- On Tuesday, Slack CEO and co-founder Stewart Butterfield appeared to propose to Away co-founder and president Jen Rubio over Twitter.
- Rubio later tweeted that Buttterfield is kidding – but in the hour or so in between, many Twitter users were confused if this was a real proposal or not.
- Earlier on Tuesday, Away announced a $1.4 billion valuation and a new round of funding, as the Wall Street Journal reported.
- And on Monday, Slack held its investor presentation ahead of its own IPO.
- Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.
Slack CEO and co-founder Stewart Butterfield jokingly proposed marriage to Away co-founder and president Jen Rubio over Twitter – but many followers couldn’t figure out whether it was a real proposal or not.
On Tuesday, the Wall Street Journal reported that Away, the luggage startup, landed a $1.4 billion valuation with a new funding round.
Butterfield shared the article on Twitter and tweeted to Away co-founder and president Jen Rubio saying, “Let’s make today a double-whammy – Jennifer, will you marry me? Promise I’m not just a golddigger.”
Let's make today a double-whammy — @jennifer, will you marry me? Promise I'm not just a golddigger: https://t.co/CaF9OKkpK1
— Stewart Butterfield (@stewart) May 14, 2019
Then, Butterfield said that he found out that Rubio is currently in flight, with no internet access.
Just found out she's on a flight with no wifi. Lands in 2.5 hours 🤞
— Stewart Butterfield (@stewart) May 14, 2019
However, it soon looked like Rubio did actually have WiFi access, has shown in this apparent Slack exchange between the two that Butterfield shared on Twitter.
Okay, okay … on it pic.twitter.com/XbVcoa0t0K
— Stewart Butterfield (@stewart) May 14, 2019
Shortly thereafrer, Rubio did not directly respond to Butterfield's apparent proposal, but rather commented on Away's funding round: "This new capital will help us continue to build a strong business and community of travelers around the world!"
https://twitter.com/jennifer/status/1128450761980108801?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
The original proposal, and the cryptic non-answer of Rubio's response, made many in Silicon Valley and beyond wonder if this was the real deal, prompting perplexed replies.
It's Ramadan and it's 1.21am. The world needs answers.
— Isa Mutlib (@isamutlib) May 15, 2019
https://twitter.com/qhardy/status/1128440562929913856?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
is... this a real proposal?
— Sapna Maheshwari (@sapna) May 14, 2019
I have seen more than a few proposals on here over years. This just might be one of my favorites. #random
— David J. Whelan » #LongLA (@djwhelan) May 14, 2019
Boss you gotta meet her at the gate for this one.
— Diógenes Brito🗽🇩🇴🇨🇴 (@uxdiogenes) May 14, 2019
https://twitter.com/EricaJoy/status/1128449488723386368?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Honestly this whole situation is getting stressful. This is why I don't watch romcoms. 😐
— Derrick N Ashong (@DNAtv) May 15, 2019
About an hour and twenty minutes later, Rubio tweeted that Butterfield was kidding.
https://twitter.com/jennifer/status/1128457367719378950?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Even Slack employees seemed to be confused by the whole thing:
The absolute highlight of my day has been walking up and down the aisles of a United flight from NYC to SFO showing this to 5 other people who work with us. ❤️🤯
— Brian Elliott (@brianpelliott) May 15, 2019
For his part, Butterfield seemed to express some contrition for the joke, after all the confusion:
I shouldn't tweet
— Stewart Butterfield (@stewart) May 15, 2019
Apart from Rubio's success at Away, Butterfield has a lot going on, himself: Slack filed to go public in April. It was officially valued at $7.1 billion after its latest financing round, last August. On Monday, Butterfield appeared in a livecast investor presentation, laying out Slack's business for would-be stockholders following the IPO.