For a company created in 2017, ClickUp has enjoyed remarkable success in the project management space — one of the most competitive software markets in the world.

Let’s look at the numbers.

• Over 4 million users
• 85K paying customers
• $4B valuation for a private company
• $20M ARR within two years while bootstrapped

Here’s what ClickUp’s growth scorecard currently looks like.

You might begin to wonder, how did ClickUp manage to achieve all of this while competing with project management household names like Asana, monday.com, and Trello?

This analysis aims to share some of the key factors and strategies that allow ClickUp to continue to thrive in the project management red ocean. 

By the end of this analysis, you’ll have learned how ClickUp:

• Achieves natural product fit
• Executes a product-lead content strategy 
• Drives brand awareness through social media and videos
• Uses feedback to create a better product
• Handles shipping new features and bug fixes

Let’s begin.

Finding Natural Product-Market Fit

Smart founders know they can’t create a product without testing if a market is willing to pay for that product. 

That’d be like setting up a steak house in a vegan city. 

Sure, some folks will bite, but it’d definitely not be enough to sustain, never mind generate profit from the business. And that’s why achieving product-market fit is crucial.

In his book The Lean Product Playbook, Dan Olsen outlines a simple 6-step method for achieving product-market fit. Here’s how ClickUp ticks off each step.