Funnel teardown: Cal.com (Scheduling)
Founder(s): Peer Richelsen and Bailey Pumfleet

Cal.com sells the open-source alternative to Calendly. The repo IS the trust signal.

TL;DR: Cal.com's funnel positions as the open-source, infinitely-extensible alternative to Calendly. The GitHub repo and self-host option are the trust assets that justify the paid hosted tier. The lesson: in a category dominated by a closed SaaS, open-source positioning is a wedge that converts the developer-adjacent buyer who could-but-will-not-build-it-themselves.

What they sell: An open-source scheduling platform with hosted SaaS, self-host option, and an enterprise tier with white-label and embed features.
Who it's for: Developers, agencies, and teams who want Calendly's UX with extensibility, privacy control, or white-label options.
Pricing: Generous free hosted tier. Paid tiers per user for teams and white-label. Self-host is free under AGPL (verified 2026-05-17).

Hook pattern: Open-source as differentiator
The hero frames the product as the open-source version of a SaaS the reader already knows. This compresses two messages into one: what we do (scheduling, like Calendly) and why we are different (open, extensible, self-hostable).

Story pattern: Developer-credibility through artifacts
The repo on GitHub is the story. Star count, contributor count, and the integration directory are the proof that this is real software, not a marketing claim. The reader who values code-as-truth lands fast.

Offer pattern: Hosted plus self-host two-track
Same dual-track as Plausible: hosted SaaS for the easy buyer, self-host for the principled buyer. Most self-hosters return to the hosted tier when the maintenance cost exceeds the subscription cost. The two-track offer captures both buyer types without forcing a choice at first contact.

What's working:
Open-source as a wedge in a closed-SaaS-dominated category gives a clear technical differentiator.|GitHub star count and contributor activity function as live social proof updated daily.|App directory positions Cal.com as a platform, not a tool, expanding the addressable use case range.|Founder-led marketing on Twitter (and elsewhere) anchors the entity to identifiable humans.|The hosted tier is generous enough to remove the 'too expensive vs Calendly' objection without requiring self-host.

What to adapt:
If you can credibly open-source any meaningful part of your stack, the GitHub repo becomes a permanent free trust signal.|Position against a category leader by name when the leader's structural decision (closed, paid-only, US-only, etc.) is the wedge.|Use founder-on-Twitter as a marketing surface. It is high-trust, low-cost, and compounds over time.

What to avoid:
Do not open-source if your business model depends on proprietary IP that competitors could trivially copy and undercut. Cal.com's moat is hosting and ecosystem, which open source does not threaten.|Do not promise extensibility before the integration directory exists. The platform claim must be backed by a real integration count.

Brunson lens:
Hook: Open-source alternative-to positioning (Brunson 'better mousetrap' rejected; this is a 'new vehicle' move).
Story: Hero's Journey via the repo: founders building in public, contributors joining, the reader is invited to either use the hosted or self-host the same thing.
Offer: Two-rung Value Ladder: free hosted (front-end) plus paid team tier (subscription core) plus self-host (escape hatch).
Value ladder tier: Front-end lead funnel (free hosted) plus subscription core (paid teams).