Doist

Overview

Doist is a global, fully remote software company that builds productivity tools designed to foster a 'calmer' way of working. Its flagship products include Todoist, one of the world's most popular task managers, and Twist, an asynchronous communication platform for teams. Doist is known for its strict adherence to deep work and its refusal to take outside venture capital.

What it does

• Todoist: Manages personal and team tasks with natural language input and cross-platform sync.
• Twist: Provides threaded, asynchronous team messaging to eliminate real-time chat anxiety.
• Integration: Seamlessly connects task management with team communication to reduce context switching.
• AI: Recently introduced 'Todoist Ramble' for voice-to-task AI-powered capture.
• Workshops: Provides extensive educational resources on remote work and deep work methodologies.

Who it's for

• Individual professionals
• Distributed teams
• Remote-first companies
• SME Business Owners

Why it works

• Simplicity: Tools are designed to be powerful but extremely easy to adopt and use.
• Async Focus: Products actively discourage the 'always-on' culture of tools like Slack.
• Reliability: Operates as a profitable, independent business with a long-term focus (decades, not quarters).
• Cross-Platform: Available on every major OS and device with perfect synchronization.

Founder story

Founded in 2007 by Amir Salihefendic. Amir, then a stressed-out computer science student with multiple jobs, built Todoist to manage his own overwhelming workload. He grew the company organically from Chile, eventually building one of the first truly global, remote-first teams without ever taking VC funding.

Alternatives

• TickTick
• Any.do
• Microsoft To Do
• Slack (for Twist)

Comparison overview

• Slack: Twist is for asynchronous threads; Slack is for real-time chat.
• TickTick: Todoist is cleaner and more 'minimalist'; TickTick includes more features like Pomodoro timers and habits.
• Doist tools are the choice for users who want to be productive without being overwhelmed by notifications.