Peer Richelsen - How Cal.com is changing the perception of open-source software(OSS)!

👉🏼 About the Guest:

Peer Richelsen is the co-founder and co-CEO of Cal.com. Peer has also previously served as the head of product at On Deck and as the founder and CEO of Lean Hire, as well as attending Y Combinator as an alumni in the winter of 2019. for Mage App, Inc., where they raised $880K in funding over three years and served over 50k customers across Europe and the USA.

Today Peer and the team launched their newest product of Cal.com called Platform and Atoms. Go support the launch here: https://www.producthunt.com/posts/cal-com-platform

👉🏼 About the Host:

Sharath is a founder, creator, and community builder. He is also a serial maker who built and shipped 15+ projects using no-code tools. His SaaS product Shoutout generated $30k ARR, which was sold to a UK-based product studio. Prev, Sharath worked for world-changing startups like Product Hunt and On Deck, where he helped build and nurture communities. He also grew his audience on Twitter from 200 to 22,000 using give-first principles and creating high-value content. Currently, he is building a SaaS product called GuestLab, and runs another podcast series called YC Founder Stories alongside hosting this one.

👉🏼 Sponsor Corner:

Shoutout to Acquire.com for being the first sponsor of The Undefeated Underdogs podcast! They’re the best online marketplace to buy/sell startups and I know many founders who have sold their businesses there. If you're looking to wind down your business and cash in some of your founder chips, check them out - https://try.acquire.com/sharath/

👉🏼 Description:

Listen in as Sharath and Peer discuss the future of open-source software, intellectual property in an age of AI, sales as a first-time founder, and more!

👉🏼 Timestamps:

• 00:00: Episode Highlight
• 00:54: Shoutout to Acquire.com
• 03:19: Introduction to Peer Richelsen - the founder of Cal.com!
• 06:10: The origins of Cal.com: Going from being an operator to a founder
• 11:06: How to stand out in a crowded market
• 14:40: How to differentiate your product
• 19:15: How to make your product strategy
• 22:43: Why open-source is Cal.com's superpower
• 27:33: The importance of IP in a post-AI world
• 30:00: Where to get product inspiration
• 32:10: Transitioning from being a bootstrapped founder to a VC-backed founder
• 39:45: The ultimate aim of every founder
• 44:31: What would Peer work in, if not scheduling?
• 47:40: How to approach sales as a first-time founder
• 50:52: How to get in front of big clients
• 52:15: Approaching the chicken-egg traction problem in fundraising
• 56:30: How did Y Combinator change Peer as a founder?
• 58:18: Dealing with self-doubt
• 59:50: What drives Peer as a founder?
• 1:06:04: Peer's beef with Supabase
• 1:07:44: Outro and closing thoughts

👉🏼 Resources:

• Support Cal.com Platform on Product Hunt: https://www.producthunt.com/posts/cal-com-platform
• Seven Seven Six: https://sevensevensix.com/
• Founders Podcast's episode on Jay Z: https://www.joincolossus.com/episodes/63997262/senra-jay-z-decoded
• Supabase: https://supabase.com/

👉🏼 Where to find Peer:

• Twitter: https://twitter.com/peer_rich
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/peer-richelsen-221233138

👉🏼 Where to find Sharath:

• Twitter: https://twitter.com/5harath
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@5harath
• Website: https://5harath.com/
• Newsletter: https://5harath.substack.com/