When It Clicked

Adobe and Google both wanted it. Bill Gates wanted it shut down. The “it” is Writely, the online word processor that would become Google Docs.

Today, Google Docs is ubiquitous, used by millions to draft and collaborate on documents in real-time. But back in 2005, co-authoring a document with others usually meant emailing versions back and forth. And not having a save button? That made users freak out. Yet this simple feature came to define what made Google Docs unique.

In this episode, host Ilana Strauss delves into why the founders of Writely initially turned down Google, the need to create a fake save button, and the “when it clicked” moment they discovered real-time collaboration was the feature that would define the software’s success.

You’ll hear from Claudia Carpenter , the creator of Writely and former tech lead for Google docs, Jennifer Mazzon, product lead at Evidation Health and former senior product manager at Google, and one of those early Writely users who helped define the product, Joe Burgess.

When It Clicked is an original podcast from ClickUp. For a transcript of this episode and other extras, check out When It Clicked - Writely

Heinz ketchup, Kylie Cosmetics, Gymshark. What’s the invisible thread that connects them all? Shopify.

Today, Shopify powers more than 1.7 million merchants with enough combined sales to make it the second largest online retailer in the U.S. Yet getting here meant making some unconventional choices, and betting on a future its customers—and even some of its employees—couldn't see.

In this episode, host Ilana Strauss uncovers the story behind Shopify’s decision to do more than build “websites with shopping carts,” and how it pioneered a new class of direct-to-consumer entrepreneurs by creating the tools merchants needed, before they knew they needed them.

You’ll hear from Craig Miller, who joined Shopify in 2011 as its first Chief Marketing Officer and later became Chief Product Officer, Brandon Weimer, the co-founder of Brandini Toffee and one of the first two hundred merchants to use Shopify, and Catherine Erdly, a retail analyst specializing in ecommerce.

When It Clicked is an original podcast from ClickUp. For a transcript of this episode and other extras, check out When It Clicked - Shopify.

Despite the rise of social media, SMS and countless collaboration tools, email remains a constant in most people’s lives. In the last year alone, it's estimated three hundred and twenty billion emails were sent and received worldwide (and that number is still growing). Yet as software, email hasn’t really changed in years. Who to CC and BCC has become its own form of workplace etiquette, and for people who rely on it during their day-to-day, email is often considered a time waster.

It was this frustration with email that led a French twenty-something to start Front – a software company dedicated to building a better inbox.

In this episode, host Ilana Strauss finds out why Front’s founders were so committed to tackling a tool many tech companies wanted to give up on, the path that led them to Silicon Valley, the health setbacks that forced them to re-think their company’s commitment to work-life balance, and how they discovered an untapped market of users.

You’ll hear from Front’s co-founder and CEO Mathilde Collin and head of product Nate Abbott, as well as Chris Schwass from Culture Amp, an employee engagement company that relies heavily on email to communicate with customers.

When It Clicked is an original podcast from ClickUp. For a transcript of this episode and other extras, check out When It Clicked - Front.

As much as business owners know the importance of hiring, they also know it means paperwork. Lots of it. Health insurance, taxes and payroll typically require separate software, while the hardware, security passwords, and applications employees need to do their job exist within their own set of systems. To top it all off, the HR industry as a whole has been slow to embrace technology, perpetuating these complex processes.

Parker Conrad struggled with these challenges himself when he founded his first company, SigFig, in 2007. After spending hours repeatedly faxing employee records at Kinko’s for every new hire, he knew the HR industry was ripe for a revamp.
In this episode, host Ilana Strauss finds out how this realization led him to start–and leave–Zenefits, why he spent nearly two years in his basement building a new product, and how it all led to the launch of Rippling in 2018, a company now valued at more than $6.5 billion.

You’ll hear from founder Parker Conrad about the struggle to launch his third start up, from Chief Marketing Officer Matt Epstein about the market gap for better HR software, and from HR consultant Joey Price, who explains why his industry has been slow to adopt technology.

When It Clicked is an original podcast from ClickUp. For a transcript of this episode and other extras, check out When It Clicked - Rippling.

Every business success story has a moment when everything hangs in the balance. Join host Ilana Strauss as she takes you behind the scenes to meet the people building the businesses and products you THINK you know to hear about the one moment when it all finally clicked.