Calendly revenue, valuation & growth rate | Sacra

🌈 Abstract

Calendly is a virtual availability and scheduling tool that has experienced significant growth, reaching an estimated $270M in annual recurring revenue (ARR) by the end of 2023, up 46% year-over-year. The article discusses Calendly's product, business model, competition, and potential areas for expansion, as well as the risks the company faces.

🙋 Q&A

[01] Calendly's Growth and Performance

1. What are the key growth metrics for Calendly?

• Calendly's ARR grew from $60M in November 2020 to $70M by the end of 2020, and then to $85M by early 2021.
• Sacra estimates Calendly hit $270M in ARR at the end of 2023, up approximately 46% year-over-year from $185M ARR at the end of 2022.
• Calendly's growth accelerated significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic, with monthly growth rates reaching 5-6% in 2020.

2. How does Calendly's capital efficiency compare to other successful SaaS companies?

• Before raising a $350M Series B round in 2021, Calendly had raised just $550K in seed funding, resulting in an ARR-to-funding multiple of 109x at ARR of $60M.
• This places Calendly among capital-efficient success stories like Atlassian and Zapier.

[02] Calendly's Product and Business Model

1. What are the key features of the Calendly product?

• Customizable availability settings
• Integration with popular calendar services (Google, Outlook, etc.)
• Automated reminders and follow-ups
• Team scheduling options
• Integrations with tools like Zoom, Stripe, and Salesforce

2. How does Calendly's business model work?

• Calendly is a subscription-based SaaS company that offers a free basic plan and monetizes through premium features in its paid plans.
• The paid tiers offer increasingly sophisticated features such as integrations with other software, customization options, and advanced team scheduling capabilities.
• Calendly's viral invite-based acquisition loop, where recipients see the Calendly badge when booking, fueled user growth to 10M+ users and 53% U.S. market share by 2021.

[03] Calendly's Competition and Expansion Opportunities

1. Who are Calendly's main competitors, and how does it differentiate itself?

• Dedicated scheduling platforms: Calendly differentiates itself through its sleek user interface, extensive integrations, and viral growth loop.
• CRMs: Calendly counters this competition by offering deeper integrations with various business tools and workflows, positioning itself as a specialized tool that can complement larger CRM platforms.
• Google/Microsoft: Calendly's advantage lies in its focus and product depth, as well as its integrations with both Google and Microsoft calendars.

2. What are some of the key areas for Calendly's expansion?

• Meeting lifecycle management: Developing features for pre-meeting preparation, in-meeting productivity, and post-meeting follow-up processes.
• Sales enablement and customer success: Integrating more deeply with CRM systems and developing specialized features for sales and customer-facing teams.

[04] Risks Facing Calendly

1. What are the key risks Calendly faces?

• Lack of network effects: Unlike many successful SaaS companies, Calendly's product does not inherently create strong network effects, making user retention heavily dependent on brand strength and product experience alone.
• Enterprise suite competition: As Calendly moves upmarket, it faces increasing competition from comprehensive sales and marketing suites like HubSpot and Salesforce, which offer scheduling as part of a broader ecosystem.