# Vishu Ramanathan

> Vishu Ramanathan is a Chicago-area software developer and Buildout co-founder and former CEO. With Jason Tillery, he helped turn hands-on commercial property marketing work into brokerage software. His public interviews connect customer collaboration, open source development and thoughtful management; he has also discussed how his Montessori education informed his approach to building a company.

- **Role:** Co-founder and former CEO at Buildout
- **Organizations:** Buildout, thinklink llc, Business Logic (later NextCapital)
- **Education:** Near North Montessori, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
- **Known for:** Co-founded Buildout with Jason Tillery., Led Buildout during its 2017 $8 million Series A and July 2020 Riverside investment partnership., Received the 2017 Real Estate Tech Award for Most Influential Real Estate Tech Thought Leader.

## Career timeline

- **Before Buildout** — Worked for ten years at Business Logic and as an independent software developer in finance, logistics and trade regulation.
- **2009** — Introduced thinklinkr, a collaborative web outliner, and responded directly to early user feedback.
- **2010** — Co-founded Buildout with Jason Tillery; 2010 is supported by the investor profile and Ramanathan’s own retrospective.
- **2013** — Buildout received a $300,000 seed investment.
- **2016** — Discussed his Montessori education and company community; participated in the NAR Conference & Expo technology panel.
- **2017** — Buildout raised an $8 million Series A from Susquehanna Growth Equity; Ramanathan received a Real Estate Tech Award.
- **2020** — Buildout announced a Riverside investment partnership on July 21; the founders subsequently stepped down from their leadership roles, as reported in May 2022.
- **2021** — Shared a self-deprecating reflection about leadership learning in a Junto forum.

## Achievements

- Co-founded Buildout with Jason Tillery.
- Led Buildout during its 2017 $8 million Series A and July 2020 Riverside investment partnership.
- Received the 2017 Real Estate Tech Award for Most Influential Real Estate Tech Thought Leader.
- During his leadership, Buildout ranked No. 576 on the 2017 Inc. 5000 and No. 658 in 2018.

## Latest updates

- **2024-02** — Software Equity Group published a testimonial attributed to Ramanathan on February 7. Its legacy CEO title is not treated as evidence that he had resumed the role.
- **2022-05** — A Buildout workplace feature confirmed that Ramanathan and Tillery had stepped down following the 2020 investment; Tillery subsequently returned.
- **2021-06** — The Junto Institute published his reflection about revising his assessment of his emotional intelligence.

## Links

- Website: http://thinklinkllc.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vishuramanathan
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/uhsiv
- GitHub: https://github.com/vishu

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/vishu-ramanathan
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-20