In a bid to aid their acceleration and consolidate the market, the acquisition sees the convergence of two strong players. By combining their expertise, industry knowledge and smart talent-base, Zest is poised to be a dominant leader in the team engagement market.
Linkky, founded in 2016 by Caroline Jurado, enables businesses to capture and analyze feedback from employees, empowering HR directors with insights into the impact of their internal policies. Naturally, this bodes well with Zest, complimenting their 360Âş employee engagement vision which is centered around listening (measurement), collaboration (feedback and recognition) and team efficiency (performance reviews, skills and goal development).
“I had a hunch that Zest was the most compressive solution on the market and our first conversation confirmed just that. I was impressed by their strong offering and saw huge potential. This, combined with the seniority and expertise of the team, convinced me that Zest was the best company to partner with,” says Jurado.
In addition to solution alignment, Linkky and Zest also share their future product vision; to transform collected data into actionable results. With many existing tools lacking on this data analysis front, Zest strives to lead to charge by empowering managers with insights to understand their teams, identify areas of improvement, and boost energy and efficiency. This results in a virtuous cycle of action where ROI can be directly measured.
I had a hunch that Zest was the most compressive solution on the market and our first conversation confirmed just that. I was impressed by their strong offering and saw huge potential. This, combined with the seniority and expertise of the team, convinced me that Zest was the best company to partner with.
Caroline Jurado
Founder of Linkky
With an oversaturation of solutions in this fast-growing market (just look at the start-up density at CES in January) the visibility for buyers facing this plethora of players is not obvious. Even as France leads the charge in the start-up sphere, there are few European leaders. Therefore, it is essential for future leaders to rapidly innovate and execute. To thrive (and survive), one option is for companies to join forces.
With extensive experience in the HR industry, including many years at Taleo, Christophe Bergeon, Zest CEO & Co-founder, has seen first-hand how much acquisitions play a part in a company’s success. “Taleo’s revenue grew from €30m to €300m within ten years, 50% of this directly attributed to acquisitions. A successful acquisition requires a strong execution; to buy quickly, merge the talents, and retain the client-base. Better service and increased satisfaction will often increase use of your solution,” says Bergeon.
Following two other acquisition opportunities, Zest decided that Linkky was the best choice. Bergeon continues: “From the beginning we were impressed by the quality of the team at Linkky: they’re a small company but they’re very talented and have achieved so much. Early on we discovered we shared core values – innovation, simplicity, enthusiasm and team spirit – as well as a mission to listen to and empower individuals to succeed.”
Bergeon concludes, “Caroline is a brilliant entrepreneur who will bring a rich and complimentary vision, as well as a strong passion for HR, to Zest. I am convinced we will achieve great things together and have the highest performing team on the market. We are excited to welcome Linkky onboard.”
