Building the team that built a billion-dollar SaaS business: Why Zapier gambled on a contrarian talent strategy from Day 0.
Remote work paved the downfall of many startups. But Zapier (and its valuation) has only been on the rise. The SaaS company has automated, streamlined, and integrated its way to becoming a billion-dollar enterprise, with exactly zero physical offices.
Founded in 2011, Zapier has grown to $250 million in ARR. How did Zapier’s team propel the company to SaaS success (and a $5 billion valuation) in just 10 years?
Just as importantly, how did a scrappy startup build a cohesive team and strong company culture, with a talent moat as a competitive advantage, without ever opening a single office?
Learn from Zapier’s hiring playbook, and adopt their proven tactics for building effective teams:
Remote first and foremost.
Most companies succumbed to remote work during the pandemic. (Many with great reluctance and poor preparation.) But Zapier has been spearheading the movement since day one.
Zapier’s fully distributed team operates across 40+ countries. They don’t just allow remote work; they actively promote it, citing benefits like increased diversity without compromising on team output.
With the right tools and tech stack, any team can technically be a distributed workforce. But not every company can build a truly effective remote culture.
To do so, you have to center your entire way of operating around effective written or asynchronous communication.
Maybe this isn’t feasible for you. But if you’re up for the challenge?
What you can implement:
- Make sure you test and iterate on remote interviewing and onboarding processes, to develop ones that work. Don’t leave your newest hire on read (and confused in a different time zone).
- Prioritize written communication skills in hiring. Some companies assess for this by giving candidates writing-related tasks as part of their take-home.
- If you work asynchronously, create a culture of documentation. For example, keep a regularly updated team wiki as a central source of truth for every new hire. This requires a bit of initial lift, but pays off in hours over the long run, especially as you scale.
Doing the job vs owning the outcome.
In a typical office, you can look over someone's shoulder or shout out an ask. In a remote environment, not so much. That's why Zapier places a premium on autonomy and ownership.One of the company’s values is “default to action.” To screen for self-starters and problem-solvers, Zapier’s team shares the following message with their candidates:
“At Zapier, we're building toward a future that does not yet exist. As a result, delivering something real today—and learning from it—is typically better than delivering something of questionably better quality next week.”
They use real-world scenarios and project-based assignments to gauge how candidates operate with minimal oversight. It's not just about getting the job done; it's about owning the outcome.
What you can implement:
- Design interview processes that test for autonomy and initiative. For example, when you present tasks, look for candidates who ask smart, relevant questions and test assumptions instead of those who jump straight to the answers.
- Dig into the whys behind actions. When candidates talk about their past work, do their actions connect to clear priorities and outcomes?
- Implement a flat organizational structure that encourages ownership.
Learn to earn.
The ideal candidate isn’t a smart person who knows everything. It’s a smart person who’s a learner, eager to figure it out.
Zapier checks all the “culture of continuous learning” boxes. They invest learning stipends into employee development. They assess a candidate’s willingness to learn and adapt. And they hire for growth mindset.
But they also walk their talk, updating their team values and way of operating based on regular feedback.
“Whether it's about how we work or the work itself, feedback enables growth. As such, feedback is one of Zapier's most essential practices. ”
What startups can implement:
- Include questions about learning experiences and growth in interviews, seeing (and even asking directly) how candidates have responded to feedback.
- Offer clear paths for skill development and career progression. For example, Zapier is quite transparent about their compensation review, assessing compensation annually for growing contributions to the business, changes in the market, and impact.
- Create a culture that celebrates learning from failures.
Hiring in public.
In many companies, the hiring process can feel like a black box.
At Zapier, it’s an open book. You can find extensive information about the hiring process on the company blog, including evaluation criteria and concrete examples of how candidates should and shouldn’t apply their values. By transparently showcasing this information, Zapier ensures that only aligned candidates will apply.I
n a published commitment to applicants, Zapier details what to expect and promises to provide each candidate feedback. Teams even go through feedback with individuals live:
“If you are invited to an initial conversation with a recruiter or any subsequent stages and are not ultimately offered a role, your recruiter will offer you feedback to help you understand our decision. Additionally, if you make it to the Skills Assessment or Final Interview stage, we also provide the opportunity to connect live to discuss the feedback with you.”
Tired of getting ghosted? So are they. The longest candidates go without hearing back is only 7 days.
What you can implement:
- Create detailed job descriptions that accurately reflect the role. We get that roles change often at a startup, but taking the time to articulate what your expectations are around the role’s ideal outcomes prevents time spent interviewing people who don’t fit your requirements.
- Provide clear timelines and expectations for the hiring process. More importantly, abide by those timelines.
- Consider offering constructive feedback to all interviewed candidates. If this doesn’t seem feasible, there are tools out there (like Paraform!) that help make this — and the rest of the process — more efficient.
The proof is in the product(ivity).
Zapier’s approach to hiring isn’t just feel-good fluff; it’s a key driver of their success, helping the company scale quickly and remotely without sacrificing quality or culture. It’s how the company — despite having no physical offices — has built a robust foundation to support a billion-dollar business.
Some of these hiring principles can seem contrarian, especially to teams who prefer building in person. But implementing tips from Zapier’s playbook could be the difference between a remote team that mostly works, and a team that works wonders.
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