Magical Raises $3.3M to Reinvent Calendars - TechCrunch

The Evolution of Calendars and the Rise of Magical

Calendars are fundamental to organizing daily work and meetings. Despite ongoing efforts to modernize them, the core calendar experience in platforms like Outlook or Google Workspace remains largely unchanged.

Recent innovations from companies such as Calendly and ReclaimAI have primarily focused on streamlining the scheduling process.

Magical: A New Approach to Team Collaboration

Magical, a startup based in Tel Aviv, is aiming to completely reimagine the calendar experience. Their goal is to transform it from a simple personal time-management tool into a robust platform for team collaboration.

The company recently secured $3.3 million in seed funding, led by Resolute Ventures, with contributions from Ibex Investors, Aviv Growth Partners, ORR Partners, Homeward Ventures, and Fusion LA, alongside several angel investors specializing in productivity solutions.

The concept for Magical originated from discussions within Supertools, a prominent online community dedicated to workplace productivity, which was also founded by Magical’s CEO, Tommy Barav.

Image Credits: Magical

Identifying an Unsolved Problem

Barav observed that effective time management continues to be a significant challenge for businesses. He noted, “The time management space is so highly fragmented.”

He explained that numerous individual tools and frameworks exist, but they aren’t integrated directly into the calendar – the central hub of daily workflow.

He argues that traditional calendars are often secondary components within larger software suites, hindering their potential. “The calendar in Outlook is an email sidekick, but it’s actually the center of your day.”

This highlights an unmet need for a calendar that functions as a comprehensive time management center.

Beyond Scheduling: Redefining Time Management

Currently in private beta, Magical intends to incorporate features from existing scheduling and calendaring startups, including AI-powered scheduling and automation. However, Magical’s vision extends far beyond these capabilities.

Image Credits: Magical

“We want to redefine how you use a calendar in the first place,” Barav stated. “Many of the innovations that we’ve seen are associated with scheduling: how you schedule your time, letting you streamline the way you schedule meetings, how you see your calendar.”

He continued, “But we’re talking about redefining time management by giving you a better calendar, by bringing these workflows — scheduling, coordinating and utilizing — into your calendar. We’re redefining the use of the calendar in the modern workspace.”

Centralizing Workflows and Reducing Inefficiencies

Magical aims to transform the calendar into a central repository for meeting notes, complete with collaborative tools for sharing and editing. Team members will be able to stay informed about meeting outcomes without needing to attend or receive numerous email updates.

“We’ll help teams reduce pointless meetings,” Barav emphasized.

To achieve this, the platform will integrate with popular services like Zoom and Slack, as well as business-critical tools such as Salesforce and Notion.

Investor Confidence

Mike Hirshland, a founding partner at Resolute Ventures, expressed strong confidence in Magical’s potential. He said, “It’s rare that you find an entrepreneur who has so clearly validated its market opportunity.”

Hirshland added, “Tommy and his team have been talking to thousands of users for three years, they’ve validated the opportunity, and they’ve designed a product from the ground-up that meets the needs of the market. Now it’s ‘go time’ and I’m thrilled to be part of the journey ahead.”