Zeb Evans of ClickUp
An exclusive Tech Tribune Q&A with Zeb Evans, the founder and CEO of ClickUp, which was honored in our:
Tell us the origin story of ClickUp – what problem were you trying to solve and why?
ClickUp started as an internal tool. We built it for ourselves because of our own frustrations of having to use so many different tools for work! We also didn’t know what people were working on at the moment, what everyone had done that day, or where to find and put important tasks. It was all about saving us time (at first), and that vision evolved into making the world more productive, in a platform that can be used for everyone and everything.
What was the biggest hurdle you encountered in your journey?
We had to focus on becoming profitable in order to be sustainable, as we weren’t able to get funding to build a platform that had no target market. When we initially started bringing on our first key hires in San Francisco, we didn’t have any funding, so we couldn’t pay high salaries. Luckily we were able to find a core team whose vision and passion aligned in order to create the platform.
What does the future hold for ClickUp?
We’re going to save 1 billion days in time!
What are your thoughts on the local tech startup scene in San Diego?
The tech startup scene here in San Diego is definitely still up and coming, but we’ve been able to hire some incredible people and have nothing but optimism for the future. We want to create the next tech boom!
What’s your best advice for aspiring entrepreneurs?
I’m a strong believer in progress over perfection. Do things that aren’t perfect and don’t scale in order to move forward. Move fast and break things. Also, focus on becoming profitable so that you can control your own destiny and experience less stress throughout the process. Ironically, doing this will allow you to actually focus on what matters (your mission) rather than the money (funding).