Quickfire Interview

The Founder of Calendesk:

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Maciej Cupial

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Calendesks MRR Chart:

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How did you come up with the idea of Calendesk?

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The concept for Calendesk was sparked during a casual conversation with my hairdresser. He was struggling to find an efficient tool to manage his bookings and customers, and given my background in programming, I thought, "Why not design a solution myself?" I thought it would be easy ... :)

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How did Calendesk get its first profitable customers?

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We began with a straightforward approach - we created a landing page with a clear CTA, and launched a Google Ads campaign. This strategy did bring in some customers, but it wasn't really profitable. However, it did help us understand our customers' needs better and helped with product improvements - at least someone was using the platform and could leave feedback.

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How long did it take for Calendesk to get its first profitable customers?

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We started with a free beta version, and after ~6 months, we got the first customer to pay for it.

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What have you struggled with when building Calendesk so far, and how has this shaped your business?

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The main struggle in building this project was initially mismanaging resources, hiring too many people, and burning capital too quickly. After burning all savings and facing bankruptcy, the team had to be let go, and the entire project was completed by myself. This experience shaped the business by encouraging a more conservative approach to hiring and spending, focusing more on selling the product than just building it.

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What gives you and Calendesk that unfair advantage over new entrants into the market?

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It is the invaluable experience gained from past mistakes. The project is now managed more efficiently, focusing on customer engagement, their feedback, and making the best product for them.

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What is your main growth strategy for Calendesk going forward?

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The main growth strategy going forward is to use multiple channels to expand reach, including paid ads on platforms like Google Ads and Capterra, organic growth through SEO, word-of-mouth referrals from satisfied customers, and internal strategies like adding links to notifications and calendars to attract and retain new users.

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