The 17-year-old’s hand trembled as he pointed the gun at Zeb Evans’ forehead. In that moment of intense uncertainty, clarity washed over Evans.
His identity wasn’t tied to a diploma.
“I had that realization when I had the gun pointed to my head—that this isn’t what I want to do with my life,” Evans says.
Evans, a college student at the time, became a victim of a home invasion robbery. Although he escaped unharmed, the incident reshaped his future.
“[I realized,] I don’t want to go work for someone else. I don’t want to continue learning business, because you learn business by doing,” Evans says.
The following day, Evans left school and ventured into entrepreneurship. Now, twelve years later, he is the CEO and co-founder of ClickUp, a popular productivity management tool valued at $4 billion.
The home invasion wasn’t the only pivotal moment in Evans’ journey. Over the years, he faced various life-altering experiences that influenced his path and contributed to the development of ClickUp.
A Bedridden Entrepreneur
When Evans was ten years old, a hospitalization sparked his entrepreneurial spirit. Despite the lack of technology, he began exploring eBay and Alibaba on a public laptop, discovering the world of online sales.
“And that is where I started merging my love for entrepreneurship with technology,” Evans recalls.
His journey continued through high school and college, where he founded an entertainment company managing local musicians.
After a second life-threatening event in college (the home invasion), Evans faced a major decision. With an incomplete degree, a lingering side hustle, and no capital, he found value in his custom social media tools he had built for his entertainment business.
“Twelve years ago, that stuff didn’t exist,” Evans notes. “I always wanted to create things and provide experiences. It was ingrained in me.”
This led to the creation of Fast Followerz, a successful social media marketing firm, which eventually became one of the largest of its kind in the U.S.
Despite setbacks, Evans continued pushing forward, learning valuable lessons along the way.
Fed Up With Fueling Ego
Four years post-Fast Followerz, a health scare at a movie theater prompted Evans to reevaluate his business. The realization that his company wasn’t positively impacting the world led him to seek a more meaningful venture.
“I kind of wanted to right those wrongs, so to speak,” Evans reflects. “But I also wanted to create something that had a much larger impact.”
Amidst these reflections, Evans sold his marketing firm and relocated to Silicon Valley to pursue a new entrepreneurial endeavor.
His first tech startup, Mimry, aimed to offer a different social networking experience, focusing on authentic interactions rather than ego-driven content. Despite its short-lived existence, Evans embraced the learnings from this venture.
Undaunted, Evans shifted his focus to challenge a titan in the tech space.
The Solution That Became ClickUp
ClickUp started as a response to a productivity problem Evans faced. Dissatisfied with numerous disjointed tools, he envisioned a unified solution for streamlining productivity.
“It was just this clusterf**k of productivity tools. And they were supposed to make you more productive, but I couldn’t help but think that we were less productive by using all of these different tools.”
As ClickUp evolved from an internal tool to a global solution, the platform gained rapid traction through user engagement and a clear market need.
In 2017, ClickUp emerged as a comprehensive productivity tool, with an organic SEO strategy and a community-driven approach propelling its growth.
Scaling to Billions
ClickUp’s success led to rapid expansion, prompting Evans to seek investment opportunities. Surprising investors with its profitability, ClickUp’s high-net retention model set the stage for sustainable growth.
“If you can create a profitable business at first, you know you have a business,” Evans asserts. “Too many companies go and get funded, and they don’t have a real business.”
With offices in multiple locations and a diverse team culture, ClickUp continues to evolve, guided by core values and user feedback.
Evans’ tech startup journey offers valuable insights for aspiring entrepreneurs, emphasizing the importance of data, speed, product value, and cultural alignment.
Source: ( foundr.com / Financementality.com )
