Ross Burhdorf

Author of Fear Is A Liar (forthcoming with Simon & Schuster)

Ross Burhdorf is a serial entrepreneur and the founder of ZenBusiness, a $1.7 billion company providing software and services to help over 750,000 entrepreneurs make the leap from their day jobs and start their businesses.      

In 2016, Buhrdorf founded ZenBusiness with the goal of helping small businesses get off the ground and a particular aim to serve aspiring entrepreneurs from underrepresented backgrounds. ZenBusiness is now a global company with a fast-growing customer base and a potential IPO.      

Through ZenBusiness, and his success at launching prior ventures including HomeAway (sold to Expedia in 2015 and rebranded as VRBO), Buhrdorf has deep insights into entrepreneurs’ aspirations, fears, and dreams. He recently commissioned the Entrepreneurs Empowerment Project, an empirical study of more than 2,000 aspiring and newfound entrepreneurs, the first and most extensive of its kind, to uncover the fears and myths that would-be entrepreneurs face as they start a business.

In 2023, Buhrdorf was named Entrepreneur of the Year by Ernst & Young. He is a board member of the Santa Fe Institute, a pioneering research institute that attempts to answer humanity’s biggest questions. An active mentor and angel investor in the technology community, Buhrdorf is a Partner at Capital Factory, a globally recognized accelerator program and investment fund.