Ross Fruin.
Ross Fruin

About me.

I've started two companies.One sold. One shut down.One B2B, one B2C.One bootstrapped, one venture-backed.One in services, the other in software.I've pitched celebrities, raised money from billionaires, run board meetings, reported to investors, been through co-founder breakups, and experienced unimaginable burnout. Those are just the highlights...

If you're a founder, I've seen almost every challenge that's coming your way, and I'm here to help you navigate them.

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Ross Fruin
01 — The story

The short version.

  1. 2012–2019

    SearchLogic.

    SearchLogic was a media agency that managed $50M per year in digital media spend, servicing primarily long-sales-cycle B2B brands.

    I grew SearchLogic into a multi-million dollar organization in the digital media buying space with clients like KPMG, New Relic, Avalara, Gaia, Rice University, and many others.

    I'm most proud of the workplace culture I built at SearchLogic. We experienced almost zero turnover, losing only one employee in seven years. To this day, former team members still tell me it was a highlight of their career.

    Acquired

  2. 2020–2026

    GridRival.

    GridRival was a sports betting startup focused on motorsports. Although the betting product is no longer around, the fantasy league game remains the largest independent fantasy sports platform dedicated to motorsports in the world, and is the officially licensed product of the INDYCAR Series.

    • Raised 8 figures in venture capital from leading sports and gaming VCs, family offices, and angel investors
    • Ran end-to-end fundraising: sourced investors, built the data room, negotiated terms, and managed the cap table
    • Led product strategy, roadmap, and UI/UX design for the mobile app
    • Grew to 500,000+ registered users
    • Closed strategic partnerships and media deals with major sports leagues like INDYCAR and NASCAR
    • Cleared regulatory hurdles across licensing, banking, and payments
    • Built an in-house trading platform, game management software, and pricing team, eliminating reliance on third-party software and data suppliers

    Wound down via asset sale and dissolution

  3. Now

    Advising startups.

    Sharing everything I learned, daily, as @BuildingWithRoss. Advising founders and helping them skip the mistakes that cost me the most.