Tope Awotona

Tope Awotona is a prominent tech entrepreneur best known as the founder and CEO of Calendly, a widely-used scheduling software that simplifies the process of booking meetings. Born in Lagos, Nigeria, he experienced significant personal tragedy at a young age when he witnessed his father's murder during a carjacking. This event profoundly impacted his life and motivated him to pursue entrepreneurship, inspired by his father's legacy as a businessman.135

Early Life and Education

Awotona's family moved to the United States when he was 15, settling in Atlanta, Georgia. He attended the University of Georgia, where he initially majored in computer science before switching to business and management, earning a Bachelor of Business Administration degree.14

Career Path

Before founding Calendly, Awotona worked in various sales roles at companies like IBM and EMC. His frustrations with scheduling meetings during his sales career led him to develop the idea for Calendly. In 2013, he launched the platform after investing his life savings of $200,000 and seeking additional funding from investors.256

Under his leadership, Calendly has grown significantly, achieving a valuation of approximately $3 billion and serving over 10 million users as of 2024.135 The company has become one of the few Black-owned unicorns in the tech industry, reflecting Awotona's success as an immigrant entrepreneur in America.35

Recent Developments

Awotona continues to lead Calendly as it expands its offerings and user base, with notable growth in enterprise adoption among Fortune 500 companies. His journey from personal hardship to building a billion-dollar company exemplifies resilience and innovation in the tech landscape.346