# Squarespace: Anthony Casalena

- Show: [How I Built This](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this)
- Published: 2019-03-04
- Length: 53m
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2019-03-04-squarespace-anthony-casalena

## Summary

Anthony Casalena, founder of Squarespace, explains how he built the website builder from a dorm room project at the University of Maryland in 2003, initially funding it with $30,000 from his parents. He details the early operational crises, including a critical server crash that required an emergency drive to New York, and the intense stress of running the company alone before hiring CEO Dane Atkinson and later rewriting the platform as Squarespace 6. The episode covers Squarespace's strategic pivot to podcast advertising, its $38.5 million Series A from Index Ventures and Excel Partners, and its growth into a company valued at $1.7 billion with over 800 employees.

## Chapters

- [0:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2019-03-04-squarespace-anthony-casalena#t=0) Introduction: Anthony Casalena and Squarespace
- [3:31](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2019-03-04-squarespace-anthony-casalena#t=211) Early Programming and College Project
- [9:27](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2019-03-04-squarespace-anthony-casalena#t=567) Funding and Launching Squarespace
- [17:22](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2019-03-04-squarespace-anthony-casalena#t=1042) The Solo Founder Crisis and Server Crash
- [27:55](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2019-03-04-squarespace-anthony-casalena#t=1675) Hiring CEO Dane Atkinson and Scaling
- [36:21](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2019-03-04-squarespace-anthony-casalena#t=2181) Series A Funding and Squarespace 6 Rewrite
- [41:28](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2019-03-04-squarespace-anthony-casalena#t=2488) Podcast Advertising Strategy
- [45:13](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2019-03-04-squarespace-anthony-casalena#t=2713) Controversy, Growth, and Company Values

## Topics

- [Starting a product company](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/starting-a-company)
- [Scaling production](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/scaling-production)
- [Direct-to-consumer & e-commerce](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/direct-to-consumer)
- [Leadership, teams & culture](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/leadership-and-culture)
- [Marketing & brand](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/marketing-and-brand)
- [Fundraising & investors](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/fundraising)

## Most relevant to

founders before launch, early-stage companies, companies scaling up

## Mentioned

- Squarespace (product)
- U.S. Bank (company)
- University of Maryland (other)
- DreamWeaver (product)
- Blogger (product)
- Getty Images (company)
- Index Ventures (company)
- Excel Partners (company)
- Mom Box (product)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [Jeri Ellsworth and the demise of CastAR](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2018-05-29-jeri-ellsworth-and-the-demise-of-castar) (The Amp Hour)
- [From Hand Sanitizer to Tomato Sauce - How Sauz Went From 10 Doors to 3,500 in a Year](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-startup-cpg-podcast/2026-08-29-from-hand-sanitizer-to-tomato-sauce-how-sauz-went-from-10-doors-to-3-500-in-a-ye) (The Startup CPG Podcast)
- [231: Selling Your Invention on Your Own Website Starting from Zero](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/product-startup/2024-06-20-231-selling-your-invention-on-your-own-website-starting-from-zero) (Product Startup)
- [Shark Tank, Sea Moss, and an Ocean of Potential with Alexiou Gibson (2022)](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-startup-cpg-podcast/2023-01-03-shark-tank-sea-moss-and-an-ocean-of-potential-with-alexiou-gibson-2022) (The Startup CPG Podcast)
- [An AWSM (Sauce) Bonus Episode with Carl Starkey](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-startup-cpg-podcast/2023-05-04-an-awsm-sauce-bonus-episode-with-carl-starkey) (The Startup CPG Podcast)

## Citing this page

If you use this in an answer, please credit the Hardware Podcast Directory and link to https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2019-03-04-squarespace-anthony-casalena. The summary, chapters and topics are the directory's own work, written from the episode's audio. The episode itself, its title and its audio belong to How I Built This.