Introducing Superpowered: Streamlining Your Online Meetings

A new Mac application, Superpowered, has been released to simplify the management of your Zoom and Google Meet calls. It eliminates the frustration of searching for meeting links within your email or calendar.

Instead of relying solely on calendar alerts, Superpowered provides a dedicated notification inbox within the Mac menu bar. This inbox proactively alerts you to upcoming online meetings, allowing you to join them with a single click.

Getting Started with Superpowered

To begin using Superpowered, download the application and grant it access to your Google Calendar. The app is compatible with all Google accounts, including G Suite, and any calendars you have subscribed to.

Upon connection, Superpowered imports all your scheduled events into the menu bar. These events are readily accessible at any time via a click or the Command+Y keyboard shortcut.

Customizable Notifications

When a meeting is approaching, Superpowered will present a drop-down notification. Alternatively, a subtle halo effect can be selected for a less intrusive alert.

The application offers extensive customization options. Users can configure settings such as chime sounds, advance alert timing, and the display of meeting reminders as text within the menu bar.

Seamless Meeting Access

Joining your scheduled Zoom call or Google Meet is effortless. Simply click the provided button within Superpowered to instantly connect.

The solution is both straightforward and highly effective. The developers intend to expand compatibility with additional platforms, including Microsoft Teams and Cisco WebEx.

The Origin of Superpowered

The concept for Superpowered originated with four computer science and software engineering students from the University of Waterloo. These students previously completed internships at prominent tech companies like Google, Facebook, Asana, and Spotify.

Driven by a desire to launch their own startup, the team initially applied to the Y Combinator accelerator with a plan for a lecture platform for educators.

However, they encountered difficulties managing their own schedules while conducting user research interviews. This challenge sparked the idea for a new solution.

“We found ourselves struggling to coordinate calendars and manage numerous meetings throughout the day,” explains Superpowered co-founder Jordan Dearsley. “We’d often be caught off guard during lunch or completely miss appointments.”

Irfan proposed a simple button in the Mac menu bar to facilitate easy access to Zoom meetings, leading the team to pivot and focus on developing Superpowered.

Rapid Development and Early Adoption

Development of the product commenced approximately two months ago, with Superpowered becoming available to users just last month. This accelerated timeline was facilitated by the team’s composition – three engineers and one designer, Nick Yang.

Despite being a paid product at $10 per month, Superpowered has already attracted hundreds of users. These users interact with the app an average of 10 times daily.

Power users, such as product managers, engage with Superpowered as frequently as 20 to 40 times per day, demonstrating its integration into their workflows. Since its launch, the app has facilitated connections to over 10,000 online meetings.

Competitive Landscape and Future Vision

Superpowered is not the sole player in the market for calendar integration with the Mac menu bar. It competes with alternatives like MeetingBar, Meeter, and Next Meeting.

However, users have responded positively to Superpowered’s streamlined and visually appealing design.

The company envisions expanding the product’s functionality beyond meeting management. Their goal is to address other common pain points experienced by knowledge workers, such as Slack notifications.

“Constant Slack pings while coding can be disruptive, and it’s often unclear whether a message requires immediate attention,” explains Dearsley. “Mac’s Notification Center lacks the intelligence to prioritize essential information.”

To address this, the team is developing a Slack integration that will enable users to quickly review and respond to messages without opening the Slack application.

Future plans include integrating support for platforms like Google Docs, JIRA, and GitHub, consolidating notifications into Superpowered’s unified inbox.

Pricing and Availability

Superpowered is currently available for $10 per month for individual Mac users, or $8 per month for teams. Annual pricing options are not yet offered.