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The Capital Efficient Founder

How ZoomInfo's CEO structured a secondary, used debt without giving up upside and managed on operating metrics before IPO

Henry Schuck · ZoomInfo

Published September 1, 2022
About this resource

Henry Schuck, CEO of ZoomInfo shares key lessons at $23 Billion Market Cap:

- ZoomInfo Strategy and Revenue Growth

- How to Structure a Secondary

- Pre IPO: Key Metrics

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What you’ll learn

Henry Shuck shares ZoomInfo lessons on capital efficiency, acquisitions, and using debt without giving away the upside of a growing company. He also explains why operating metrics can be more useful than lagging revenue when managing a SaaS business.

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Key moments

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“san francisco he's a san francisco guy i'm actually in portland but i was in san francisco san francisco is open now huh yes okay all right very cool this is a little bit different attire than like dorm room days this is what i wear to work what i wear to work all right so take us back in the story over the next 25 minutes we're going to really chat about how you got going uh where you are today where you see markets going some of the key things that you were important for your first 10 million in revenue um how you did a big secondary 40 million bucks when”
Watch at 03:20

Plan acquisition exits

“we'll have the right to buy the other half at the same rate as what we're proposing today this is like really nasty and we'll help you figure out how to scale the business it's like what is this guy next course of course they will yeah and then i just said no and round of applause for saying no right to 90 90 delusion all right so let's let's keep going here with a story okay so you say no do you do anything in 2012 cap table wise nothing in 2012 right tickets to what”
Watch at 10:08

Use debt for upside

“give you and at what rates and so okay so do you take capital out any other time before ipo yes um post the rain king acquisition and before this when you put the two businesses together we made this acquisition of a company that was doing 40 million dollars in revenue and 10 million dollars of profitability we acquired the business and then three months later it was doing 45 million and”
Watch at 17:24

Lead with operating metrics

“million dollars that year before and they're happy to hold the investment for four to five years because that's the hold period they had i had to come in a year into that hold and pay them for what they thought they would get four years into the future and so they weren't going to transact with me unless i could tell them like i will pay you now for what you bel what would be a great return three or four years from now”
Watch at 24:07

Embrace the hard work

“you can do a small amount in the ipo get a kick get a bunch of press and excitement about it and then downstream you sell the rest of the shares at a higher value and so so you go to the ipo you do well by the way we're going to talk about founder dilution uh later on i think tomorrow uh we talked about some sas founders when they went public and how much they still owned of the company and some of these are very small numbers two 2.5 percent you were able to optimize a bit here are you comfortable sharing how much you owned at ipo yeah do you have it uh i can tell you it's not yeah it's”
Watch at 30:52

March 2022

“March 2022 | Henry Schuck, CEO ZoomInfo”
Read slide 2

ZoomInfo Strategy and Revenue Growth

“ZoomInfo Strategy and Revenue Growth”
Read slide 6

How to Structure a Secondary

“How to Structure a Secondary”
Read slide 10

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Resource files

  • Video

    Watch video

  • $40m LOI at 27 Years Old

  • Inside Story on Building $300m ARR Machine before IPO

About the speaker
Henry Schuck

Henry Schuck

CEO and founder · ZoomInfo

LinkedInTwitter

Henry Schuck is a leading entrepreneur in sales intelligence and lead generation. Having founded DiscoverOrg in 2007 at 23, he has led the company on a rapid growth path including funding investments from the likes of TA Associates, Goldman Sachs BDC, FiveW Capital and NXT Capital. Before founding DiscoverOrg, Henry managed marketing and research at iProfile leading the company to a successful private equity sale

Company revenue
$1.2B
Team size
5000

More founder interviews

Slide by slide

Each slide with a short explanation of what it shows. Open the slide text for its exact wording.

18 passages

Founderpath mastermind context

  1. Slide 1Open deck
    Slide text

    Founderpath CEO Private Mastermind When Founderpath finances your SaaS business, you get exclusive access to industry experts. Get your offer at Founderpath.com

The capital-efficient founder

  1. Slide 2Open deck

    The capital efficient founder

    Henry Schuck frames the talk around a debt-driven takeover, an IPO pop, and secondary transactions. The presentation follows ZoomInfo from its early growth through the public offering.

    Slide text

    March 2022 March 2022 | Henry Schuck, CEO ZoomInfo Henry Schuck CEO of ZoomInfo The Capital Efficient Founder Debt-driven Takeover, IPO Pop, Secondaries

ZoomInfo strategy and revenue growth

  1. Slide 3Open deck

    Revenue rises with company milestones

    The chart connects ZoomInfo’s revenue growth with product launches, acquisitions, and investment milestones. Revenue rises from $0 in 2007 to $500m in 2020, with the steepest gains shown after 2018.

    Slide text

    ZoomInfo Strategy and Revenue Growth 2007 2010 2013 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 Org Charts Technology Intelligence Added to App Exchange Intent by Category Ideal Customer Profile, ReachOut Extension Enrich Launch, RainKing Integrated Corporate Hierarchy, Intent by Topic Combined Platform, Form Complete, Workflows DiscoverOrg Founded TA Associates & 22C Capital Investment RainKing Acquisition Carlyle Group Investment ZoomInfo Acquisition ZoomInfo Rebranded

  2. Slide 4Open deck

    A debt-funded start in 2007

    The opening build presents a founder starting Org Charts at age 23 while in law school, with $25k in debt. It anchors the company timeline at 2007.

    Slide text

    ZoomInfo Strategy and Revenue Growth 2007 2010 2013 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 Org Charts Technology Intelligence Added to App Exchange Intent by Category Ideal Customer Profile, ReachOut Extension Enrich Launch, RainKing Integrated Corporate Hierarchy, Intent by Topic Combined Platform, Form Complete, Workflows DiscoverOrg Founded TA Associates & 22C Capital Investment RainKing Acquisition Carlyle Group Investment ZoomInfo Acquisition ZoomInfo Rebranded $25k in Debt, Law school dorm, 23 yo Founded in 2007 as Org Charts 2007

Breaking $10M

  1. Slide 5Open deck

    Revenue growth over five years

    The chart tracks revenue from $0 in 2007 to $500m in 2020, showing a sharp acceleration after 2018. The heading calls out breaking $10m within five years, while the timeline supplies the broader growth arc.

    Slide text

    3 Tactics Used to Break $10m in 5 years 2007 2010 2013 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 Org Charts Technology Intelligence Added to App Exchange Intent by Category Ideal Customer Profile, ReachOut Extension Enrich Launch, RainKing Integrated Corporate Hierarchy, Intent by Topic Combined Platform, Form Complete, Workflows

  2. Slide 6Open deck

    A 2012 secondary proposal

    A letter of intent proposes $35.5m for 70% of the company and gives a $53m valuation. The document image grounds the timeline’s 2012 transaction milestone.

    Slide text

    ZoomInfo Strategy and Revenue Growth 2007 2010 2013 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 Org Charts Technology Intelligence Added to App Exchange Intent by Category Ideal Customer Profile, ReachOut Extension Enrich Launch, RainKing Integrated Corporate Hierarchy, Intent by Topic Combined Platform, Form Complete, Workflows DiscoverOrg Founded TA Associates & 22C Capital Investment RainKing Acquisition Carlyle Group Investment ZoomInfo Acquisition ZoomInfo Rebranded 2012 $35.5m for 70% Letter of Intent, $53m valuation

Structuring secondaries

  1. Slide 7Open deck

    Terms of a secondary transaction

    The letter outlines a proposed secondary transaction and the resulting ownership split: 20% for common members, 70% after investment, and 10% employee equity. It highlights a $35.5m purchase for 70% and a $40m repurchase of existing units.

    Slide text

    How to Structure a Secondary

  2. Slide 8Open deck

    Revenue growth and milestones

    The chart again links ZoomInfo’s revenue curve with launches, acquisitions, and investment milestones. It rises from $0 in 2007 to $500m in 2020, with faster growth after 2018.

    Slide text

    ZoomInfo Strategy and Revenue Growth 2007 2010 2013 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 Org Charts Technology Intelligence Added to App Exchange Intent by Category Ideal Customer Profile, ReachOut Extension Enrich Launch, RainKing Integrated Corporate Hierarchy, Intent by Topic Combined Platform, Form Complete, Workflows DiscoverOrg Founded TA Associates & 22C Capital Investment RainKing Acquisition Carlyle Group Investment ZoomInfo Acquisition ZoomInfo Rebranded

  3. Slide 9Open deck

    A $1.5B valuation proposal

    A 2018 letter of intent is presented as a $1.5B valuation milestone. The underlying document is overlaid on the company’s revenue timeline.

    Slide text

    ZoomInfo Strategy and Revenue Growth 2007 2010 2013 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 Org Charts Technology Intelligence Added to App Exchange Intent by Category Ideal Customer Profile, ReachOut Extension Enrich Launch, RainKing Integrated Corporate Hierarchy, Intent by Topic Combined Platform, Form Complete, Workflows DiscoverOrg Founded TA Associates & 22C Capital Investment RainKing Acquisition Carlyle Group Investment ZoomInfo Acquisition ZoomInfo Rebranded 2018 $1.5B Valuation Letter of Intent

  4. Slide 10Open deck

    Debt financing in the proposal

    The 2018 proposal pairs a $1.5B enterprise valuation with $620 million in debt financing. Its letter also outlines ownership, diligence, and closing conditions.

    Slide text

    How to Structure a Secondary

  5. Slide 11Open deck

    Debt supports the acquisition

    The timeline marks a $700m+ ZoomInfo acquisition in 2019 and frames it as a debt-funded takeover of a major competitor. A related article screenshot accompanies the milestone.

    Slide text

    ZoomInfo Strategy and Revenue Growth 2007 2010 2013 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 Org Charts Technology Intelligence Added to App Exchange Intent by Category Ideal Customer Profile, ReachOut Extension Enrich Launch, RainKing Integrated Corporate Hierarchy, Intent by Topic Combined Platform, Form Complete, Workflows DiscoverOrg Founded TA Associates & 22C Capital Investment RainKing Acquisition Carlyle Group Investment ZoomInfo Acquisition ZoomInfo Rebranded ZoomInfo Acquisition $700m+ How to take over your biggest competitor using debt 2019

  6. Slide 12Open deck

    Revenue growth and company milestones

    The chart traces revenue alongside product development and ownership milestones, reaching $500m in 2020. Its steepest section follows the 2018 point.

    Slide text

    ZoomInfo Strategy and Revenue Growth 2007 2010 2013 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 Org Charts Technology Intelligence Added to App Exchange Intent by Category Ideal Customer Profile, ReachOut Extension Enrich Launch, RainKing Integrated Corporate Hierarchy, Intent by Topic Combined Platform, Form Complete, Workflows DiscoverOrg Founded TA Associates & 22C Capital Investment RainKing Acquisition Carlyle Group Investment ZoomInfo Acquisition ZoomInfo Rebranded

Pre- and post-IPO metrics

  1. Slide 13Open deck

    Pre-IPO metrics

    This section opener marks the pre-IPO portion of the comparison, pairing an early photo of Schuck near the New York Stock Exchange with a later television appearance.

    Slide text

    Pre IPO: Key Metrics Pre IPO vs. Post IPO

  2. Slide 14Open deck

    The IPO jumps on day one

    The IPO milestone is labeled as a pop to $13B on day-one trading. The accompanying article says ZoomInfo priced shares at $21 after raising the range to $19-$20, and reports a gain of over 60%.

    Slide text

    ZoomInfo Strategy and Revenue Growth 2007 2010 2013 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 Org Charts Technology Intelligence Added to App Exchange Intent by Category Ideal Customer Profile, ReachOut Extension Enrich Launch, RainKing Integrated Corporate Hierarchy, Intent by Topic Combined Platform, Form Complete, Workflows DiscoverOrg Founded TA Associates & 22C Capital Investment RainKing Acquisition Carlyle Group Investment ZoomInfo Acquisition ZoomInfo Rebranded IPO Pop to $13B Day 1 Trading Founded in 2007 as Org Charts 2020

  3. Slide 15Open deck

    Post-IPO metrics

    This section opener shifts the comparison to the post-IPO period, pairing an earlier founder photo with a CNBC interview image.

    Slide text

    Post IPO: Key Metrics Pre IPO vs. Post IPO

  4. Slide 16Open deck

    Market capitalization in March 2022

    The slide states a $23 Billion market cap as of 3/6/2022. A financial-statement screenshot sits below the headline, showing revenue and income rows across annual columns and a trailing-twelve-month view.

    Slide text

    $23 Billion Market Cap (3/6/2022)

  5. Slide 17Open deck

    A limited-access founder room

    The VIP room offers a more private setting for 20 founders to ask Henry Schuck more specific questions. A floor plan marks the room within the event venue.

    Slide text

    Gold VIP Badge Required More private setting Limited to 20 founders Ask Henry more specific questions 60 MINUTES WITH HENRY VIP Room Henry Schuck

  6. Slide 18Open deck

    Founderpath mastermind invitation

    The closing card invites founders financed by Founderpath to access industry experts through its CEO private mastermind.

    Slide text

    Founderpath CEO Private Mastermind When Founderpath finances your SaaS business, you get exclusive access to industry experts. Get your offer at Founderpath.com