Why Now? Going Public During The Pandemic
By Henry Schuck, Founder and CEO of ZoomInfo
On March 25th, I expected to be in a New York City restaurant, celebrating the momentous milestone of taking the business public; the one I started in a 1,000 square foot loft.
Instead, I was sheltering in my home, eating a chicken pot pie with my wife and four-year-old daughter. So it goes.
Looking back, I remember feeling relieved that evening. Relieved that my family was healthy and relieved that ZoomInfo was secure and resilient.
Before the pot pie dinner, I had made the decision to postpone ZoomInfo’s IPO because of the social, economic, and global impact of COVID-19. Eight weeks later, we went public amidst a pandemic and, sadly, tremendous turmoil in this country over racial injustice.
So, why go public now? I’m hoping this post will help shed light on that question.
Amidst all of the tragedy which surrounds us, we must keep in mind that it is also a challenging time for the country economically, particularly for small and medium-sized businesses. At ZoomInfo, we work with 15,000 customers, including nearly 10,000 small and medium-sized businesses, and we have a fundamental belief that accurate and timely data is essential for the growth and functionality of any business. We believe that businesses will define their go-to-market systems by the data that’s housed inside of them. And we believe data builds resilience by helping modern businesses adapt to change.
Take TentCraft: a ZoomInfo customer that sells tents for events. With social distancing orders underway, events from SXSW to Taylor Swift concerts were canceled, essentially destroying TentCraft’s business overnight. But by partnering with ZoomInfo, they used data to find procurement specialists at hospitals that needed tents for COVID-19 testing stations. Not only was TentCraft able to pivot their business; they also had their best revenue month in history.
Go-to-market data allows businesses to quickly shift to sell to new customers and develop innovative uses for their products. Many tools in the Martech landscape can’t help companies grow for months or even years after implementation. Insightful data can instantly allow businesses to expand to new markets. Today, businesses large and small across the globe are trying to do more with less.
TentCraft is just one example of an extraordinary company banding together in the face of unprecedented change. Zoom Video — where around 90% of the sales team uses ZoomInfo’s platform for firmographic insights to sell more effectively — is another. Today, Zoom continues to rely on our data to help with the dramatic increase in demand for their services due to the pandemic.
Everyone — from small nonprofits to multinational corporations — is adopting tools to work remotely, close deals from home, and keep the gears of the economy turning. I’m proud to say that ZoomInfo plays a role in that.
When asked why go public now, it’s not because I know when the world will return to normal. It’s not because I believe we’re unassailable. It’s not because I would rather celebrate over a Zoom call.
It’s because, despite our current situation, the need for businesses to go-to-market remains. And the need for them to do so efficiently and successfully — in a way that keeps the economy moving — is more pressing now than ever before.
Last week, I gave a speech to a green dot on my laptop alone in my home office. Even though I was speaking to a muted room, I felt like I was standing with the hundreds of ZoomInfo employees from Vancouver to Tel Aviv and the 15,000 customers that helped us reach this milestone.
I hope this IPO introduces ZoomInfo to the thousands of other businesses not sitting still.
Henry Schuck
CEO of ZoomInfo
Interested in learning more about ZoomInfo? Navigate to the ZoomInfo Investor Relations page to read our latest releases, obtain helpful company resources, and check out featured reports.
