The Star Wars- themed conference

and that Conrad disagreed. When sales started to flatline, Sacks says he pushed for a hiring freeze and that Conrad thought such a move was unnecessary.

By the fall of 2015, it was clear Zenefits would miss its $100 million recurring revenue goal ( the reality wound up being closer to $63 million). Some salaries were cut; Semaan says his dropped to $30,000. Conrad instituted a vacation ban, but Sacks ignored it and headed to the Caribbean. He also talked to Dalgaard about wanting to leave the company.

Dalgaard played intermediary between Conrad and Sacks. “I was trying to help wherever I could,” he says. “I spent more time than is normal just hoping that [Conrad] would change, because this could be one of the biggest companies we’ve ever heard of in Silicon Valley. And I still think it can.”