Zendesk

Zendesk was founded in Copenhagen, Denmark in 2007 by three friends: Morten Primdahl, Alexander Aghassipour, and Mikkel Svane.{{cite web |last=Shinal |first=John |title=Startup Strives to Make Customer Service a More 'Zen' Experience |website=Entrepreneur |date=July 28, 2011 |url=https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/220076 |access-date=October 2, 2020}}{{cite web |last=Kim |first=Eugene |title=How This CEO Was Able To Take His Company Public When Everybody Else Was Panicking |website=Business Insider |date=December 16, 2014 |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/zendesk-ceo-mikkel-svane-on-ipo-2014-12 |access-date=October 2, 2020}} The founders started developing the Zendesk software in Svane's loft.{{cite web |last=Rao |first=Leena |title=From Its Beginnings In A Denmark Loft, Zendesk's Steady Rise To The Top Of The Helpdesk Heap |website=TechCrunch |date=November 16, 2013 |url=https://techcrunch.com/2013/11/16/from-its-beginnings-in-a-denmark-loft-zendesks-steady-rise-to-the-top-of-the-helpdesk-heap/ |access-date=August 16, 2023}} Initially, Zendesk was funded by the cofounders themselves, each doing consulting jobs to support their families.{{cite web |last=Locke |first=Laura |title=The tech firm helping a tough area |website=BBC News |date=July 30, 2014 |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/business-28439832 |access-date=October 2, 2020}} Within a few months of the Zendesk software-as-a-service product being released in the fall of 2007, it had about 1,000 trial customers. Initially, interest in the software spread slowly through word-of-mouth predominantly among other startups.{{cite web |title=How Zendesk's Founders Built a $2.1 Billion Business by Ignoring Investors' Advice |website=Inc.com |date=January 25, 2017 |url=https://www.inc.com/magazine/201702/will-yakowicz/zendesk-copenhagen-wall-street.html |access-date=October 12, 2020}} Adoption accelerated in 2008, due to an increased interest in responding to customer complaints on social media and after Twitter started using Zendesk.

Venture capital investors were willing to invest in Zendesk only if the company moved to the United States, where most of their customers were. In 2009 Zendesk moved to Boston, Massachusetts. About six months later, they made a second move, this time to San Francisco, California.{{cite web |first=Wade |last=Roush |title=Xconomy: Making Customer Support Sexy: Zendesk's Help Desk Lovefest |website=Xconomy |date=August 4, 2010 |url=https://xconomy.com/san-francisco/2010/08/04/making-customer-support-sexy-zendesks-help-desk-lovefest/ |access-date=October 2, 2020}} The company raised $500,000 in seed funding, which was followed by a series A funding round for an undisclosed amount{{cite web |last=Wauters |first=Robin |title=Zendesk Secures Funding For SaaS Help Desk System, Heads To The U.S. |website=TechCrunch |date=May 7, 2009 |url=https://techcrunch.com/2009/05/07/zendesk-secures-funding-for-saas-help-desk-system-heads-to-the-us/ |access-date=October 4, 2020}} and a series B round for $6 million. Zendesk raised $19 million in a series C funding round in December 2010, followed by $60 million in a series D funding round in 2012.{{cite web |title=Enterprise Is So Hot Right Now: Zendesk Raises $60M for Customer Service (Video) |website=AllThingsD |first=Liz |last=Gannes |date=September 12, 2012 |url=http://allthingsd.com/20120912/enterprise-is-so-hot-right-now-zendesk-raises-60m-for-customer-service/ |access-date=October 2, 2020}} This brought total venture capital funding to about $86 million.

In 2010, many customers threatened to leave Zendesk in response to a substantial price increase after new features were introduced.{{cite web |last=Wauters |first=Robin |title=Zendesk Raises Prices, Pisses Off Customers |website=TechCrunch |date=May 18, 2010 |url=https://techcrunch.com/2010/05/18/zendesk-pricing/ |access-date=October 4, 2020}} Zendesk apologized, abandoned the pricing, and promised never to change pricing on pre-existing customers for features they already have. That same year, Zendesk created its first sales team. Zendesk moved to larger offices in the Tenderloin neighborhood of San Francisco in 2011. The city and county of San Francisco provided Zendesk with a six-year payroll tax incentive to move to the area in exchange for doing community service.

Zendesk grew internationally, and offices were established in Ireland, Denmark, and Australia.{{cite web |last=Dishman |first=Lydia |title=Zendesk CEO Mikkel Svane: Complaints Are Good for Business |website=Fast Company |date=October 14, 2011 |url=https://www.fastcompany.com/1787284/zendesk-ceo-mikkel-svane-complaints-are-good-business |access-date=October 2, 2020}} In 2017, Zendesk opened an office in Singapore.{{cite web |title=Zendesk to expand S'pore office, hire staff |website=The Straits Times |date=February 23, 2017 |url=https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/zendesk-to-expand-spore-office-hire-staff |access-date=October 12, 2020}} {{As of|2011|post,}} half of Zendesk's customers were outside the United States. Although the company was not yet profitable, Zendesk's revenues grew five-fold from 2010 to 2012. Revenues grew from $38 million in 2012 to $72 million in 2013. Zendesk introduced its first app marketplace for third-party Zendesk software in 2012. By 2013, the company had 450 employees.

In 2014, Zendesk filed an initial public offering{{cite web |last=Wiggers |first=Kyle |title=Zendesk acquires conversational platform Smooch, launches new WhatsApp and Slack integrations |website=VentureBeat |date=May 22, 2019 |url=https://venturebeat.com/2019/05/22/zendesk-acquires-conversational-platform-smooch-launches-new-whatsapp-and-slack-integrations/ |access-date=October 12, 2020}} and was valued at $1.7 billion. The IPO raised $100 million.{{cite web |title=Zendesk raises $100M in IPO -- and traders love it (updated) |website=VentureBeat |date=May 15, 2014 |url=https://venturebeat.com/2014/05/15/zendesk-raises-100m-in-ipo-and-traders-love-it/ |access-date=October 13, 2020}} That same year, Zendesk announced its first acquisition.{{cite web |last=Lunden |first=Ingrid |title=Zendesk Buys Live Chat Provider Zopim For Up To $29.8M As It Files For $150M IPO – TechCrunch |website=TechCrunch |date=April 10, 2014 |url=https://techcrunch.com/2014/04/10/zendesk-buys-zopim-will-add-its-live-chat-platform-to-its-cloud-based-helpdesk-solution/ |access-date=October 13, 2020}} It bought a live-chat company called Zopim for $29.8 million. It acquired a French analytics company called BIME for $45 million.{{cite web |last=Kepes |first=Ben |title=Zendesk acquires BIME Analytics -- but what of the GoodData bromance? |website=Computerworld |date=October 15, 2015 |url=https://www.computerworld.com/article/2993081/zendesk-acquires-bime-analytics-but-what-of-the-gooddata-bromance.html |access-date=October 12, 2020}} It also acquired Outbound.io, which developed software to manage direct communications with customers on social media sites.{{cite web |last=Yeung |first=Ken |title=Zendesk acquires Outbound.io to help companies proactively approach customers |website=VentureBeat |date=May 4, 2017 |url=https://venturebeat.com/2017/05/04/zendesk-acquires-outbound-io-to-help-companies-proactively-approach-customers/ |access-date=October 12, 2020}} Additionally, Zendesk acquired Base, who developed sales automation software that competed with Salesforce.com, for $50 million.{{cite web |last=Miller |first=Ron |title=Zendesk expands into CRM with Base acquisition |website=TechCrunch |date=September 10, 2018 |url=https://techcrunch.com/2018/09/10/zendesk-expands-into-crm-with-base-acquisition/ |access-date=October 12, 2020}}

In 2015, Zendesk filed oppositions at the United States Patent and Trademark Office to 49 trademarks including the word "zen". The Electronic Frontier Foundation characterized their approach of filing multiple trademark infringement lawsuits covering a wide range of businesses as trademark trolling, and EFF condemned the practice.{{cite news |url=https://www.sfgate.com/business/article/Startups-are-fighting-over-the-word-zen-5968580.php |title=Startups fighting over the word 'zen' |work=Sfgate.com |date=December 19, 2014 |access-date=August 8, 2018}}{{cite news |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/anthonykosner/2014/12/20/zendesk-and-the-art-of-trademark-maintenance/ |title=Zendesk And The Art Of Trademark Maintenance |work=Forbes |date=December 20, 2014 |access-date=August 8, 2018}}{{cite news |url=https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2016/05/zendesk-and-art-trademark-trolling |title=Zendesk and the Art of Trademark Trolling |work=Electronic Frontier Foundation |date=May 20, 2016 |access-date=August 8, 2018}}

Initially, Zendesk's software was focused on assisting small businesses, but it transitioned to aid larger companies over time.{{cite web |last=Miller |first=Ron |date=April 3, 2018 |title=Zendesk hits $500M run rate, launches enterprise content management platform |url=https://techcrunch.com/2018/04/03/zendesk-hits-500-m-run-rate-launches-customer-service-content-management-platform/ |access-date=October 12, 2020 |website=TechCrunch}}{{cite web |last=Miller |first=Ron |title=Zendesk Gets Serious About The Enterprise |website=TechCrunch |date=September 17, 2014 |url=https://techcrunch.com/2014/09/17/zendesk-gets-serious-about-the-enterprise/ |access-date=October 13, 2020}} Zendesk also transitioned from a focus on inbound customer inquiries into communicating with customers proactively based on comments they made online. In 2016, Zendesk changed its logo and rebranded to emphasize contacting customers proactively.{{cite web |last=Yeung |first=Ken |title=Zendesk launches new tools to help brands get ahead on customer service |website=VentureBeat |date=October 26, 2016 |url=https://venturebeat.com/2016/10/26/zendesk-launches-new-tools-to-help-brands-get-ahead-on-customer-service/ |access-date=October 12, 2020}} It added features that turn online reviews and comments into a customer help ticket in September 2016 and acquired Outbound.io, which helps businesses respond to online complaints in 2017.{{cite web |last=Johnson |first=Khari |title=How Zendesk plans to turn online customer reviews into conversations |website=VentureBeat |date=September 15, 2016 |url=https://venturebeat.com/2016/09/15/how-zendesk-plans-to-turn-online-customer-reviews-into-conversations/ |access-date=October 12, 2020}} Zendesk introduced new analytics and automation products in 2012{{cite web |last=King |first=Rachel |title=Zendesk using analytics to understand 'silent' customers |website=ZDNet |date=March 15, 2012 |url=https://www.zdnet.com/article/zendesk-using-analytics-to-understand-silent-customers/ |access-date=October 13, 2020}} and 2016. In 2016, it added features that tell customer service agents which portions of the website a customer visited before contacting customer support.{{cite web |title=Zendesk's Pathfinder helps customer service reps see what you're searching for |website=VentureBeat |date=March 17, 2016 |url=https://venturebeat.com/2016/03/17/zendesks-pathfinder-helps-customer-service-reps-see-what-youre-searching-for/ |access-date=October 12, 2020}} That same year, Zendesk added features that attempt to predict which customers are most likely to cancel their subscription service.{{cite web |last=Kim |first=Eugene |title=Zendesk can now predict who's likely to stop using your service before you do |website=Business Insider |date=March 15, 2016 |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/zendesk-launches-satisfaction-prediction-2016-3 |access-date=October 12, 2020}} 2052

P/T$369.8

In 2017, Zendesk added an AI bot that has conversations with customers and attempts to direct the customer to the answer they're looking for.{{cite web |last=Wiggers |first=Kyle |title=Zendesk launches Answer Bot API and mobile SDKs, rolls out Guide Enterprise improvements |website=VentureBeat |date=June 12, 2019 |url=https://venturebeat.com/2019/06/12/zendesk-launches-answer-bot-api-and-mobile-sdks-rolls-out-guide-enterprise-improvements/ |access-date=October 12, 2020}} The bot initially had limited functionality, but was expanded in 2019. In 2018, the company introduced Zendesk Suite, which combines social media, live-chat, email, and other communications into a single ticket system.{{cite web |last=Watts |first=Rob |title=Zendesk Launches Zendesk Suite and Zendesk Connect |website=PCMAG |date=May 17, 2018 |url=https://www.pcmag.com/news/zendesk-launches-zendesk-suite-and-zendesk-connect |access-date=October 12, 2020}} An enterprise version of the software-as-a-service product was released in 2018. By that time, 40 percent of Zendesk's revenue was coming from larger companies. In 2019, Zendesk first released its "Sunshine" tool, which is focused on direct-messaging customers on social media sites.{{cite web |last=Condon |first=Stephanie |title=Zendesk introduces Sunshine Conversations for customer messaging |website=ZDNet |date=October 3, 2019 |url=https://www.zdnet.com/artic}}{{dead link|date=July 2024|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}

Zendesk eventually expanded from just customer service to also managing other customer interactions, such as sales.{{cite web |last=Miller |first=Ron |title=Zendesk shifts to platform play with Zendesk Sunshine launch – TechCrunch |website=TechCrunch |date=November 13, 2018 |url=https://techcrunch.com/2018/11/13/zendesk-shifts-to-platform-play-with-zendesk-sunshine-launch/ |access-date=October 12, 2020}} The company first moved into sales software with its September 2018 acquisition of competitor Base.{{cite web |last=Miller |first=Ron |title=Zendesk's latest tools designed to give fuller view of the customer |website=TechCrunch |date=March 4, 2020 |url=https://techcrunch.com/2020/03/04/zendesks-latest-tools-designed-to-give-fuller-view-of-the-customer/ |access-date=October 11, 2020}} Base was later renamed Sell and a Sell Marketplace was created for corresponding third-party apps. Part of the social media software acquired from Smooch was rebranded as Sunshine Conversations, a tool that competes with Salesforce.com.{{cite web |title=Zendesk Aims for Greater Piece of CRM Pie With Sunshine |website=eWEEK |date=October 11, 2020 |url=https://www.eweek.com/enterprise-apps/zendesk-aims-for-greater-piece-of-crm-pie-with-sunshine |access-date=October 12, 2020}} Zendesk's sales automation software was later revamped with Zendesk Sell in 2020, which improved integration with Zendesk's customer support software. Since then, Zendesk marketplace has integrated several third parties technologies to provide more services to the end customers. In 2021 for example, several companies joined Zendesk marketplace, such as Crowlingo for multilingual data collection, Verse for lead conversion and ViiBE for remote visual support.{{Cite web|url=https://www.zendesk.com/blog/integrations-keep-summer-going/|title=Integrations to keep your summer going|date=30 July 2021}}

By 2018, Zendesk had annual revenues of $500 million.{{cite web |last=Condon |first=Stephanie |title=Zendesk rolls out new products for more integrated customer service |website=ZDNet |date=May 17, 2018 |url=https://www.zdnet.com/article/zendesk-rolls-out-new-products-for-more-integrated-customer-service/ |access-date=October 12, 2020}}

In July 2019, cybersecurity researcher Sam Jadali exposed a catastrophic data leak known as DataSpii.{{Cite web |last=Goodin |first=Dan |date=2019-07-18 |title=My browser, the spy: How extensions slurped up browsing histories from 4M users |url=https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2019/07/dataspii-inside-the-debacle-that-dished-private-data-from-apple-tesla-blue-origin-and-4m-people/ |access-date=2024-02-21 |website=Ars Technica |language=en-us}}{{Cite news |last=Fowler |first=Geoffrey A. |date=2019-07-19 |title=Perspective {{!}} I found your data. It's for sale. |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2019/07/18/i-found-your-data-its-sale/ |access-date=2024-02-21 |newspaper=Washington Post |language=en-US |issn=0190-8286}} The leak was facilitated by the marketing intelligence company Nacho Analytics (NA). Branding itself as the "God mode for the internet," NA granted its members the ability to access URLs for support-ticket file attachments from Zendesk customers, including Venmo.{{Cite web |last=Goodin |first=Dan |date=2019-07-24 |title=Still available via Google Analytics: Data slurped from 4 million browsers |url=https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2019/07/data-slurped-from-4-million-browsers-still-available-via-google-analytics/ |access-date=2024-02-21 |website=Ars Technica |language=en-us}}{{Cite web |title=DataSpii Impacted Companies |url=https://securitywithsam.com/dataspii-impacted-companies/ |access-date=2024-02-21 |website=Security with Sam |language=en-US}} Importantly, due to Zendesk's default privacy settings, support-ticket file attachment URLs are publicly accessible unless customers adjust these settings for enhanced privacy.{{Cite web |date=2023-12-27 |title=Enabling attachments in tickets |url=https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408832757146-Enabling-attachments-in-tickets |access-date=2024-02-21 |website=Zendesk help |language=en-US}} The DataSpii report revealed that third parties systematically accessed URLs almost immediately after their collection, posing a threat to the confidentiality of the sensitive information contained within them.{{Cite web |last=Jadali |first=Sam |date=2019-07-18 |title=DataSpii - A global catastrophic data leak via browser extensions |url=https://securitywithsam.com/2019/07/dataspii-leak-via-browser-extensions/ |access-date=2024-02-21 |website=Security with Sam |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |last=Goodin |first=Dan |date=2019-07-18 |title=More on DataSpii: How extensions hide their data grabs—and how they're discovered |url=https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2019/07/dataspii-technical-deep-dive/ |access-date=2024-02-21 |website=Ars Technica |language=en-us}}

In October 2019, Zendesk disclosed that it was hacked in 2016, resulting in a potential leak of information about customer service agents using Zendesk.{{cite web |last=Cimpanu |first=Catalin |title=Zendesk discloses 2016 data breach |website=ZDNet |date=October 2, 2019 |url=https://www.zdnet.com/article/zendesk-discloses-2016-data-breach/ |access-date=October 11, 2020}}

In May 2019, Zendesk acquired Montreal-based Smooch, for an undisclosed amount. Smooch provided messaging services on websites for live-chat customer support. In 2020, Zendesk announced more tools for messaging customers on social media and enhancements to its customer relationship management features.{{cite web |last=Sevilla |first=Gadjo |title=Zendesk's Adds Conversations to New Sales and Service Suites |website=PCMAG |date=March 31, 2020 |url=https://www.pcmag.com/news/zendesks-adds-conversations-to-new-sales-and-service-suites |access-date=October 11, 2020}}{{cite web |last=Condon |first=Stephanie |title=Zendesk launches Sales Suite, bundling Zendesk Sell, Chat and other tools |website=ZDNet |date=March 4, 2020 |url=https://www.zdnet.com/article/zendesk-launches-sales-suite-bundling-zendesk-sell-chat-and-other-tools/ |access-date=October 11, 2020}}

In October 2021, Zendesk announced that it was acquiring Momentive Global Inc., formerly SurveyMonkey, for $4.13 billion.{{cite web |url=https://techcrunch.com/2021/11/01/zendesk-moves-into-customer-experience-data-with-4-13b-surveymonkey-deal/ |title=Zendesk moves into customer experience data with $4.13B SurveyMonkey deal |website=TechCrunch |date=November 1, 2021 |author=Ron Miller |access-date=November 12, 2021}} Zendesk's investors rejected the deal on February 25, 2022, and terminated the agreement due to risk.{{Cite news |last=Herbst-Bayliss |first=Svea |date=2022-02-25 |title=Zendesk investors reject deal to buy SurveyMonkey parent |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/business/zendesk-investors-poised-reject-deal-buy-surveymonkey-parent-2022-02-25/ |access-date=2022-02-27}}

In June 2022, it was announced that Zendesk would be acquired by a consortium of private-equity firms led by Permira and Hellman & Friedman in an all-cash deal worth $10.2 billion.{{Cite web |title=Zendesk drama concludes with $10.2 billion private equity acquisition |url=https://techcrunch.com/2022/06/24/zendesk-drama-concludes-with-10-2-billion-private-equity-acquisition/ |author=Ron Miller |date=June 24, 2022 |website=TechCrunch}} Thereafter due to the pending acquisition by these firms Zendesk neither provided shareholder's letter nor held a conference call or webcast to disclose the financial results for the third quarter ending September 30, 2022.{{Cite web |date=27 October 2022 |title=Zendesk Announces Third Quarter 2022 Results |url=https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20221027005994/en/Zendesk-Announces-Third-Quarter-2022-Results |access-date=11 November 2022 |website=Businesswire}}

In September 2022, with the closure of 3rd quarter the financial results were out with a substantial increase in revenue by 20% over the year to $416.9 million and GAAP operating loss of $55.4 million with non-GAAP operating income of $48.9 million. In addition to this due to the impending transaction, Zendesk suspended its financial guidance for the fiscal year ending December 30, 2022.

In November 2022, it was announced that the investor group had completed the acquisition of Zendesk for approximately $10.2 billion.{{Cite web |last=Miller |first=Ron |date=2022-06-24 |title=Zendesk drama concludes with $10.2 billion private equity acquisition |url=https://techcrunch.com/2022/06/24/zendesk-drama-concludes-with-10-2-billion-private-equity-acquisition/ |access-date=2023-05-25 |website=TechCrunch |language=en-US}}

In June 2023, Zendesk announced it had acquired Tymeshift for an undisclosed price.{{Cite web |date=2023-06-22 |title=Zendesk acquires Tymeshift for optimized customer service |url=https://siliconangle.com/2023/06/22/zendesk-acquires-tymeshift-optimized-customer-service/ |access-date=2023-08-10 |website=SiliconANGLE |language=en-US}}

In February 2025, it was announced that Zendesk had acquired Australian company Local Measure for $100 million.{{Cite web |date=2025-02-24 |title=Zendesk swoops on local call centre software firm in $100m deal |url=https://www.afr.com/technology/zendesk-swoops-on-local-call-centre-software-firm-in-100m-deal-20250224-p5lei9 |access-date=2025-02-25 |website=Australian Financial Review |language=en}}{{Cite web |date=2025-02-24 |title=Local Measure acquired by Zendesk at $100m valuation |url=https://www.capitalbrief.com/briefing/local-measure-acquired-by-zendesk-at-100m-valuation-6196bbad-1ea0-4984-8bdc-0d27093d0e5e/ |access-date=2025-02-25 |website=Capital Brief |language=en}}

{{reflist}}

• {{Official website|https://www.zendesk.com}}

{{Finance links historical

| name = Zendesk, Inc.

| symbol = ZEN

| sec_cik = 1463172

}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:2007 establishments in Denmark

Category:2014 initial public offerings

Category:Customer relationship management software companies

Category:Companies based in San Francisco

Category:Companies formerly listed on the New York Stock Exchange

Category:Customer relationship management software

Category:Software companies based in the San Francisco Bay Area

Category:Software companies established in 2007

Category:Software companies of the United States

Category:2022 mergers and acquisitions

Category:Permira companies