Independent Slack Would Be Worth Billions Less Than Saleforce Paid

Julian Lehr's question sparked an interesting thought experiment: what if Slack had never sold to Salesforce and remained independent?

Jason Lemkin, a well-known expert in SaaS, weighed in on the topic, suggesting that an independent Slack would likely be trading at around $2.5B ARR (Annual Recurring Revenue) with 25% growth.

This assessment is based on Atlassian's revenue multiple, which is arguably the closest comp to Slack. According to Lemkin, an independent Slack would not have reached the same valuation as Salesforce paid ($27.7B), even adjusting for time and dilution.

Lemkin also argued that an independent Slack would likely remain a single product with an ecosystem bolted on, which is consistent with its founder-led strategy. The company's bundling approach has given away new products to defend existing seats, rather than raising revenue through expansion.