Early Life
Parker Rouse Conrad was born in 1980 in New York City. His upbringing was marked by a supportive family; his mother founded an environmental nonprofit, and his father was a senior partner at a law firm. Conrad attended The Collegiate School in Manhattan and, during high school, conducted neurobiology research on sea snails, earning a $20,000 scholarship in the Westinghouse Talent Search. He later studied at Harvard University, graduating with a degree in Chemistry in 2003.
Rise to Success
Conrad's career began at Amgen, a biotechnology firm, after which he co-founded Wikinvest (later SigFig), a financial technology company. He co-founded Zenefits, a cloud-based HR platform, in 2012, which quickly became the fastest-growing startup in 2014, reaching a valuation of $4.5 billion. However, he was pressured to resign as CEO of Zenefits in 2016 due to compliance issues. In 2016, Conrad co-founded Rippling, an HR platform that has since grown to a valuation of $16.8 billion as of May 2025.
Key Business Strategies
Conrad is known for his focus on creating a “compound startup,” which involves launching multiple related products to address a wider range of customer needs. This approach is central to Rippling's strategy, differentiating it from competitors by offering a unified platform. His leadership style emphasizes hands-on involvement in product design, customer understanding, and a focus on long-term scalability.
Philanthropy
Details of Parker Conrad's specific philanthropic activities and exact amounts are not readily available from the search results.
