# Sam Ross

> Sam Ross is the Co-Founder and CEO of Numeral, an AI-native sales tax compliance platform built for ecommerce and SaaS businesses. He discovered the pain of multi-state tax complexity while running his own eight-figure DTC brands after leaving Airbnb, where he worked in growth under Gustaf Alstromer. That firsthand frustration became Numeral's founding insight. Backed by Y Combinator (W23), Benchmark, and Mayfield, Numeral raised a $35M Series B in September 2025 at a $350M valuation, with over $71M raised in total. The platform processes more than $5 billion in transactions annually, has filed over 150,000 tax returns, and serves 2,000+ businesses including Eight Sleep, Ridge, and Graza.

- **Role:** Co-Founder & CEO at Numeral
- **Organizations:** Numeral, Y Combinator (W23), Airbnb, Teespring
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** Bachelor of Arts (BA), University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), International Study, Università di Bologna
- **Known for:** Built and scaled multiple eight-figure DTC ecommerce brands generating $50M+ combined revenue, Founded Numeral (YC W23) which processes $5B+ in annual ecommerce transactions, Filed 150,000+ sales tax returns on behalf of 2,000+ business clients

## Career timeline

- **2007-2011** — BA at UCLA; studied abroad at Università di Bologna
- **2011-2016** — Growth Product Manager at Teespring
- **2016-2018** — Growth Manager / Product Manager at Airbnb under Gustaf Alstromer
- **2018-2022** — Co-founded and scaled multiple DTC ecommerce brands (including Fling), generating $50M+ in combined revenue
- **2022** — Founded Numeral in August 2022
- **2023** — Numeral accepted into Y Combinator Winter 2023 batch
- **2025-03** — Raised $18M Series A led by Benchmark Capital; deal closed in 4 days
- **2025-09** — Raised $35M Series B led by Mayfield at $350M valuation

## Achievements

- Built and scaled multiple eight-figure DTC ecommerce brands generating $50M+ combined revenue
- Founded Numeral (YC W23) which processes $5B+ in annual ecommerce transactions
- Filed 150,000+ sales tax returns on behalf of 2,000+ business clients
- Raised $71M+ in total funding including a $35M Series B at $350M valuation (Sept 2025)
- Grew Numeral revenue 3.5x year-over-year
- Closed Series A in just 4 days
- Built platform serving notable brands: Eight Sleep, Ridge, Graza, Nomad, Muddy Bites

## Latest updates

- **2025-09** — Raised $35M Series B led by Mayfield at $350M valuation; total funding now $71M+
- **2025-03** — Raised $18M Series A led by Benchmark Capital, closed in 4 days
- **2025-05** — Appeared on The Peel podcast with Turner Novak discussing startup growth playbook and AI operations
- **2026-01** — Featured on Tech Finance podcast: 'Why I Abandoned My Profitable Business to Raise $50M for Something Boring'
- **2025** — Numeral reached 3.5x revenue growth, 2,000+ clients, $5B+ transaction volume, 150,000+ tax returns filed

## Links

- Website: https://numeral.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sambross
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/spamross

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/sam-ross
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-05-23