NBC New York

2 friends spent years getting turned down for their ‘terrible' startup idea—now it's worth $2 billion: How they built their ‘extraordinary success'

Courtesy of Jacob Harrell for CNBC Make It. After years at the helm of several businesses, Michael Acton Smith was burnt out. But even as his mental health suffered, he believed mindfulness and ...
NBC DFW

Calm founder used money he saved to buy a house to help start the app—now it's valued at $2 billion: ‘My parents thought it was the silliest idea'

When Alex Tew saw the domain "Calm.com" was up for grabs, he thought it was the sign he and his business partner, Michael Acton Smith, needed to finally get their mindfulness app off the ground. "We ...
Times Union

From $0 to a $1 Billion Valuation in 7 Years: How the Co-Founder of the Calm App Pivoted From Online Games to Meditation

This story was originally published on Oct. 19, 2018, and has been updated. In this series, The Gambit, Entrepreneur associate editor Hayden Field explores extraordinary risk, speaking with successful ...