Welcome to the 13th edition of GrowthDeck! If you enjoy reading deep dives like this, please share it with your friends or colleagues who would appreciate it. Now, let's dive in!

If you have ever worked in a management or IT space, it is hard to not have heard about ClickUP - A productivity and project management software.

Project management has been an extremely cluttered space to build a business. Especially difficult for those without excessive capital. However, ClickUp revolutionized the whole game and continues to dominate the space.

Today, we'll take you through ClickUp's journey – how they broke into the competitive project management scene without a ton of money, and what strategies they used to become so successful. It's a pretty impressive story!

Journey of ClickUp

It all started in 2017 when Zeb Evans and Alex Yurkowski decided to solve a problem they had encountered while working on their previous startup, Mimri. They set out to create their own custom solution after becoming dissatisfied with the fragmented nature of existing productivity tools.

The initial goal was to streamline internal processes, but as word spread, it became clear that their project management tool had enormous potential.

After a life-altering event, Zeb decided to go all in into entrepreneurship. Using $2.5 million from previous ventures, Evans went all in on ClickUp's development and developed an initial version in just 6 months.

Their early focus on organic SEO tactics, targeting established productivity platforms, led to ClickUp gaining over 100,000 users in its initial three years.

Today, ClickUP is valued at around $4b with 4m+ users and more than 85,000 paying customers generating an annual revenue of more than $150m. As of 2023, ClickUp stands as one of the top leaders in the product management space.

Here is a picture from G2 on top project management and productivity tools for 2023 and ClickUp has managed to be among the leaders on the top-right corner.

Here is an image summarizing their entire journey.

Now that we know about their journey, let’s dive into some amazing growth drivers they used to grow.

📍1 - Leveraging the Halo Effect for Brand Amplification

The Halo Effect is a psychological phenomenon where a positive impression of one aspect of something influences how people feel about the overall entity.

In the context of business, it means that a strong positive trait or image associated with a brand can lead people to make positive assumptions about other aspects of the brand, even if they have little or no direct experience with it. ClickUp effectively harnessed the Halo Effect to amplify its brand's impact and reach.

ClickUp understood that strategic branding efforts could create a positive perception of their product and company as a whole. By investing in creative and unconventional marketing campaigns, such as out-of-home advertising like billboards and even a branded bus, ClickUp captured attention and stood out in a crowded market.

Cornell University conducted a study involving Facebook feeds, manipulating the amount of positive and negative content. The results revealed that exposure to more positive content led people to share more positive posts.

ClickUp applied a similar approach by creating positive, engaging, and inspiring content for their users.

Here is an example:

They have even aced the game when it comes to digital ads.

🦾 2 - Maintaining uniqueness in a competitive market and beating the competition

Project management is a very cluttered space and it’s extremely difficult to thrive in such a competitive market. ClickUp knew this from the beginning and they tried to tackle it from multiple angles:

• Breadth. They don't just provide one project management tool. Instead, they offer a range of products that work together seamlessly and complement each other.

  

• Flexibility. ClickUp products are incredibly flexible, much like Lego blocks. Users can tailor them to suit their specific needs, creating a completely customized platform experience.

• Pace of development. In terms of development speed, ClickUp embraces a "build fast, ship fast" approach. They even provide weekly release notes for their new features.

  

• Outstanding SEO techniques. They've recognized the influence of SEO and made the most of it to attract more attention. By publishing a daily blog, they're covering all bases in their customer journey:

  At the top of the funnel, they address broad customer concerns, from improving team meetings to enhancing communication.

  In the middle of the funnel, they create in-depth round-up posts, analyzing and endorsing the best project management tools available.

  At the bottom of the funnel, they directly showcase their product, demonstrating how a specific ClickUp template can boost productivity. This strategic approach covers all stages of customer engagement.

• Utilizing feedback loops. They put a strong emphasis on gathering user feedback, valuing it as a crucial part of their process. They weren't just open to suggestions; they actively sought it out through methods like user interviews and engaging with users on various forums. This proactive approach helped them refine and improve their offerings.

• Focusing on community engagement. EnClickUp's success story was greatly influenced by their strong focus on community engagement. They actively interacted with their community, seizing every opportunity to connect. Examples like their active presence on Twitter and engagement on platforms like r/clickup showcase this commitment. ClickUp serves as a powerful illustration of how community-driven growth can propel startups to remarkable success.

Apart from all these, there are multiple other things they did to stand out of the competition and emerge as a unique product like: integrating role-based AI, focusing on enterprise partnerships like with Zapier and Hubspot, establishing ClickUp University and running an Affiliate program.

⭕️ 3 - Strategic Hiring and Culture building

The importance of people cannot be overstated, and the founder of ClickUp recognized this early on. They were deliberate in their hiring process, seeking individuals who not only possessed the right skills but also aligned with the company's culture and mission. This emphasis on cultural fit ensured that the team was unified in their dedication to the company's vision, especially during challenging periods.

Zeb’s advice on back channelling, seeking insights from previous employers or colleagues of potential hires, was a valuable strategy. This approach provided a more comprehensive view of candidates, beyond what their resumes might suggest. It helped ClickUp avoid hiring missteps that could have been costly in terms of time and resources.

Here is a picture from Zeb’s journal regarding hiring

ClickUp's success can be attributed to several key pillars:

1. Harnessing the Halo Effect and ensuring customer satisfaction and engagement.

2. Making strategic hires.

3. Sustaining uniqueness.

4. Placing a strong emphasis on user feedback.

5. Leveraging the strength of community engagement.

6. Executing exceptional marketing campaigns.

7. Providing user education.

8. Making decisions based on data.

9. Prioritizing swift product development and deployment.

These pillars together formed the foundation for ClickUp's remarkable growth and success.

That’s all for today. This edition took us about 12 hours of effort. If you think your friends or colleagues would like this, please share this link with them. Thanks for reading and don’t be shy to leave a comment if you have any. Also, please consider following us on Twitter (Keval Jagani, Meet Shukla) and sharing this blog post.