Zenbusiness
Unicorn · $1.7BAustin, US · Founded 2015 · Delaware corporation · 20 known investors
ZenBusiness provides an all-in-one platform combining AI-powered guidance (Velo) with customer support to help entrepreneurs start, protect, and grow their businesses through business formations and compliance services. The platform serves business owners at all stages, from first-time LLC filers to established companies managing bookkeeping and regulatory requirements.
Also known as ZenBusiness · ZenBusiness Inc.
Founders & leadership
Zenbusiness was founded in 2015 by Ross Buhrdorf and Shanaz Hemmati.
Board
Investors · 20
Also in the syndicate · 1
Reported raises · per SEC filings
Form D private placements$267.7M disclosed across 6 of 8 rounds · 2016–2022
▶$2.5MraisedSep 2022 · 18 investors · Other TechnologyRule 506(b)
- Jenne BritellDirector
- Paul BricaultDirector
- Ross BuhrdorfExecutive Officer, Director
- Matt StreisfeldDirector
- Denis BarrierDirector
- Khadijeh (Shanaz) HemmatiExecutive Officer
- Offering amount
- $3M
- Amount sold
- $2.5M
- First sale
- Sep 2022
- Incorporated
- Corporation, Delaware
- Federal exemptions
- 06b
▶$193.2MraisedNov 2021 · 24 investors · Other TechnologyRule 506(b)
- Alex LazarowDirector
- Paul BricaultDirector
- Khadijeh (Shanaz) HemmatiExecutive Officer
- Matt StreisfeldDirector
- Ross BuhrdorfExecutive Officer, Director
- Jenne BritellDirector
- Offering amount
- $205M
- Amount sold
- $193.2M
- First sale
- Oct 2021
- Incorporated
- Corporation, Delaware
- Federal exemptions
- 06b
▶$55MraisedNov 2020 · 20 investors · Other TechnologyRule 506(b)
- Paul BricaultDirector
- Jeffrey A WilliamsDirector
- Jenne BritellDirector
- Ross BuhrdorfExecutive Officer, Director
- Khadijeh (Shanaz) HemmatiExecutive Officer
- Alex LazarowDirector
- Offering amount
- $56M
- Amount sold
- $55M
- First sale
- Oct 2020
- Incorporated
- Corporation, Delaware, 2015
- Federal exemptions
- 06b
▶$15MraisedSep 2019 · 24 investors · Other TechnologyRule 506(b)
- Ross BuhrdorfExecutive Officer, Director
- James C GlancyDirector
- Paul BricaultDirector
- Jenne BritellDirector
- Jeffrey A WilliamsDirector
- Khadijeh (Shanaz) HemmatiExecutive Officer
- Offering amount
- $15M
- Amount sold
- $15M
- First sale
- Jun 2019
- Incorporated
- Corporation, Delaware, 2015
- Federal exemptions
- 06b
▶$2.1MraisedFeb 2018 · 8 investors · Other TechnologyRule 506(b)
- Rafael LopezExecutive Officer
- JC GlancyExecutive Officer, Director
- Ross BuhrdorfExecutive Officer, Director
- Khadijeh HemmatiExecutive Officer
- Offering amount
- $2.1M
- Amount sold
- $2.1M
- First sale
- Feb 2018
- Incorporated
- Corporation, Delaware, 2015
- Federal exemptions
- 06b
▶$25KraisedFeb 2016 · 1 investors · Other TechnologyRule 506(c)
- Rafael LopezExecutive Officer, Director
- James C GlancyExecutive Officer, Director
- Offering amount
- $500K
- Amount sold
- $25K
- First sale
- Feb 2016
- Incorporated
- Corporation, Delaware, 2015
- Federal exemptions
- 06c, 4a5
Source: SEC EDGAR Form D. Amounts as filed; amended filings shown once at their latest values.
Valuation · disclosed
Disclosed eventsSource: SEC prospectus filings, and round valuations the company or its investors disclosed — follow each entry's link for the claim.
Company profile
researched Aug 2026ZenBusiness operates an online platform that handles the legal and administrative work of starting, running and growing a small business. Core services include LLC, S-Corp and C-Corp formation filings in all 50 states, registered agent service, EIN applications, operating agreements and business name availability searches. Ongoing services cover Worry-Free Compliance (annual report filing and amendments), Money Pro bookkeeping, invoicing and tax preparation, ZenBusiness Banking business checking, business email, website builder and domain registration, plus business tax services delivered through April Tax, document templates and license research.
All services are managed from a single customer dashboard at zenbusiness.com, with a companion ZenBusiness: LLC & Compliance mobile app on iOS and Android that supports formation tracking, a compliance calendar and score, annual reports and amendments, meeting minutes, EIN and document access, registered agent document delivery, permits and licenses, and expense, mileage and tax-prep features. The company layers Velo, a branded AI business guide, over these services to generate personalized plans ("Velo Blueprints"), answer structural questions such as LLC versus S Corp, estimate costs, and execute filings and deadline tracking. ZenBusiness is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice, limiting itself to document preparation and filing. It is organized as a Public Benefit Corporation and reports investing more than $3 million in grants, sponsorships and programs for small business owners since 2021.
Founding story
Ross Buhrdorf and Shanaz Hemmati co-founded ZenBusiness in 2015 in Austin, Texas, on the premise that people are happier, more fulfilled and more successful when working for themselves. They combined technology, customer support and educational resources into a single platform intended to give entrepreneurs everything needed to launch and operate a business.
Business model
Subscription and transactional sales of business formation and ongoing compliance/financial services, delivered direct to consumer through the ZenBusiness website and mobile app. Formation plans are tiered: Starter ($0 service fee plus state fee), Pro ($199/year plus state fee) and Premium ($399/year plus state fee), with add-on services for marketing, accounting, bookkeeping and taxes. The Velo AI guide is offered free as an entry point, with paid packages positioned as the conversion step.
Recurring annual subscriptions for formation packages, registered agent service and compliance products, plus fees for bookkeeping, banking, tax filing, domain and website services and other add-ons.
Traction
More than 950,000 businesses formed over eleven years; 32,254 customer reviews and a 4.8 Trustpilot score; service coverage in all 50 states. In 2021 the company reported growing 400 percent since March 2020, from 30,000 to 200,000 users, and had more than 250 employees, 160 of them in Austin.
Latest developments
The platform is now organized around the Velo AI guide, which offers free brainstorming and planning, personalized blueprints, cost estimates, compliance alerts and automated filings, with formation packages starting at $0 plus state fees and Pro and Premium tiers. Business tax services are delivered through April Tax, and the mobile app covers compliance scoring, permits and licenses and financial management.
▸Full profile — market position, technology, go-to-market, geography, history
Market position
Positions itself as a leader in business formations and compliance, reporting more than 950,000 businesses formed, a 4.8 Trustpilot score across roughly 32,254 reviews, an A+ Better Business Bureau rating and coverage in all 50 states. It reached unicorn status in 2021 with a $1.7 billion valuation and was described as the largest SaaS financing round out of Austin that year.
Bundles ongoing post-formation services — Money Pro bookkeeping, ZenBusiness Banking and compliance tracking — with formation filings, alongside competitive pricing, customer support and the Velo AI guide that takes actions such as filings and deadline management rather than only offering advice; it also offers a 100% filing accuracy guarantee.
Technology
A web dashboard and iOS/Android mobile app integrating filing workflows, compliance tracking and financial management, with Velo, a proprietary AI business guide trained on the company's experience across nearly a million business formations, generating personalized step-by-step plans and executing filings and deadline monitoring. Earlier product work added embedded fintech capabilities including bank account connection, AI expense categorization, invoicing and payment collection.
Go-to-market
Self-serve online funnel from free Velo AI interaction and free educational resources (state-by-state LLC guides, S Corp savings calculator, business name generator) into paid formation packages, supported by customer support available seven days a week by phone, live chat and help center. Brand marketing has included Mark Cuban serving as an advocate and spokesperson from 2021.
First-time entrepreneurs forming a business entity, freelancers and self-employed individuals needing bookkeeping, invoicing and tax organization, small business owners seeking bundled compliance, banking and operations, and non-U.S. citizens or residents forming a U.S. LLC.
Geography
Headquartered in Austin, Texas, with formation and registered agent service across all 50 U.S. states; supports non-U.S. residents forming U.S. LLCs and references a global team.
History
Founded in 2015 in Austin, ZenBusiness raised a $15 million Series A in September 2019 and a $55 million Series B in November 2020, then a $200 million Series C in 2021 at a $1.7 billion valuation led by Oak HC/FT with SoftBank Vision Fund 2 and existing investors Cathay Innovation and Greycroft, bringing total disclosed fundraising to $275 million at that time. Mark Cuban joined as an advocate and spokesperson alongside the Series C. The company began its grant and sponsorship program in 2021 and by its eleventh year reported nearly one million businesses formed. Its product has since expanded from formation and compliance into banking, bookkeeping and tax services and the Velo AI guide.
Compiled by commissioned research from 8 cited public sources — announcements, filings, and press listed under research sources below.
Key figures
latest reportedCompany-reported or press-reported figures, each dated to when it was claimed — not independently audited.
Competitors · 5
by search overlap
Companies competing with Zenbusiness for the same Google search keywords, organic and paid, via search-intersection analysis.
Timeline · 6
launches, deals, and filingsZenBusiness provides business tax services through April Tax as part of its growth-stage offering.
ZenBusiness markets Velo, a free AI business guide that produces personalized business plans and blueprints, estimates costs, answers entity-structure questions, and executes filings and deadline tracking; it is available via web and the ZenBusiness mobile app.
ZenBusiness closed a $200 million Series C round at a $1.7 billion valuation, led by Oak HC/FT with backing from SoftBank Vision Fund 2 and existing investors Cathay Innovation and Greycroft, bringing total fundraising to $275 million. Proceeds were earmarked for product development, embedded fintech features and company-wide hiring.
$200M source ↗
Announced alongside the Series C, investor and entrepreneur Mark Cuban joined ZenBusiness as a brand advocate and spokesperson and as an advisor to the team.
$55M source ↗
$15M source ↗
Dated company events from announcements, filings, and press; legal rows summarize public dockets and regulator releases.
Legal entities · 1
corporate structure▸Research sources · 8
primary sources listed
- Zenbusinesszenbusiness.com · web
8 public sources were cited for this profile; the first-party ones are listed here.
Frequently asked questions
- What does Zenbusiness do?
- ZenBusiness is an Austin-based online platform for LLC formation, compliance, bookkeeping and banking services for small businesses.
- Who founded Zenbusiness?
- Zenbusiness was founded by Ross Buhrdorf, Shanaz Hemmati in 2015.
- Who are Zenbusiness's investors?
- Zenbusiness's investors include ATX Venture Partners, Breyer Capital, Cleveland Avenue, Flucas Ventures, Fluent Ventures, Geekdom, GreatPoint Ventures, Greycroft and 11 more.
- How much funding has Zenbusiness raised?
- Zenbusiness has disclosed $267.7M raised across 6 of its 8 known rounds.
- Where is Zenbusiness headquartered?
- Zenbusiness is headquartered in Austin, US.