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Zapier Success Story
Software as a service (SaaS) is a software distribution model in which a third-party provider hosts applications and makes them available to customers over the Internet. SaaS is one of three main categories of cloud computing, alongside infrastructure as a service and platform as a service (IaaS and PaaS).
Zapier is a software development company. Zapier is an online automation tool that connects your favorite apps, such as Gmail, Slack, Mailchimp, and more. It offers a SaaS-tool that connects applications and automates workflows. Zapier's product allows users to move data and automate tasks. Know more about Zapier's company profile here in this article.
Zapier - Company Highlights
- Startup Name-Zapier
- Developer-Zapier Inc.
- Headquarters-San Francisco
- Industry-SaaS, Software
- Founded-2011
- Founders-Wade Foster, Bryan Helmig, Mike Knoop
- CEO-Wade Foster
- Area Served-Worldwide
- Website-www.zapier.com
Zapier - About and How it Works?
Zapier is a developer of an online platform designed to link web-based applications. The company's online platform connects and automates the applications used by the people and helps them to synchronize data between web applications, enabling users to make the work easier and integrate web applications at a single click of the mouse.
Zapier is a web application that allows the user to move data and automate the tasks. Its a team of 250+ people living and working remotely in 24+ countries.
We're working hard to build a diverse and collaborative team that can empathize with each other to solve hard problems and build a product we can be proud of.
Zapier - Recent News
As of October 2020, Zapier announced its availability in Microsoft Teams.
We’re excited to announce that we’ve launched an app for Microsoft Teams. You can now view, create, and edit Zaps right within Teams.
Zapier - Logo and its Meaning
The Zapier logo is made of two parts: the logo (Zapier and the asterisk) and the logomark (just the asterisk). But the Zapier brand is more than just these two visual elements. It is a symbol for making automation easy for busy people.
Zapier - Founder and History
Zapier was started in Columbia, Missouri by co-founders Wade Foster, Bryan Helmig, and Mike Knoop as part of the first Startup Weekend Columbia in 2011.
Wade Foster, Bryan Helmig & Mike Knoop | Co-Founders, Zapier
After initially submitting an application for the Winter 2012 funding cycle and being rejected, they then built their initial prototype with 25 apps, and were accepted to Y Combinator startup seed accelerator in the Summer 2012 funding cycle. As a result of the acceptance, the company was relocated to Mountain View, California in Spring 2012. In October of the same year, Zapier received a $1.3 million seed funding round led by global venture investment firm Bessemer Venture Partners. Zapier reached profitability in 2014.
In March 2017, the company offered a "de-location package", consisting of $10,000 in moving reimbursement to employees who desired to move away from the San Francisco Bay Area. After the announcement, job applications increased by 50%.
Zapier - Mission
Zapier's mission statement says,
"We’re just some humans who think computers should do more work."
The spirit of this mission is whimsical and humble, but there’s a bold message behind it. We’re given only one life to live, and it would be a cruel fate to spend much of it doing menial tasks — paper work, importing and exporting information between apps, copying and pasting text. Computers are better at these tasks, and Zapier believes removing them from your workflow empowers you to focus on the work that really matters and that only you can do.
Zapier - Business Model
Zapier’s unorthodox approach to finding users wasn’t the only thing unorthodox about their beta. They didn’t just get people to give their unfinished product a try. They got people to pay for the privilege. For a tech beta, most companies just say “sign up, it’s free, all you have to do is give us advice… we’ll take anyone’s advice.” They just beg for customers.
We made people pay a one-time fee to get into our beta. For the first few people, we charged $100 for access to the beta for as long as the beta lasts. And that number moved around; we charged as little as $1, and eventually it settled in around $5 or $10 to get into the beta towards the end.
It’s not that we wanted to make money off of the beta, it’s that we wanted people who really thought this was important enough to pay for and spend some time with us for. The last thing we wanted was a bunch of tire kickers who are just trying it out for fun but had no plans to use it on an ongoing basis.
So that little hurdle of just paying a little bit of money got them some really high quality early users who went above and beyond in terms of providing feedback to us on the things that mattered.
Zapier - Revenue and Growth
Zapier's automation service is growing faster than ever with 3 million registered users, up from 2 million in January and one million in May 2016. Annual recurring revenue has also grown by nearly 50% since January 2020, from $35 million to $50 million. Zapier's estimated annual revenue is currently $54.4M per year. Zapier's total funding is $2.6M. Zapier's pricing is $239 per year.
Zapier - Funding and Investors
Zapier has raised a total of $1.4M in funding over 2 rounds. Their latest funding was raised on Jan 14, 2021 from a Secondary Market round. Zapier is funded by 6 investors. Sequoia Capital and Bessemer Venture Partners are the most recent investors.
Zapier - Competitors
Top competitors of Zapier are Integromat, Automate, Microsoft Flow, Workato and IFTTT.
Zapier - Challenges Faced
Zapier – which, rhymes with “happier,” in case you were wondering – wasn’t an overnight success. First, Wade Foster and Bryan had to recruit Bryan’s friend Mike Knoop to the team, who would go on to become Zapier’s third co-founder and CPO. Together, they built a “demo-able” version of their app in a few weeks and presented it at Columbia, Missouri’s first-ever startup competition in October 2011.
The pair’s complementary skill sets helped them work well together as a duo, and they began taking on projects together. Then, one day, in September of 2011, Bryan messaged Wade with an idea. The rest, as they say, is history.
The app, which Bryan had dubbed “API Mixer,” took first place in the competition – and that’s when Zapier’s co-founders began to treat their creation as more than just a side project. They changed the name, applied to the accelerator program Y Combinator, got rejected, then applied again and got accepted. Zapier officially launched in June of 2012, offering integrations with 34 apps.
Today, Zapier has integrations with over 2,000 apps, adding 600 partners in 2019 alone (with Microsoft Teams, Google Ads, and DocuSign being a few notable mentions).
Zapier - Future Plans
Just two years after launching – with only one round of Series A funding totaling $1.3 million – Zapier pulled off a feat that takes many companies years to achieve: profitability. And when you look at the company’s annual recurring revenue (the revenue they earn from product subscriptions in a given calendar year) it’s easy to see how that was possible. Between 2016 and 2018, Zapier’s ARR grew from approximately $10 million to more than $50 million.
Zapier is continuing to prove itself as a tech powerhouse. This year, the company placed 24th on Forbes’ annual Cloud 100 list, which ranks the world’s top private cloud computing companies. And while Zapier’s customer-centricity, transparency, and work ethic, have helped propel the company to where it is today, their actual prouct offering – automation – has them poised for longevity.
Businesses are doubling-down on digital transformation and recognizing the power of automation. In fact, McKinsey estimates that automation could increase global productivity growth by up to 1.4% annually.
“Automation is one of the most pivotal topics of the next decade. People and businesses are proactively seeking smarter, better ways to drive tangible results in less time…we’re able to give businesses of all sizes valuable time back in their day so they can focus on their most important goals,” said Wade.
Zapier - FAQs
What is Zapier?
Zapier is an online automation tool that connects your favorite apps, such as Gmail, Slack, Mailchimp, and more.
How does Zapier work?
You can connect two or more apps to automate repetitive tasks without coding or relying on developers to build the integration. Or you can have Zapier automate this for you, saving you time and effort.
What apps work with Zapier?
You can integrate with apps such as Facebook Lead Ads, Slack, Quickbooks, Google Sheets, Google Docs, Gmail, Google Calendar & many more!
Who founded Zapier?
Zapier was started in Columbia, Missouri by co-founders Wade Foster, Bryan Helmig, and Mike Knoop as part of the first Startup Weekend Columbia in 2011.
Which companies does Zapier compete with?
Top competitors of Zapier are Integromat, Automate, Microsoft Flow, Workato and IFTTT.
Is Zapier for free?
Zapier offers a free level of service, albeit with some limitations. With this account, you can perform up to 100 tasks per month, but you can only have five Zaps active at any given time. To clarify, a task is a completed action within a Zap.
Is Zapier safe to use?
Zapier takes the security of your data seriously. Credentials that you use to connect your accounts to Zapier are protected with bank-level encryption. The only action that Zapier takes on your accounts is those necessary to run the Zaps you create.
Zapier - Conclusion
Zapier is an online automation tool that connects your apps and services. You can connect two or more apps to automate repetitive tasks without coding or relying on developers to build the integration. This guide walks you through key concepts to help you get started with Zapier. We're just some humans who think computers should do more work for you! Zapier lets you connect the apps you use to complete routine tasks automatically. Free up time to focus on what’s important to you and Zap away your busywork.