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 American entrepreneur Tope Awotona, but discontinued its physical offices in July 2021.
As of January 2021, Calendly was valued at $3 billion, making it a tech unicorn.[1]
History
Calendly 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]
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
Calendly 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]
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