There are any number of startups that aren’t headquartered here, but that have a bunch of employees here, either remote or through a regional office. One of those companies is Zapier, the popular Low Code/No Code service that lets you automate online tasks by tying disparate APIs together. More than 30 Portland area folks currently work there. So when I saw the news about Zapier’s founders selling shares to Sequoia, it piqued my interest.
The secondary offering sale would value Zapier at more than $4 billion, about “at least 40 times its annualized revenue.” Which is especially interesting, given that the company has raised around $1 million in venture capital. Total. One and done.
Unlike most startups in Silicon Valley, Zapier effectively bootstrapped itself to profitability, with Foster insisting its success shouldn’t rely on venture capital. “We feel like we determine our runway versus [building] on borrowed time,” Foster told First Round Capital in an interview in 2017.
The Information broke the news. Their content is behind a paywall. But if you’re one of the first few people to read this, you can get free access for 30 days to read the full story.
[kofi]
