Gary in Accounting should schedule more conference calls... said no one ever. Zoom disagrees. It's the Silicon Valley-raised unicorn fixing video conferencing since 2011. It just filed paperwork to IPO next month, highlighting "viral enthusiasm" for its software (humble brag). That term hadn't been used in a filing since 1991.
"Can we take this offline?"... Zoom's pretty proud of its mobile-friendly video calling since so many other video hangouts are delayed 12 minutes with someone stuck on mute. So it's focused on 2 unique qualities that separate it from tech's finest.
- The customers: Zoom's are diverse and spread out. It's got startups and half the Fortune 500. And its top 10 customers make up just 10% of its revenues (so it's safe if one of them de-Zooms).
- The profits: Zoom has them. That's a rare trait among tech unicorns, which burn through cash (hiring engineers, dishing out promo codes, or buying office kombucha taps) to grow. Zoom did lose money last year, but has nearly $8M in profits so far in 2019.
"Hi, I just joined. Who else is on?"... Everybody. Zoom is going public just as its tech siblings are making moves — Lyft IPOs this week, Pinterest filed its IPO paperwork last week, and Uber's aiming for June. With plenty of newly-public companies offering shares, Zoom has to communicate clearly why it's special.