The story
Casalena began developing Squarespace for his personal use while attending the University of Maryland. He started sharing it with friends and family members and participated in a "business incubator" program at the university. In January 2004, he launched Squarespace as do-it-yourself website builder for the public, with a $30,000 seed fund from his father, a small grant from the university, and 300 beta testers who paid a discounted rate. At that time, Casalena was the company's sole developer and employee, and worked out of his dorm room.
By the time Casalena graduated in 2005, Squarespace was making annual revenues of $1 million. He moved to New York City, continued hiring, and had 30 employees by 2010. That year, Squarespace received $38.5 million in its first round of venture capital funding led by Index Ventures and Accel Partners, enabling it to hire more staff, continue to develop its software, and double its marketing budget. From 2009 to 2012, it grew an average of 266% in yearly revenue. In April 2014, it received another $40 million in funding. By 2015, it had reached $100 million in revenue and 550 employees.
Squarespace purchased Super Bowl advertising spots from 2014 to 2026. Its 2017 ad won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Commercial. In 2017, it signed a sponsorship deal with the New York Knicks to add the Squarespace logo to their uniforms.
Squarespace acquired appointment scheduling company Acuity Scheduling in April 2019. In October 2019, Squarespace acquired Unfold, an app co-founded by Alfonso Cobo that allows users to editorialize their social media content. In April 2021, the company bought hospitality industry management platform Tock for more than $400 million. It sold Tock to American Express in June 2024.
In early 2021, the company filed paperwork with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to go public through direct listing on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "SQSP". In March 2021, Squarespace raised $300 million in a round of funding led by Dragoneer, Tiger Global, D1 Capital Partners and Fidelity Management & Research Company with participation from existing investors. This funding round valued the company at $10 billion.
On June 15, 2023, Squarespace concluded an agreement to purchase the Google Domains business, including approximately 10 million registered domain names.
In May 2024, Squarespace signed a deal with British private equity firm Permira to be taken private. The transaction was finalized in October 2024.
From Wikipedia’s article on Squarespace, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.8