I still don't get how Slack got so popular when Hip Chat was already around doing basically the same thing. Both products have 3rd party integration and APIs. Slack still feels unfinished to me, so I don't think they beat Hip Chat on quality. The everyday experience of using both apps are essentially the same.<p>So my theory is that Slack has influential investors who succeeded in creating hype. Or maybe HipChat did something to screw themselves.