Of the many Super Bowl commercials that ran Sunday, few were for small businesses — and only one was advertising a company created by a university alumnus.
While living in a dorm 10 years ago, Anthony Casalena received a $30,000 loan from his father to help realize his dream: changing the way websites are built.
He used the money to create what is now an industry-leading website publishing platform provider: Squarespace. As testament to its success, the company reached one of its biggest milestones yet this weekend, with its first-ever Super Bowl advertisement.
“The ad’s primary goal was to raise awareness about the company,” said Casalena, Squarespace’s CEO and founder. “People are going out to create a website and aren’t necessarily thinking, ‘Squarespace.’ Our competitors put a lot more money into advertising. The first and most important thing was to be in the conversation.”
The commercial painted a picture of an Internet apocalypse, featuring a man being bombarded with Internet memes come to life, dramatic pleas for Facebook likes and virus warnings. The 30-second spot ended with the words, “We can’t change what the Web has become, but we can change what it will be.”
“This was a chance to put a message out there that helps people understand what we’re about as a company,” Casalena said. “All this crap is floating around, and it draws a line in the sand and says, ‘We can’t change this stuff that’s out there right now. What is your website going to do? Is it going to be contributing, or be clean, simple and represent your ideas?’ That’s the kind of thing we want to have with Squarespace. Spam-free and straight-forward.”
It was an idea that resonated with students.
“I think this ad was effective,” said Gillian Crawford, a freshman journalism major. “It really got its point across. The fact that it’s for a company founded by a UMD student made me feel like anyone can make something happen and become a really big success, be really important and have a big impact. I wouldn’t say [the ad] was one of my favorites, but it was one of the better ones.”
With 259 employees and offices in multiple cities, Squarespace is one of the largest publishing platforms on the Internet. The company has received a variety of accolades, including the “People’s Voice” winner for Best Home Page in the Webby Awards and one of the Best Places to Work in New York City by Crain’s New York Business.
“There are a couple things about the company that stand out,” said Casalena, whom Forbes named one of America’s Most Promising CEOs Under 35. “We’ve had a business model from the beginning, so we’ve always made money, which meant we could remain independent. And I was a designer and engineer from when I was young, so we saved money since I was able to write the entire thing. I think Squarespace always tried to be a leader and not fit what our competitors were doing. We had values we lived by and build into our product.”
While at this university, Casalena was a part of the Hinman CEOs program. The first of its kind in the nation, the living-learning entrepreneurship program’s mission is to foster an entrepreneurial spirit in its participants, create a sense of community and develop ethical leaders, according to the program’s website.
“I think Hinman is a great way people can be exposed to various things that will help them as an entrepreneur,” Casalena said. “They do have to carve their own path out.”
Casalena’s story was especially inspiring to Josh Curreri, a freshman aerospace engineering major.
“The ad was great,” said Curreri, who is in the Honors Entrepreneurship and Innovation program. “I love that entrepreneurs come out of this school.”
Casalena’s advice for future entrepreneurs was simple.
“One of the primary things to keep in mind is to solve problems [you] personally care about,” he said. “To do something long-term, it should be something you care about independently of making money.”
