The Unlikely Path to Building a Billion-Dollar Gov Tech Company | Zac Bookman

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Mar 24, 2025

Zac Bookman, CEO and co-founder of OpenGov, shares his journey in revolutionizing government transparency through innovative technology. He dives into his company's mission for effective governance, the challenges of product-market fit, and the high stakes of early startup life. Zac recounts near-failures, strategic acquisitions, and the transformative impact of a recent $1.8 billion acquisition by Cox Enterprises. He also candidly reflects on personal growth through a cross-country bike ride, facing unexpected challenges that mirror the turbulence of entrepreneurship.

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ANECDOTE

OpenGov's Mission

OpenGov's mission has always been to power effective and accountable government.
Their initial focus was transparency in California, prompted by city bankruptcies during the Great Recession.

ADVICE

Focus on Vertical

Zac Bookman made the mistake of targeting international markets early on, forgetting OpenGov's vertical focus.
Founders should shrink their product-market fit to grow faster in vertical SaaS.

INSIGHT

Vertical SaaS Growth

In vertical SaaS, shrinking your product-market fit (PMF) can accelerate growth.
Focus on your ideal customer profile (ICP) within your PMF to maximize sales efficiency.

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Guest: Zac Bookman, CEO and Co-Founder of OpenGov

Thirteen years after co-founding the government transparency startup OpenGov, Zac Bookman is still finding ways to surprise people. In 2024, Cox Enterprises bought the company for $1.8 billion — but as far as Zac is concerned, “we’re just getting started.”

“ I left the vast majority of my net worth in the company,” he says. “So I'm a believer. I'm all in.”

The mission of powering “more effective and accountable government” has been stable since OpenGov’s earliest days, and that mission has informed everything from hiring to M&A to the decision to sell.

“These people buy and don't sell,” Zac said of Cox. “They're all in on the mission. And they're all in on taking care of employees. So I see a triple win: A win for employees, win for the investors, win for the customers, maybe a quadruple win for me and the management.”

Chapters:

(01:46) - OpenGov’s mission
(04:34) - Shrinking the product-market fit
(07:34) - Super misson driven
(08:59) - Why OpenGov almost shut down
(13:08) - Zac’s early career
(16:16) - Picking (and losing) a CTO
(22:50) - Growing upside-down
(25:29) - The SPAC backstabber
(31:26) - Why Zac didn’t get fired
(33:24) - Selling in 2024
(37:04) - Growth by acquisition
(42:31) - John Chambers and PMF
(49:32) - Zac’s cross-country bike ride
(56:25) - Expectations vs. reality
(58:57) - The coup attempt
(01:01:59) - Tiring work
(01:05:47) - Going to the White House
(01:09:40) - DOGE & disrespect
(01:12:54) - “We’re just getting started”
(01:14:18) - Who OpenGov is hiring (and where)
(01:15:13) - What “grit” means to Zac

Mentioned in this episode: Joe Lonsdale, Cox Enterprises, OpenAI, the Department of Government Efficiency, Workday, H.R. McMaster, Stanford University, Formation 8, 8VC, the National Academy of Sciences, the Stanford Review, Kamala Harris, Marc Andreessen, Balaji Srinivasan, Coinbase, Earn, Ben Horowitz, Facebook, Steve Laughlin, Cisco, Laurene Powell Jobs, Glynn Capital, Acme, Allen & Company, Harry You, Joe Tucci, EMC, Bill Green, Accenture, Tyler Technologies, HP, Josh Kushner, GTY Technology Holdings, John Keker, Palantir, CKAN, Oracle, Kevin McCarthy, The American Technology Council Summit, Jeff Bezos, Tim Cook, Satya Nadella, Pat Gelsinger, Donald Trump, Jared Kushner, Elon Musk, Bill Clinton, and Al Gore.

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This episode was edited by Eric Johnson from LightningPod.fm