Founder Stories: Tope Awotona | How a Simple Frustration Led to a Billion-Dollar Idea
The Calendly founder is named one of the world's Black billionaires.
Awotona's story is a pretty incredible one. He was born in Lagos, Nigeria, and moved to the U.S. when he was a teenager. Like many entrepreneurs, he wasn't an overnight success.
He actually started a few businesses that didn't take off, including one that sold projectors and another e-commerce business that sold various products. He had great ideas, but he couldn't get them off the ground. He'd find himself frustrated, like so many others, by the endless back-and-forth of trying to schedule meetings. It was a problem that needed a better solution than email chains and phone calls.
This frustration led him to create Calendly in 2013. He bootstrapped the company, using his money and savings to get it started rather than relying on venture capital. He even maxed out his credit cards to fund the initial development. The endeavor was a huge risk, but he was so confident in his idea that he was willing to bet everything on it.
His belief in the company paid off big. The company grew gradually and increased in value, especially during the pandemic when remote work became common and meeting scheduling became crucial. Calendly's software has helped over 10 million consumers and over 100,000 businesses schedule meetings by simplifying the process.
Today, Awotona is one of the world's billionaires, and his startup is a tech unicorn. His story of endurance and invention shows that some of the best business ideas emerge from tackling daily challenges.
Louis Eriakha
