Not every idea turns out the way it was intended. Such was the case for this “Marvel.”
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| Ready to meet today’s “Marvel”? Keep reading below! Not every idea turns out the way it was intended. Such was the case for this “Marvel.” Not every venture turns out the way they were originally planned. Sometimes, the best products, offerings, or applications get created in the process of building something else. This was the case with popular messaging app Discord. The core idea behind the messaging platform was initially conceived during the development of a video game called “Fates Forever.” During the development stage of the video game, its creators found that it was hard to communicate with other players. As a result, they ended up creating Discord, a chat service that was user-friendly and intuitive to use. Discord was released to the public in 2015, and as of 2026, it enjoys over 200 million monthly users located in various parts of the world. While the messaging app’s creation occurred spontaneously, its success clearly wasn’t the product of luck nor spontaneity. To understand why Discord is so popular today, we need to know more about the people behind it. Today, we will put the spotlight on Jason Citron!
Citron is a game developer and entrepreneur best known as one of the co-founders of Discord. Before Discord, he founded OpenFeint, a mobile gaming social platform. After selling the latter, he established game development studio Hammer & Chisel and developed “Fates Forever.” “Fates Forever” did not become the product Citron’s team had hoped for. However, as mentioned above, it did help them come up with and create Discord. Why Discord Took Off in Popularity Discord was built not to just serve as a run-of-the-mill communications platform for gamers. Users could also create their own servers, invite friends to join, and interact with each other without any hassle. Doing all of these things only required a few clicks. In its early days, Citron and his team reached out to gamer communities and invited them to try Discord and provide feedback. Since then, Discord has grown beyond gaming. The communities building servers on the platform expanded to hobbyists, content creators, educators, musicians, fans, and even companies. Electronics giant Samsung, entertainment behemoth Netflix, and candy brand Mentos are among the companies that have official Discord servers. In short, Discord went from being a gamer-centric communications platform into a hub where communities catering to different interests and hobbies are hosted. It has even served as a pipeline through which businesses can reach out to their customers! Citron’s Playbook Discord, and by extension, Citron’s success, offers lessons that brands, visionaries, and professionals can emulate or learn from:
Success Isn’t A Straightforward Path The creation of Discord occurred by happenstance, and by being willing to pivot to that winning idea, Citron was able to create a platform used by millions. His story shows that sometimes, the most successful ventures don’t emerge out of scratch. Other times, they’re discovered by accident along the way. Hope you’ve found this week’s topic interesting and helpful. Stay tuned for next Monday’s Marketing Marvels! Imagine yourself attending a one-of-its-kind concert… Learn more about Travis Scott in next week’s article! |
Miles Everson
CEO of MBO Partners and former Global Advisory and Consulting CEO at PwC, Everson has worked with many of the world's largest and most prominent organizations, specializing in executive management. He helps companies balance growth, reduce risk, maximize return, and excel in strategic business priorities.
He is a sought-after public speaker and contributor and has been a case study for success from Harvard Business School.
Everson is a Certified Public Accountant, a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and Minnesota Society of Certified Public Accountants. He graduated from St. Cloud State University with a B.S. in Accounting.
