Doist Inc.

Is Todoist a publicly traded company?
No, Todoist is developed by Doist, a privately held company. Doist is not listed on any public stock exchange. The company has never raised venture capital funding, apart from a $40,000 grant from Start-Up Chile in 2011. It remains under the ownership and control of its founder, Amir Salihefendic.

Who owns Todoist?
Todoist is owned and operated by Doist Inc., which was founded by Amir Salihefendic in 2007. The company is privately held and bootstrapped. Salihefendic is the CEO and majority owner. The company has stated that it has no plans to sell or be acquired.

How many users does Todoist have?
Todoist has over 50 million users globally as of May 2026. Amir Salihefendic discussed this milestone at the Podim Conference in May 2026. The app is available on iOS, Android, Web, macOS, Windows, and Linux, and is consistently ranked among the top productivity applications.

Is Doist profitable?
Yes, Doist is bootstrapped and has been profitable for most of its history. The company generates revenue through subscription fees from premium tiers of Todoist and Twist. GetLatka estimates annual revenue at approximately $11.2 million as of 2025, though Doist does not publicly disclose financial figures. The company has stated that it has no investors and no plans to raise capital.

Where is Doist headquartered?
Doist is registered in Palo Alto, California, United States. However, the company operates fully remotely and has no physical office. Its approximately 100 employees are distributed across 39 countries. The company has been remote-first since 2010, predating the widespread adoption of remote work.

What products does Doist make?
Doist makes two products: Todoist, a task management app with over 50 million users, and Twist, an asynchronous team communication platform. Todoist offers free, Pro, and Business tiers. Twist offers a free tier and a paid tier. Both products are available across major desktop and mobile platforms.

How does Doist compete without venture capital?
Doist competes by focusing on product quality, simplicity, and long-term sustainability. The company's remote-first model keeps costs low. Its bootstrapped status forces discipline in hiring and product decisions. Salihefendic has stated that constraints lead to better decisions, and that the company never pursued blitzscaling or rapid hiring. Doist's 50 million users demonstrate that a bootstrapped company can compete with venture-backed competitors in the productivity software market.

Amir Salihefendic founded Doist in 2007. He had never held a traditional job working for others before starting the company. His parents ran a business, and he observed the stress and pressure of entrepreneurship from an early age. Despite this, he chose to build his own company because he valued independence and the ability to make decisions.

Todoist began as a personal project. Salihefendic wanted a simple task management tool that could handle the complexity of modern work and personal life. He launched the first version of Todoist as a web-based task manager. The app gained traction among productivity enthusiasts through word-of-mouth and organic growth.

In 2010, Doist adopted a remote-first operating model. The company never established a traditional office. Instead, Salihefendic built a distributed team that now spans 39 countries. This approach predates the widespread shift to remote work that occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic by a decade.

In 2011, Doist received a $40,000 grant from Start-Up Chile, a startup accelerator program. This remains the company's only external funding. Salihefendic has stated that he received a venture capital offer of approximately $500,000 around the same time, but declined it because the investor expected him to be replaced as CEO. He has said that if he had taken that path, he likely would not still be leading the company.

In 2016, Doist launched Twist, an asynchronous team communication platform. Twist was designed as an alternative to real-time chat applications like Slack and Microsoft Teams. The app focuses on threaded, asynchronous communication to reduce interruptions and support focused work. Twist has a smaller user base than Todoist but serves users who prefer structured, non-real-time communication.

Throughout the late 2010s and early 2020s, Todoist grew its user base from approximately 5 million in 2017 to over 30 million by 2023 and over 50 million by May 2026. The app has been consistently ranked among the top productivity applications on iOS, Android, and desktop platforms. Salihefendic discussed the company's growth at the Podim Conference in May 2026, where he described reaching 50 million users without investment.

Doist has remained independent throughout its history. The company has stated that it has no plans to sell or be acquired. Goncalo Silva serves as Chief Technology Officer. The company's leadership philosophy emphasizes trust, autonomy, and the absence of employee surveillance or time tracking.

Doist does not publish formal sustainability reports or environmental, social, and governance (ESG) disclosures. The company does not have B Corp certification or other independently verifiable sustainability certifications. Its sustainabilityFlags are empty because there are no certifications to report.

The company's main ethical claims relate to its labor practices and data privacy policies. Doist operates without employee surveillance or time tracking, which it positions as an ethical stance against workplace monitoring. The company complies with GDPR and holds SOC 2 Type I certification for data security. These are compliance standards rather than sustainability certifications.

Doist's remote-first model reduces the environmental impact associated with office buildings and commuting. However, the company has not published carbon footprint data or formal emissions reduction targets.