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Investor Newsletter >

Weekly Update #155: The Zenefits Saga

EquityZen
Jul 6th, 2016

Zenefits

HR software startup Zenefits recently restructured their company and slashed their valuation by over 50%, according to Fortune. The company was previously valued at $4.5 billion before the company went through a wave of turmoil, including:

  • The resigning of their founder and CEO, Parker Conrad
  • Allegedly using a tech "bot" to allow employees to fake the completion of required online insurance courses
  • Laying off 250 employees

Is there good news ahead? Fortunately, light is at the end of the tunnel. As a result of the aforementioned changes, Zenefits has positively done the following:

  • Promoted David Sacks, a seasoned Silicon Valley tech exec, to CEO. Sacks was previously COO at PayPal and then founded Yammer, which sold to Microsoft for $1.2B.
  • Adding three senior board members, including PayPal founder Peter Thiel.
  • The valuation slash will come with a "release of claims against the company." In light of recent news, some investors had threatened to sue Zenefits over "regulatory impropriety".

Thanks,

Phil Haslett | Founder + Head of Investments | EquityZen 

 

In other news...

 

Anatomy Of A Unicorn: Why Tech Start-Ups Are Staying Private (ValueWalk)

"Up-and-coming technology companies are no longer racing to list their shares on public markets. A massive increase in late-stage venture capital has enabled many start-ups to reach valuations of more than $1 billion while remaining in private hands."

 

How Healthy Is The SaaS IPO Market? (Tomasz Tunguz)

"Salesforce’s initial public offering in 2003 demarcated the beginning of a new era, the era of Software as a Service. In the 13 years that followed, many startups have followed their path to build innovative software that has transformed their respective industries and sectors."

 

12 tech companies most likely to IPO in the next year (VentureBeat)

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