MediaStorm
00:00/00:00
00:00/00:00

Stewart Butterfield has twice attempted to build a video game. Both times, he failed.

Out of those failures, Butterfield helped usher in and build two of the most important tools for their respective fields. Flickr, which was sold for somewhere between 22 and 25 million dollars to Yahoo!, reshaped our ability to upload and share photography on the web.

He developed his newest venture out of the frustration he felt when attempting to communicate with his co-workers. Together they developed a tool that would solve their internal communication problems. That tool became the massively popular, Slack.

Slack’s stunning growth over the last year has changed his company dramatically. His company grew from a team of 80 to over 200 in just one year.

But despite that growth and its recent $2.8 billion valuation, Butterfield does not subscribe to the idea that his company, or its product, is in anyway changing the world.

“It's hard for me to say that I feel like we're doing the world some huge favor,” said Butterfield.

“Internally we have this mission: To make people's work lives simpler, more pleasant, and more productive.

And we like that because it's like suitably modest.”

Published: November 4th, 2015

Credits

Commissioned by
A film by
Director & Executive Producer
Editor & Producer
Cinematography
Partnership Development
Kristina O’Neill | WSJ. Magazine
Editor in Chief
Magnus Berger | WSJ. Magazine
Creative Director
Jennifer Pastore | WSJ. Magazine
Photography Director

Related Links


Recognition

Pictures of the Year International

Year: 2016

Place: First

Category: Multimedia Photographer of the Year

NPPA's Best of Photojournalism

Year: 2016

Place: Third

Category: Feature Multimedia Package

NPPA's Best of Photojournalism

Year: 2016

Place: Third

Category: Multimedia Portfolio


Goal

The goal of this production was to make a short film about Canadian-born CEO & cofounder of Slack, Stewart Butterfield, for the Wall Street Journal Magazine’s fifth annual Innovator Awards.


The Challenge

Mr. Butterfield’s company provides low cost communication software to teams. While that may be exciting in use, it isn’t the most engaging topic for video. MediaStorm needed to develop a film that was as engaging to watch as it was informative.


The Solution

Editor and Producer, Tim McLaughlin, decided the film needed to open with a problem most everyone has dealt with; the amount of email we get in our inbox.

Opening with a problem that is eventually “solved” by Mr. Butterfield’s software creates a more personal connection between the subject and the viewer. It helps that Mr. Butterfield commiserates with the issue in a personal and humorous way. In order to visualize Mr. Butterfield’s narrative, MediaStorm used screen capture software to illustrate some of the frustrations Mr. Butterfield expressed with modern communication software.


The Results

The films were premiered at The Wall Street Journal Magazine’s fifth annual Innovator Awards on November 4, 2015 and were released online the following day.


About WSJ. Magazine

With five global editions spanning 62 countries, WSJ. Magazine—which publishes 12 issues a year—is The Wall Street Journal's luxury-lifestyle publication dedicated to the power and passions of the Journal's readership.


WSJ Magazine Innovator Awards films by MediaStorm

2018: John Legend

This year’s WSJ. Magazine 2018 Entertainment Innovator: John Legend became the first black man in history to become an “EGOT”–a winner of an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony Award.

2018: Ruth E. Carter

WSJ. Magazine 2018 Design Innovator: Ruth E. Carter, is an Academy Award nominee who has designed memorable costumes in film for over 30 years. Since her early iconic work with Spike Lee in films like Do the Right Thing, to her most recent work on the groundbreaking Ryan Coogler film …

2018: Phoebe Waller-Bridge

WSJ. Magazine 2018 TV Innovator: Phoebe-Waller Bridge is honored for her role creating exciting and unexpected shows that center around women.

2017: Reese Witherspoon

WSJ. Magazine 2017 Entertainment Innovator: Reese Witherspoon creates stories with women as heroes of their own journeys. In creating these films, she hopes to be part of a sea change in which women’s experiences are reflected on screen.

2017: Musical.ly

WSJ. Magazine 2017 Technology Innovator: Musical.ly, is an app that tweens use to create videos lip syncing to their favorite songs. It now has upwards of 90 million registered users, making it one of the world’s most popular apps.

2016: Es Devlin

Es Devlin has spent 20 years investigating some of the most important stagecraft of the last two decades. From Wagner to Beyonce, Devlin has created stage design that expands upon the core ideas of each performance regardless of genre.

2016: Tom Ford

After almost two decades in fashion, Tom Ford made the bold move into an entirely different creative career; Filmmaking. Ford has used his singular style and extensive knowledge of film to become one of the most talked about directors in Hollywood.

2016: Melinda Gates

With a focus on highly targeted campaigns backed by data tracking, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, with Melinda as co-chair, has established itself as the most powerful philanthropic organization in the world.

2015: Thomas Heatherwick

Thomas Heatherwick’s studio is located in London, just below a budget hotel. The space is littered with the tools of making. In this studio, and with these tools, some of the most spectacular designs of the last 20 years have been made.

2015: Karl Ove Knausgaard

Karl Ove Knausgaard is the celebrated author of a massive six-volume autobiography. But Knausgaard remains confused by the attention. This is a portrait of a man who has achieved massive success yet still considers himself unworthy.



Follow MediaStorm


Copyright 2025 MediaStorm, LLC | Terms & Conditions | Privacy | Contact

See more at MediaStorm