Meet Billion Dollar Man – Tope Awotona, Richest Nigerian And Immigrant In The US
Tope Awotona, recently named by Forbes as the richest immigrant, is a Nigerian American residing in the United States.
The 42-year-old was born in Lagos, Nigeria, and relocated to the US during his teenage years. He holds a net worth of $1.2 billion.
Awotona is the founder and CEO of Calendly, a scheduling software company.
According to Forbes, Awotona initiated Calendly in response to 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).
Awotona, having self-funded Calendly for an extended period, secured a substantial $350 million investment in 2021, propelling the company’s valuation to $3 billion.
Before he established Calendly, Awotona ventured into other businesses, such as a projector-selling venture and a garden tools enterprise, both of which did not succeed. The majority of his wealth, however, comes from the software he created.
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.
About Tope Awotona
- Tope Awotona is the founder and CEO of scheduling software company Calendly.
- Awotona, a former salesman for tech firms including EMC (now Dell EMC), founded Calendly out of his own frustration with the back-and-forth emails required to schedule meetings.
- He bootstrapped Calendly for years before taking on a $350 million investment in 2021 that valued the firm at $3 billion.
- Born in Lagos, Nigeria, Awotona immigrated to the United States as a teenager.
- Before founding Calendly, he had started a few other businesses, including one that sold projectors and another that sold garden tools, that flopped.
Personal Stats
Age: 42
Source of Wealth: Software, Self Made
Residence: Atlanta, Georgia
Citizenship: United States
Marital Status: Married
Education: Bachelor of Business Administration, The University Of Georgia
Popular Quote: “In my life, I’ve benefited from not taking the conventional wisdom. It’s benefited me personally, and I think it has benefited the business.” – Tope Awotona
Source Forbes
