Zapier

Zapier fully remote since founding. Employee-friendly policies. Bootstrapped.

Zapier has operated as a fully remote company since its 2011 founding. The company has approximately 730 employees globally with San Francisco headquarters serving as administrative base only. Zapier emphasizes hiring from lower cost-of-living areas and maintaining remote-first culture. Despite 2023 layoffs, the company preserved its remote work model, offering employees flexibility to work from anywhere. The bootstrapped approach (only $1.4M raised) enabled independence in maintaining remote culture.

In June 2023, Zapier laid off approximately 100 employees (10% of workforce) despite being profitable and cash flow positive. CEO Wade Foster cited "different competitive challenges" and the emergence of AI/LLMs requiring investment shifts. The layoffs drew criticism because Zapier had previously "bragged about not doing layoffs when everyone else was." Employee reviews describe it as "a shock to longer-tenured coworkers who previously lauded Zapier's approach" and its "defaulting to transparency, including the likelihood of layoffs."