Hardware Podcasts

Calendly: Tope Awotona (2020)

How I Built This · 8 Jan 2024 · 1h 10m

What this episode covers

Tope Awotona, founder of Calendly, explains how he pivoted from failed e-commerce ventures to building a $100M+ scheduling platform after realizing the pain of coordinating complex meetings. He details the high-stakes decision to cash in his 401(k) and max out credit cards to pay Ukrainian dev firm Railsware to build the initial prototype. Awotona discusses the accidental viral growth driven by K-12 schools, the forced decision to launch the product for free due to lack of funds for billing infrastructure, and his eventual success in raising seed capital from David Commins at Atlanta Tech Village.

Most relevant to

founders before launch and early-stage companies

Topics

Mentioned

Companies
Railsware, Atlanta Tech Village, U.S. Bank, Perceptive Software, IBM
Products
Calendly, projectorspot.com, yardsteals.com, Big Green Egg
Also
David Commins

Related episodes from other shows

Other shows on the same ground, closest first.

  • Product Startup · 32m

    085: Scaling Your Product Up After Crowdfunding

    Ben Drury, founder of Yoto Play, explains how the company used a Kickstarter campaign to validate demand and raise $17 million in Series A funding. Drury details the transition from a Raspberry Pi Zero W-based prototype to a scalable product, leveraging early user feedback to refine the hardware and software. He emphasizes treating the initial 750-unit run as a stepping stone to gather data, attract investment, and build a community, rather than focusing on immediate profitability. The episode highlights the importance of unit economics, subscription revenue from Yoto Cards, and maintaining strong customer relationships during scaling.

    Crowdfunding & preordersFundraising & investors
    7 chapters

  • Product Startup · 34m

    034: Staying Motivated & Overcoming Lack of Money, Time & Skills

    Filip Valica, founder of Mako Design + Invent, discusses overcoming the limiting beliefs of lacking money, time, and skills when launching a product startup. He shares his personal journey from a corporate engineer to founding Mako Design + Invent, emphasizing the importance of deep core motivation and using failure as data to validate ideas. Valica outlines practical strategies for managing time, such as blocking calendars and saying no, and advocates for a DIY approach using tools like Canva, Inkscape, and Jungle Scout to minimize upfront costs. He argues that perfectionism is the enemy of progress and encourages founders to start small, iterate, and surround themselves with supportive communities to avoid burnout.

    Starting a product companyValidation & product-market fit
    1 chapters

  • Over the Air · 23m

    The Recipe For Creating a Culinary Connected Device

    David Rabie, Founder & CEO of Tovala, explains how the company bridges the distinct worlds of culinary arts, hardware engineering, and software development to create a connected smart oven paired with a meal delivery service. He details the strategic decision to use Kickstarter for early validation and the subsequent struggle to acquire new customers despite strong retention, which was resolved by pivoting marketing, website design, and pricing. Rabie also discusses the operational challenges of scaling production and supply chain management after finding product-market fit just before the COVID-19 pandemic.

    Validation & product-market fitConnected products & IoT
    6 chapters

  • Predictable Designs Podcast · 54m

    How to Validate the Market for Your New Product with Ivo Kalburdzhiev of CreatorClub

    Ivo Kalburdzhiev, co-founder and CEO of CreatorClub, explains a product market validation process for hardware startups to avoid building unwanted products. He details a funnel using Facebook and Instagram ads to drive traffic to a landing page, where users can sign up or pay a small deposit to reserve a product, such as the DuoBox night-vision camera. Kalburdzhiev emphasizes testing price points, using real product photography over renders, and analyzing metrics like cost per lead and pre-launch metrics to ensure viability before full development. He shares his own past failures, including a failed Kickstarter for an iPad racing wheel and a phone stand, to illustrate the importance of validating demand early.

    Validation & product-market fitCrowdfunding & preorders
    8 chapters

  • The Builder Circle · 11m

    The Pilot: Unveiling the Blueprint of "The Builder Circle"

    Sera Evcimen, host of The Builder Circle, explains her motivation for launching the podcast after mentoring startups at Techstars Paris and working on technologies like CubeSats and ion thrusters. She outlines the show's format, which includes case studies with founders like Bridget Hunter Jones and expert discussions with industry veterans such as Scott Miller. The episode details the podcast's unique value proposition, including 50-minute episodes with TL;DL summaries and a focus on actionable advice and failure analysis rather than just success stories.

    Starting a product companyValidation & product-market fit
    5 chapters

The summary, chapters and topics are generated from the episode’s audio by this directory, not written by How I Built This. The episode itself belongs to its publisher.