Two Austin startups, ZenBusiness and Joust, will combine forces under a deal announced July 30, resulting in a rebranding of Joust as “ZenBusiness Money.”
In a press release, ZenBusiness, an Austin startup headed by HomeAway’s former Chief Technology Officer, Ross Buhrdorf, announced that it had acquired Joust for an undisclosed amount.
The two Austin firms work in the same field, catering to the needs of the growing gig economy workforce, including offering financial and advisory services and tools.
Joust operates much as an online bank, offering a suite of online tools to help entrepreneurs manage their money. Though it doesn’t actually hold a bank charter, Joust partners with a community bank to provide banking services.
When it launched in 2017, Joust was designed specifically to address the financial needs of entrepreneurs who did not have a business bank account.
For its part, ZenBusiness targets “microbusinesses” as its clients and provides them with an online platform to help manage their business.
Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, ZenBusiness has observed a 100% increase in membership, according to the press release.
ZenBusiness CEO Buhrdorf commented that the Joust acquisition “furthers our mission to provide the nation’s 57 million micro businesses with exceptional and friendly tools that simplify the process of forming and running their business.”
“We are excited to welcome the world-class fintech experience the entire Joust team brings to the ZenBusiness family as we continue to grow the features of our platform.”
Under the deal, Lamine Zarrad, the CEO of Joust, will become head of financial services for ZenBusiness. He said, “By bringing our financial tools to the ZenBusiness platform, we will quickly scale up and empower even the smallest businesses…”
