Customer service platform company Zendesk celebrated last week the grand opening of its new Midwest regional hub in downtown Madison.
Zendesk, a company that helps businesses manage customer support tickets, expects the $12.7 million expansion to create 136 jobs over the next three years, primarily in customer service, finance, IT and professional services positions.
Zendesk’s Madison office currently houses its Global Customer Advocacy team, as well as teams in engineering, sales, customer success, corporate social responsibility, business operations and technology operations.
“Since our earliest days in Madison, the city has felt like a second home for Zendesk,” said Zendesk CEO and founder Mikkel Svane. “It offers a vibrant tech and business community, an abundance of talent, and a culture that supports our growth in the region and globally.”
The San Francisco-based company first opened their Madison location in 2014. Since then, they have grown the office from 5 people to nearly 300 employees. It is Zendesk’s second-largest location in the U.S.
“With its burgeoning tech scene and talented workforce, the city of Madison offers the perfect environment to foster growth,” said Zendesk chief legal officer John Geschke. “We look forward to continuing to build our team and invest in the city and the region.”
In a statement, Zendesk touted its partnerships with local incubators and accelerators including StartingBlock, Gener8tor, gBETA, Startup Grind, 100state, and Doyenne Group. The company’s Zendesk for Startups program invites startups with fewer than 100 employees and less than $2 million in funding to apply for a free year of Zendesk.
The Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC), the state’s economic development agency, authorized up to $800,000 in state income tax credits over the next three years, contingent on Zendesk hitting investment and employment growth goals in the state.
Founded in 2007, Zendesk is a global company with over 2,300 employees in 15 offices in North America, Europe, Asia, Australia and South America. They work with more than 125,000 accounts across a variety of industries, including Madison-based Propeller Health and AkitaBox.
