Tiny Speck created Slack after developing it as an internal tool for the game Glitch.
Tiny Speck was founded by Stewart Butterfield and worked on Glitch, a browser-based multiplayer game. During development, the team built an internal messaging system to communicate and share files. When Glitch closed in 2012, the company recognized that this workplace tool had stronger commercial potential than the game.
The product was first released under the name Slack in August 2013. Slack’s name came from “Searchable Log of All Conversation and Knowledge,” although the company generally presented Slack as a concise brand rather than emphasizing the backronym.
People sometimes confuse Tiny Speck with Ludicorp, Butterfield’s earlier company behind Flickr. Flickr was acquired by Yahoo in 2005, while Tiny Speck was the company that developed Glitch and later launched Slack.