Zapier began as a side project in 2011 in
Columbia, Missouri, United States, founded by Wade Foster, Bryan Helmig, and Mike Knoop, who attended the
University of Missouri. Foster and Knoop were doing freelance work building small integrations for companies when they noticed they were frequently using the same connectors. In September 2011, Foster and Helmig, then colleagues at Veterans United Home Loans, began developing a tool to integrate multiple software applications with Knoop joining later that year. For several months, the team worked on the software while maintaining full-time jobs. The founders applied to
Y Combinator, a Silicon Valley startup incubator, but were initially rejected. They reapplied the following year and were accepted. In December 2011, Foster left his job to work on Zapier full-time. Helmig followed in April 2012, and Knoop joined full-time in May, the same month the company launched its public beta. The founders relocated to
Mountain View, California, to launch Zapier and formally join the Y Combinator program in June. but does not have work offices and has operated fully remotely since its founding. In the technology industry, Zapier was one of the first companies to adopt a remote work culture. Since its founding, Zapier has grown with minimal outside fundraising, a practice that is uncommon among software companies. In October 2012, Zapier received a $1.2 million seed round led by
Bessemer Venture Partners (BVP),
Draper Fisher Jurvetson (DFJ), and several
angel investors. Zapier became profitable in 2014. In March 2017, Zapier introduced a $10,000 "de-location" package program for workers who chose to move out of the
San Francisco Bay Area, due to the region's high cost of living and
housing shortage, The program was limited to individuals intending to move away from the Bay Area and required a commitment of at least one year of employment at the company. Zapier received about 150 applicants over the weekend, including 50 who specifically cited the de-location package in their application. In December 2018, Zapier announced that it had reached its 200th employee. In January 2021, investment firms
Sequoia Capital and Steadfast Financial purchased shares from some of Zapier's early investors in a
secondary market transaction. == Acquisitions ==