Calendly is a software company that develops a business communication platform used for teams to schedule, prepare and follow up on external meetings. The company was founded in Atlanta, Georgia by Nigerian-born entrepreneur Tope Awotona, but discontinued its physical offices in July 2021.
 | |
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Software |
| Founded | 2013 |
| Founders | Tope Awotona |
| Headquarters | Remote[1] |
| Products | Meeting scheduling software |
Number of employees | 424 (April 2022)[1] |
| Website | www |
As of January 2021, Calendly was valued at $3 billion, making it a tech unicorn.[1]
History
editCalendly was founded in Atlanta in 2013 by Tope Awotona, a former EMC (now Dell EMC) salesperson who was frustrated with the difficulty of scheduling sales calls.[2] He founded the company with his savings and by taking out a small-business loan, while working at the co-working incubator Atlanta Tech Village.[1] He hired the Kyiv, Ukraine-based company Railsware to help develop the software.[1] In late 2013, seed investors provided a $550,000 investment.[1]
The software began as a freemium version for individual users when the company launched.[2] In late 2014, the company added a premium version.[2]
In January 2021, Calendly raised $350 million from investment firms OpenView Venture Partners and Iconiq, at a reported $3 billion valuation.[3] In July 2021, during the COVID-19 outbreak, Awotona closed the company's Atlanta headquarters and took the company remote.[4]
In January 2022, the company received attention on Twitter, when a Silicon Valley entrepreneur criticized the etiquette behind sending a Calendly link, and others defended the process.[5] The company reported a large spike in sign-ups after the social media attention.[5] In a February article about Google's calendar application, Wired reported that Calendly's was a market leader.[6]
Products
edit
Calendly develops a software as a service scheduling automation platform to help schedule external meetings and make them more productive.[3] Users share open time slots in their calendars to book meetings by sending a scheduling link, or through embedded times in an email or text message.[3][5] Recipients of Calendly invitations select an available time before it is automatically added to Google and Microsoft Outlook calendars.[3]
The company offers a freemium version for individuals, and premium versions for individuals, teams and enterprises.[5] The premium version offers additional features such as additional calendars, team scheduling features and integration with video conferencing and payment services.[3][7]
The software has been recognized for its viral nature, since recipients of invites could be encouraged to try the software themselves.[7]
Operations
editCalendly was founded in Atlanta, but as of July 2021, operates an all-remote workforce without an official headquarters.[1] Tope Awotona is the company's CEO.[1] The company reported 424 employees in April 2022.[1] As of January 2021, the company was valued at $3 billion.[3]
Founder
editCalendly founder and CEO Tope Awotona was born in Lagos, Nigeria.[1] When he was 12, he saw his father shot and killed during a carjacking.[1] His family moved to Atlanta in 1996 when he was 15. He studied computer science and business management at the University of Georgia and became a software salesman, selling for tech companies including Perceptive Software, Vertafore and EMC (later Dell EMC).[1] In an Inc. magazine profile in September 2019, when the company was earning $30 million a year, Awotona recounted the difficulty he faced with fundraising as a black immigrant when launching Calendly.[8]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "Nigeria-Born Tope Awotona Poured His Life Savings Into Calendly. Now He's One Of America's Wealthiest Immigrants". Forbes. April 6, 2022. Retrieved April 15, 2022.
- ^ a b c "Meet the unicorn founder that braved war zones and missed meetings to make his mark on the startup world". Fortune. November 19, 2020. Retrieved April 15, 2022.
- ^ a b c d e f "How Atlanta's Calendly turned a scheduling nightmare into a $3B startup". TechCrunch. January 26, 2021. Retrieved April 15, 2022.
- ^ "Atlanta unicorn Calendly scraps its office, shifts to all-remote workforce". Atlanta Business Chronicle. July 1, 2021. Retrieved April 15, 2022.
- ^ a b c d "Calendly is a way to tell people when you're free for a meeting — but some techies hate it". CNBC. February 7, 2022. Retrieved April 15, 2022.
- ^ "Google Calendar's 'Appointment Schedule' Is Good, Not Great". Wired. February 5, 2022. Retrieved April 20, 2022.
- ^ a b "How Calendly is building a platform by turning scheduling into a center-stage event". TechCrunch. September 22, 2021. Retrieved April 15, 2022.
- ^ Albert Deitch, Cameron (July 1, 2019). "This Atlanta Founder's Secret Weapon in Building His $30 Million Company: Growing Up in Nigeria". Inc. Retrieved April 20, 2022.