We spent years
afraid of the phone.
So we built the thing we wish had always existed — for us, and for the 70 million people who stammer just like us.
"I used to ask my mum to phone the doctor for me. The dentist. The garage. The insurance company. Even just to book a table at a restaurant."
Growing up with a stammer, a phone call wasn't just uncomfortable — it was something to be feared and avoided entirely. Not because I didn't have anything to say. Because I was terrified of the silence, the confusion, the awkward pause that made people hang up or talk over me.
For years, I relied on my parents to make calls on my behalf. Need to book a GP appointment? Mum does it. Car MOT overdue? Dad rings the garage. It worked — but it felt like a ceiling. Like there were parts of life I simply couldn't reach on my own.
That feeling never really went away. It just became something I worked around. Until my brother and I decided we were done working around it.
— Evan, Co-founder
The moment it changed
There comes a point where avoiding the phone stops being a quirk and starts costing you. Missed appointments. Unmade calls. Opportunities that quietly slip away because the words wouldn't come out in time.
We looked for a tool — something practical that would let us make calls on our own terms, in our own voice. Therapy helps, but it takes years. Avoidance isn't a solution. We found nothing that fit.
So two brothers who stammer decided to build it ourselves.
Two brothers. One mission.
Evan Belford
Co-founder · Age 25
I've stammered for as long as I can remember. I spent years avoiding the phone — letting everyone else call for me. CalmCalls is the tool I wish I'd had growing up.
Lewis Belford
Co-founder · Age 28
My stammer shaped a lot of my life — the calls I dodged, the words I couldn't get out. Building CalmCalls with my brother is how we're taking that back, for us and for everyone like us.
Why CalmCalls exists
The phone call problem
For people who stammer, a phone call isn't just a phone call. It's a daily source of anxiety, avoidance, and missed independence.
Nothing fit
Therapy helps, but takes years. Avoidance isn't a solution. We needed a practical tool — and found nothing that let us call on our own terms.
So we built it
Two brothers. One a digital marketer, one a data scientist. Both stammerers. We pooled our skills to build the tool we wish we'd always had.
"We're not trying to fix anyone's stammer. We're giving people back their independence."
70 million people worldwide stammer. Every single one deserves to make their own phone call.