EmailsenttoZenefitsemployeesfromDavidSacks

8February2016
All
BynowallofyouhaveheardthenewsthatParkerhasresignedasCEO.Iknowthatthiswillcomeasa
shock.Parkerwasnotonlythefounderofthiscompanybutalsoitsdrivingforceuntilthisday.Iknowit
willtaketimeforpeopletoabsorbandprocessthisnews,anditwillraisemanyquestionsaboutthe
company.
IbelievethatZenefitshasagreatfutureahead,butonlyifwedotherightthings.Wesellinsuranceina
highlyregulatedindustry.Inordertodothat,wemustbeproperlylicensed.Forus,complianceislike
oxygen.Withoutit,wedie.
Thefactisthatmanyofourinternalprocesses,controls,andactionsaroundcompliancehavebeen
inadequate,andsomedecisionshavejustbeenplainwrong.Asaresult,Parkerhasresigned.
Inorderforustomoveforwardasacompany,wecannotseektohideordownplaytheproblem.We
mustadmititandremediateitassoonaspossible.InDecember,wehiredaBigFourauditingfirmto
conductanindependentthirdpartyreviewofourlicensingproceduresthatwewillturnoverto
regulatorsassoonaspossible.Iwillexpandthateffortintoatoptobottomreviewtoensure
appropriateandbestinclasscorporategovernance,complianceandaccountability.
IamalsoappointingJoshSteinasourChiefComplianceOfficer.Iknowthathewillbringthesamerigor
tothisjobashisdidinhispreviousexperienceasafederalprosecutor.Joshisalreadyincommunication
withregulatorstoadviseandupdatethemofourcomplianceissues.
Thesestepsareastarttofixingtheproblem,buttheyarenotenough.Wemustadmitthattheproblem
goesmuchdeeperthanjustprocess.Ourcultureandtonehavebeeninappropriateforahighly
regulatedcompany.Zenefitscompanyvalueswereforgedatatimewhentheemphasiswason
discoveringanewmarket,andthecompanydidthatbrilliantly.Nowwehavemovedintoanewphase
ofdeliveringatscaleandneedingtowinthetrustofcustomers,regulators,andotherstakeholders.
Asanentrepreneurmyself,IknowthatZenefitscanneverloseitsinnovativenessandwillingnessto
experiment.Butatthesametime,Ibelieveanewsetofvaluesarenecessarytotakeustothenext
level.
Effectiveimmediately,thiscompanysvaluesare:
#1Operatewithintegrity.
#2Putthecustomerfirst.
#3Makethisagreatplacetoworkforemployees.
Inordertobeagreatcompany,integritymustbeatthecoreofwhatwedo.Wemusthaveintegrityin
ourbusinesspractices,complianceobligationsandinternalprocesses.Wemusthaveintegrityinour
product.Wemusthaveintegrityinourdataandinfrastructure.Andwemusthaveintegrityintheway
wetreateachother.

Wemustalsoputcustomersuccessattheheartofwhatwedo.Everythingwedoshouldfurtherthe
goalofearningandextendingourcustomerstrust.Wewantcustomersforlife,andifwecant
reasonablyexpecttomakeacustomersuccessful,weshouldntsigntheminthefirstplace.
Finally,wemustmakethisagreatplacetoworkforemployees,becausewereallinthistogether,andif
we'renotenjoyingourselves,whatsthepoint?Thisisnottosaythattherewontbemajorchallenges
andtoughdaysahead,butthatmustbebalancedwithafeelingoffun,fellowship,andespritdecorps.I
wantallofustofeelexcitedtocomeintoworkeveryday.Weallhavearoleinthat,butImgoingtotry
mybesttodomypart.
ImmakingmyfirstactionsasCEOaboutcultureandvaluesbecauseIbelievethesethingsare
fundamentaltoacompany'ssuccessandwhoweareandwanttobe.Iwanttopushdowndecision
makingabilityintothecompany.Cultureandvaluesenableustodothatbyensuringthateveryoneis
alignedaroundtherightgoals.
Oncewerealignedasateamaroundcorevalues,thenextthingweregoingtodoissharpenour
strategicfocus.Whenyouraise$500millionandhaveavisionasbigasZenefits,itstemptingtothink
youcandoeverythingatonce.Butnomatteryoursizeorresources,companiesexecutebetterwhen
theyruthlesslyprioritizeandsequencetheirefforts.Forus,thatmeanshyperfocusingonthesmall
businessmarketwherewehaveproductmarketfit.Thisisagreatmarketforusbecause(1)itshuge
(withmanymillionsmallbusinessesintheUS);(2)itsgreenfield"(meaningthatitsunderservedby
technologyinfactanExcelspreadsheetisoftenthemaincompetitor);and(3)thefreeaspectofour
productisextremelycompelling.
ThereisoneothercriticalthingthatIwanttodo,andthatismakeZenefitsapurposedriven
company.ImgladthatZenefitsisoneofthefastestgrowingbusinesssoftwarecompanies,butthats
notourmission.Italonedoesntfillmylifewithanymeaning,andIdoubtitdoesyours.
However,Zenefitsdoesserveanimportantpurposeintheworld,bymakingthelivesofsmallbusiness
ownerssomucheasier.Wefurtherthedreamsofanyonewhowantstostartanewcompany.Wehelp
themachievesomethinglargerthanthemselves,bymakingiteasiertohire,onboardandmanage
employees.Bydoingthat,Zenefitsmakesentrepreneurshipmoreaccessibletoeveryone.Ibelievethisis
averypowerfulandrealmissionintheworld,andpersonallyImproudtobepartofit.
Thereareveryfewstartupsthatevergettothislevelofscaleandimportance.IbelieveZenefitshasa
greatopportunity,vision,andfutureifwecanalignittotherightexecution.
Asafriendoncetoldme,"successfulcompanieshavemultiplefoundingmoments.Thisisoneofthem.
Thisisafoundingmoment.Youareallcofoundersinthisnewpathforward.Iknowhowmuchhard
workeveryonehasputintothiscompanyandthatwewillallcometogetheronthisjourney.
ThisisDay1.
David