Ross Buhrdorf
About Ross Buhrdorf
Ross Buhrdorf is the co-founder and CEO of ZenBusiness, a Public Benefit Corporation headquartered in Austin, Texas. ZenBusiness is an all-in-one platform for small business owners to start, run, and grow their companies. Crunchbase says he has led it since 2017, and the UT Austin Computer Science advisory council says he joined in 2016. ZenBusiness says it has helped more than 950,000 entrepreneurs form legal entities and stay compliant. Its newest figure supersedes the 800,000 on Crunchbase. In November 2021 he announced on X that ZenBusiness had reached unicorn status after a $200M round.
Before ZenBusiness he was the founding CTO of HomeAway, which Expedia acquired in 2015 for $3.9 billion. He joined HomeAway in 2005, and the company went through an IPO. Earlier he was VP of Engineering at Excite.com. He began his career at Data General, Tandem Computers and HAL Computers, after earning a computer science degree at the University of Texas at Austin.
He serves on the boards of American National Bank, the Santa Fe Institute and KLRU, the Austin PBS affiliate. He is a Partner at Capital Factory, the Austin accelerator and investment fund.
UT Austin describes him as an active mentor and angel investor in the technology community. His Crunchbase profile lists 2 investments and 2 portfolio companies, with no lead investments. Both are seed rounds: Workleap Pingboard and LookNook. Crunchbase does not show round dates or amounts for either. Wellfound lists him as an angel in Austin and shows a Capital Factory Fund 4 affiliation.
No public angel investments in AI companies turned up in the sources reviewed. His public AI work is operating experience at ZenBusiness, which launched Velo, an agentic AI advisor. Velo guides small business owners through planning, formation, compliance, budgeting, marketing and licensing, and in some cases completes tasks inside the platform. He told The AI Innovator that small businesses may gain more from AI than other segments. In his view, founders often lack access to attorneys or accountants.
He has not published a thesis, preferred stage list or check size that we could find. The two Crunchbase investments are seed stage. His stated interests are the consumer internet, security, mobile technology and applying innovation to build better products. ZenBusiness itself serves small businesses and service businesses with zero to ten employees. Founders building for small business owners may find the closest overlap with his operating experience. He is based in Austin and is active in the Austin and Texas startup community.
- Workleap Pingboard: seed round listed on Crunchbase; the date is not public.
- LookNook: seed round listed on Crunchbase; the date is not public.
- crunchbase.com/person/ross-buhrdorf
- cs.utexas.edu/advisory-council/ross-buhrdorf
- x.com/RossInAustin
- zenbusiness.com/ross-buhrdorf
- santafe.edu/people/profile/ross-buhrdorf
- wiki.santafe.edu/index.php/Ross_Buhrdorf
- wellfound.com/p/ross-buhrdorf
- smallbiztrends.com/interview-with-ross-buhrdorf-ceo-and-co-founder-of-
Investing activity
Ross Buhrdorf has made 2 investments according to Crunchbase across 2 portfolio companies, and has seen 1 exit and founded 1 company.
Deals
Frequently asked questions about Ross Buhrdorf
Does Ross Buhrdorf invest in AI startups?
We found no public record of AI-specific angel investments. He leads ZenBusiness, which has built an AI advisor called Velo, so he has direct experience applying AI to small business tools.
What stage does Ross Buhrdorf invest in?
Crunchbase lists two investments, both seed rounds. He has not published a stage preference.
What is Ross Buhrdorf's check size?
His check size is not public, and he has not stated one in the sources we reviewed.
What companies has Ross Buhrdorf built?
He co-founded ZenBusiness and was the founding CTO of HomeAway, which Expedia bought in 2015 for $3.9 billion. He was earlier VP of Engineering at Excite.com.
Where is Ross Buhrdorf based?
He is based in Austin, Texas, where ZenBusiness is headquartered. He is also a Partner at the Austin-based Capital Factory.
How can founders contact Ross Buhrdorf?
He is on X as @RossInAustin. He also mentors through Capital Factory, which is another way into his network. No public pitch process is listed.
Is Ross Buhrdorf an angel investor?
Yes. Ross Buhrdorf invests personally as an angel and is Co-Founder and CEO at ZenBusiness. Crunchbase counts 2 investments and 1 exit.
How can founders reach Ross Buhrdorf?
Founders on Lounge can see Ross Buhrdorf's contact details in AI Investor Contacts (paid plans), check for a warm introduction through members who worked with them under Warm Paths, and add Ross Buhrdorf to their Investor Pipeline to track the conversation.