![]() In three to four years, I realise an exit is a great strategy, it’s something that makes sense and for everyone involved, and I’m gonna do it. I’m giving it one more try.” Given he’s building a competitor to a Microsoft product, could he sell once more to the Redmond giant? “I’m not naive. Of course, I was happy about the financial outcome of an exit, but I also kind of felt like I failed personally with what I wanted to accomplish. ![]() “My goal as a German founder is to build something like Atlassian and Slack and Zoom in Berlin,” Reber said. “I’m not mad about it – if I asked myself whether I’d fund myself inside an organisation, I would say no.” He added that he and other Wunderlist staffers had been “sad” to leave the product, and that he still provides technical advice on the new To-Do app, which hasn’t been as well received among users. I tried to build a product inside the organisation, but I didn’t get funding. If I had been in Redmond, it would have been no problem at all… But in Berlin, nothing was in place, so I felt very alone and disconnected. He said: “I explored a few ideas, even other acquisitions… but I think Microsoft didn’t have the processes in place to handle a product founder in Berlin. ![]() He agreed with internal executives to try and build something else entirely new, but inside Microsoft. ![]() “I realised that I’m not a project manager, I’m not someone who can lead a project inside a huge organisation, it’s not my core strength,” said Reber. Trying to integrate Wunderlist was “really challenging,” so the team decided to build something new, called To-Do. After joining Microsoft, Reber said, he had worked on integrating Wunderlist into Microsoft’s services, such as Outlook and Office. He won’t confirm the price tag, but said he had always aspired to build a globally successful company, such as Slack. Reber is wistful when he talks about selling Wunderlist to Microsoft. See also Indian Gaming Industry Displays Huge Market Potential Reber’s goal is to build a multibillion-dollar company like Slack Pitch has a good pedigree, with several Wunderlist alumni on its staff including branding boss Jan Martin, and developer Misha Karpenko. It’s also suitable for kids to use for their homework, Reber said. It comes with lots of templates for different scenarios, such as board meeting, investor pitch, and internal company report. Whatever you’re building, Microsoft probably has a product somehow connected to the space.” Pitch’s pitch is that it’s a more simple and intuitive than PowerPoint or perhaps even Apple’s Keynote. “Microsoft has products in every category. “Right now, no one at Microsoft is scared because of us, everyone has been wishing us good luck,” he added. But eventually, he wanted to see where Pitch went. Reber said he was originally reluctant to pursue a concept that competed so directly with Microsoft, not least because it’s tough to take on any of the tech giants. “It wasn’t our goal to build something Microsoft already built, we’re grateful for what happened ,” Reber told Business Insider. In a call on Tuesday, Reber told Business Insider that there’s “no bad blood” with Microsoft, but acknowledged the irony of his new startup Pitch taking on a familiar Microsoft product: Presentation builder PowerPoint. He quit Microsoft in late 2017, saying that it had been difficult to integrate the app into Microsoft’s services. Reber is the man who sold Wunderlist, a much-loved productivity app, to Microsoft for up to $200 million in 2015. The raise is interesting on several levels. The Series A round was led by Index Ventures and BlueYard, with new investors Slack Fund, Zoom’s chief executive Eric Yuan, and other high-profile angels joining the funding. He said there’s no bad blood with the firm, and that he still gives technical help to Microsoft from time to time.Ĭhristian Reber, the founder behind productivity app Wunderlist, has raised $19 million for his new presentation startup Pitch.Reber quit in late 2017 after difficulties integrating Wunderlist into Microsoft’s suite of products.Reber was previously chief executive of Wunderlist, a popular productivity app that sold for up to $200 million to Microsoft in 2015.Berlin founder Christian Reber has raised the cash from Index Ventures and other backers for Pitch, a presentation software startup that will rival Microsoft PowerPoint.A founder who sold his last startup to Microsoft has raised $19 million for a new company… that competes directly with Microsoft.
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