Stewart Butterfield: Difference between revisions

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'''Daniel Stewart Butterfield''' (born '''Dharma Jeremy Butterfield''' on March 21, 1973) is a Canadian billionaire businessman and entrepreneur who co-founded the photo-sharing website [[Flickr]] and later founded the workplace messaging platform [[Slack Technologies|Slack]]. Born in the rural community of Lund, British Columbia, Butterfield followed an unconventional path from a philosophy degree to the forefront of the technology industry, creating two of the most influential internet products of the early twenty-first century — both of which emerged as pivots from failed online game ventures. Flickr, which launched in 2004, transformed the way people shared photographs online and was acquired by [[Yahoo!]] in 2005. Slack, released in 2013, fundamentally changed workplace communication and grew into one of the fastest-growing enterprise software products in history before being acquired by [[Salesforce]] in 2021 for approximately $27.7 billion. Butterfield served as CEO of Slack from its founding through its integration into Salesforce. His career has been characterized by an ability to recognize and capitalize on unexpected opportunities, turning the byproducts of unsuccessful projects into category-defining products.<ref>{{cite web |title=Slack {{!}} Application, History, & Facts |url=https://www.britannica.com/technology/Slack |publisher=Encyclopedia Britannica |access-date=2026-02-24}}</ref>
'''Daniel Stewart Butterfield''' (born '''Dharma Jeremy Butterfield'''; March 21, 1973) is a Canadian billionaire businessman who co-founded the photo-sharing website [[Flickr]] and the workplace messaging application [[Slack Technologies|Slack]]. Born in the remote coastal community of Lund, British Columbia, Butterfield followed an unconventional path from a philosophy degree to the forefront of Silicon Valley's technology industry. What distinguishes his career is a recurring pattern: both Flickr and Slack emerged not as their originally intended products but as pivots from failed online game ventures, making Butterfield one of the technology world's most notable examples of productive failure leading to outsized success. Flickr, which he co-founded with Caterina Fake, became one of the defining platforms of the Web 2.0 era before its sale to Yahoo! in 2005. A decade later, Slack transformed workplace communication and grew into one of the fastest-growing enterprise software companies in history, culminating in its acquisition by Salesforce in 2021 for approximately $27.7 billion. Butterfield has been recognized by ''Time'' magazine in its Time 100 list, by ''MIT Technology Review'' as one of its top innovators under 35, and by ''Vanity Fair'' on its New Establishment List.<ref name="time100">{{cite web |title=Time 100 |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060502231929/http://www.time.com/time/2006/time100/ |publisher=Time |date=2006 |access-date=2026-02-24}}</ref><ref name="tr35">{{cite web |title=TR35 Profile |url=http://www.technologyreview.com/TR35/Profile.aspx?Cand=T&TRID=89 |publisher=MIT Technology Review |access-date=2026-02-24}}</ref><ref name="vanity">{{cite web |title=New Establishment List 2015 |url=http://www.vanityfair.com/news/photos/2015/09/new-establishment-list-2015 |work=Vanity Fair |date=2015-09 |access-date=2026-02-24}}</ref>


== Early Life ==
== Early Life ==


Stewart Butterfield was born on March 21, 1973, in Lund, British Columbia, a small, remote community on the [[Sunshine Coast (British Columbia)|Sunshine Coast]] of Canada. He was given the birth name Dharma Jeremy Butterfield. His early childhood was spent in a setting far removed from the technology hubs where he would later build his career. Butterfield grew up in modest circumstances in the rural Canadian landscape.<ref>{{cite web |title=Flickr founder makes it with arts degree |url=http://www.timescolonist.com/technology/Flickr+founder+makes+with+arts+degree/994924/story.html |work=Times Colonist |access-date=2026-02-24}}</ref>
Stewart Butterfield was born on March 21, 1973, in Lund, British Columbia, a small fishing and forestry community at the northern end of the Sunshine Coast on Canada's Pacific coast.<ref name="timescolonist">{{cite news |title=Flickr founder makes it with arts degree |url=http://www.timescolonist.com/technology/Flickr+founder+makes+with+arts+degree/994924/story.html |work=Times Colonist |access-date=2026-02-24}}</ref> He was given the birth name Dharma Jeremy Butterfield, later changing his first name to Daniel Stewart Butterfield. His upbringing in the remote British Columbia community informed his later approach to technology and communication. Despite the rural setting of his childhood, Butterfield developed an early interest in computers and the emerging possibilities of the internet.<ref name="incrise">{{cite web |title=Behind the Rise of Stewart Butterfield and Slack |url=http://www.inc.com/business-insider/behind-the-rise-of-stewart-butterfield-and-slack.html |publisher=Inc. |access-date=2026-02-24}}</ref>


Despite his rural upbringing, Butterfield developed an early interest in computers and technology. He later changed his first name from Dharma to Daniel Stewart, going by Stewart professionally throughout his career. His background in a small Canadian community, far from the venture capital networks and technology corridors of [[Silicon Valley]], gave him a perspective that would later influence his approach to product development and company culture.
Butterfield's background in a small Canadian community far removed from the technology centers of the United States made his eventual rise in Silicon Valley all the more distinctive. The trajectory from Lund to becoming one of the most prominent figures in enterprise software was shaped by an educational path that emphasized philosophy and the humanities rather than computer science or engineering — a background that would later influence the human-centered design philosophy behind both Flickr and Slack.<ref name="timescolonist" />


== Education ==
== Education ==


Butterfield pursued his undergraduate studies at the [[University of Victoria]] in British Columbia, where he studied philosophy rather than computer science or engineering — a choice that distinguished him from many of his peers in the technology industry. He has spoken publicly about the value of his liberal arts education in shaping his approach to technology and business. The analytical and critical thinking skills developed through the study of philosophy would later inform his approach to product design and company building.<ref>{{cite web |title=Flickr founder makes it with arts degree |url=http://www.timescolonist.com/technology/Flickr+founder+makes+with+arts+degree/994924/story.html |work=Times Colonist |access-date=2026-02-24}}</ref>
Butterfield attended the [[University of Victoria]] in British Columbia, where he studied philosophy rather than a technical discipline. He subsequently pursued graduate studies at [[Clare College, Cambridge]], in England.<ref name="timescolonist" /> His academic grounding in philosophy — with its emphasis on logic, communication, and the structure of human thought — has been cited as an influence on his approach to product design and business strategy. In interviews, Butterfield has discussed how his arts degree equipped him with analytical and communication skills that proved applicable in the technology industry, challenging the conventional assumption that successful tech entrepreneurs require formal training in computer science or engineering.<ref name="timescolonist" /><ref name="incwords">{{cite web |last=Bercovici |first=Jeff |title=Slack's Stewart Butterfield on Words |url=http://www.inc.com/jeff-bercovici/slack-stewart-butterfield-words.html |publisher=Inc. |access-date=2026-02-24}}</ref>
 
Following his undergraduate degree, Butterfield continued his academic studies at [[Clare College, Cambridge]], one of the constituent colleges of the [[University of Cambridge]] in England. His time at Cambridge further developed the intellectual framework that he would bring to the technology sector. Butterfield's educational background — rooted in the humanities rather than technical disciplines — became a notable aspect of his public profile, frequently cited in media coverage as evidence that success in the technology industry does not require a traditional computer science education.<ref>{{cite web |title=Flickr founder makes it with arts degree |url=http://www.timescolonist.com/technology/Flickr+founder+makes+with+arts+degree/994924/story.html |work=Times Colonist |access-date=2026-02-24}}</ref>


== Career ==
== Career ==
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=== Early Ventures and the Creation of Flickr ===
=== Early Ventures and the Creation of Flickr ===


Before founding Flickr, Butterfield was involved in the development of an online multiplayer game called '''Game Neverending'''. The game, which was being developed by the Vancouver-based company [[Ludicorp]], incorporated a photo-sharing feature as part of its broader gameplay mechanics. When the game itself failed to gain traction, Butterfield and his co-founders recognized that the photo-sharing component had significant potential as a standalone product. This pivot led directly to the creation of Flickr, which launched in February 2004.<ref>{{cite web |title=Slack {{!}} Application, History, & Facts |url=https://www.britannica.com/technology/Slack |publisher=Encyclopedia Britannica |access-date=2026-02-24}}</ref>
Butterfield's first major venture in the technology industry was Ludicorp, a Vancouver-based company he co-founded with Caterina Fake and Jason Classon. The company was originally developing an online multiplayer game called ''Game Neverending''. While the game itself did not achieve commercial viability, the team had built a photo-sharing tool as part of the game's infrastructure that allowed players to share images in real time. Recognizing the standalone potential of this feature, Butterfield and his team pivoted the company's focus to develop it into a full product. The result was [[Flickr]], which launched in February 2004.<ref name="incrise" />


Flickr quickly became one of the most popular photo-sharing platforms on the internet. At a time when digital photography was becoming mainstream and broadband internet connections were making it feasible for users to upload and share large image files, Flickr provided an intuitive platform that combined photo hosting with social networking features. Users could upload photos, organize them into albums, tag them with descriptive keywords, and share them with communities of like-minded photographers and enthusiasts. The platform was among the first major web applications to make extensive use of tagging — a feature that would become ubiquitous across social media platforms.
Flickr quickly became one of the most prominent platforms of the Web 2.0 era. The service pioneered several features that would become standard across social media, including tagging, community-driven content organization, and open APIs that allowed third-party developers to build on the platform. The site attracted a devoted community of photographers — both amateur and professional — and became one of the internet's most important repositories of user-generated photographic content.<ref name="incrise" />


The success of Flickr attracted the attention of major technology companies. In March 2005, [[Yahoo!]] acquired Ludicorp and Flickr in a deal that brought Butterfield and his team into one of the largest internet companies of the era. The acquisition made Butterfield a significant figure in the Web 2.0 movement — the wave of internet companies that emphasized user-generated content, social networking, and collaborative online experiences.<ref>{{cite web |title=Behind the Rise of Stewart Butterfield and Slack |url=http://www.inc.com/business-insider/behind-the-rise-of-stewart-butterfield-and-slack.html |work=Inc. |access-date=2026-02-24}}</ref>
In March 2005, Yahoo! acquired Ludicorp and Flickr in a deal that brought Butterfield and his team into the larger corporation. Butterfield served in various roles at Yahoo! following the acquisition. The sale of Flickr to Yahoo! was one of the notable acquisition deals of the mid-2000s Web 2.0 boom, and it established Butterfield's reputation as a successful entrepreneur and product developer.<ref name="bw">{{cite web |title=Best Leaders 2005 |url=http://images.businessweek.com/ss/05/12/bestleaders/source/19.htm |publisher=BusinessWeek |access-date=2026-02-24}}</ref>


Following the acquisition, Butterfield continued to work at Yahoo! for a period but eventually departed the company. His experience at Yahoo! — which struggled to maintain the innovative culture and rapid development pace that had characterized Flickr as an independent company — shaped his views on corporate culture, organizational communication, and the challenges that large companies face in fostering innovation.
=== Tiny Speck and Glitch ===


=== Glitch and Tiny Speck ===
After departing Yahoo!, Butterfield returned to the idea that had originally animated his career: online games. In 2009, he founded a new company called Tiny Speck, based in Vancouver and later San Francisco. The company set out to build ''Glitch'', a massively multiplayer online game that emphasized collaboration, creativity, and non-violent gameplay.<ref name="atd">{{cite web |title=Flickr Co-Founder Butterfield Talks About His New Game Start-Up Glitch |url=http://kara.allthingsd.com/20100823/flickr-co-founder-butterfield-talks-about-his-new-game-start-up-glitch/ |publisher=AllThingsD |date=2010-08-23 |access-date=2026-02-24}}</ref>


After leaving Yahoo!, Butterfield returned to the world of online gaming. In 2009, he founded a new company called [[Tiny Speck]] and began developing a massively multiplayer online game called '''Glitch'''. The game was notable for its whimsical aesthetic and its emphasis on collaboration and creativity over combat — a departure from the dominant models in the online gaming industry at the time.<ref>{{cite web |last=Swisher |first=Kara |title=Flickr Co-Founder Butterfield Talks About His New Game Start-Up Glitch |url=http://kara.allthingsd.com/20100823/flickr-co-founder-butterfield-talks-about-his-new-game-start-up-glitch/ |work=AllThingsD |access-date=2026-02-24}}</ref>
''Glitch'' was described as an unusual entry in the gaming landscape. Unlike the combat-oriented massively multiplayer games that dominated the market, ''Glitch'' encouraged players to cooperate, explore a whimsical world, and engage in creative activities. The game attracted a devoted but relatively small player base.<ref name="fastco">{{cite web |title=Can a Game That Wants You to Play Nice Become a Blockbuster? |url=http://www.fastcompany.com/1783127/can-a-game-that-wants-you-to-play-nice-become-a-blockbuster |publisher=Fast Company |access-date=2026-02-24}}</ref> ''Glitch'' launched publicly in September 2011 after an extended beta period.<ref name="vansun">{{cite news |title=Vancouver's Tiny Speck puts massively multiplayer game Glitch online |url=http://blogs.vancouversun.com/2011/09/27/vancouvers-tiny-speck-puts-massively-multiplayer-game-glitch-online/ |work=Vancouver Sun |date=2011-09-27 |access-date=2026-02-24}}</ref>


Glitch was described as a game that encouraged players to "play nice" rather than compete aggressively against one another. The game featured a world populated by imaginative creatures and environments, and players were encouraged to collaborate, explore, and build together rather than engage in the combat-oriented gameplay that defined most massively multiplayer online games.<ref>{{cite web |title=Can A Game That Wants You To Play Nice Become A Blockbuster? |url=http://www.fastcompany.com/1783127/can-a-game-that-wants-you-to-play-nice-become-a-blockbuster |work=Fast Company |access-date=2026-02-24}}</ref>
Despite critical interest, ''Glitch'' struggled to build a sustainable player base and was shut down in November 2012. In a gesture that reflected the collaborative ethos of the game itself, Tiny Speck released the game's art assets under a Creative Commons license, making them freely available for others to use and build upon.<ref name="polygon">{{cite news |title=Glitch developer shares assets under Creative Commons license |url=http://www.polygon.com/2013/1/24/3910730/glitch-developer-shares-assets-under-creative-commons-license |work=Polygon |date=2013-01-24 |access-date=2026-02-24}}</ref>


Tiny Speck was based in Vancouver, and the development of Glitch attracted attention from both the gaming press and the broader technology media.<ref>{{cite web |title=Vancouver's Tiny Speck puts massively multiplayer game Glitch online |url=http://blogs.vancouversun.com/2011/09/27/vancouvers-tiny-speck-puts-massively-multiplayer-game-glitch-online/ |work=Vancouver Sun |access-date=2026-02-24}}</ref> However, despite its creative ambition and positive critical reception, Glitch failed to attract a sufficiently large player base to be commercially viable. The game was shut down in November 2012. In a gesture that reflected Butterfield's collaborative ethos, Tiny Speck released the game's assets — including artwork, animations, and other creative materials — under a [[Creative Commons]] license, allowing other developers and artists to use them freely.<ref>{{cite web |title=Glitch developer shares assets under Creative Commons license |url=http://www.polygon.com/2013/1/24/3910730/glitch-developer-shares-assets-under-creative-commons-license |work=Polygon |date=2013-01-24 |access-date=2026-02-24}}</ref>
=== The Founding of Slack ===


=== Founding of Slack ===
The closure of ''Glitch'' marked the second time in Butterfield's career that a failed game project yielded an unexpected — and ultimately far more successful — byproduct. During the development of ''Glitch'', the Tiny Speck team had built an internal communication tool to coordinate their work across offices in Vancouver and San Francisco. This tool, which allowed real-time messaging organized into channels, proved so useful that the team recognized its potential as a standalone product.<ref name="cnet">{{cite news |title=Flickr founder plans to kill company e-mails with Slack |url=http://news.cnet.com/8301-1001_3-57598469-92/flickr-founder-plans-to-kill-company-e-mails-with-slack/ |work=CNET |access-date=2026-02-24}}</ref>


The failure of Glitch proved to be the catalyst for what would become Butterfield's most significant business achievement. During the development of Glitch, the Tiny Speck team had built an internal communication tool to coordinate their distributed workforce. This tool allowed team members to communicate in real time through organized channels, share files, and search through message archives. When Glitch was shut down, Butterfield and his team recognized — much as they had with Flickr years earlier — that a byproduct of their failed project had the potential to become a successful product in its own right.<ref>{{cite news |title=Flickr founder plans to kill company e-mails with Slack |url=http://news.cnet.com/8301-1001_3-57598469-92/flickr-founder-plans-to-kill-company-e-mails-with-slack/ |work=CNET |access-date=2026-02-24}}</ref>
Butterfield pivoted Tiny Speck to focus on developing this communication tool, which was named Slack — an acronym for "Searchable Log of All Communication and Knowledge." Slack launched in August 2013 as a preview release and quickly began attracting users among technology companies and startups.<ref name="cnet" /> The product was designed to reduce reliance on email within organizations by providing a more fluid, channel-based communication system that integrated with a wide range of third-party tools and services.


Butterfield pivoted Tiny Speck to focus on developing this internal communication tool into a commercial product. The result was '''Slack''', which stands for "Searchable Log of All Communication and Knowledge." Slack launched in August 2013 and grew at a remarkable pace. The platform organized workplace communication into channels — dedicated spaces for specific projects, teams, or topics — and integrated with a wide range of third-party applications and services. It offered features such as direct messaging, file sharing, and robust search functionality that made it easy for users to find information within their organization's message archive.<ref>{{cite web |title=Slack {{!}} Application, History, & Facts |url=https://www.britannica.com/technology/Slack |publisher=Encyclopedia Britannica |access-date=2026-02-24}}</ref>
Slack's growth was rapid by any measure in enterprise software. The platform attracted thousands of teams within months of its launch, and its user base expanded from technology startups to include major corporations, media organizations, government agencies, and nonprofits. Butterfield served as Chief Executive Officer of Slack Technologies, overseeing the company through multiple funding rounds that valued it at increasingly high levels.<ref name="inccompany">{{cite web |last=Bercovici |first=Jeff |title=Slack: Company of the Year 2015 |url=http://www.inc.com/magazine/201512/jeff-bercovici/slack-company-of-the-year-2015.html |publisher=Inc. |date=2015-12 |access-date=2026-02-24}}</ref>


The product resonated immediately with technology companies and startups, and its adoption spread rapidly to enterprises across industries. Slack's growth was fueled in part by a freemium business model that allowed teams to use the product for free with limited features, with paid tiers offering additional functionality for larger organizations. Within its first year of public availability, Slack had attracted hundreds of thousands of daily active users, making it one of the fastest-growing business applications in history.<ref>{{cite news |title=Slack: Company of the Year 2015 |url=http://www.inc.com/magazine/201512/jeff-bercovici/slack-company-of-the-year-2015.html |work=Inc. |access-date=2026-02-24}}</ref>
=== Slack's Growth and Public Offering ===


=== Growth of Slack and Leadership ===
Under Butterfield's leadership, Slack became one of the fastest-growing business applications in history. ''Inc.'' magazine named Slack its Company of the Year in 2015, citing the platform's explosive adoption rate and its potential to reshape workplace communication.<ref name="inccompany" /> The company's growth was fueled by a freemium business model that allowed teams to use a basic version of the product at no cost, with paid tiers offering additional features, storage, and administrative controls.


As CEO of Slack Technologies, Butterfield oversaw the company's rapid expansion from a small startup into a major enterprise software company. He was known for his attention to the product's design and user experience, as well as for cultivating a distinctive company culture. Butterfield emphasized the importance of clear, direct communication — values that were reflected both in the product itself and in the way the company was managed.<ref>{{cite news |title=Stewart Butterfield's Words |url=http://www.inc.com/jeff-bercovici/slack-stewart-butterfield-words.html |work=Inc. |access-date=2026-02-24}}</ref>
Slack went public in June 2019 through a direct listing on the New York Stock Exchange, an unconventional approach that bypassed the traditional initial public offering process. The direct listing reflected Butterfield's confidence in the company's brand recognition and the strength of its existing investor base. The company's reference price was set at $26 per share, and it opened trading significantly higher on its first day.


Under Butterfield's leadership, Slack Technologies raised significant venture capital funding and achieved a multi-billion dollar valuation. The company chose an unconventional path to the public markets, opting for a direct listing on the [[New York Stock Exchange]] in June 2019 rather than a traditional initial public offering. The direct listing allowed existing shareholders to sell their shares directly to the public without the company issuing new stock or using underwriters.
Butterfield articulated a distinctive management philosophy during Slack's growth period. In interviews, he emphasized the importance of clear communication, direct feedback, and a "perpetual desire to improve" among employees. He discussed the motivating potential of embarrassment as a driver of quality, noting that while it can push employees to do better work, it must be managed carefully to avoid counterproductive outcomes.<ref name="bi2025">{{cite news |title=Slack cofounder says embarrassment can be motivating — but it can also lead to employees papering the office |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/slack-stewart-butterfield-value-embarrassment-direct-criticism-employee-motivation-2025-11 |work=Business Insider |date=2025-11-23 |access-date=2026-02-24}}</ref> He has also been vocal about the problem of what he terms "fake work" in modern organizations — activities such as pre-meetings, excessive slide presentations, and other processes that create the appearance of productivity without generating meaningful results, arguing that even CEOs and directors are susceptible to this pattern and that it falls to managers to address it.<ref name="fortune2025">{{cite news |title=Slack cofounder says workers and CEOs can get stuck doing 'fake' work like pre-meetings and slide shows |url=https://fortune.com/2025/11/25/slack-cofounder-employees-bogged-down-fake-work-slams-slides-premeetings-hyperrealistic-work-life-activities/ |work=Fortune |date=2025-11-25 |access-date=2026-02-24}}</ref>
 
Butterfield's management philosophy included an emphasis on employee growth and accountability. In interviews, he has discussed the role of constructive embarrassment as a motivational tool, suggesting that employees should maintain a "perpetual desire to improve" and that managers should provide direct, honest feedback. He has also been vocal about the problem of "fake work" in corporate environments — activities such as excessive pre-meetings, slide show preparations, and other tasks that simulate productivity without contributing meaningfully to an organization's goals. Butterfield has argued that even senior executives, including CEOs and directors, can fall into patterns of performing such work, and that it is the responsibility of managers to ensure that their teams focus on genuinely productive activities.<ref>{{cite news |title=Slack cofounder says embarrassment can be motivating — but it can also lead to employees papering the office |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/slack-stewart-butterfield-value-embarrassment-direct-criticism-employee-motivation-2025-11 |work=Business Insider |date=2025-11-23 |access-date=2026-02-24}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Slack cofounder says workers and CEOs can get stuck doing 'fake' work like pre-meetings and slide shows |url=https://fortune.com/2025/11/25/slack-cofounder-employees-bogged-down-fake-work-slams-slides-premeetings-hyperrealistic-work-life-activities/ |work=Fortune |date=2025-11-25 |access-date=2026-02-24}}</ref>


=== Salesforce Acquisition and Departure ===
=== Salesforce Acquisition and Departure ===


In December 2020, [[Salesforce]] announced its acquisition of Slack Technologies in a deal valued at approximately $27.7 billion, one of the largest enterprise software acquisitions in history. The acquisition reflected the growing importance of workplace communication and collaboration tools, particularly in the context of the [[COVID-19 pandemic]], which had accelerated the adoption of remote work and digital communication platforms worldwide.<ref>{{cite web |title=Slack {{!}} Application, History, & Facts |url=https://www.britannica.com/technology/Slack |publisher=Encyclopedia Britannica |access-date=2026-02-24}}</ref>
In December 2020, Salesforce announced its acquisition of Slack Technologies in a deal valued at approximately $27.7 billion, one of the largest enterprise software acquisitions in history. The acquisition was completed in July 2021. Butterfield continued to lead Slack as CEO within Salesforce following the acquisition. He departed the company in January 2023, stepping down from his role as CEO of Slack.<ref name="britannica">{{cite web |title=Slack {{!}} Application, History, & Facts |url=https://www.britannica.com/technology/Slack |publisher=Encyclopedia Britannica |access-date=2026-02-24}}</ref>


Butterfield remained with Salesforce for a transitional period following the acquisition, helping to integrate Slack into Salesforce's broader suite of enterprise products. He eventually departed the company, stepping down from his role as CEO of Slack. His departure marked the end of his direct operational involvement with the company he had founded, though Slack continued to operate as a product within the Salesforce ecosystem.
The arc from Tiny Speck's internal tool to a $27.7 billion acquisition represented one of the most dramatic pivot-to-success stories in the history of the technology industry, and it cemented Butterfield's standing as a serial entrepreneur with a distinctive ability to recognize and develop valuable products from unexpected origins.


== Personal Life ==
== Personal Life ==


Butterfield married [[Jen Rubio]], co-founder and CEO of the luggage company [[Away (company)|Away]], in 2020. The couple welcomed a son in 2021. Butterfield has three children in total.<ref>{{cite news |title=Meet power couple Stewart Butterfield and Jen Rubio of Slack and Away fame |url=https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/entertainment/article/3296916/meet-silicon-valley-power-couple-stewart-butterfield-and-jen-rubio-he-co-founded-flickr-and-slack |work=South China Morning Post |date=2025-02-03 |access-date=2026-02-24}}</ref>
Butterfield was previously married to Caterina Fake, his co-founder at Flickr. The couple had a child together before their divorce.<ref name="gawker">{{cite web |title=Silicon Valley's Baby Boom |url=http://gawker.com/277694/silicon-valleys-baby-boom |publisher=Gawker |access-date=2026-02-24}}</ref>
 
Butterfield married Jen Rubio, co-founder and CEO of the luggage company Away, in 2020. The couple welcomed a son in 2021.<ref name="scmp">{{cite news |title=Meet power couple Stewart Butterfield and Jen Rubio of Slack and Away fame |url=https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/entertainment/article/3296916/meet-silicon-valley-power-couple-stewart-butterfield-and-jen-rubio-he-co-founded-flickr-and-slack |work=South China Morning Post |date=2025-02-03 |access-date=2026-02-24}}</ref> He has three children in total.


Butterfield and Rubio are notable art collectors. Their collection spans historical and twentieth-century works and has been featured in art publications. The couple served as co-chairs of the Aspen ArtCrush event, an annual fundraiser for the [[Aspen Art Museum]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Collector Jen Rubio's Flair for Juxtaposition |url=http://www.frieze.com/partner-content/sponsored/aspen-art-museum-jen-rubio-interview-2024 |work=Frieze |access-date=2026-02-24}}</ref>
Butterfield and Rubio are art collectors whose collection spans historical and 20th-century works. The couple have served as co-chairs of the Aspen ArtCrush event for the Aspen Art Museum.<ref name="frieze">{{cite web |title=Collector Jen Rubio's Flair for Juxtaposition |url=http://www.frieze.com/partner-content/sponsored/aspen-art-museum-jen-rubio-interview-2024 |publisher=Frieze |date=2025-07-11 |access-date=2026-02-24}}</ref> Their art collection is displayed prominently in their properties, including a historic home in Southampton, New York, which was designed by Jake Arnold and featured in ''Architectural Digest'' in 2025.<ref name="ad">{{cite news |title=At Collectors Jen Rubio and Stewart Butterfield's Historic Hamptons House, Art Finds a Home Indoors and Out |url=https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/jen-rubio-and-stewart-butterfield-hamptons-house-with-interiors-by-jake-arnold |work=Architectural Digest |date=2025-11-07 |access-date=2026-02-24}}</ref>


The couple have maintained a significant real estate portfolio. They own a historic home in Southampton, in the Hamptons, which was redesigned with the help of designer Jake Arnold and features art displayed both indoors and outdoors.<ref>{{cite news |title=At Collectors Jen Rubio and Stewart Butterfield's Historic Hamptons House, Art Finds a Home Indoors and Out |url=https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/jen-rubio-and-stewart-butterfield-hamptons-house-with-interiors-by-jake-arnold |work=Architectural Digest |date=2025-11-07 |access-date=2026-02-24}}</ref> They also own properties in the Tribeca neighborhood of Manhattan, including a townhouse and apartments connected by the notable Staple Street skybridge — an architectural oddity linking 9 Jay Street with an apartment at 67 Hudson Street. In late 2025, reports indicated that the sky bridge property was listed for sale.<ref>{{cite news |title=A Tech Power Couple Tires of Their Sky Bridge |url=https://www.curbed.com/article/slack-founder-stewart-butterfield-jen-rubio-tribeca-skybridge.html |work=Curbed |date=2025-11-17 |access-date=2026-02-24}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Staple Street skybridge is for sale…again |url=https://tribecacitizen.com/2025/11/18/staple-street-skybridge-is-for-sale-again/ |work=Tribeca Citizen |date=2025-11-18 |access-date=2026-02-24}}</ref>
The couple also own property in the Tribeca neighborhood of Manhattan, including apartments connected by the distinctive Staple Street skybridge, a covered pedestrian bridge linking buildings at 9 Jay Street and 67 Hudson Street. In 2025, the skybridge property was listed for sale.<ref name="curbed">{{cite news |title=A Tech Power Couple Tires of Their Sky Bridge |url=https://www.curbed.com/article/slack-founder-stewart-butterfield-jen-rubio-tribeca-skybridge.html |work=Curbed |date=2025-11-17 |access-date=2026-02-24}}</ref><ref name="tribcit">{{cite web |title=Staple Street skybridge is for sale…again |url=https://tribecacitizen.com/2025/11/18/staple-street-skybridge-is-for-sale-again/ |publisher=Tribeca Citizen |date=2025-11-18 |access-date=2026-02-24}}</ref>


== Recognition ==
== Recognition ==


Butterfield has received numerous awards and honors throughout his career for his contributions to the technology industry. In 2005, ''[[MIT Technology Review]]'' named him to its annual list of top innovators under the age of 35 (TR35), recognizing his work with Flickr and its impact on the way people share and organize photographs online.<ref>{{cite web |title=TR35: Stewart Butterfield |url=http://www.technologyreview.com/TR35/Profile.aspx?Cand=T&TRID=89 |work=MIT Technology Review |access-date=2026-02-24}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=TR35 2005 |url=http://www.technologyreview.com/tr35/?year=2005 |work=MIT Technology Review |access-date=2026-02-24}}</ref>
Butterfield has received numerous honors and accolades throughout his career. In 2005, ''MIT Technology Review'' named him to its TR35 list of top innovators under the age of 35, recognizing his work on Flickr and its impact on how people share and organize photographs online.<ref name="tr35" /><ref name="tr35list">{{cite web |title=TR35 2005 |url=http://www.technologyreview.com/tr35/?year=2005 |publisher=MIT Technology Review |access-date=2026-02-24}}</ref>


In 2005, ''[[BusinessWeek]]'' included Butterfield on its list of the best leaders, citing his role in building Flickr into a transformative internet product.<ref>{{cite web |title=Best Leaders 2005 |url=http://images.businessweek.com/ss/05/12/bestleaders/source/19.htm |work=BusinessWeek |access-date=2026-02-24}}</ref>
In 2005, ''BusinessWeek'' included Butterfield among its best leaders of the year.<ref name="bw" />


In 2006, ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' magazine named Butterfield to its annual [[Time 100]] list, which recognizes the most influential people in the world. The honor reflected the significant cultural impact of Flickr and the broader photo-sharing phenomenon it helped create.<ref>{{cite web |title=Time 100: 2006 |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060502231929/http://www.time.com/time/2006/time100/ |work=Time |access-date=2026-02-24}}</ref>
In 2006, ''Time'' magazine included Butterfield in its annual Time 100 list of the most influential people in the world, citing his role in creating Flickr and its influence on internet culture and the emerging social web.<ref name="time100" />


''[[Newsweek]]'' also profiled Butterfield as part of its coverage of influential technology figures.<ref>{{cite web |title=Newsweek Profile |url=http://www.newsweek.com/id/45976 |work=Newsweek |access-date=2026-02-24}}</ref>
''Newsweek'' also profiled Butterfield as part of its coverage of influential figures in technology.<ref name="newsweek">{{cite news |title=Newsweek profile |url=http://www.newsweek.com/id/45976 |work=Newsweek |access-date=2026-02-24}}</ref>


Following the success of Slack, Butterfield received additional recognition. In 2015, ''[[Vanity Fair (magazine)|Vanity Fair]]'' included him on its New Establishment List, which profiles influential figures in business, technology, and media.<ref>{{cite web |title=New Establishment List 2015 |url=http://www.vanityfair.com/news/photos/2015/09/new-establishment-list-2015 |work=Vanity Fair |access-date=2026-02-24}}</ref> That same year, ''[[Advertising Age]]'' named Butterfield to its Creativity 50 list, recognizing his influence on business communication and creative leadership.<ref>{{cite web |title=Creativity 50 2015: Stewart Butterfield |url=http://adage.com/article/special-report-creativity-50-2015/creativity-50-2015-stewart-butterfield/301779/ |work=Advertising Age |access-date=2026-02-24}}</ref> ''Inc.'' magazine named Slack its Company of the Year for 2015, with Butterfield featured prominently in the accompanying profile.<ref>{{cite news |title=Slack: Company of the Year 2015 |url=http://www.inc.com/magazine/201512/jeff-bercovici/slack-company-of-the-year-2015.html |work=Inc. |access-date=2026-02-24}}</ref>
Following Slack's rapid growth, Butterfield received a new wave of recognition. In 2015, ''Vanity Fair'' placed him on its New Establishment List, which highlights influential figures in business, technology, and media.<ref name="vanity" /> The same year, ''Ad Age'' named him to its Creativity 50 list for 2015, recognizing the innovative design and communication philosophy behind Slack.<ref name="adage">{{cite web |title=Creativity 50 2015: Stewart Butterfield |url=http://adage.com/article/special-report-creativity-50-2015/creativity-50-2015-stewart-butterfield/301779/ |publisher=Ad Age |date=2015 |access-date=2026-02-24}}</ref> ''Inc.'' magazine designated Slack as its Company of the Year for 2015, with Butterfield featured prominently in the magazine's coverage of the company's achievements.<ref name="inccompany" />


== Legacy ==
== Legacy ==


Stewart Butterfield's career is notable for a recurring pattern: the creation of successful products from the remnants of failed ones. Both Flickr and Slack emerged as pivots from online game projects that did not achieve commercial viability — Game Neverending and Glitch, respectively. This pattern has been widely discussed in business and technology media as an example of the importance of adaptability, the willingness to abandon failing projects, and the ability to recognize value in unexpected places.
Stewart Butterfield's career is notable for two defining characteristics: the repeated emergence of successful products from failed game ventures, and a persistent emphasis on human communication as the central challenge and opportunity in technology. Both Flickr and Slack originated as side projects or internal tools built during the development of online games that did not succeed commercially. This pattern — of the unintended product eclipsing the intended one — has made Butterfield a frequently cited example in discussions of entrepreneurial pivoting and the role of serendipity in innovation.


Flickr helped define the Web 2.0 era, popularizing concepts such as user tagging, social photo sharing, and community-driven content organization that became foundational elements of subsequent social media platforms. The platform demonstrated that user-generated content could be organized and made accessible at scale, influencing the development of services across the internet.
Flickr's contribution to the development of Web 2.0 was substantial. The platform helped establish user-generated content, social tagging, and community-based content organization as core features of the modern web. Its open API approach influenced a generation of web developers and shaped expectations about how internet platforms should interact with third-party services.


Slack's impact on workplace communication has been substantial. The platform challenged email as the default mode of business communication and introduced a channel-based messaging model that was adopted by millions of users worldwide. Slack's success helped spawn a broader category of workplace messaging and collaboration tools, and its influence on how organizations communicate persists even after its acquisition by Salesforce.<ref>{{cite web |title=Slack {{!}} Application, History, & Facts |url=https://www.britannica.com/technology/Slack |publisher=Encyclopedia Britannica |access-date=2026-02-24}}</ref>
Slack's impact on workplace communication has been profound. The platform popularized channel-based messaging as an alternative to email and established a new category of enterprise software. As of its acquisition by Salesforce, Slack had millions of daily active users across organizations of every size and type.<ref name="britannica" /> The messaging application model that Slack popularized has become a standard feature of the modern workplace, influencing competitors and reshaping how distributed teams communicate and collaborate.


Butterfield's educational background — a philosophy degree from the University of Victoria and studies at Cambridge — has been cited in media coverage as a counterpoint to the prevailing narrative that success in the technology industry requires a technical education. His career has served as a reference point in discussions about the value of liberal arts education in the technology sector.<ref>{{cite web |title=Flickr founder makes it with arts degree |url=http://www.timescolonist.com/technology/Flickr+founder+makes+with+arts+degree/994924/story.html |work=Times Colonist |access-date=2026-02-24}}</ref>
Butterfield's educational background in philosophy — rather than computer science or engineering — has been a recurring theme in media coverage of his career, often cited as evidence that humanities training can provide valuable skills for technology entrepreneurship.<ref name="timescolonist" /><ref name="incwords" /> His emphasis on language, clarity of communication, and the design of collaborative tools reflects an approach to technology development that foregrounds human interaction over technical infrastructure.


His decision to release the assets of Glitch under a Creative Commons license following that game's closure was seen as an act of generosity toward the developer and artist community, and the assets have been used in various independent projects in the years since.<ref>{{cite web |title=Glitch developer shares assets under Creative Commons license |url=http://www.polygon.com/2013/1/24/3910730/glitch-developer-shares-assets-under-creative-commons-license |work=Polygon |date=2013-01-24 |access-date=2026-02-24}}</ref>
The release of ''Glitch'''s art assets under Creative Commons also reflected a philosophical commitment to openness and shared creative resources that aligned with the broader open-source and Creative Commons movements in technology and culture.<ref name="polygon" />


== References ==
== References ==
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Stewart Butterfield
BornDharma Jeremy Butterfield
21 3, 1973
BirthplaceLund, British Columbia, Canada
NationalityCanadian
OccupationBusinessman, entrepreneur
Known forCo-founder of Flickr
Founder and former CEO of Slack
Children3

Daniel Stewart Butterfield (born Dharma Jeremy Butterfield; March 21, 1973) is a Canadian billionaire businessman who co-founded the photo-sharing website Flickr and the workplace messaging application Slack. Born in the remote coastal community of Lund, British Columbia, Butterfield followed an unconventional path from a philosophy degree to the forefront of Silicon Valley's technology industry. What distinguishes his career is a recurring pattern: both Flickr and Slack emerged not as their originally intended products but as pivots from failed online game ventures, making Butterfield one of the technology world's most notable examples of productive failure leading to outsized success. Flickr, which he co-founded with Caterina Fake, became one of the defining platforms of the Web 2.0 era before its sale to Yahoo! in 2005. A decade later, Slack transformed workplace communication and grew into one of the fastest-growing enterprise software companies in history, culminating in its acquisition by Salesforce in 2021 for approximately $27.7 billion. Butterfield has been recognized by Time magazine in its Time 100 list, by MIT Technology Review as one of its top innovators under 35, and by Vanity Fair on its New Establishment List.[1][2][3]

Early Life

Stewart Butterfield was born on March 21, 1973, in Lund, British Columbia, a small fishing and forestry community at the northern end of the Sunshine Coast on Canada's Pacific coast.[4] He was given the birth name Dharma Jeremy Butterfield, later changing his first name to Daniel Stewart Butterfield. His upbringing in the remote British Columbia community informed his later approach to technology and communication. Despite the rural setting of his childhood, Butterfield developed an early interest in computers and the emerging possibilities of the internet.[5]

Butterfield's background in a small Canadian community far removed from the technology centers of the United States made his eventual rise in Silicon Valley all the more distinctive. The trajectory from Lund to becoming one of the most prominent figures in enterprise software was shaped by an educational path that emphasized philosophy and the humanities rather than computer science or engineering — a background that would later influence the human-centered design philosophy behind both Flickr and Slack.[4]

Education

Butterfield attended the University of Victoria in British Columbia, where he studied philosophy rather than a technical discipline. He subsequently pursued graduate studies at Clare College, Cambridge, in England.[4] His academic grounding in philosophy — with its emphasis on logic, communication, and the structure of human thought — has been cited as an influence on his approach to product design and business strategy. In interviews, Butterfield has discussed how his arts degree equipped him with analytical and communication skills that proved applicable in the technology industry, challenging the conventional assumption that successful tech entrepreneurs require formal training in computer science or engineering.[4][6]

Career

Early Ventures and the Creation of Flickr

Butterfield's first major venture in the technology industry was Ludicorp, a Vancouver-based company he co-founded with Caterina Fake and Jason Classon. The company was originally developing an online multiplayer game called Game Neverending. While the game itself did not achieve commercial viability, the team had built a photo-sharing tool as part of the game's infrastructure that allowed players to share images in real time. Recognizing the standalone potential of this feature, Butterfield and his team pivoted the company's focus to develop it into a full product. The result was Flickr, which launched in February 2004.[5]

Flickr quickly became one of the most prominent platforms of the Web 2.0 era. The service pioneered several features that would become standard across social media, including tagging, community-driven content organization, and open APIs that allowed third-party developers to build on the platform. The site attracted a devoted community of photographers — both amateur and professional — and became one of the internet's most important repositories of user-generated photographic content.[5]

In March 2005, Yahoo! acquired Ludicorp and Flickr in a deal that brought Butterfield and his team into the larger corporation. Butterfield served in various roles at Yahoo! following the acquisition. The sale of Flickr to Yahoo! was one of the notable acquisition deals of the mid-2000s Web 2.0 boom, and it established Butterfield's reputation as a successful entrepreneur and product developer.[7]

Tiny Speck and Glitch

After departing Yahoo!, Butterfield returned to the idea that had originally animated his career: online games. In 2009, he founded a new company called Tiny Speck, based in Vancouver and later San Francisco. The company set out to build Glitch, a massively multiplayer online game that emphasized collaboration, creativity, and non-violent gameplay.[8]

Glitch was described as an unusual entry in the gaming landscape. Unlike the combat-oriented massively multiplayer games that dominated the market, Glitch encouraged players to cooperate, explore a whimsical world, and engage in creative activities. The game attracted a devoted but relatively small player base.[9] Glitch launched publicly in September 2011 after an extended beta period.[10]

Despite critical interest, Glitch struggled to build a sustainable player base and was shut down in November 2012. In a gesture that reflected the collaborative ethos of the game itself, Tiny Speck released the game's art assets under a Creative Commons license, making them freely available for others to use and build upon.[11]

The Founding of Slack

The closure of Glitch marked the second time in Butterfield's career that a failed game project yielded an unexpected — and ultimately far more successful — byproduct. During the development of Glitch, the Tiny Speck team had built an internal communication tool to coordinate their work across offices in Vancouver and San Francisco. This tool, which allowed real-time messaging organized into channels, proved so useful that the team recognized its potential as a standalone product.[12]

Butterfield pivoted Tiny Speck to focus on developing this communication tool, which was named Slack — an acronym for "Searchable Log of All Communication and Knowledge." Slack launched in August 2013 as a preview release and quickly began attracting users among technology companies and startups.[12] The product was designed to reduce reliance on email within organizations by providing a more fluid, channel-based communication system that integrated with a wide range of third-party tools and services.

Slack's growth was rapid by any measure in enterprise software. The platform attracted thousands of teams within months of its launch, and its user base expanded from technology startups to include major corporations, media organizations, government agencies, and nonprofits. Butterfield served as Chief Executive Officer of Slack Technologies, overseeing the company through multiple funding rounds that valued it at increasingly high levels.[13]

Slack's Growth and Public Offering

Under Butterfield's leadership, Slack became one of the fastest-growing business applications in history. Inc. magazine named Slack its Company of the Year in 2015, citing the platform's explosive adoption rate and its potential to reshape workplace communication.[13] The company's growth was fueled by a freemium business model that allowed teams to use a basic version of the product at no cost, with paid tiers offering additional features, storage, and administrative controls.

Slack went public in June 2019 through a direct listing on the New York Stock Exchange, an unconventional approach that bypassed the traditional initial public offering process. The direct listing reflected Butterfield's confidence in the company's brand recognition and the strength of its existing investor base. The company's reference price was set at $26 per share, and it opened trading significantly higher on its first day.

Butterfield articulated a distinctive management philosophy during Slack's growth period. In interviews, he emphasized the importance of clear communication, direct feedback, and a "perpetual desire to improve" among employees. He discussed the motivating potential of embarrassment as a driver of quality, noting that while it can push employees to do better work, it must be managed carefully to avoid counterproductive outcomes.[14] He has also been vocal about the problem of what he terms "fake work" in modern organizations — activities such as pre-meetings, excessive slide presentations, and other processes that create the appearance of productivity without generating meaningful results, arguing that even CEOs and directors are susceptible to this pattern and that it falls to managers to address it.[15]

Salesforce Acquisition and Departure

In December 2020, Salesforce announced its acquisition of Slack Technologies in a deal valued at approximately $27.7 billion, one of the largest enterprise software acquisitions in history. The acquisition was completed in July 2021. Butterfield continued to lead Slack as CEO within Salesforce following the acquisition. He departed the company in January 2023, stepping down from his role as CEO of Slack.[16]

The arc from Tiny Speck's internal tool to a $27.7 billion acquisition represented one of the most dramatic pivot-to-success stories in the history of the technology industry, and it cemented Butterfield's standing as a serial entrepreneur with a distinctive ability to recognize and develop valuable products from unexpected origins.

Personal Life

Butterfield was previously married to Caterina Fake, his co-founder at Flickr. The couple had a child together before their divorce.[17]

Butterfield married Jen Rubio, co-founder and CEO of the luggage company Away, in 2020. The couple welcomed a son in 2021.[18] He has three children in total.

Butterfield and Rubio are art collectors whose collection spans historical and 20th-century works. The couple have served as co-chairs of the Aspen ArtCrush event for the Aspen Art Museum.[19] Their art collection is displayed prominently in their properties, including a historic home in Southampton, New York, which was designed by Jake Arnold and featured in Architectural Digest in 2025.[20]

The couple also own property in the Tribeca neighborhood of Manhattan, including apartments connected by the distinctive Staple Street skybridge, a covered pedestrian bridge linking buildings at 9 Jay Street and 67 Hudson Street. In 2025, the skybridge property was listed for sale.[21][22]

Recognition

Butterfield has received numerous honors and accolades throughout his career. In 2005, MIT Technology Review named him to its TR35 list of top innovators under the age of 35, recognizing his work on Flickr and its impact on how people share and organize photographs online.[2][23]

In 2005, BusinessWeek included Butterfield among its best leaders of the year.[7]

In 2006, Time magazine included Butterfield in its annual Time 100 list of the most influential people in the world, citing his role in creating Flickr and its influence on internet culture and the emerging social web.[1]

Newsweek also profiled Butterfield as part of its coverage of influential figures in technology.[24]

Following Slack's rapid growth, Butterfield received a new wave of recognition. In 2015, Vanity Fair placed him on its New Establishment List, which highlights influential figures in business, technology, and media.[3] The same year, Ad Age named him to its Creativity 50 list for 2015, recognizing the innovative design and communication philosophy behind Slack.[25] Inc. magazine designated Slack as its Company of the Year for 2015, with Butterfield featured prominently in the magazine's coverage of the company's achievements.[13]

Legacy

Stewart Butterfield's career is notable for two defining characteristics: the repeated emergence of successful products from failed game ventures, and a persistent emphasis on human communication as the central challenge and opportunity in technology. Both Flickr and Slack originated as side projects or internal tools built during the development of online games that did not succeed commercially. This pattern — of the unintended product eclipsing the intended one — has made Butterfield a frequently cited example in discussions of entrepreneurial pivoting and the role of serendipity in innovation.

Flickr's contribution to the development of Web 2.0 was substantial. The platform helped establish user-generated content, social tagging, and community-based content organization as core features of the modern web. Its open API approach influenced a generation of web developers and shaped expectations about how internet platforms should interact with third-party services.

Slack's impact on workplace communication has been profound. The platform popularized channel-based messaging as an alternative to email and established a new category of enterprise software. As of its acquisition by Salesforce, Slack had millions of daily active users across organizations of every size and type.[16] The messaging application model that Slack popularized has become a standard feature of the modern workplace, influencing competitors and reshaping how distributed teams communicate and collaborate.

Butterfield's educational background in philosophy — rather than computer science or engineering — has been a recurring theme in media coverage of his career, often cited as evidence that humanities training can provide valuable skills for technology entrepreneurship.[4][6] His emphasis on language, clarity of communication, and the design of collaborative tools reflects an approach to technology development that foregrounds human interaction over technical infrastructure.

The release of Glitch's art assets under Creative Commons also reflected a philosophical commitment to openness and shared creative resources that aligned with the broader open-source and Creative Commons movements in technology and culture.[11]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Time 100".Time.2006.https://web.archive.org/web/20060502231929/http://www.time.com/time/2006/time100/.Retrieved 2026-02-24.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "TR35 Profile".MIT Technology Review.http://www.technologyreview.com/TR35/Profile.aspx?Cand=T&TRID=89.Retrieved 2026-02-24.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "New Establishment List 2015".Vanity Fair.2015-09.http://www.vanityfair.com/news/photos/2015/09/new-establishment-list-2015.Retrieved 2026-02-24.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 "Flickr founder makes it with arts degree".Times Colonist.http://www.timescolonist.com/technology/Flickr+founder+makes+with+arts+degree/994924/story.html.Retrieved 2026-02-24.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 "Behind the Rise of Stewart Butterfield and Slack".Inc..http://www.inc.com/business-insider/behind-the-rise-of-stewart-butterfield-and-slack.html.Retrieved 2026-02-24.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 BercoviciJeffJeff"Slack's Stewart Butterfield on Words".Inc..http://www.inc.com/jeff-bercovici/slack-stewart-butterfield-words.html.Retrieved 2026-02-24.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 "Best Leaders 2005".BusinessWeek.http://images.businessweek.com/ss/05/12/bestleaders/source/19.htm.Retrieved 2026-02-24.
  8. ↑ "Flickr Co-Founder Butterfield Talks About His New Game Start-Up Glitch".AllThingsD.2010-08-23.http://kara.allthingsd.com/20100823/flickr-co-founder-butterfield-talks-about-his-new-game-start-up-glitch/.Retrieved 2026-02-24.
  9. ↑ "Can a Game That Wants You to Play Nice Become a Blockbuster?".Fast Company.http://www.fastcompany.com/1783127/can-a-game-that-wants-you-to-play-nice-become-a-blockbuster.Retrieved 2026-02-24.
  10. ↑ "Vancouver's Tiny Speck puts massively multiplayer game Glitch online".Vancouver Sun.2011-09-27.http://blogs.vancouversun.com/2011/09/27/vancouvers-tiny-speck-puts-massively-multiplayer-game-glitch-online/.Retrieved 2026-02-24.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 "Glitch developer shares assets under Creative Commons license".Polygon.2013-01-24.http://www.polygon.com/2013/1/24/3910730/glitch-developer-shares-assets-under-creative-commons-license.Retrieved 2026-02-24.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 "Flickr founder plans to kill company e-mails with Slack".CNET.http://news.cnet.com/8301-1001_3-57598469-92/flickr-founder-plans-to-kill-company-e-mails-with-slack/.Retrieved 2026-02-24.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 BercoviciJeffJeff"Slack: Company of the Year 2015".Inc..2015-12.http://www.inc.com/magazine/201512/jeff-bercovici/slack-company-of-the-year-2015.html.Retrieved 2026-02-24.
  14. ↑ "Slack cofounder says embarrassment can be motivating — but it can also lead to employees papering the office".Business Insider.2025-11-23.https://www.businessinsider.com/slack-stewart-butterfield-value-embarrassment-direct-criticism-employee-motivation-2025-11.Retrieved 2026-02-24.
  15. ↑ "Slack cofounder says workers and CEOs can get stuck doing 'fake' work like pre-meetings and slide shows".Fortune.2025-11-25.https://fortune.com/2025/11/25/slack-cofounder-employees-bogged-down-fake-work-slams-slides-premeetings-hyperrealistic-work-life-activities/.Retrieved 2026-02-24.
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 "Slack | Application, History, & Facts".Encyclopedia Britannica.https://www.britannica.com/technology/Slack.Retrieved 2026-02-24.
  17. ↑ "Silicon Valley's Baby Boom".Gawker.http://gawker.com/277694/silicon-valleys-baby-boom.Retrieved 2026-02-24.
  18. ↑ "Meet power couple Stewart Butterfield and Jen Rubio of Slack and Away fame".South China Morning Post.2025-02-03.https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/entertainment/article/3296916/meet-silicon-valley-power-couple-stewart-butterfield-and-jen-rubio-he-co-founded-flickr-and-slack.Retrieved 2026-02-24.
  19. ↑ "Collector Jen Rubio's Flair for Juxtaposition".Frieze.2025-07-11.http://www.frieze.com/partner-content/sponsored/aspen-art-museum-jen-rubio-interview-2024.Retrieved 2026-02-24.
  20. ↑ "At Collectors Jen Rubio and Stewart Butterfield's Historic Hamptons House, Art Finds a Home Indoors and Out".Architectural Digest.2025-11-07.https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/jen-rubio-and-stewart-butterfield-hamptons-house-with-interiors-by-jake-arnold.Retrieved 2026-02-24.
  21. ↑ "A Tech Power Couple Tires of Their Sky Bridge".Curbed.2025-11-17.https://www.curbed.com/article/slack-founder-stewart-butterfield-jen-rubio-tribeca-skybridge.html.Retrieved 2026-02-24.
  22. ↑ "Staple Street skybridge is for sale…again".Tribeca Citizen.2025-11-18.https://tribecacitizen.com/2025/11/18/staple-street-skybridge-is-for-sale-again/.Retrieved 2026-02-24.
  23. ↑ "TR35 2005".MIT Technology Review.http://www.technologyreview.com/tr35/?year=2005.Retrieved 2026-02-24.
  24. ↑ "Newsweek profile".Newsweek.http://www.newsweek.com/id/45976.Retrieved 2026-02-24.
  25. ↑ "Creativity 50 2015: Stewart Butterfield".Ad Age.2015.http://adage.com/article/special-report-creativity-50-2015/creativity-50-2015-stewart-butterfield/301779/.Retrieved 2026-02-24.

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