This is the greatest comeback story in history:
At 12, This Man witnessed his father’s murder.
Later Lost his life savings on 3 failed startups.
Bet everything on one last idea.
Today, his company is worth $3 billion.
This is the story of Tope Awotona, the Nigerian-born tech. entrepreneur, founder of Calendly
and the 3 lessons his journey teaches us about failure, resilience, and success:
At just 12 years old, young Tope witnessed his father’s murder during a carjacking in Lagos.
That moment shattered his world.
But little did he know, this tragedy would ignite a fire within him,
a drive to build something extraordinary.
After his father’s death, Tope moved to America as a teenager.
He studied computer science at the University of Georgia but found himself drawn to sales roles.
Yet, something was missing.
He wanted to create something that mattered.
So, he took the leap into entrepreneurship.
His first venture? An e-commerce site selling projectors.
It failed
His second startup? A garden tools business.
It failed too
His third attempt? A dating website.
That also crashed and burned
Each failure cost him time, money, and confidence.
But each one also taught him something invaluable:
His first failure exposed the importance of supply chain management.
His second failure showed him the value of operational efficiency.
His third failure taught him about market timing and the need for proper funding.
By 2013, Tope was out of money, out of ideas, and out of options.
But he wasn’t out of the fight.
He had one last idea, and he went all in.
Invested his entire life savings, $200,000, into a scheduling tool called Calendly .
Friends thought he was crazy.
Investors called the idea "boring" and "unscalable."
But Tope had discovered a universal pain point: the endless back-and-forth emails just to schedule a single meeting.
He knew this wasn’t just an annoyance, it was a productivity killer.
With no external funding, Tope hired Ukrainian contractors to build the first version of Calendly.
He kept it simple:
A clean interface.
Easy functionality.
One core problem solved perfectly.
And it worked.
Calendly spread like wildfire.
Freelancers loved its simplicity.
Sales teams appreciated its efficiency.
Recruiters shared it with their networks.
By 2020, Calendly was generating over $70 million in annual recurring revenue.
Then, COVID hit.
The world shifted to remote work, and virtual meetings became the norm.
Calendly became essential.
In 2021, investors who once dismissed Tope’s idea poured in $350 million.
Calendly’s valuation skyrocketed to $3 billion.
Today, Tope Awotona is worth over $1 Billion dollars become the few Nigerian-born Entrepreneurs who has crossed the billionaire line
The boy who witnessed tragedy in Lagos had built a tech empire.
But His journey revealed three profound truths about success to Us:
- Rejection is redirection
Every failed startup taught Tope something critical.
The lessons from those failures became the foundation for Calendly’s success.
- Solve real problems
Calendly didn’t chase trends, it solved a pain point Tope experienced firsthand.
The best ideas come from personal frustration.
- Constraints breed creativity
With no funding, Tope focused on simplicity.
That constraint became Calendly’s greatest strength.
Tope Awotona’s story is proof that success isn’t about avoiding failure it’s about learning from it.
So, the next time you face rejection, remember Tope Awotona’’s journey.
Your greatest comeback could be just one idea away.
#TechStories
#calendly
#topeThis is the greatest comeback story in history:
At 12, This Man witnessed his father’s murder.
Later Lost his life savings on 3 failed startups.
Bet everything on one last idea.
Today, his company is worth $3 billion.
This is the story of Tope Awotona, the Nigerian-born tech. entrepreneur, founder of Calendly
and the 3 lessons his journey teaches us about failure, resilience, and success:
At just 12 years old, young Tope witnessed his father’s murder during a carjacking in Lagos.
That moment shattered his world.
But little did he know, this tragedy would ignite a fire within him,
a drive to build something extraordinary.
After his father’s death, Tope moved to America as a teenager.
He studied computer science at the University of Georgia but found himself drawn to sales roles.
Yet, something was missing.
He wanted to create something that mattered.
So, he took the leap into entrepreneurship.
His first venture? An e-commerce site selling projectors.
It failed
His second startup? A garden tools business.
It failed too
His third attempt? A dating website.
That also crashed and burned
Each failure cost him time, money, and confidence.
But each one also taught him something invaluable:
His first failure exposed the importance of supply chain management.
His second failure showed him the value of operational efficiency.
His third failure taught him about market timing and the need for proper funding.
By 2013, Tope was out of money, out of ideas, and out of options.
But he wasn’t out of the fight.
He had one last idea, and he went all in.
Invested his entire life savings, $200,000, into a scheduling tool called Calendly .
Friends thought he was crazy.
Investors called the idea "boring" and "unscalable."
But Tope had discovered a universal pain point: the endless back-and-forth emails just to schedule a single meeting.
He knew this wasn’t just an annoyance, it was a productivity killer.
With no external funding, Tope hired Ukrainian contractors to build the first version of Calendly.
He kept it simple:
A clean interface.
Easy functionality.
One core problem solved perfectly.
And it worked.
Calendly spread like wildfire.
Freelancers loved its simplicity.
Sales teams appreciated its efficiency.
Recruiters shared it with their networks.
By 2020, Calendly was generating over $70 million in annual recurring revenue.
Then, COVID hit.
The world shifted to remote work, and virtual meetings became the norm.
Calendly became essential.
In 2021, investors who once dismissed Tope’s idea poured in $350 million.
Calendly’s valuation skyrocketed to $3 billion.
Today, Tope Awotona is worth over $1 Billion dollars become the few Nigerian-born Entrepreneurs who has crossed the billionaire line
The boy who witnessed tragedy in Lagos had built a tech empire.
But His journey revealed three profound truths about success to Us:
- Rejection is redirection
Every failed startup taught Tope something critical.
The lessons from those failures became the foundation for Calendly’s success.
- Solve real problems
Calendly didn’t chase trends, it solved a pain point Tope experienced firsthand.
The best ideas come from personal frustration.
- Constraints breed creativity
With no funding, Tope focused on simplicity.
That constraint became Calendly’s greatest strength.
Tope Awotona’s story is proof that success isn’t about avoiding failure it’s about learning from it.
So, the next time you face rejection, remember Tope Awotona’’s journey.
Your greatest comeback could be just one idea away.
#TechStories
#calendly
#tope
