Cluely is a self-defined rising star of the tech scene. Founder Roy Lee stated that the company is turning its attention to becoming the consumer AI note-taking platform of choice. The startup gained notoriety earlier this year for its controversial marketing strategies, promising users the ability to “cheat on everything” through its innovative software. Cluely put its enterprise product into the wild late last June. Today, the company’s laser-focused on becoming a go-to solution for more engaging sales calls, customer service and remote tutoring.
Since its launch in April, Cluely has made big, splashy moves with unconventional marketing strategies. Specifically, it markets itself as enabling users to avoid detection while conducting fraud on their victims in cyberspace. Lee, who has a long history of controversy, was recently suspended by Columbia University for creating a Cheating Engine for coding interviews, which has generated even further controversy and public interest.
In June, Cluely closed a $15 million Series A funding round from famed Silicon Valley venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz. This financial backing highlights investor confidence in Cluely’s potential to grow despite the challenges faced by other startups in converting social media buzz into lasting customer engagement.
It’s no secret that producer Roy Lee has long preached the gospel of substance over style. “Brand awareness is very nice to have, but it’s not going to provide you sustainable growth,” he stated. “What I really learned is you never want to publicize revenue estimates,” he said, explaining that public opinion can be very volatile. “If you’re doing well, nobody is going to talk about how well you’re doing, but if you’re doing poorly, then everybody will only talk about how poorly you’re doing.”
In the months following its product release, Cluely experienced a significant increase in annual recurring revenue (ARR). In a shocking four-day span, it soared from $3 million to $7 million! Lee acknowledged this growth but tempered expectations: “I’ll say we’re doing better than I expected, but it’s not the fastest growing company of all time.”
Cluely’s fresh new homepage paints a helpful picture of its product as an AI assistant built for meetings. Lee shared that everyone engaging in workshops or interviews right now is literally trying out Cluely. Such a focused approach should position Notability to capture a deep and wide market that is hungry for intuitive and effective note-taking solutions.
Reflecting on his company’s strategy, Lee explained that sometimes it’s best to launch a product with minimal features to identify its practical applications. “Let’s launch something that barely works, and if we can get enough initial users, they will find out the use cases for us.”
Bryan Kim, a partner at Andreessen Horowitz, shared insights during a podcast about why he chose to invest in Cluely. As for Lee, Perkins said he’s seen firsthand how Lee has been able to turn all that attention into paying customers.
As Cluely continues to establish itself within the competitive tech landscape, Roy Lee’s insights on social media virality underscore a broader lesson for startups: capturing attention is merely the beginning.
Leave a Reply