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Anthony Casalena
Photo via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Anthony Casalena

Founder & CEO, Squarespace

Bootstrapped Squarespace from a dorm room to a website platform past $700M in annual recurring revenue; advocate of capital efficiency and opinionated design.

Websitesquarespace.com
#Entrepreneurship#Bootstrapping#Design#Small business

Key arguments & positions

  • Champions bootstrapping and capital efficiency — grew Squarespace profitably for roughly six years before taking outside investment.
  • Favored a direct listing over a traditional IPO when going public in 2021.
  • Emphasizes curated, "opinionated" design over unlimited customization as a product philosophy.

Accomplishments

  • Founded Squarespace in his dorm room in 2003.
  • Grew it past $700M in annual recurring revenue.
  • Took it public via direct listing (NYSE: SQSP) in 2021.
  • Led its take-private sale to Permira (about $6.9B, closed October 2024) and stayed on as CEO — Squarespace is privately held again.

Papers & key writings

No books or essay collections — his public voice comes through interviews such as 20VC and First Round Review.

Links

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