The former founder of a to-do list app that sold for as much as $200 million is back nine years later with another app that does the same thing. Really? It's a hard story to make up, but it's a reality.
I don't think you can hold back talented founders. After selling his first startup, his Wunderlist of To Do List apps, to Microsoft in 2015, Christian Reber (pictured above) could have fought back with angel investment (for example, he is an investor in his Notion). Instead, he started a new company called Pitch, where he had to find a new CEO. But a long time ago, he decided he still needed to scratch the “to-do app” itch.
This week, he finally removed Superlist from beta. It's a smartphone and desktop app that takes the old Wunderlist's slick interface approach into his 21st century.
Now, before we explain why Reber decided to return to startups, let's talk about the basics of the app.
Superlist is a well-rounded to-do list app (spent 12 months in beta testing). Unusually, you can split your personal to-do list and share it with family, friends, and even. Colleagues (the latter point is key to what comes next). These to-dos and tasks can also be enhanced much more deeply than other apps of this type. Long notes, images, you name it, it's much more powerful than similar platforms.
There's also some pretty basic “AI” functionality that lets you turn unstructured emails and Slack messages into tasks and their content using other productivity tools like Gmail, Slack, GitHub, and Google Calendar. The minimal user interface is easy to use, but the important thing to remember is that Superlist is designed for teams. Create project lists and share them with your team to fill them with notes, files, tasks, images, and more. Pro accounts cost $8 per user per month, but a free account is actually sufficient for most users. people.
Sure, it's designed for individuals, but with an interface that allows you to easily switch between your personal and work spaces. Reber said that when surveying his Beta users, he found that most users were reluctant to use his company's tools “due to privacy concerns and usability issues.” Instead, he says, you're more likely to bring your personal to-do list to work and start using it there. In other words, Superlist has a “Trojan horse” strategy that uses people's personal task lists (including work lists) to infiltrate companies.
The company has an experienced founding team of Reber and Niklas Jansen (founder of Blinkist). The company has so far raised €13.5 million in funding from Cherry Ventures and EQT.
super list app
The key to all of this is Reber's belief that Superlist has room to fill between the apps it plans and those it lists. And there's no doubt he's pissed that Microsoft turned his baby into a pretty boring version of his original vision and then shut it down. Ironically, Superlist has no integration with Microsoft 365. Perhaps I should buy Superlist again?
This is an edited version of a conversation with Reber about what he plans to do.
level: “The long story is, we sold the company in 2015, and personally, as the founder and head of product, I felt like we weren't really getting the job done. is essentially a better to-do app that works for individual users and extends to teams. I wanted to build one because there are tools like Things and Reminders, which are tools that are often made for organizing your personal life, but they're not really about sharing or collaborating. You can’t bring it into the business world because you don’t have it.”
Tech Crunch: What about all the planning tools out there?
Reber: “There are tools in the business world like Asana, Monday.com, Basecamp, software that is optimized for project managers. But we did a lot of research and found that 75 We found that % don't use those tools. They're bought for the company, but people don't really enjoy using them. When we sold to Microsoft, Microsoft decided to incorporate that product into the Microsoft stack, but to be honest, this product just wasn't for me. I used it. I respect this work. But I didn’t really enjoy it.”
Tech Crunch: However, there were other note and task creation tools as well. What did you think was wrong?
Honestly, I believe this is a multi-billion dollar business opportunity…Everyone in the world uses lists to work
level: “Evernote was the first productivity app for individuals to take notes, jot down tasks, fill out business cards, etc. Then Notion (of which I was a seed investor) transformed the workspace into We've taken this to a whole new level with the ability to add team members who can collaborate on really simple types of documents. I love this company and it's grown into a $10 billion giant in the productivity space. I'm a power user of Notion. I use it in every project I'm a part of. But for me, someone built a successor to Evernote and it's a team-first app. I've always wondered why no one has built a successor to Wunderlist like this. Is there a collaborative to-do app that bridges the gap between personal and business life?”
“And I truly believe this is a multi-billion dollar business opportunity. I think it's a huge market. Everyone in the world should be able to leverage the list and improve themselves personally and professionally. As an angel investor, I tried to find companies that excited me, and then COVID-19 happened.”
Tech Crunch: Why did it take three years to build Superlist?
level: “It was a pain to actually understand what Superlist is and how to solve this problem. How can we make it great and unique without having to do it? So there was a lot of thought, a lot of iteration, and a little bit of conflict between the founders.”
Tech Crunch: Did you see an opportunity in the explosion of collaboration tools like Slack, Teams, and Notion?
level: “Apple Reminders is a very personal product. Asana is a very business-oriented product. We don't really know. But no one is addressing the real problem. What we've noticed is that people want flexibility. They also want to add long paragraphs to short supplements. You also need to add additional headings, add images to lists, attachments, PDFs, numbered lists, etc. What we've done wrong in the software world is that, for example, Evernote It was about notes. And that's still a problem. Lists are more than that.”
Tech Crunch: What will happen to the AI aspect?
level: “We're currently experimenting with a number of AI features, such as 'Create a due diligence list of new companies.' You might be able to ask Superlist to compile something and create a short summary for you.”
Tech Crunch: How do you see this becoming more than just a consumer app, but one that integrates with other business platforms?
level: “You can be part of multiple teams. You'll actually start using this product yourself, and then you'll bring your own software to your business. And you'll start organizing lists at work as well. And create That's the idea we have here, and the great part of the whole experience is that you can just turn off these teams and your work list disappears. If you're at work, you can disable your personal list. You don't have to switch between tons of different workspaces.”
Tech Crunch: It's a bit reminiscent of the Dropbox strategy where people use it in their personal lives because it was much easier than using something like a company intranet.
level: “Right. That's what we failed at with Wunderlist. We had tens of millions of users. All we were able to accomplish was build a better interface for managing shopping lists. But while some users at Fortune 500 companies were using it, no one paid for it. It was so messy that no one actually invited their teams. Just It didn't work. And I think that's the challenge we're trying to focus on. How can we bridge this? How can I plan my life and work and not be distracted by either? Can you make it so that it doesn't happen?”
Tech Crunch: Do you see this being picked up by Notion, Slack, Salesforce, or someone else on exit?
level: “It always sounds cheesy, but I don't want to start a company to sell it. I didn't want that with Wunderlist, so I hope with Superlist I can avoid that. , I learned the hard way that nothing lasts forever because it can be overwritten the next day, next month, next year. Also, do you want the opportunity to turn your co-founder shares into real money? You also have to consider the co-founders' votes, such as: There's always a way to solve this. But I don't want to sell this. I truly believe that superlists can become decacorns. Very carefully. If we just focus on our mission and not get caught up in a feature war with our competitors.”