If the most successful startups are born from identifying a genuine problem in need of a solution, then Unthread’s origin story began in a rather unconventional place — a chaotic Slack conversation that illuminated inefficiencies hiding in plain sight. According to CEO and co‑founder Tom Bachant, the realization struck while he was observing the disordered landscape of Slack‑based support channels: hastily created threads where requests disappeared in a maze of direct messages, ad‑hoc tickets scattered across conversations, and virtually no structured way to analyze recurring pain points or understand the underlying issues slowing entire teams down.
Bachant recalls that pivotal moment with startling clarity. “The first step,” he explains, “was recognizing that Slack had essentially evolved into a kind of wild, unrestrained ecosystem — a powerful collaboration tool, yes, but also a chaotic beast that desperately needed better systems of accountability and traceability.” From there, he began to notice another crucial insight: much of the manual work performed within these threads — repetitive queries, routine reporting, or status updates — could easily be handled through automation. This revelation became the catalyst for a new venture, one that would reimagine how digital workplaces operate inside the chat tool so many businesses depend upon daily.
From those early insights, Unthread emerged as both a company and a technological philosophy. Built as a Slack‑native, AI‑powered support platform, Unthread specializes in intelligent bots that help organizations such as Intuit, Lemonade, and Automattic recover order from conversational disarray. Its essential mission is twofold: automatically resolve a large portion of common issues while escalating the more complex ones into structured support tickets for human review. Yet Unthread’s ambition extends far beyond merely crafting a polished Slackbot. Bachant and his lean, highly focused team have come to view their creation as a new archetype for understanding workplace inefficiency — a dynamic method for capturing, categorizing, and, crucially, preemptively addressing roadblocks before they spiral into full‑blown operational problems.
By the time Unthread reached finalist status as one of the Top 20 contenders in TechCrunch’s Startup Battlefield at Disrupt 2025, its vision had broadened considerably. The system isn’t limited to customer service teams; its technology often integrates seamlessly with established ticketing systems such as Jira or Zendesk, allowing continuity for organizations hesitant to overhaul existing infrastructure. Yet, just as frequently, Unthread replaces those platforms entirely. Its architecture’s flexibility enables customization across departments — from human resources and legal compliance to financial operations — essentially any domain where communication bottlenecks and information fragmentation threaten efficiency.
Once installed within a company’s internal communication network, Unthread functions like a vigilant observer. It continuously monitors the incoming flow of messages, identifies recurring issues, and translates that data into actionable insights. Over time, as these automated systems learn and evolve, they begin constructing a self‑sustaining knowledge base — a living repository of solutions that automatically updates as the company’s operations change. The foundation for this sophisticated orchestration lies in Unthread’s modern AI stack: advanced language models capable of interpreting nuanced human queries, managing workflows at scale, and adapting to the unique conversational culture of each organization it serves. Nonetheless, as Bachant emphasizes, while AI tools are integral, Unthread’s enduring value is also rooted in reintroducing order and clarity to a fundamental workplace necessity: the humble ticketing process, reimagined for the digital age of real‑time collaboration.
Reflecting on the company’s journey, Bachant describes it as a progression of hard‑earned lessons. His entrepreneurial career began shortly after college when he co‑founded Dashride, a ride‑sharing startup aimed at giving inebriated students a safe and reliable way home — a business concept that later caught the attention of Cruise, which acquired the company in 2018. Post‑acquisition, he ventured into yet another startup, this time focused on HR technology. Though that attempt proved less successful, it provided insights that helped refine his understanding of organizational challenges, ultimately leading him back to the communication problems he observed daily in Slack. Today, he leads a compact but agile team of about ten employees in New York, collectively dedicated to widening Unthread’s capabilities while carefully nurturing its client relationships.
For Bachant, longevity in the startup world stems from a relentless commitment to understanding the end users — the teams who rely on Unthread to make their work lives smoother. “We could only build a product this effective,” he explains, “because we were in constant, candid dialogue with our customers.” This ongoing feedback loop gave the team exceptional clarity about who their users are, what motivates them to adopt new tools, and what might cause them to move elsewhere. Those insights have informed nearly every critical decision in Unthread’s development roadmap, ensuring that technological sophistication never eclipses human usability.
Those eager to see Unthread’s innovation firsthand — and to explore dozens of other groundbreaking startups presenting their visions — will find the opportunity at TechCrunch Disrupt, taking place in San Francisco from October 27 to 29, 2025. The event will feature multiple stages filled with product demos, founder pitches, and expert panels discussing the next frontier of technology and entrepreneurship. For attendees, it represents a chance not only to learn directly from Unthread’s creators but also to witness a broader conversation about how AI is transforming the very fabric of workplace collaboration. Learn more and join the dialogue that could shape the next generation of digital productivity.
Sourse: https://techcrunch.com/2025/10/28/unthread-has-a-plan-for-cleaning-up-slack-and-will-show-off-its-tech-at-techcrunch-disrupt-2025/
