Colin Sidoti, co-founder of Clerk.com, recently shared insights into the personal motivation behind the company's mission to simplify user authentication, particularly for iOS developers. In a tweet, Sidoti revealed the initial challenge of convincing his brother, Braden Sidoti, to join the venture, stating, "I've built a few failed startups in my day, so convincing @bsinthewild (my brother) to join me on Clerk wasn't easy 😅." The tweet underscored Braden's prior negative experiences with authentication as an iOS developer, noting, "Luckily, he hated auth from his job as an iOS dev... especially how many intricate details he needed to learn.
Clerk.com, founded in 2019 by Colin and Braden Sidoti, aims to solve the complexities of user management and authentication for developers. The company provides embeddable UIs, APIs, and admin dashboards that streamline sign-up, sign-in, and profile management processes. Braden Sidoti serves as the Chief Technology Officer, leveraging his background as an iOS Engineering Manager to address common developer pain points.
The company has made significant strides in simplifying authentication across various platforms, including a dedicated iOS SDK. This SDK, built with Swift, offers pre-built SwiftUI components that handle authentication flows and user management, enabling developers to integrate secure and "beautiful" authentication with minimal effort. The SDK supports building custom sign-up and sign-in flows for iOS, macOS, visionOS, tvOS, and watchOS, directly addressing the frustration expressed by Braden Sidoti.
Clerk.com has attracted substantial investment, reflecting the market's demand for streamlined developer tools. In January 2024, the company secured $30 million in a Series B funding round. This round was led by CRV, with participation from notable investors including Stripe, Andreessen Horowitz, and Madrona, bringing Clerk's total funding to $55.5 million. The capital is earmarked for expanding Clerk's services beyond authentication into authorization, determining user permissions within applications.
The company's growth has been significant, with monthly active users reportedly increasing by 500% in five months, surpassing one million managed users. This rapid adoption underscores the effectiveness of Clerk's approach in providing a comprehensive, developer-friendly solution for a historically challenging aspect of application development. The co-founders' personal journey and commitment to simplifying authentication continue to drive Clerk's product development and market strategy.