We Don’t Sell Saddles Here

Tiny Speck's July 31, 2013 internal memo, sent to the team behind Slack about two weeks before the Preview Release launch, argues that the company should sell organizational transformation rather than group chat software. The memo says Slack is a real innovation because it will shift how teams spend time, communicate and use their archives, and that most buyers are not shopping for a group chat system. It compares this to Acme Saddle Company selling horseback riding instead of saddles, and cites Lululemon, which sold yoga to build demand for yoga wear and reported just under $1.4 billion in yoga-specific athletic wear and accessories in its most recent fiscal year.