# Kourosh Zamani

> Kourosh Zamani is the Co-Founder of Laurel, the AI-native time platform automating timesheet creation for professional services firms. Starting as Ping Inc. in 2016 alongside co-founder Ryan Alshak - a fraternity brother from UC Berkeley - Kourosh shepherded the company from bootstrapped startup through five funding rounds to a $100M Series C in June 2025, with investors including IVP, Google Ventures, Alexis Ohanian, and Kevin Weil (CPO at OpenAI). Before building Laurel, he ran VP of Business Development at Bailard Inc. and founded the Young Professionals of San Francisco, a non-profit that grew to 8,000+ members. His career arc from investment management to COO to Head of Sales to Strategic Partnerships lead mirrors the evolution of Laurel itself: from scrappy time-tracking app to a platform processing over $5B in gross market value for 100+ enterprise clients.

- **Role:** Co-Founder & Strategic Partnerships Lead at Laurel
- **Organizations:** Laurel (formerly Ping Inc.), Riverview Bancorp (Board Director), Young Professionals of San Francisco (YPOSF, Founder)
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, University of California, Berkeley, MBA (EWMBA), UC Berkeley, Haas School of Business
- **Known for:** Co-founded Laurel (formerly Ping Inc.), raising $149.7M total across 5+ funding rounds, Led Laurel through $100M Series C in June 2025, one of the largest raises in legal tech AI, Built YPOSF into an 8,000+ member nonprofit with 150+ events and a Dream Big Scholarship program

## Career timeline

- **2010** — Founded Young Professionals of San Francisco (YPOSF), a nonprofit professional networking organization that grew to 8,000+ members
- **2012** — Joined Bailard Inc. as VP of Business Development, focusing on investment management and client relationships
- **2015** — Enrolled in UC Berkeley Haas School of Business Evening & Weekend MBA program
- **2016** — Left Bailard Inc. to co-found Ping Inc. (now Laurel) with Ryan Alshak, serving as COO
- **2017** — Ping Inc. raised Seed round from Ulu Ventures and Initialized Capital; accepted into UC Berkeley SkyDeck accelerator
- **2018** — Completed MBA from Haas School of Business; Ping continued to grow
- **2019** — Laurel raised Series A funding led by BoxGroup
- **2022** — Laurel raised $36.5M Series B led by ACME Capital and Anthos Capital
- **2023** — Ping Inc. rebranded to Laurel (February); Kourosh transitioned from COO to Head of Sales
- **2025** — Laurel raised $100M Series C led by IVP with GV and 01A; Kourosh moved to Strategic Partnerships Lead
- **2025** — Workday Ventures invested in Laurel; company became a Workday Innovation Partner
- **2026** — Appointed to Board of Directors at Riverview Bancorp

## Achievements

- Co-founded Laurel (formerly Ping Inc.), raising $149.7M total across 5+ funding rounds
- Led Laurel through $100M Series C in June 2025, one of the largest raises in legal tech AI
- Built YPOSF into an 8,000+ member nonprofit with 150+ events and a Dream Big Scholarship program
- Helped scale Laurel to 300% ARR growth year-over-year at double-digit scale
- Grew Laurel's customer base to 100+ top legal, accounting, and consulting firms globally
- Platform processes over $5B in gross market value for customers
- Attracted investors including Kevin Weil (CPO OpenAI), Alexis Ohanian, and Arash Ferdowsi (Dropbox co-founder)
- Secured Workday Ventures as strategic investor making Laurel a Workday Innovation Partner
- Appointed to Board of Directors at Riverview Bancorp in April 2026

## Latest updates

- **2026-04** — Appointed to Board of Directors at Riverview Bancorp, bringing technology and AI expertise to traditional banking
- **2025-11** — Featured on 'Venture with Grace' podcast discussing scaling AI, sales, and partnerships at Laurel
- **2025-08** — Laurel secured strategic investment from Workday Ventures and became a Workday Innovation Partner
- **2025-06** — Laurel raised $100M Series C led by IVP with GV and 01A, with notable angels including Kevin Weil and Alexis Ohanian
- **2025-06** — Kourosh transitioned to Strategic Partnerships Lead role at Laurel

## Links

- Website: https://laurel.ai
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kouroshz/
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/timebyping
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2s9EawB1GFs
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/timebyping/

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/kourosh-zamani
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-05-25