Careers at GoDaddy

Mission

GoDaddy operates principally as a webhosting company and domain registrar. In addition, it provides ancillary web services to its customers, including security, privacy and certification solutions.

History

GoDaddy was founded in 1997 by Bob Parsons, who continues to hold a seat on the Company’s board of directors. Parsons established the Company after selling an earlier company, Parsons Technology, to Intuit. The Company was launched using funds generated by the sale as well as those provided by venture capital investors. GoDaddy assumed its current name in 1999, transitioning from its initial name, Jomax Technologies.

GoDaddy experienced significant growth during the early 2000s and by 2005 was reported to be the largest ICANN-accredited domain registrar in the world. From 2012 the Company began a series of acquisitions, purchasing other domain registration companies and domain portfolios. Currently the Company has around 61 million domain names under its management.

In 2015 GoDaddy listed shares on the New York Stock Exchange in a $460 million initial public offering that saw the Company valued at around $4 billion. The Company is the largest domain registrar in the world, with a current market capitalization of $4.89 billion.

Why work at GoDaddy

Customer Segments

GoDaddy’s services are primarily targeted at individuals, independent or freelance professionals and small businesses and business owners.

While the Company serves customers worldwide, its principal market remains its native US, followed by India, Canada, the UK and China. A range of customers are featured on the Company’s website, demonstrating GoDaddy’s focus on the small business market.

These customers include online craft store The Jones Market, San Francisco-based Chinese restaurant Fang Restaurant, independent brewery Santa Cruz Ale Works, Indian furniture manufacturer Snoozzy, and travel and tour operator The Great Indian Adventure.

Value Propositions

GoDaddy offers value to its customers by providing a full range of webhosting and domain registration services. Its portfolio of products acts as a one-stop shop for customers to access all the necessary services associated with creating and operating a website.

One of GoDaddy’s greatest values is its brand. It is one of the most well-known and recognisable companies operating in the webhosting industry and is broadly associated with quality services.

Channels

GoDaddy operates a desktop and mobile website at www.godaddy.com, where customers are able to browse and purchase the Company’s products and subscription services. The Company also has mobile apps available through the Apple App Store and the Google Play marketplace.

Additionally, GoDaddy sells its products to customers through a network of authorised resellers.

Customer Relationships

GoDaddy operates on a self-service basis with the Company’s portfolio of products and services available to purchase directly through its website, with no need for interaction with members of the GoDaddy sales team.

The Company however offers ongoing technical assistance to its customers, including product support resources and user guides, which can be accessed through the Company’s website. More in depth help can be accessed via email, over the phone or through instant online chat.

Additionally, GoDaddy interacts with its customers through its social media accounts, including with Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Google+, and announces updates and developments through its blog and newsletter.

Key Activities

GoDaddy is a technology and webhosting company and domain registrar that primarily serves small businesses, web design professionals and individuals. The Company delivers cloud-based products and a range of subscription packages relating to privacy, security and certification solutions.

GoDaddy operates a domain marketplace, where customers can browse, search and purchase digital real estate. It also provides website building, hosting and security tools to assist customers in the construction and protection of their websites, blogs, online stores and portfolios, as well as applications that enable customers to more efficiently manage their businesses.

Additionally, GoDaddy provides productivity tools, such as domain-specific e-mail, online storage, invoicing, bookkeeping and payment solutions to run ventures, and digital marketing products.

Key Partners

GoDaddy partners with a range of companies. It operates two principal partner programs: the Reseller Program, which enables individuals and businesses to sell GoDaddy products, receiving 24-hour support, payment processing services and marketing assistance; and the affiliate program, which principally targets websites, blogs and newsletters, which are able to earn a small commission on customers generated for GoDaddy, with full support from the Company and no fees.

Access to the Reseller Program is on a subscription basis, with basic and premium packages available, priced in the UK at £6.34 and £10.50 per month. In December 2015 GoDaddy also announced the launch of a Plugin Partner Program, designed to attract Wordpress plugin authors. Among the Company’s existing plugin partners are iThemes, The Buddypress Community, Ninja Forms, The Clef Team and Smash Balloon. GoDaddy also has a range of other individual partnerships, including with business loan marketplace Lendio and online marketplace ShopClues.

Key Resources

GoDaddy’s key resources are its IT infrastructure – including servers and data centres, its technology, and its personnel.

The Company has a number of patent applications filed in its name with the US Patent and Trademark Office, including applications entitled ‘Tools for storing, accessing and restoring website content via a website repository’, ‘Method for creating an internet business’ and ‘Configuring an origin server content delivery using a pulled data list’.

Cost Structure

GoDaddy incurs costs in relation to the operation of research and development processes, the provision of customer support services, the retention of personnel – including more than 4,000 employees worldwide, and the maintenance of its IT infrastructure.

The Company also operates a network of offices across the Americas, Europe, Asia and Australia, including international offices in Shanghai, Amsterdam and Sydney, which accrue operational costs in the form of rent and utilities.

Revenue Streams

For the fiscal year ending 31st December 2015, GoDaddy recorded and annual revenue of $1.6 billion. GoDaddy generates revenue through the sale of webhosting and domain registration services, as well as additional support services such as security and privacy.

The Company offers various subscription packages for webhosting, WordPress hosting, website building online store hosting, dedicated IP hosting, and premium DNS services. These packages are priced predominantly on a monthly basis, with some subscriptions available on an annual basis. In the UK, subscription packages range from £2.99 to £9.99 per month and £39.99 to £178.99 per year.

In 2015 hosting, presence and business applications products accounted for around 48% of GoDaddy’s total annual revenue, while the sale of domain products – primarily from domain name registrations and renewals – domain add-ons such as privacy and aftermarket sales accounted for 52%.

Benefits at GoDaddy

Health insurance Dental insurance Vision insurance Life insurance Disability insurance Health care on-site Mental health care Pension plan Performance bonus Equity incentive plan 401k Plan Employee stock purchase plan Stock options Maternity & Paternity leave Family medical leave Work from home Dependent care Childcare Vacation & Paid time off Paid holidays Paid sick days Volunteer Time Off Bereavement leave Employee discount Employee assistance program Company mobile phone Company social events Legal assistance Free lunch or snacks Gym membership

Culture at GoDaddy

Casual dress code Listed company

Our team

Blake Irving,
Chief Executive Officer

info: Blake has served as Chief Executive Officer at GoDaddy since joining the Company in 2013. He has held a number of positions within the technology sector since the 1980s, beginning his career as a manager at Xerox in 1981. He went on to join OKI Printing in 1988 as a product manager, a position he held for just a year. In 1989 Irving joined Compaq as a product manager and product planner, leaving in 1992 to join Microsoft. In a 15-year spell as a general manager at the company, Irving helped to develop a number of Microsoft’s flagship products and led company’s global Internet development and operations. Prior to joining GoDaddy Irving served as Executive Vice President and Chief Product Officer at Yahoo.

Scott Wagner,
Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer

info: Scott has served as Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer at GoDaddy since 2013. It is his second spell at the Company, having served as its Interim Chief Executive Officer for seven months between 2012 and 2013, during which time he oversaw the Company’s expansion into India. Wagner began his career in 1992 as a project leader at Boston Consulting Group. He later served as an interim senior executive at Primedia from 2003 to 2005. Prior to joining GoDaddy, Wagner spent 13 years working at global investment firm KKR, serving as KKR Capstone Member and heading up the company’s Portfolio Operations team.

Barb Rechterman,
Chief Marketing Officer and Chief Customer Officer

info: Barb serves as GoDaddy’s Chief Marketing Officer and Chief Customer Officer. She is a long-serving employee of the Company, having first joined GoDaddy in 1997. She was Vice President of Application Development for Parsons Technology – a former venture of GoDaddy founder Parsons – and was its President during the company’s acquisition by Intuit. She first joined Parsons Technology in 1986.