Since 2023, Shane Parreco has run Aktiga, a software development firm he founded to help clients create everything from web applications to virtual reality experiences. While helping clients build custom applications, Parreco recognized the need to create one of his own that would solve the everyday problem of productivity. This led to the innovation of Agenda Keeper.
Agenda Keeper was conceived as a web platform that helps users improve and manage their meetings through organized, archived agendas. The platform was still in the concept stage when Hurricane Helene hit Asheville in September of 2024, causing Aktiga and Agenda Keeper alike to lose more than a month of productivity. In the storm’s aftermath, Parreco and his team knew it was time to push the product forward. They launched the beta in February of this year.
“Across most industries, especially medium and larger businesses, meetings aren’t run well; the meeting experience is not great,” Parreco said. “A lot of the research we’ve come across talks about how a big part of why meetings aren’t run well and aren’t effective is because there’s not as much emphasis and energy put into planning as there should be.”
When designing Agenda Keeper, Parreco said he wanted to ensure that there was a simple and straightforward way to stay organized for meetings, which the startup accomplishes through accessible agendas.
When people create agendas for meetings, they often do it in a Google Doc that is separate from the meeting itself and may get lost in a cluttered Google Drive, minimizing its efficacy in organizing discussion items.
By contrast, users can connect Agenda Keeper directly with their Google or Outlook calendars. From there, they can create an agenda and attach it to a specific meeting, so that when they view that meeting, the agenda is readily accessible to participants. The platform is unique in its ability to connect agendas to specific calendar meetings.
Agenda Keeper also allows users to view archives of all past agendas for specific recurring meetings. This feature further sets Agenda Keeper apart from other agenda startups, Parreco said. The archive enables users to see what they discussed during the last meeting and track any tasks, progress, etc. between recurring meetings.
“What we’re trying to do is create a tool that’s more integrated in the workflow, that’s an easier place to go and look at your calendar and what’s coming up now,” Parreco said. “You go to Agenda Keeper and you create your agenda and for all of your meetings that day and you’re ready to go.”
Selling more effective meetings
Agenda Keeper operates as an internally developed product of Aktiga that generates revenue independently from the software development firm. The platform offers access via a software-as-a-service model that is targeted at the business-to-business market but is also effective for individuals.
Currently, Agenda Keeper has both a free and a paid subscription tier. As the startup adds more features, the plan is to limit access to the number of uses of a feature behind a paywall, rather than lock specific features entirely. For instance, it might only allow access to five agenda templates for free users rather than the full library.
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Startup: Agenda Keeper
Founder: Shane Parreco
Founded: 2025
Team size: 10
Location: Asheville
Website: www.agendakeeper.com
Funding: Bootstrapped
Parreco said the startup focuses on selling the platform to businesses and that the tool is relevant to any company regardless of the industry.
In 2024, Forbes published an article that revealed that U.S. companies lose $37 billion annually from ineffective meetings—a statistic that Parreco said shows the viability of the startup’s total addressable market.
Spreading the agenda
As Agenda Keeper continues to grow, the platform will add an array of new features. Some that are currently in development are action items, which will allow users to assign specific tasks to others with a due date. Parreco also said he also plans to add a library of agenda templates to the platform, providing customizable agendas suited to different meeting types.
The last of Agenda Keeper’s currently planned features are team workspaces, which will help the startup recruit whole teams of users to the platform and enable teams to access shared resources on the platform and assign designated administrators.
Operating both Aktiga and Agenda Keeper, Parreco has participated in development programs across North Carolina, from the Center for Entrepreneurial Development’s GRO incubator to Winston Starts and, most recently, Venture Asheville Elevate.
“Having this organizational system is super helpful, and that’s where we see the value and why people should use this because it really is helpful,” Parreco said.
