John Li on building Vimcal, world's fastest calendar for remote teams

Lifeselfmastery's podcast I Startups I Venture Capital

In this episode, John Li, CEO of Vimcal discusses his transition from Twitter to entrepreneurship, detailing the evolution of his startup from AR technology to a fitness venture, and ultimately to a specialized calendar app. He emphasizes the critical role of executive assistants in product development, the necessity of user feedback, and the integration of AI. John also talks about the unique challenges of user acquisition, the strategic shift to a vertical SaaS model, and the company's inclusive hiring practices, and much more!

Timestamps

The journey from Twitter to Y Combinator (00:00:02)

Pivoting from AR to Fitness to Calendar (00:03:38)

Onboarding users and fundraising challenges (00:10:26)

Vimcal's focus on meetings, not just a calendar (00:13:26)

The role of AI in startups and fundraising (00:15:29)

Launching Whimsical E and serving executive assistants (00:17:15)

Speed vs Quality in Product Development (00:19:43)

Lessons in conducting effective product reviews (00:20:21)

The Harmony of Features (00:20:41)

Product Teams' Focus (00:21:53)

Challenges in User Acquisition (00:22:58)

Enterprise and PLG Approach (00:24:49)

Traits in Hiring (00:26:26)

Assessing Curiosity and Clarity of Thought (00:29:43)

Hiring Mistakes and Parting Ways (00:33:19)

John’s Links

LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnli611/

Website – https://www.vimcal.com/

Twitter - https://twitter.com/jaylbird11

My Links

Podcast: https://lifeselfmastery.com/itunes

YouTube: youtube.com/lifeselfmastery

Twitter: https://twitter.com/rohitmal

5-day email course: www.enterprisesalesexpertise.com