What was changed
LinkedIn entered the 2008-09 recession as a professional network with 2008 revenue of $78.8 million and a small loss. Corporate hiring and marketing budgets, its two biggest revenue sources, were collapsing.
Rather than retrench, LinkedIn expanded its field sales organization and kept building products for recruiters and marketers. The S-1 it filed in 2011 shows 2009 revenue rose 52% to $120.1 million.
The bet compounded in 2010: revenue doubled to $243.1 million, hiring-solutions revenue jumped 178%, and the company posted its first profitable year with $15.4 million of net income.
What it achieved
Revenue grew from $78.8M in 2008 to $120.1M in 2009 and $243.1M in 2010; hiring-solutions rose 178% and LinkedIn posted its first profitable year.
Why it worked
The network kept adding members while job boards shrank, so employers had more reason to pay LinkedIn for access.
Expanding the field sales team in a downturn bought talent and relationships cheaply, ready for the recovery.
Subscription and self-serve products meant revenue did not depend on the ad market's mood.
What can be applied
When customers are cutting budgets, the winners are often the ones who keep investing in the product and sales force a recovered market needs; growth returns faster than rivals can rebuild.
Aftermath
LinkedIn filed its S-1 in January 2011 with 90 million members and 990 employees, and its recession-era investment became the foundation of a decade of growth into a professional-services platform before Microsoft acquired it in 2016.
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