Alex Tew
British entrepreneur and co-founder and CEO of Calm. At 21, he created The Million Dollar Homepage, earning over $1 million in five months. He later co-founded Calm in 2012.
Alex Tew's Bio
Alex Tew is a British entrepreneur and the co-founder and CEO of Calm, the meditation app that helped popularize mindfulness and sleep stories worldwide. Born in 1984 and raised in Wiltshire, England, Tew began meditating at fourteen and studied business management at the University of Nottingham before dropping out in December 2005.
In 2005, at age twenty-one, Tew created The Million Dollar Homepage, selling one million pixels of advertising space for one dollar each. The project became an internet sensation and earned him over $1 million in five months. He followed it with ventures including Pixelotto, PopJam, One Million People, the Flash game Sock and Awe, and the site Do Nothing For 2 Minutes.
Tew moved to San Francisco and co-founded Calm with Michael Acton Smith in 2012. As CEO, he has led the company through multiple funding rounds and helped grow it into a leading global mental wellness brand.
Career Timeline
1984 — Born in Wiltshire, England
Born in Wiltshire, England. Began meditating at age fourteen and developed an early interest in concentration, memory, and cognition.
2005 — Created The Million Dollar Homepage
At age twenty-one, created The Million Dollar Homepage, selling one million pixels of advertising space for one dollar each. The project earned over $1 million within five months.
2005 — Dropped out of University of Nottingham
Dropped out of the business management program at the University of Nottingham in December 2005 to pursue entrepreneurship full-time.
2011 — Created Do Nothing For 2 Minutes at PopJam
As CEO of PopJam, created the site Do Nothing For 2 Minutes with developer Ben Dowling.
2012 — Co-founded Calm
Moved to San Francisco and co-founded Calm with Michael Acton Smith, serving as CEO of the meditation app company.
