LinkedIn 2014 Annual Report Download - page 31

partner with Internet companies, including social networking companies, to provide services that
compete with our solutions, either on their own or as third party applications. If the efficiency and
usefulness of our products to enterprises and professional organizations do not exceed those provided
by competitors, we will not be able to compete successfully.
Enterprises and professional organizations-Marketing Solutions. With respect to our Marketing
Solutions, we compete with online and offline outlets that generate revenue from advertisers and
marketers. To the extent competitors are better able to provide customers with cost-effective access to
attractive demographics, either through new business models or increased user volume, we may not be
successful in retaining our existing advertisers or attracting new advertisers, and our business would be
harmed.
Enterprises and professional organizations-Premium Subscriptions/Sales Solutions. With respect
to our Premium Subscriptions and Sales Solutions, we compete with online and offline companies for
customers with lead generation and customer intelligence and insights. Our Sales Solutions product is
in the early stages, and we may not be able to compete effectively in this area.
If we fail to effectively manage our growth, our business and operating results could be harmed.
We continue to experience rapid growth in our headcount and operations, which will continue to
place significant demands on our management and our operational and financial infrastructure. As of
December 31, 2014, approximately 37% of our employees had been with us for less than one year and
approximately 62% for less than two years. As we continue to grow, we must effectively integrate,
develop and motivate a large number of new employees in various countries around the world, and we
must maintain the beneficial aspects of our corporate culture. We intend to continue to make
substantial investments to expand our engineering, research and development, field sales, and general
and administrative organizations, and our international operations. To attract top talent, we have had to
offer, and believe we will need to continue to offer, highly competitive compensation packages before
we can validate the productivity of those employees. In addition, fluctuations in the price of our Class A
common stock may make it more difficult or costly to use equity compensation to motivate, incentivize
and retain our employees. We face significant competition for talent from other Internet and high-growth
companies, which include both publicly traded and privately-held companies. As we have transitioned
from a private company to a public company, this competition has become even more acute in
assessing appropriate compensation packages, particularly, determining the mix of cash and equity
compensation. The risks of over-hiring (especially given overall macroeconomic risks) or
over-compensating employees and the challenges of integrating a rapidly growing employee base into
our corporate culture are exacerbated by our international expansion. Additionally, because of our
growth, we have significantly expanded our operating lease commitments, which have increased our
expenses. We may not be able to hire new employees quickly enough to meet our needs. If we fail to
effectively manage our hiring needs and successfully integrate our new hires, our efficiency and ability
to meet our forecasts and our employee morale, productivity and retention could suffer, and our
business and operating results could be adversely affected.
Additionally, if we do not effectively manage the growth of our business and operations, the quality
of our solutions could suffer, which could negatively affect our brand, operating results and overall
business. Further, we have made changes in the past, and will make changes in the future, to our
features, products and services that our members or customers may not like, find useful or agree with.
We may also decide to discontinue certain features, products or services, or charge for certain
features, products or services that are currently free or increase fees for any of our features, products
or services. If members or customers are unhappy with these changes, they may decrease their
engagement on our site, or stop using features, products or services or the site generally. In addition,
they may choose to take other types of action against us such as organizing petitions or boycotts
focused on our company, our website or any of our services, filing claims with the government or other
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