NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This Annual Report on Form 10-K contains forward-looking statements. All statements contained in this Annual Report on Form 10-K other than statements of historical fact, including statements regarding our future operating results and financial position, our business strategy and plans, market growth, and our objectives for future operations, are forward-looking statements. The words “believe,” “may,” “will,” “estimate,” “potential,” “continue,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “expect,” “could,” “would,” “project,” “plan,” “target,” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements.
Forward-looking statements contained in this Annual Report on Form 10-K include, but are not limited to, statements about:
•our future financial performance, including our expectations regarding our revenue, cost of revenue, gross profit, operating expenses including changes in research and development, sales and marketing, and general and administrative expenses (including any components of the foregoing), and our ability to achieve and/or maintain future profitability;
•effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on our business, the employment market, and the economy generally;
•our business plan and our ability to effectively manage our growth;
•our ability to compete with well-established competitors and new entrants;
•our ability to enhance our marketplace and introduce new and improved offerings;
•our ability to increase the number of employers and job seekers in our marketplace;
•our ability to strengthen our technology that underpins our marketplace;
•our ability to attract and retain qualified employees and key personnel;
•our ability to execute our strategy;
•beliefs and objectives for future operations;
•the effects of seasonal trends on our results of operations;
•our ability to expand to new markets;
•our ability to maintain, protect, and enhance our brand and intellectual property;
•our ability to stay in compliance with laws and regulations that currently apply or become applicable to our business;
•economic and industry trends, projected growth, or trend analysis; and
•increased expenses associated with being a public company.
We caution you that the foregoing list may not contain all of the forward-looking statements made in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
We have based these forward-looking statements largely on our current expectations and projections about future events and trends that we believe may affect our financial condition, results of operations, business strategy, short and long-term business operations and objectives, and financial needs. These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties, and assumptions, including those described in the section titled “Risk Factors.” Moreover, we operate in a very competitive and rapidly changing environment. New risks emerge from time to time. It is not possible for our management to predict all risks, nor can we assess the impact of all factors on our business or the extent to which any
factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements we may make. In light of these risks, uncertainties, and assumptions, the future events and trends discussed in this Annual Report on Form 10-K may not occur and actual results could differ materially and adversely from those anticipated or implied in the forward-looking statements.
You should not rely upon forward-looking statements as predictions of future events. The events and circumstances reflected in the forward-looking statements may not be achieved or occur. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, we cannot guarantee future results, performance, or achievements. We undertake no obligation to update any of these forward-looking statements for any reason after the date of this Annual Report on Form 10-K or to conform these statements to actual results or revised expectations, except as required by law.
You should read this Annual Report on Form 10-K with the understanding that our actual future results, performance, and events and circumstances may be materially different from what we expect.
As used herein, “ZipRecruiter,” “the Company,” we,” “us,” “our,” and similar terms include ZipRecruiter, Inc. and its subsidiaries, unless the context indicates otherwise.
SUMMARY OF RISK FACTORS
Our business is subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, including those highlighted in the section titled “Risk Factors” later in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. These risks include, but are not limited to, the following:
•We face intense competition and could lose market share to our competitors, which could adversely affect our business, operating results, and financial condition.
•COVID-19 has caused significant uncertainty and disruption in our business operations. The ongoing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic continue to be unpredictable, and may have an adverse effect on our business, results of operations, and financial condition.
•Our business is significantly affected by fluctuations in general economic conditions, which have been adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. There is risk that any economic recovery may be short-lived and uneven, and may not result in increased demand for our services.
•Our marketplace functions on software that is highly technical and complex and if it fails to perform properly, our reputation could be adversely affected, our market share could decline and we could be subject to liability claims.
•Our future success depends in part on employers purchasing and renewing or upgrading subscriptions and performance-based services from us. Any decline in our user renewals or upgrades or performance-based services could harm our future operating results.
•We have experienced growth in recent periods and expect to continue to invest in our growth for the foreseeable future. If we cannot manage our growth effectively, our business, operating results, and financial condition could be adversely affected.
•Significant segments of the market for job advertisement services may have hiring needs and service preferences that are subject to greater volatility than the overall economy.
•Our efforts and ability to sell to a broad mix of businesses could adversely affect our operating results in a given period.
•Our business depends largely on our ability to attract and retain talented employees, including senior management and key personnel. If we lose the services of Ian Siegel, our Chief Executive Officer, or other members of our senior management team, we may not be able to execute on our business strategy.
•If internet search engines’ methodologies or other channels that we use to direct traffic to our website are modified to our disadvantage, or our search result page rankings decline for other reasons, our user growth could decline.
•Our quarterly results may fluctuate significantly and may not fully reflect the underlying performance of our business, which makes our future results difficult to predict.
•Our success depends on our ability to maintain the value and reputation of the ZipRecruiter brand.
•Our indebtedness could adversely affect our liquidity and financial condition.
•Market volatility may affect the value of an investment in our Class A common stock and could subject us to litigation.
•The dual class structure of our common stock concentrates voting control with those stockholders who held our capital stock prior to our listing, including our directors, executive officers, and 5% stockholders. This ownership will limit or preclude your ability to influence corporate matters, including the election of directors and the approval of any change of control transaction.
Part I
Overview
The job market remains painfully inefficient. Job seekers are required to navigate on their own in order to find the right jobs to apply to, usually across multiple sites and without effective tools for monitoring new opportunities. Employers in turn are overwhelmed by the complexity of modern recruiting given the abundance of job boards, search engines, and social networks to source talent from. Neither side is an expert at their role. Neither side enjoys the process.
ZipRecruiter is a two-sided marketplace for work that simplifies the job market for both job seekers and employers. Unlike traditional online job sites, ZipRecruiter works like a matchmaker curating job opportunities for job seekers, and candidates for employers.
Our Mission. To actively connect people to their next great opportunity.
Creating Value for Job Seekers. For job seekers across all industries and levels of seniority, we operate like a dedicated recruiter. That means presenting strong fit job opportunities, proactively pitching potential candidates to employers and providing job seekers with updates on the status of their applications. This makes job seekers feel supported while searching for work.
Creating Value for Employers. For employers, we focus on building technology to rapidly deliver quality candidates to companies of all sizes and across all industries. Our algorithms alert strong-fit job seekers in our marketplace when a job is posted. We also present high quality candidates to employers whom we believe will be a Great Match for their jobs, and allow these employers to invite those candidates to apply.
Unique Data and Artificial Intelligence Provide Better Outcomes for Employers and Job Seekers. With a relevant data pipeline created from billions of interactions between job seekers and employers, we are uniquely positioned to harness that data to fuel the advanced artificial intelligence behind our matching, recommendation and marketplace optimization capabilities. Through our deep learning-based natural language processing, we understand job seekers’ and employers’ nuanced needs. We model and analyze clicks, applications, hiring signals and numerous other interactions to improve outcomes for all participants in our marketplace. Our advanced technology stack processes the data generated by our highly engaged user base to continuously improve our matching.
Accelerating Network Effects. Increasing the number of jobs in our marketplace attracts more job seekers. A greater number of job seekers attracts more employers who in turn post more job opportunities in our marketplace. These natural, self-perpetuating network effects increase our data and thereby accelerate the rate at which our matching technology gets smarter over time.
Compelling Financial Results. The combination of the scale on both sides of our marketplace, our efficient go-to-market strategy and intelligent use of technology has resulted in compelling financial results. For the year ended December 31, 2020, our revenue was $418.1 million and we generated net income of $86.0 million and Adjusted EBITDA of $80.1 million. For the year ended December 31, 2021, our revenue was $741.1 million and we generated net income of $3.6 million and Adjusted EBITDA of $108.3 million. Adjusted EBITDA is a financial measure not presented in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, or GAAP. For a definition of Adjusted EBITDA, an explanation of our management’s use of this measure, and a reconciliation of net income (loss) to Adjusted EBITDA, see “Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Key Operating Metrics and Non-GAAP Financial Measures.”
What We Do
We enable work by connecting job seekers and employers in our marketplace.
How We Work for Employers
Our technology delivers high-quality matches to our employers immediately after a job goes live and provides tools to streamline the candidate selection process.
Quality Candidates Fast
•Job distribution. Jobs posted on ZipRecruiter are distributed to well over 1,000 sites managed by our Job Distribution Partners. Job Distribution Partners are third-party sites who have a relationship with us and advertise jobs from our marketplace, and include job boards, newspaper classifieds, search engines, social networks, talent communities and resume services. The diversity and depth of our partner network enables employers to reach an especially broad job seeker audience.