ZenBusiness Surpasses 1 Million Businesses Started, Turning Insights Into New Features for the Next Wave of Entrepreneurs

After a decade of operations, insights gained from 1 million businesses are powering new features that move ZenBusiness beyond formation and compliance to support owners at every stage

AUSTIN, Texas, Nov. 10, 2026 — ZenBusiness^®, the small business platform that helps entrepreneurs confidently start, protect and grow their business, today announced it has officially started 1 million businesses, a milestone it's marking with a new set of learnings and tools to help start and grow the next million.

More Americans are trying to start businesses than ever before, with a record 5.67 million new business applications filed in 2025, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. But the path from idea to business still favors people who can afford lawyers, accountants, and consultants. ZenBusiness's 2026 State of Entrepreneurship Report found that 37% of current or aspiring entrepreneurs cannot afford any outside professional help, and 76% say fear is holding them back from starting at all.

ZenBusiness has spent the past decade working to close that gap. Across 1 million businesses and more than five million filings in all 50 states, it has seen where founders get stuck on the way from idea to operating business: the paperwork, the deadlines, and the unexpected questions that come up along the way.

Much of those learnings went into ZenBusiness Velo®, a personalized AI guide for small business owners. Since launching in July 2025, Velo has handled more than 3.17 million conversations, and in June 2026, ZenBusiness released Velo Blueprint, a free step-by-step plan that helps founders develop their idea into a business.

"The desire to own and run a business has only increased over time," said Ross Buhrdorf, CEO and Co-Founder of ZenBusiness. "Most of the people we talk to already have the idea for their business. What they're missing is a clear first step and the confidence that they're doing it right. The tools we're launching today come straight from what we've learned from these first million businesses, and they're built to make starting even easier for the next million."

ZenBusiness has listened to its customers, and drawing on what it's heard from 1 million businesses, the company is rolling out a new set of Velo tools that address many of the common hurdles founders are facing:

• Business Plan Generator: Helps business owners develop and understand a business plan that's ready for investors, partners, and other parties.
• Market Analysis Tool: Builds reports on similar businesses so prospective owners can see whether their idea holds up.
• Grant Finder: Searches for grants a business may qualify for, so owners can find funding with less manual work.
• Launch Announcement Writer: Crafts polished messages for the website, emails, and social media to drive interest and attention from day one.
• And more: mission builder, content starter, insurance researcher, and marketing plan generators.

The business owners behind the 1 million businesses figure are at every stage of the journey, and two of them shared what ZenBusiness has meant to their companies.

For some, ZenBusiness is what gets an idea off the ground: "I had an idea and vision of what I wanted my company to look like, but no clue how to handle the business side of things," said Faith Tinker-Phelps, Founder & CEO of Faith TP and Co. "ZenBusiness' tools and team of experts gave me the confidence to finally take the leap."

For others, it's the partner that keeps a business on track once it's running: "As a solo founder, ZenBusiness is the administrative partner I don't have in-house," said Victor Bilgen, Founder & CEO of BridgeLayer Analytics. "They helped me switch from a standard LLC to an S Corp designation in a fraction of the time it would've taken me to research and complete all the forms myself."

ZenBusiness was also recently recognized as a 2026 Inc. Power Partner and remains committed to helping current and prospective business owners turn ideas into action. The company's goal is to be there at every stage of that journey, from the first question to the first customer and beyond. To try Velo and the Blueprint tools, visit zenbusiness.com/velo.

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SOURCE ZenBusiness