to use as it’s commonly referred to as a “freemium” product. Anyone can start a workspace for free but additional features are locked behind a paywall.