Kiko

Kiko was an online calendar application and one of the first startups backed by Y Combinator in its Summer 2005 batch. Founded by Justin Kan and Emmett Shear, two Yale University graduates, Kiko was developed as an Ajax-based web calendar designed to be easy to use and accessible from anywhere. Kan and Shear's goal was to bring personal scheduling to the web. The platform allowed users to share calendars and invite others to events, even if they were not Kiko users.

The company's journey was marked by significant challenges, most notably the launch of Google Calendar in April 2006. Google's offering, which was free and integrated with its other popular services like Gmail, quickly eroded Kiko's user base and market share. Faced with dwindling user growth, no revenue, and mounting pressure from investors, the founders made an unconventional decision. Inspired by another website that had successfully sold on the platform, Kan and Shear listed Kiko for sale on eBay in a 10-day auction. The company, including its domain name, source code, and user base, was sold for $258,100 to Elliot Noss, the CEO of the Canadian internet company Tucows.

Following the sale of Kiko, founders Justin Kan and Emmett Shear went on to create Justin.tv, a live video streaming platform that eventually evolved into the highly successful video game streaming platform, Twitch. Their experience with Kiko is often cited as a valuable lesson in market timing, differentiation, and the importance of having a sustainable business model.

Keywords: online calendar, Ajax web application, Y Combinator startup, Justin Kan, Emmett Shear, web-based scheduling, Google Calendar competitor, eBay startup sale, Justin.tv precursor, Twitch founders, startup case study, tech history, dot-com era, scheduling software