Jason Citron’s first startup flopped.
His second startup flopped.
His third startup almost flopped, before becoming the $15 billion giant called Discord.
This is the wild story👇👇
His second startup flopped.
His third startup almost flopped, before becoming the $15 billion giant called Discord.
This is the wild story👇👇
Jason Citron loved playing games.
He nearly failed in college because he was playing World of Warcraft the whole time.
For their first date, he took his future wife to a game arcade.
He learned to code because he wanted to make games.
He nearly failed in college because he was playing World of Warcraft the whole time.
For their first date, he took his future wife to a game arcade.
He learned to code because he wanted to make games.
He was 23 years old when he launched his first game, Aurora Feint, on the Apple App Store on July 10 2008. It was among the first 500 apps on the App Store.
The game flopped. But Jason didn't give up.
He pivoted to a social network for gamers and called it OpenFient.
The game flopped. But Jason didn't give up.
He pivoted to a social network for gamers and called it OpenFient.
This was a hit! It became so popular that Japanese gaming giant GREE acquired it for $104 million.
For his next venture, Jason started building another game focused on tablets. His game, Fates Forever, released in 2014.
It flopped. But Jason didn't give up.
For his next venture, Jason started building another game focused on tablets. His game, Fates Forever, released in 2014.
It flopped. But Jason didn't give up.
He realized the game was shit, but the chat feature inside the game was good. So he shut down the game, and spent 6 months building the chat product.
He released the product in 2015 and called it: Discord.
He released the product in 2015 and called it: Discord.
Massive hit?
No. It also flopped.
After a few weeks, Discord had a grand total of 10-20 users, and they were all Jason’s friends😂
The problem was: Gamers weren’t using Discord because they had other options like Skype or Teamspeak.
No. It also flopped.
After a few weeks, Discord had a grand total of 10-20 users, and they were all Jason’s friends😂
The problem was: Gamers weren’t using Discord because they had other options like Skype or Teamspeak.
Jason realized he would have to make Discord 100x better than Skype to convince gamers to leave Skype and come to Discord.
So the team began working on the voice call tech: they completely rebuilt it 3 times in the first few months!
So the team began working on the voice call tech: they completely rebuilt it 3 times in the first few months!
Then, someone posted on reddit to try out this new app called Discord.
Bingo! A couple of hundred users came to Discord that day, and Discord was off to the moon!
In 2 years, Discord got to 45 million users, adding 1.1 million new users each week!!
Bingo! A couple of hundred users came to Discord that day, and Discord was off to the moon!
In 2 years, Discord got to 45 million users, adding 1.1 million new users each week!!
People couldn't believe Discord was free to use. They thought Discord was selling user data😂
So the team quickly built a Discord Store for games to stop the rumors.
But the store flopped after 4 months.
Finally, in Jan 2017, Discord introduced Nitro, a premium subscription🚀
So the team quickly built a Discord Store for games to stop the rumors.
But the store flopped after 4 months.
Finally, in Jan 2017, Discord introduced Nitro, a premium subscription🚀
Then one day, Jason read a news article about youtubers using Discord to connect with fans.
He was surprised. Why were non-gamers using a gaming app?
So Discord did a user survey.
Guess what? 30% users were NON-GAMERS!!
They used Discord for studying, book clubs, music clubs
He was surprised. Why were non-gamers using a gaming app?
So Discord did a user survey.
Guess what? 30% users were NON-GAMERS!!
They used Discord for studying, book clubs, music clubs
That's when Jason realized Discord was much bigger than he thought.
And he decided to pivot again.
In 2020, Discord transformed from a "chat app for gamers" to a "chat app for everyone".
And he decided to pivot again.
In 2020, Discord transformed from a "chat app for gamers" to a "chat app for everyone".
The result?
From 6 users -> 300 million users today
From $5M revenue in 2016, they are at $130M today!
Jason is so confident of Discord's magic that he refused a $12 billion acquisition offer from Microsoft🤯
And today, his company is sitting at a valuation of $15 billion🔥🔥
From 6 users -> 300 million users today
From $5M revenue in 2016, they are at $130M today!
Jason is so confident of Discord's magic that he refused a $12 billion acquisition offer from Microsoft🤯
And today, his company is sitting at a valuation of $15 billion🔥🔥
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