Early Life
Tope Awotona was born in Lagos, Nigeria, in 1981. His early life was marked by both stability and profound loss. He moved to the United States at age 12 with his family after his father's death. This tragic event greatly influenced his life, driving him to succeed and honor his father's entrepreneurial spirit. Awotona showed early potential, graduating high school early but was encouraged by his mother to attend for two years to properly assimilate. He then studied Management Information Systems at the University of Georgia, graduating in 2002.
Rise to Success
After graduating, Awotona worked in sales at various companies, including Dell EMC and IBM. However, he had the ambition to create his own business. Awotona launched several ventures that ultimately did not succeed. In 2013, he founded Calendly, a scheduling software company, with his savings and a small business loan. The platform simplifies meeting scheduling, eliminating the need for back-and-forth emails. Calendly quickly gained traction, growing to millions of users. In 2021, Awotona secured a $350 million investment, which valued Calendly at $3 billion.
Key Business Strategies
Awotona's approach included a focus on product-led growth, investing in the product rather than relying heavily on marketing. He also built a remote-first company culture. Calendly's freemium model has also been key, converting free users into paying customers. He has also been focused on refining the product.
Philanthropy
Awotona and Calendly have donated over $100,000 to various organizations, including Black Girls Code and My Brother's Keeper. The company also assisted in evacuating its employees based in Ukraine.