After Four Near-Death Experiences, This Billion Dollar Startup CEO Has No More Time to Waste

In medieval times, there emerged a provocative artistic concept called memento mori, Latin for “remember that you have to die.” All things florid and frivolous were depicted next to stark symbols of death, acting as both a reminder to live it up as well as a warning to use time wisely because one day it runs out.

It was a motivational approach that was very on-brand for the Dark Ages.

Surely, by now, we’ve seen the light, right? Or thought of a way to encourage people to value their time and lead productive lives without all of the doom and gloom? In a timeline where living often feels more like waiting, one entrepreneur has found a way to help people reclaim control over their days. He just had to stare death in the face four times to do it.

“I’ve learned a lot about living by almost dying,” says Zeb Evans, Founder and CEO of ClickUp, a billion-dollar productivity platform on a mission to make the world more productive.

The first time Evans faced death, he was a child. In 1999, a near-fatal boating accident had left 10-year-old Evans bedridden and connected to a network of morphine and feeding tubes for days on end in a North Carolina hospital.

It turns out the boating injuries weren’t the only threats at play. With his condition rapidly deteriorating, doctors were at a loss as to how to save his life. If not for a serendipitous discovery made by a visiting resident who suggested checking for a ruptured appendix, Evans' time would have been up.

That was the first of Evans’ four near-death experiences—one of which was during a 2012 home invasion where he was held at gunpoint—that ultimately changed the entire course of his life...

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