ZenBusiness, an online platform that is transforming the way small businesses are created and run, today announced it has closed a $15 million round of Series A venture capital financing. Led by the former CTO of HomeAway, ZenBusiness gives entrepreneurs an easy and affordable way to start a business as an LLC or Corporation and operate it over time through a wide array of business services including accounting, taxes, banking, lending and credit, website, domain, and email. Since its public launch in early 2018, ZenBusiness has attracted thousands of small businesses to its platform and is on track to reach its goal of helping to launch one million new businesses by 2023.
“The expense, effort and knowledge required to start a business today is prohibitive, and entrepreneurs report feeling overwhelmed and isolated when it comes to making decisions about their business,” said Ross Buhrdorf, CEO of ZenBusiness. “ZenBusiness helps entrepreneurs realize their dreams by eliminating the many barriers associated with starting a company and running it day-to-day. We are the only online platform that leverages automation, Machine Learning and the collective power of a large community of like-minded business owners to offer unmatched business services. Together we are on a mission to revolutionize how small businesses are created and run.”
The Series A round includes returning investors Greycroft, who led the round, as well as Lerer Hippeau, and Revolution’s Rise of the Rest Seed Fund. New investors in the round include Rosecliff Venture Partners, Interlock Partners, and Recruit Strategic Partners (RSP). The new capital will be used to further expand ZenBusiness’ footprint and continue to build out platform and community features to serve the growing number of Americans creating and running small businesses today.
“ZenBusiness is democratizing entrepreneurship by making it easy to start and run a small business,” said Greycroft Partner and ZenBusiness board member Paul Bricault. “By combining a disruptive platform with a flat subscription-based pricing model, small businesses have unprecedented access to ongoing resources and essential legal protections. It’s no surprise that thousands of small business owners have signed on with ZenBusiness as a trusted partner.”
“As the ZenBusiness community of small business owners continues to grow, so does their collective power to cut costs and create efficiencies,” said Eric Hippeau, Managing Partner at Lerer Hippeau. “Between the company’s proven management team led by Ross, its clear product focus and mission to empower the small business landscape, we’re excited about all that’s to come.”
ZenBusiness’ cutting-edge technology platform leverages the latest in Machine Learning (ML) and automation to replace the cumbersome and expensive processes required for corporate formation, as well as ongoing legal compliance, finance, and business operating functions. The company pulls everything together for the business owner with mobile and web-based products, support and unmatched business services, including:
- Low Cost Business Formation: ZenBusiness creates and submits all documents quickly and accurately to the state. ZenBusiness also offers an inexpensive subscription-based pricing model to maintain corporate entities so that owners never need to worry about the status of their business.
- Worry Free Guarantee: The ZenBusiness platform continuously monitors and protects the status of a business – providing users with alerts and push button actions to resolve issues and get the right information and support. ZenBusiness will make sure business owners stay in good standing with the Secretary of State, or it will pay to fix it.
- Services to Expand & Grow: ZenBusiness is a trusted partner from the start and offers discounted add-on services and monthly plans to support businesses at all stages of growth. Services offered include business banking; lending and credit; accounting and taxes; bookkeeping; small business insurance; website hosting and more.
- Expert Support: ZenBusiness provides small business owners with a high-quality, world-class support team that is available during business hours via chat and telephone, or after hours via the Help Center and email.
About ZenBusiness
ZenBusiness offers an online platform and community that makes it easy to create, manage and grow a small business year round. Built for the new generation, the company pulls everything together for the business owner with mobile and web-based products, support, services and 24×7 business protection. ZenBusiness is a Public Benefit Corporation based in Austin, Texas. Visit www.ZenBusiness.com and follow @zenbusinessinc for more information.
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