Reclaim

How Henry Shapiro Built Reclaim AI A Smart Calendar Scheduling App

February 9th, 2025

Founded By

Patrick Lightbody

Starting Costs

$13

Founders

Profitable

Yes

Year Started

2019

Customer

B2B & B2C

Founded By
Patrick Lightbody: Starting Costs
$13

Founders
2: Profitable
Yes

Year Started
2019: Customer
B2B & B2C

Who is Patrick Lightbody?

Henry Shapiro, co-founder of Reclaim, originally from the East Coast, relocated to Portland for college and focused his career on product management at companies like New Relic before founding Reclaim.

Reclaim.ai co-founders Henry Shapiro, and CEO Patrick Lightbody.

What problem does Reclaim solve?

Reclaim solves the headache of constant scheduling by intelligently managing your calendar, saving you hours each week and letting you focus on what truly matters.

ReclaimAI Homepage

How did Patrick come up with the idea for Reclaim?

Henry Shapiro co-founded Reclaim.ai after he and his partner, Patrick, experienced the chaos of managing time and priorities in large, distributed teams. Their personal struggles with hectic schedules in hyper-growth environments fueled their desire to create a smarter calendar that could make decisions akin to human judgement about time allocation. Observing how calendars quickly became overwhelming, they aimed to help individuals and teams align their efforts with actual priorities.

Before diving into building the app, they witnessed the difficulty organizations faced in tracking team efforts and understanding which projects were receiving the most focus. This observation highlighted a gap in how teams managed their time, leading them to validate the need for a product that simplifies scheduling and time management. Continuously refining their idea through user feedback, the founders placed heavy emphasis on creating a tool that genuinely understands user preferences, turning complex scheduling into an automated process.

By focusing on solving these specific problems, they ensured that their solution resonated with both individuals and enterprises struggling to manage their time effectively. The journey wasn't without its challenges, especially in remaining grounded amidst evolving technology, but constant user engagement helped them stay true to their original vision. This experience taught them the importance of listening to user needs and iterating on their product to refine the balance between automation and user control, ensuring a practical solution for their audience.

How did Patrick Lightbody build the initial version of Reclaim?

Reclaim was built as a smart calendar app with the goal of optimizing time management via intelligent scheduling. The development process involved leveraging a straightforward tech stack while creating proprietary algorithms and models to meet user demands. Initial efforts focused on crafting a simple yet effective prototype that allowed users to sync their personal and work calendars, a feature that quickly attracted 5,000 users. Building Reclaim was a complex endeavor, especially the real-time scheduling engine, which was designed to adapt swiftly to schedule changes. This complexity was amplified by the challenge of refining the technology to prioritize user needs and evolving the product with features like Smart Meetings, which utilized machine learning to automatically optimize meeting schedules based on user-defined rules and real-time changes.

What were the initial startup costs for Reclaim?

Funding: Reclaim has raised $13 million to date across multiple funding rounds.

What was the growth strategy for Reclaim and how did they scale?

LinkedIn Content and Founder-Led Engagement

Henry Shapiro, co-founder of Reclaim, puts a significant focus on using LinkedIn for founder-led content. By sharing unedited, casual videos and insights into the company's product development process, Reclaim has effectively used LinkedIn as a primary channel for growth and customer engagement.

Why it worked: Authenticity resonates with audiences. By being transparent and relatable, especially in a professional setting like LinkedIn, Reclaim can directly connect with their target audience. This approach maintains consistent engagement and helps build a loyal community around their product.

SEO and Organic Growth

Reclaim uses SEO strategies to improve their online visibility. They have developed a glossary on their website to capture organic traffic by addressing a vacuum in knowledge around productivity terms and calendar management.

Why it worked: By focusing on SEO, Reclaim taps into a steady stream of potential users who are actively searching for solutions to problems that their app can solve. This approach not only drives organic traffic but also establishes Reclaim as an authority in their niche.

Product-Led Growth and Customer Feedback

Reclaim emphasizes customer feedback by involving their founder directly in support interactions. They've implemented robust systems for gathering and acting on user feedback to refine their product offerings.

Why it worked: Listening to customer feedback enables Reclaim to hone their features and adapt rapidly to user needs. This customer-focused approach helps in building a product that aligns with user expectations, improving retention and satisfaction over time.

Community Building through Podcasting and YouTube

Reclaim extends its reach through platforms like YouTube and podcasting, where they share deeper insights and discussions on productivity and AI scheduling tools.

Why it worked: Podcasts and YouTube allow for more in-depth storytelling and engagement. By leveraging these platforms, Reclaim not only educates users about their product but also showcases their expertise and vision in the industry, drawing in new users and retaining existing ones.

What's the pricing strategy for Reclaim?

Reclaim offers a free version and a premium plan at $8 per user per month, focusing on automated scheduling and smart calendar management.

ReclaimAI Pricing

What were the biggest lessons learned from building Reclaim?

Earn User Trust Early: Reclaim learned that gaining customer trust through small, reliable features like calendar sync was key to building a user base. It's essential for aspiring founders to solve small problems well to establish credibility.
Focus on Priority and Context: By leveraging priorities and context in scheduling, Reclaim differentiated itself from competitors. Founders should emphasize understanding their user's needs deeply to offer unique solutions that resonate in the market.
Adapt to Economic Changes: Reclaim faced challenges like IT budget cuts but managed growth by integrating into existing systems and demonstrating ROI. Founders must stay agile and find ways to prove their value even when market conditions are tough.
Prioritize Customer Interaction: Engaging directly with customers through founder-led support offered valuable insights and strengthened user relationships. For founders, maintaining this direct connection is instrumental in shaping and improving the product.
Resilience through Simplification: Keeping their tech stack simple and focusing on refining core algorithms allowed Reclaim to adapt effectively. Simplicity in processes can free up resources and enable quick pivots when needed.

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