Business owners, startups and workforce, how many times have we all complained about not having enough people to get the job done? ‘We need a Google-style office! We need a comfy campus! We need more people so we can actually be efficient!’ Sound familiar? It’s the same complaints every single day, right? Now, hear this, while we’re all whining about needing more and more, Telegram’s just been over there quietly crushing it with thirty employees. Thirty! In a world where tech companies are building these massive campuses and employing thousands, Telegram’s doing its own thing. It is valued at $30 billion and with over a billion active users (as of March 2025!), they’re making it happen with a ridiculously lean team.
Are you wondering how is that even possible? It’s got Corporate Soldiers thinking too. What does this say about efficiency? About innovation? Or about needing traditional infrastructure? Is it even possible that all that ‘more is better’ philosophy we’ve been told for years turns out to be wrong? Let us shed the light on it!
How it was started?
Do you have any clue about the Russian social network VKontakte? It was created by brothers Pavel and Nikolai Durov. Yes, these two genius brothers founded Telegram in 2013. When the government interfered in VKontakte or VK because of their concerns about things such as disrupting harmony. They had concerns that VK was involved in organizing and facilitating political protests.
The move was inevitable because VK became a hub for activist groups opposing the government, and as a result, now the Kremlin has its control over the platform. Hence, Durov brothers fell under pressure to censor user content and provide user data. At last, they left the platform, and the platform’s ownership changed.
But Durov brothers were now keen to build a secure, privacy-focused messaging platform which was named Telegram. As expected it quickly gained popularity because of encryption, speed, and user privacy. Over the years, the platform has evolved and now it includes self-destructing messages, large groups and channels, and end-to-end encrypted chats.
The Team of 30:
Now, this is where Telegram gets really interesting and evokes curiosity. The magic number they reach with this special team of 30. Their magic is in how they do it not in what they do. While apps like WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger have thousands of employees all over the world, Telegram is running the whole show with these 30 people. In this team, Pavel Durov, is the only product manager and there is no HR department in their platform.
So, what’s their secret? Well, they rely heavily on automation and a decentralized setup. This means that the tasks that would normally need huge teams to perform them are being handled by super-smart bots. This streamlines their workflows. Not only this method keep costs down but also lets them stay super agile and quick to respond to what users want. It’s a totally different way of thinking about building a tech giant such as Telgram as it has more than 900 million users.
How Did This Tiny Team Build Something So Massive?
When you are determined to move without limits, you must make a root map. And this lean team believed in scaling without limits. Their determination made Telegram hit 800 million monthly users in 2023 and also, blew past the 1 billion mark in early 2025. Now this is what we call insane growth! Let’s see their focus points!
Privacy First:
Since Telegram made privacy their top priority, it made them super popular in places where governments are watching everything such as Iran, India, and Russia. Here, you are bound to remain under continuous surveillance and heavy censorship. People want a place to communicate freely, and Telegram delivers this privacy for them.
Focus on Features:
Telegram constantly adds new features so you can share huge files (up to 4 GB if you’re a premium user) to customizable bots and even NFT-powered gifts. They have this transcendental thinking and stay ahead of their competition.
When it Comes to Monetization:
Initially, Telegram used to be an ad-free and free-to-use platform and later on, in 2021, it introduced premium subscriptions. By 2024, they were profitable, making $342 million from those premium services and blockchain.
Global Reach Without Ads:
Telegram has never relied on advertising to generate revenue despite its massive user base. Instead, premium subscriptions were introduced in 2021 to reach such growth without compromising user experience.
The Philosophy of Do More with Less:
Minimalism is the philosophy of Telegram and their success story really makes us think and proves that we can do more with less. No need to build massive infrastructure or a big team to build something amazing. A small, talented team, a focus on technology, and a dedication to your core values such as privacy and innovation can go a long way. Maybe this is the exact lifestyle of Pavel Durov too. Yes, he is known to be super disciplined and focuses on optimizing his mental and physical performance. This minimalist philosophy is behind Telegram’s success.
Let’s See What is Their Magic Recipe!
Business owners and our super enthusiastic startups, take notes from what we are going to tell you because this can be the magic recipe for your endeavors’ success as well. Here, is what Telegram has done right!
The Unconventional & Focused Hiring:
Now, this is where you will be shocked because their hiring process is pretty wild too. Since, they don’t have an HR department, so they can’t use that. Instead, they use platforms like Contest.com to find the best of the best through coding and engineering challenges. Such challenges are the digital gladiator arena for programmers! So, winners of these contests, who demonstrate exceptional skills, gain the opportunity to join their team. Hence, the hiring process at Telegram becomes highly selective and unconventional.
This is an awesome and unique way to target individuals who can immediately contribute to what they’re doing. This way they avoid all those inefficiencies like onboarding and training big teams.
Automation and Decentralized Infrastructure:
This is the most interesting and important factor behind Telegram’s lean operations. Since Telegram mostly relies on automation and decentralized systems, management becomes easy. In other words, the tasks that would traditionally require large teams such as server management, customer support, and content moderation can be easily handled through advanced technological methods. See what are we talking about!
Cloud-Based Architecture:
Modern tech such as cloud-based infrastructure makes Telegram smoothly synchronize its operation across devices. This method doesn’t require extensive manual intervention.
Custom Protocols:
Also, the platform has developed its own communication protocol, MTProto. This protocol optimizes their performance and scalability and hence, minimizes resource requirements.
Bots and APIs:
The platform uses bots for its administrative functions and encourages third-party developers to build integrations. This way they reduce the internal workload.
So, as the user base grows, the platform grows too by such automation-driven model. But not in terms of hiring the workforce! This highly efficient model keeps their operational costs low and also enables them to scale efficiently.
No Layers in Organizational Structure:
How an organization can work with no layers of management or bureaucracy? Seems unimaginable, right? This is how the organizational structure works at Telegram. Pavel Durov, the founder and CEO, is also the sole product manager who works directly with engineers and designers. This flat structure negates the communication complexities and makes sure that decisions are made quickly and effectively. Also, Telegram gives their employees autonomy and responsibility which motivates productivity and reduces the need for micromanagement.
Shared Responsibility & Work Culture:
A company’s culture matters a lot when comes to growth. Telegram is built around their shared belief in innovation, efficiency, and privacy. These people are super committed to Telegram’s whole mission of providing secure communication that can’t be messed with by outside forces. It’s more than just a job for these people; it’s something they really believe in.
Remote Work Culture:
Telegram believes in work-life balance and its flexible working arrangements help maintain employee satisfaction despite the demanding nature of their roles. Telegram has a remote work culture and hence, employees can work from anywhere in the world. This helps keep employees happy, even though they’re doing some really demanding work. This minimizes infrastructural costs such as the need to have physical office space. This flexibility also contributes to employee retention.
So, What Did You Learn?
Corporate Soldiers believe that Telegram has challenged all those traditional norms and patterns when it comes to business. They have presented a whole new picture which shows you can do more with less. And it makes us all wonder, could budding startups and existing big organizations learn these lessons from Telegram’s playbook? What are your thoughts? Spill it out!
