Year One: A Recap
We started last year without even an MVP. We ended it with 60,000 users. Here's how we did it — step by step — and where we're headed next.
We pushed through the New Year holidays and shipped the first MVP on January 15th. At that point we had 200 users, most of them friends and acquaintances. By May 9th we had 20,000. By year's end — 60,000.
Let's break down what drove that growth.
THE IDEA = VIRAL GROWTH
The first and most important reason: the idea was ripe.
It's like an avocado — too early and it's inedible, too late and it goes in the bin.
Our users were already living in Telegram, discussing everything there — but then switching to other apps to log tasks, set deadlines, and schedule meetings. Those other apps need updates, separate logins, team invites, and so on.
Compare that to other task managers, which still proudly announce on their homepages:"You can discuss tasks right inside our app!"Great, guys. Except it's 2025, and nobody wants to jump between apps just to ask:"Can you get this done by Friday?"
People already do everything in Telegram — from ordering cat food to setting corporate strategy. And honestly, many of us have been using Telegram as a semi-official office for years. We just don't admit it.
We took what was right there in plain sight and built directly into the conversation itself. No friction — we just made Telegram a task manager too. No new behavior to learn, no unfamiliar interface, no forgotten passwords for yet another service. (I'm 45 and I don't always remember where I parked my car, let alone a login from 2021.) Zero friction. Maximum value.
Our users were already ready for UTasks — they didn't need it explained. They got it in two clicks.
Adding UTasks to any shared Telegram chat takes literally two steps. You get a shared project, and you can immediately assign tasks and schedule meetings right there. Even a grandma could do it. If she had a team and a deadline.
We gave you what you needed, exactly where you needed it.
And then — classic virality: one person adds it to a chat → assigns a task → a colleague notices → adds it to their chat → and it spreads from there.
The viral pull of the idea exceeded our expectations, and it's a big part of why we have the user base we do today.
THE TEAM = SPEED
The second reason: the team.
There are eight of us. If that sounds small — try getting even three colleagues to sync up on a Friday evening call. We don't just sync up, we genuinely read each other without having to spell things out.
We'd already worked together for a long time — battle-tested by bugs, deadlines, and a broken coffee machine.
This isn't just a team. It's probably the first truly teal organization I've ever managed to build — no rigid hierarchy, no bureaucratic processes, no reporting chains. Just a shared mission, mutual trust, and a response speed that would make some VC-backed startups envious.
Of course there were moments when things stalled — we hit walls, rolled back, started over. But more often than not, we shipped fast, following your feedback in near real time.
That's its own form of virality — just internal.
USERS = FEEDBACK
Now — a round of applause for you.
Yes, you. Our users were the secret weapon all year. Without you, we'd have gone off in the wrong direction — building features for their own sake, or worse, redesigning things just to chase trends.
Today, any software can be cloned in a couple of months. Code? We can replicate it. UI? Let's be honest — everyone's in Figma, and all those design systems start looking the same.
But a genuine, living relationship with the people who use your product every day? You can't copy that. It's our most valuable asset.
You wrote to us, and we read everything. Really everything. Even at 2:47 in the morning.
"Could you add this?"— and a few days later it was in production.
"This doesn't work."— and a few hours later we were up fixing it.
As a result, we kept shipping features, and you kept deepening your trust and engagement.
Because of you, we were able to turn in the right direction — sometimes before the market did. That's what real partnership looks like: not just clicking, but actually shaping the product.
If UTasks feels smart, flexible, and alive — it's because it grew on your feedback. We just listened closely and built fast.
MARKETING WITHOUT THE NOISE
We never shouted*"Download now!"*— and that worked.
Beyond the organic growth, we did add some fuel to the fire with paid promotion — but without aggression or blunt banner ads.
Here's how it looked: we used Telegram Ads to quietly test the channels we were interested in. We ran small experiments and watched the response. If a channel engaged with genuine interest — no yawns — we'd reach out to the admin and negotiate a native placement.
No "INSTALL NOW» energy. Just a calm, natural pitch:"Here's a handy app for assigning tasks right inside your chat. Yes, right here."And people went:"Hm. That makes sense. Where were you when I was stacking sticky notes on top of sticky notes?"*
We didn't try to out-shout anyone. We just talked to the people who actually needed it. As it turns out, that works better than any animated banner.
WHAT WE BUILT
Here's a quick rundown of the key features we shipped:
Multiple assignees per task
File attachments
Task history and comments — with a full viewer, clickable links, and batched change events
Recurring tasks
Task priorities and statuses
Spaces for grouping projects
A short command for creating tasks by text in chat, without opening the app
Inline tasks — assign tasks directly to any Telegram user without a shared group
Project-wide task visibility settings
Flexible notifications by date and deadline
Native calendar integration
Multiple UI overhauls — a clean, compact task card and a large, comfortable calendar view
Home screen shortcut for UTasks
Support for 4 languages: Russian, English, Spanish, and Persian
Full UTasks documentation in Russian and English
YEAR ONE: WHAT WE BUILT AND WHERE WE'RE GOING
Let's be straight — we got a lot done in year one.
We built a product that doesn't just exist — it's actually needed. We grew the feature set without drowning in bloat; simplicity is still our north star. And we figured out who our users are and how to reach them — spoiler: no caps lock, no pop-ups.
Was it perfect? No. We missed things, under-delivered on others, and some things should have shipped sooner and better. But that's how good teams work — what matters is that we owned the mistakes, didn't sweep them under the rug, and are already fixing them.
What's next? In the next post, I'll be honest about where we fell short and what we're rebuilding — stay tuned.
And if you haven't tried UTasks yet — well, there's never been a better time. It only takes two clicks.
We built it for you.
Denis, December 2024