Supercal: New Scheduling Platform by Kayak Co-founder

A New Scheduling Platform: Supercal Challenges Calendly

Paul English, the co-founder of Kayak, has launched a new venture aimed at revolutionizing how meetings are scheduled. This new platform, named Supercal, directly addresses the inefficiencies often found in existing scheduling tools like Calendly.

The Genesis of Supercal

The creation of Supercal stemmed from English’s own frustrations with coordinating meetings. Serving on eight boards of directors, he experienced firsthand the difficulties of aligning multiple schedules. This led him to develop a system designed for streamlined group meeting bookings.

English’s objective was to create a robust alternative to Calendly, offering comparable functionality without the associated cost. He intends for Supercal to be a completely free scheduling platform.

Key Features and Functionality

Supercal’s group scheduling feature simplifies the process of arranging meetings with multiple participants. Users can simply email a group and CC the Supercal AI.

The AI then intelligently analyzes everyone’s calendars to identify a mutually available time. It automatically books the meeting and confirms the details via email.

Calendar Integration and Meeting Types

The platform allows synchronization of up to six calendars, consolidating both professional and personal commitments. This ensures a comprehensive view of availability.

Supercal offers a variety of pre-defined meeting durations, including 15-minute, 30-minute, and 60-minute slots. A dedicated “VIP” meeting type grants full calendar access for critical appointments.

Furthermore, the platform includes specialized meeting types for breakfast, lunch, coffee, and dinner. Future integration with OpenTable is planned, enabling direct restaurant or coffee shop reservations.

Enhanced Organization and Efficiency

To promote better meeting preparation, Supercal incorporates features like pre-meeting context forms and automatic time zone detection.

Reminders and prebuilt templates are also included to help users maintain organization and efficiency.

Future Development and Premium Features

While currently free, the development team intends to introduce premium features accessible through a subscription model. However, the core functionalities will remain available at no cost.

The long-term vision extends beyond simply scheduling meetings; the goal is to enhance meeting effectiveness.

AI-Powered Meeting Insights

Supercal envisions leveraging AI to provide feedback on meeting performance. This could include metrics like speaking pace, volume levels, and filler word usage.

The aim is to offer constructive coaching, helping users become more impactful communicators during meetings.

Optimizing Meeting Effectiveness

The platform also intends to identify unproductive meetings. It will analyze participation levels and progress made to suggest cancellations of meetings lacking substantial value.

Supercal will also track action items and decisions made during meetings, ensuring accountability and follow-through.

Availability and Future Platforms

Currently, Supercal is accessible via the web. The company plans to expand its reach through browser and email plugins.

Dedicated iOS and Android applications are also under consideration for future development.