ZenBusiness offers a one-stop guided platform that helps entrepreneurs form and operate small businesses through easy-to-use digital tools, fintech solutions, education, and support. The company’s product set includes an app that centralizes services and provides step-by-step guidance for tasks such as forming an LLC, creating a website, and scaling revenue. ZenBusiness is expanding embedded fintech capabilities so customers can connect bank accounts, automatically categorize expenses with AI, send invoices, collect payments, and file taxes via software or a CPA. Since March 2020 the platform has grown more than 400% and now helps over 200,000 U.S. entrepreneurs. The company plans to use new capital to invest in product development, accelerate fintech features, and drive customer growth and ongoing success. ZenBusiness is a Public Benefit Corporation, was founded in 2017, and is valued at $1.7 billion after the latest round. ZenBusiness is an Austin-based public-benefit corporation that provides an incorporation and growth platform for micro and small businesses. The platform integrates incorporation, regulatory compliance, a no-code website builder (now in its third generation), and recently added financial services under "ZenBusiness Money" after acquiring Joust Banking. The company says revenue grew 100% this year and that more than 80,000 small businesses have launched on its platform. ZenBusiness has grown its team to more than 150 remote employees and plans to add 100 or more in the next year. Future plans include expanding banking services, adding more educational materials for entrepreneurs, and continuing to develop integrated product features and customer service. The company emphasizes rapid customer support—answering calls within 60 seconds and emails within 24 hours—as a differentiator in a competitive market. ZenBusiness began as an automated registered-agent product aimed at simplifying the legal and regulatory minutiae involved in starting a company. It has expanded its offerings to recommend and provide services such as banking, lending, tax preparation, website building and other early-stage needs. The company has built some tooling itself, including a simple webpage creator, and integrates partner services such as Xero while backing offerings with accountants at ZenBusiness. ZenBusiness emphasizes self-service and automation to target the long tail of small businesses and offers a “worry-free” guarantee to help founders get operational quickly. The company plans to invest in community features that let small business owners swap tips and receive guidance from ZenBusiness community managers and experts. As of the article, ZenBusiness employed about 40 people, is predominantly based in Austin with a small office in Peru, and has transitioned to a public benefit corporation. ZenBusiness provides an automated platform that files incorporation documents for free, manages annual filings, acts as registered agent to shield owners' personal information, and offers a customer-facing dashboard. Customers pay a $10-per-month fee for the "worry free guarantee," under which ZenBusiness says it will cover fines if it misses required filings. The product is fully automated to move as fast as government processing allows and targets the small-of-the-small business market from pet sitters and gig workers to plumbers. Founder Ross Buhrdorf, formerly founding CTO of HomeAway, positions the company as an active manager of entities rather than a one-off form filer. ZenBusiness aims to scale as a cloud platform by adding additional modules over time and is monitoring blockchain for potential future use in corporate records. The company has set an explicit goal to help initiate one million new small businesses by 2023.

Total raised

$275M

Funding rounds

4

Latest round

Series C

Latest activity

Nov 2021