Shanaz Hemmati the COO and Co-Founder of ZenBusiness, a company dedicated to helping aspiring entrepreneurs start, protect, and grow their businesses. She oversees the operations of this fast-growing company, which has become one of Austin’s most successful entrepreneurial ventures.
Shanaz Hemmati co-founded ZenBusiness with Ross Buhrdorf in 2017. She is renowned for driving exponential business growth through data, systems, and tools.
As a child, Shanaz left Iran to pursue her dream of attending school in the U.S. As a non-native English speaker and a woman entering a traditionally male-dominated field, Shanaz often had to speak loudly to be heard. Her journey to becoming a successful technology executive and mentor at ZenBusiness is an inspiration to aspiring entrepreneurs and business leaders everywhere.
Throughout her career, Shanaz Hemmati has worked to create positive social impact and immediately recognized a shared commitment to that goal when she first met Ross.
At ZenBusiness, Shanaz oversees day-to-day operations and led the development of a diversity, equity, and inclusion strategy that achieved nearly 50% female representation across staff and management.
Shanaz is passionate about accelerating business growth through technology and is widely recognized for identifying and nurturing talent. Her leadership at Excite.com, HomeAway, and ZenBusiness has earned her a spot on Inc.’s Female Founders List for 2025, the Silver Stevie® Award for Female Executive of the Year in 2024, and the “Entrepreneurial Vision” award at the 2023 Greater Austin Business Awards.
"Find people who know things you don’t, complement each other, and follow the mantra—be fearless, be ethical, be passionate—and your journey will be incredible."
Shanaz Hemmati, COO of ZenBusiness, on what makes small business owners successful
Shanaz Hemmati, COO & Co-Founder of ZenBusiness, has been named on Inc. Magazine’s 2025 Female Founders 500 List
Count on the people around you: Interview with Shanaz Hemmati, Co-Founder of ZenBusiness
ZenBusiness COO, Shanaz Hemmati, on automating G&A with AI, building a $1.7B company that thrives in both up and down times, being a technical COO, and growing HomeAway through M&A to IPO to more M&A with Expedia
Shanaz Hemmati COO of Zen Business: From Electrical Engineering to Entrepreneurship
Inspirational Women Leaders Of Tech: Shanaz Hemmati of ZenBusiness PBC On The Five Things You Need To Know In Order To Create A Very Successful Tech Company
Woman to Watch: Shanaz Hemmati – Austin Woman Magazine
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