Part 2 – How a Neglected Side Project Turned Into a Multi-Million Dollar Startup
Amir Salihefendic is the founder and CEO of Doist.io, the makers of Todoist, an online and mobile task management app. He started Todoist in 2007 when he was still a student with two programming jobs on the side. He needed a way to manage his own work and productivity but couldn’t find the right tool. So he decided to build his own tool. He didn’t see it as a startup and he didn’t have any big ambitions. It was just a tool.
Today, the company has over 4 million users and Todoist is also used by a number of Fortune 100 companies. And the tool that our guest built for himself has grown into a company with over 40 employees and several million dollars in annual revenue.
In this episode we talk about:
- Importance of finding the right distribution channels to reach the right users/customers
- Why Amir believes that building a minimum viable product (MVP) too quickly can be a bad idea
- How he manages his team of 40 people who all work remotely and have very few meetings
- How he manages his own day/priorities and some key lessons you can apply in your life
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Success Quote
- “One of the biggest and most important thing is having an important mission that you think helps other people or helps the world”
Book Recommendation
- “Jony Ive: The Genius Behind Apple's Greatest Products” by
Links, Resources & People Mentioned
- Doist.io
- Todoist
- Hacking and Gonzo
- Slack
- Rob Rawson – @RobertRawson