We recently closed our new round. We haven’t made a very big deal about it, so I was quite surprised by how many people offered their congratulations.
Immediately, I was of two minds about this flurry of well-wishing:
- On the one hand, I was and am thrilled that so many people are rooting for us and cheering Timyo on. First and foremost, thanks to all of you who have reached out!
- On the other hand, I don’t think what we’ve done is exactly an accomplishment (yet.)
Regarding the second point, the emphasis is definitely on the “yet”. I am very happy that we have secured a new round of financing. It presents us with an ideal situation going forward. But, to me, that is only a beginning, not an achievement!
I think the disconnect comes from the fact that many people think of Timyo as a startup. And while Timyo is many things, I do have a confession to make:
Timyo is not a startup.
What is a startup?
At the risk of being a bit provocative, I would define a startup like this: “A company that acts fast, raises fast, and exits fast.”
This is a fine model, and it has of course produced much success for many people, but it just isn’t what Timyo is about.
If you are reading this, you are probably at least a little bit familiar with Timyo’s concept, so you’ll already know that one thing we don’t value is “speed for speed’s sake”. We think it’s harmful in email, and we think it would be harmful in running our company.
Since Timyo’s inception, we have been focused on building a sustainable foundation. We are in this for the long haul. And building a company like this takes time—“time”, of course, being another topic that we can tend to go on about :).
The secret to true respect.
From the start, we knew we had a unique opportunity to bring something new not only to email, but to collaboration and communication tools more broadly. The crux of Timyo’s mission is that we must resist acting fast just because we are used to doing so, just because for so long a quick turnaround has been taken as proof of commitment and respect.
Instead, we believe that true respect lies in communicating only what matters, and only when it matters. As the head of a company, I know that I don’t want to receive an immediate reply as some sort of stand-in for the phrase “Hey boss! Look how hard I’m working!” I’d much rather read a careful, considered reply, and receive it when it would be most useful to me.
We are our mission.
At Timyo, our mission is to restore clear communication between sender and recipient so that we can focus on what really matters without unnecessary stress.
It’s a conviction we hold deeply, and it’s one that is reflected in how we choose to manage the company.
We spent months putting together the right team—it was the only way to make sure we could grow around a passionate and very committed team.
We’ve spent months iterating our UI/UX. We have felt keenly the complaints that, so far, we’ve only been available for Gmail and iOS—it was the only way to be focused on one thing: creating a beautiful user experience.
We’ve spent months in this blog to explain how our concept really is a game-changer—it was the only way to make sure people could understand the myriad benefits reaped when we restore truly clear communication.
Please, hold your applause…for now.
On all of these fronts, there is still much to do…and now we’ve got the funding to do it. Today we are at the beginning of a new stage on our journey, not at that journey’s culmination. And if in 5 or 10 years, Timyo has meaningfully tipped the scales in clear communication’s favor…if we have helped millions of people better achieve clarity, productivity, and peace of mind…then, by all means, I would be honored to receive your congratulations. You can call, write…or send me a wonderfully clear email. 🙂
With many thanks,
Fabrice
