My time at Slack is coming to an end

This week, I shared the news that I am departing Slack. While it wasn’t easy, I am grateful for the support from my team and our customers.

I’d like to use this week’s newsletter as a chance to reflect briefly on my time at Slack.

Let’s dive in.

“They’re going to have to pry this job out of my hands to make me leave.”

I said something along those lines, to myself, when I first started at Slack. I knew how lucky I was to be there. Even four years in, I still think to myself, they hired me? (Everyone has imposter syndrome, folks!)

I remember the day in August 2021 when I received the email I was hoping for; an interview request from Slack.

I also very clearly remember telling myself, “Jacob, don’t screw this up.” At that time, I had no connection to anyone there, so I was a bit surprised that my application was flagged and that they saw some potential in me. I also had the best recruiter, Gina, which made the process even more enjoyable and smooth.

At the time I started the interview process, through to my start date in October 2025, Salesforce’s acquisition of Slack had just been finalized, making me one of the first hiring classes under the acquisition. That means my paperwork said, “Welcome to Salesforce.”

For about two years after my start date, I saw a little bit of what Slack was like pre-acquisition. But throughout that two years, it became clear to me that we were quickly becoming integrated with Salesforce. After all, I was now technically an employee of both companies.

I was initially brought to Slack to help build and grow the new online forums experience, which has now been integrated into the online Trailblazer Community experience. Day 3 or 4 on the job for me I think we launched the new forums to GA. Wild times! I loved it though; I prefer to dive right into something and get to work, no matter how new I am to the team. Beyond the forums, I also supported with some of the other program suite and different cross-functional efforts here and there.

In the Spring of 2023, I became a team of one, running all of Slack Community programs (down from a team of three when I first started). If there’s anything that teaches you to ruthlessly prioritize, it’s when you become a team of one, and on the most customer-facing team and function in the organization. It was a challenging time to be a team of one; those two years were packed, but at the end of the day, I enjoyed the work, so I prioritized our high impact opportunities and programs, and kept things moving.

During my time at Slack, I worked under 3 different CEOs (plus one interim, present day), 2 different CMOs, and 3 different managers. Despite the changes over time, I adapted and kept pushing, because, well, I had no other choice. There was one point I was reporting into the Brand team, and I have to say, that was a really fun time. It got me even more interested in brand marketing and how Community and Brand can work together in creative ways. I also had even deeper access to a team that is the best in the biz, as far as I’m concerned! Art Directors, designers, copywriters, brand marketers, brand strategists, everyone welcomed me with open arms.

The big highlight for me, after four years on the job (my longest tenure anywhere in my career), is getting the chance to work with our Community Leaders, Slack’s biggest advocates and superfans. They were the ones hosting user-led Slack events in their local cities, volunteering their time to do so. These people were my motivation everyday on the job. These were the people who we got to put on stage, at flagship Salesforce events, sharing their Slack product love, innovation, and best practices. These are the people who I decided to put front and center on our web properties across slack.com/community and slackcommunity.com, because the Slack Community needed to know the amazing people behind the meaningful work. These Community leaders made the community what it is today. I wouldn’t have been able to do a large fraction of the things I did in this job, without these leaders. Shoutout to all 80+ of you!

So back to the quote at the start of this article: “They’re going to have to pry this job out of my hands to make me leave.”

Well, they didn’t need to do that. I made the decision myself to leave. Why? Well, first, I was ready for a new challenge. Second, I am reminded that no matter how much you might love a job, you can still evolve into a space where you’re ready to start something new. And that’s what I have done. As cliche as it sounds, I have grown and evolved, and have realized that I can part ways with a job I love, have so much respect for the colleagues with whom I worked, and I can take on something new, fresh, and exciting. Everything can be true at once.

So, where am I going? It’s a new Community role and function, something I get to build from the ground up, which is what I was looking for. I want to build.

I’ll share more on Linkedin about where I’m going once we’re in the new year. For now, I am wrapping up my time at Slack over the next few days and reflecting on some of the most meaningful years of my career.

Thank you, Slack, Slack Community, every Slack user out there, everyone, for an incredible ride. 💜 

Thanks for reading and for being here. I don’t take for granted that you care what I have to say. Or even if you don’t care, and you’re still here; thanks for being a fan anyway. ❣️

All my links are here. Let’s connect!