Cluely's Roy Lee hints that viral hype is not enough | TechCrunch

"While Roy Lee, the founder of Cluely, argues that startups should be thinking harder about social media virality, he also admits that brand awareness alone won't lead to sustained growth. "I can't say if it's a mistake, but maybe we launched too early," Lee said on stage at TechCrunch Disrupt 2025 last week. "The whole idea [was] let's launch something that barely works, and if we can get enough initial users, they will find out the use cases for us.""

"Cluely burst onto the tech scene in April with rage bait marketing for a product it claimed would help users "cheat on everything." Lee first made headlines when he was suspended from Columbia University for building a tool used for cheating on coding job interviews. He channeled that notoriety into Cluely, a startup that claimed to help users "cheat on everything" by delivering undetectable information during online conversations."

"But earlier this week, the startup shifted and narrowed its scope when it introduced a new website that calls its product an AI assistant for meetings. The company's plan now is to "become the best AI note taker, starting with the consumer," Lee said on stage. As an AI notetaker, Cluely is clearly entering a crowded market but Roy touted functionality such as "sending follow-up emails.""

Cluely launched in April with provocative marketing promising to help users "cheat on everything." The founder previously faced suspension from Columbia University after building a tool used for cheating on coding interviews and leveraged that notoriety to attract attention. The company introduced an enterprise product in late June aimed at sales calls, customer support, and remote tutoring before narrowing its focus to an AI assistant for meetings. The stated goal is to become the best AI note taker for consumers, with features such as sending follow-up emails. Funding included a $15 million Series A from Andreessen Horowitz after converting attention into paying customers, while sales and retention remain modest.

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