Tope Awotona has been recognized by Forbes as the wealthiest immigrant and Nigerian American residing in the United States.
The 42-year-old, originally from Lagos, Nigeria, and relocated to the US during his teenage years, boasts a net worth of $1.2 billion.
Awotona is the founder and CEO of Calendly, a scheduling software company.
Forbes highlights that he launched Calendly to address his own frustration with the time-consuming back-and-forth emails needed for meeting scheduling, having previously worked as a salesman for tech firms like EMC (now Dell EMC).
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Having self-funded Calendly for a significant period, Tope Awotona secured a substantial $350 million investment in 2021, driving the company’s valuation to $3 billion.
Before starting Calendly, Awotona tried his hand at other ventures, such as a projector-selling venture and a garden tools enterprise, which did not pan out. However, the bulk of his wealth comes from the software he developed.
A graduate with a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Georgia, Awotona resides in Atlanta, Georgia, with his family.
Calendly, the software company he founded, specializes in a business communication platform designed for teams to efficiently schedule, prepare, and follow up on external meetings.