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Zeb Evans is the Co-Founder and CEO of ClickUp, a productivity platform designed to replace all other workplace applications.
Ever since he was a kid, Zeb had been interested in business. At birthdays, he asked for wholesale toys that he could sell to other kids instead of ones he could play with. His parents had pushed him to pursue a career in medicine, but he was always more interested in the business field.
While studying at Virginia Tech, Zeb was robbed at gunpoint. He took some time to think about his current career trajectory, and realized that college wasn’t for him. He dropped out and began learning coding. Within no time, he had created an application (Fast Followers) to schedule tweets. Many utilized the platform, and the company saw large success; however, following another near-death experience, Zeb chose to move across the country to Silicon Valley.
Zeb felt as if his last company primarily inflated users’ egos through social media, and wasn’t going to become the scalable, innovative company he had hoped. Once he had settled in Silicon Valley, he and a few co-workers started Mango Technologies, which was originally focused on creating a safer Craigslist.
What began as an internal tool for project management of Mango became ClickUp. While in Silicon Valley, they would talk to people about their original company, but many were more interested in their project management software. So, Zeb and his team shifted gears and launched ClickUp in 2017, making the product available in 2020. Since its launch, ClickUp has become one of the fastest growing SaaS startups, even securing $100 million in funding last December.
The benefit of starting in Silicon Valley was that everyone was in tech. In coffee shops, they chatted about their product and other entrepreneurs began using it themselves. This helped them grow organically, while they bootstrapped most of their money up until their Series A in 2020.
ClickUp realized that San Francisco was not the California they imagined, and paying six figures for all roles was out of the question. After looking at Austin, Salt Lake City, and other growing tech hubs, the team fell in love with San Diego, and moved the company headquarters down south.
Since the company has been in San Diego, the team has been focused on attracting talent and educating people on the platform. ClickUp understands the user is smart, and the team wants to make a platform that fosters customization.
Listen in to hear about Zeb’s San Diego experience and his plans for the quickly growing ClickUp.
Zeb’s Favorite Tacos:
Not Not Tacos in Downtown
Connect with Zeb:
Keep up with ClickUp:
Facebook: @clickupprojectmanagementcompany
Thanks to our partners at Cox Business for their support in enabling us to grow the San Diego ecosystem.
