Peer Richelsen, founder Cal.com: How to build an open startup

Links

- Codecrafters (sponsor): https://tej.as/codecrafters

- React Brussels: https://react.brussels

- React Africa: https://react-africa.com 

- Cal.com: https://cal.com

- Peer on X: https://x.com/peer_rich

- Tejas on X: https://x.com/tejaskumar_

Summary

In this discussion, Peer Richelsen, co-founder of Cal.com, shared insights into the company's open-source scheduling infrastructure. Cal.com offers customizable scheduling solutions for individuals and enterprises across various industries, with its open-source approach driving rapid development and community engagement. Richelsen highlighted key features like "instant meetings" for customer support and discussed the platform's technical architecture, primarily based on Next.js with plans to partially migrate to Nest.js.

The conversation also touched on Cal.com's cautious approach to AI integration, its structure as a U.S. entity despite European roots, and commitment to transparency in operations. Richelsen expressed satisfaction with Cal.com's current trajectory, outlining plans to enhance offerings in healthcare scheduling, improve sales team routing, and expand capabilities across different sectors. Throughout the discussion, Richelsen's passion for open-source development and innovative scheduling solutions was evident.

Chapters

00:00:00 Intro

00:03:52 Supabase hate

00:04:41 What is Cal.com?

00:09:12 Balancing Open Source Maintenance and New Features

00:14:34 Prioritizing Customer Feedback

00:18:33 Cal.com's Product-Market fit

00:22:12 Cal.com's Transparency (Open Startup)

00:25:02 Cal.com's Hiring Process

00:29:10 Location based pay nuance

00:35:55 Cal.com stats: active users and recurring revenue

00:42:51 Cal.com technical deep dive

00:54:06 Cal.com API Platform

00:58:01 Cal.com Atoms

01:06:15 Cal.ai AI-enabled scheduling agent

01:18:16 What founders should know about running a startup

01:27:24 Future experimental Cal.com features

01:30:36 Germany's Startup Reputation (bad)

01:33:57 Positioning and Marketing for Cal.com

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