Ex Facebook CTO: Taking On Microsoft Office

When it comes to productivity software, not much has changed since Microsoft Office became the dominant platform back in the 1980s. The franchise still generates prodigious amounts of cash flows.

While the business represents a juicy opportunity for a tech disrupter, there are certainly challenges.  Perhaps the biggest is convincing millions of people to change their ingrained habits.

But for Bret Taylor -- the former CTO of Facebook -- he thinks this can be pulled off, so long as there is new thinking and a focus on being mobile first.  To this end, he and his co-founder, Kevin Gibbs (the creator of Google ’s Apps Engine), thought: With a blank slate, what's the best way to create a productivity suite?

The answer:  develop an app, called Quip, that integrates a word processor with messaging.

OK, the concept may not necessarily seem revolutionary. But then again, the key for Quip is a focus on making the user experience seamless. For example, everyone can edit the same version of the document at the same time and engage in real-time messaging, with the threads posted in an inbox on the home screen. “There is no need to bounce back and forth between a document and email,” said Bret.

Quip is also multiplatform, available on the desktop (through a browser), iPhone, Android and iPad. Oh, and if there is no network connection, the edits are saved offline and then are synced when the network returns. This can be a life saver for anyone who is a road warrior (which is means most entrepreneurs!)

Quip’s mobile-first approach also means taking a unique approach to the idea of the traditional document. “Software like Office has been optimized for the printed page,” said Bret. “But this is outmoded. So Quip is optimized for the screen size of your device.”

It seems almost too easy. But when it comes to rethinking something that has not changed in decades, this is what innovation is all about.

Now Quip is still in the early stages and does have competition, such as from Google and Evernote. But the app has already gained lots of traction and is highly reviewed on the app stores.  What's more, the company has snagged $15 million in venture capital, led by Benchmark Capital. In other words, Quip is definitely a worthy contender in the productivity space, which finally looks ripe for dramatic change.

Tom Taulli (@ttaulli) is an advisor of tech companies and author of books on venture capital, M&A and IPOs.