Zachary Bookman, the co-founder and CEO of OpenGov, has a remarkable story of how he transformed a ‘boring’ idea into a billion-dollar startup that is revolutionizing the way governments operate. In this article we tell you about his incredible journey from military to building a billion-dollar company.
Birth And Education
Zachary Bookman was born in 1980 in Cabin John, Maryland, a suburb of Washington, D.C. He attended the prestigious Sidwell Friends School, where he excelled academically and athletically. He graduated as valedictorian of his class from the University of Maryland in 2002, majoring in government and politics. He then pursued a JD degree from Yale Law School and an MPA degree from Harvard Kennedy School, graduating in 2007 and 2008 respectively. He also received a Fulbright Fellowship to study transparency and corruption in Mexico in 2007-2008.
Bookman started his career as a law clerk to the Honorable Sandra S. Ikuta on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, and later worked as a trial litigator at Keker, Van Nest & Peters in San Francisco. In 2010, he joined the U.S. Army as an advisor to General H.R. McMaster on the Anti-Corruption Task Force in Kabul, Afghanistan.
Battlefield Insight:
In 2010, while advising U.S. Army General H.R. McMaster on the Anti-Corruption Task Force in Kabul, Afghanistan, Bookman encountered the intricate challenges of managing opaque government data. He saw how the lack of visibility and accountability hindered the effectiveness and efficiency of public administration. Recognizing the need for transparency, he envisioned a cloud-based platform for governments that would enable them to access, analyze, and share their financial and performance data with the public.
The Collaborative Journey:
Teaming up with Joe Lonsdale of Palantir Technologies and Stanford University technologists, who had studied government budgeting in the aftermath of the Great Recession, Bookman co-founded OpenGov in 2012. Their mission: empower effective and accountable government. The initial focus on visualizing and publishing budgets online expanded into a comprehensive suite of solutions for budgeting, planning, financials, procurement, citizen services, and reporting. Their software-as-a-service model delivered a much lower total cost of ownership than traditional on-premise software, and their cloud-native platform enabled governments to collaborate and communicate across departments and with the public.
Cloud-Powered Efficiency:
OpenGov’s software-as-a-service model delivers a much lower total cost of ownership than traditional on-premise software that places a costly burden on each customer to maintain the hardware and require very expensive updates. OpenGov’s cloud-native platform also enables governments to collaborate and communicate across departments and with the public, and to leverage data-driven insights to improve decision-making and outcomes.
Nationwide Impact:
OpenGov has since grown to become a leading provider of cloud software to local governments and state agencies, serving over 1,000 customers across 49 states. OpenGov has also raised over $140 million in funding from prominent investors such as Andreessen Horowitz, 8VC, and Emerson Collective. Bookman has been named a World Economic Forum Technology Pioneer, a Goldman Sachs 100 Most Intriguing Entrepreneurs, and San Francisco and Silicon Valley Business Journal 40 under 40.
Beyond Profit: A Movement for Change:
Bookman is also an avid adventurer and philanthropist. He has taken a cross-country bike ride from the San Francisco Bay to the Chesapeake Bay, and attempted a late season ascent of Mount Everest. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the YPO, and serves on the board of and as advisor to various technology companies and funds. His philosophy transcends profit, emphasizing the importance of making a difference. In his words, “We’re not just building a company, we’re building a movement.”
Bookman’s journey highlights that even a ‘boring’ idea can make a significant impact by addressing real problems and creating value.
