In the Fall of 2007, Gaines Kilpatrick and Leo Welder opened shop at Gaines' house in the Austin neighborhood of Zilker Park and thus, Zilker Ventures was born. Zilker Ventures is a homegrown small business, and its founders have directly experienced many of the problems they aspire to solve for other small business owners. For example, Zilker Ventures' first website, FaxCompare.com, was created because Gaines wasted an exorbitant amount of time selecting an online fax service for Zilker Ventures, only to find that the service he selected was incompatible with Zilker's needs. Today, FaxCompare.com, an internet fax comparison website, helps almost 20,000 visitors per month avoid the same problem.

Leo J. Welder III
Leo Welder, co-founder and COO of Zilker Ventures, LLC, graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with degrees in finance and Plan II in 2001 and has a Masters in Business Administration from the Acton School- an accelerated, case-based program focused on entrepreneurism. Before founding Zilker Ventures, Mr. Welder spent three years with LCG & Apogee Search, two entities that provide online marketing services and consultations. During his tenure, Mr. Welder helped the company grow from five to over forty employees and in his roles as Sr. Account Executive and Director of Business Development, was a major contributor to Apogee Search's becoming one of the top 1000 fastest growing companies in the country. Over the course of his career, Mr. Welder has founded or been one of the first five employees in four startups.

Leo also is extremely involved in the Austin community through charity and civic organizations. Currently, Mr. Welder is on the Board of the Young Men's Business League- Sunshine Camps as well as Austin Travis County MHMR's New Milestones' Board. He is currently working with a team assembled by the Hill Country Conservancy to build a new, young professionals group dedicated to the preservation of open space in Travis and Hays counties.

W. Gaines Kilpatrick
Gaines, co-founder and CEO of Zilker Ventures, LLC, has a background in commercial real estate and tenant in common (TIC) syndication. Prior to founding Zilker Ventures, LLC, Gaines and Leo initiated a lead generation project focused on the 1031 exchange space but were forced to abandon the project due to adverse changes in the market. However, exploring this opportunity created the platform that eventually grew into Zilker Ventures, LLC. In his commercial real estate career, Gaines has closed TIC sponsored transactions in eight different states and multiple product types with an aggregate value in excess of $545 million. Prior to entering the TIC sponsorship industry, Gaines was Director of Brokerage for MetroNational, a private real estate development company with over $1 billion in assets.

Gaines is a licensed real estate broker in Texas, Arizona, and Tennessee. In addition, through reciprocity, he is licensed to practice real estate in 27 states and is a Certified Commercial Investment Member (CCIM). Gaines has a BA from the University of Texas at Austin and holds a Business Foundations Certificate from the McCombs School of Business at UT. Gaines holds the Texas state record for the Big Head Sea Robin, weighing in at 1 pound 2.24 ounces.

April Coburn
April Coburn, Web Developer Associate of Zilker Ventures, LLC, graduated from The University of Texas at Austin in 2003 with a B.S. in advertising and a minor in business. April has been with Zilker Ventures since June 2008. Her primary duties include building and designing Zilker Venture's network of web properties. In her free time, April likes to teach music lessons, spend time with friends and family, and watch comedies.

Nick Middleton
Nick Middleton graduated in 2008 from The University of Texas at Austin with a major in sociology and a minor in business. He has been with Zilker Ventures since October of 2008. He has previously held positions at both market research and PR firms. Nick's current focus at Zilker Ventures is affiliate management, advertising, and project management. In his spare time he plays rugby on a team for University of Texas alumni and enjoys Austin's great live music scene.

Jen Udan
Jen Udan is a versatile writer and critical editor with growing experience in SEO and online marketing. Jen works on developing general content for websites owned by Zilker Ventures, LLC. She also manages press releases, relations with clients and media contacts, and the reputation of Zilker's brand online. She frequently contributes to the small business/entrepreneurial blog on ChooseWhat.com. Jen graduated from The University of Texas at Austin Liberal Arts Honors program with a degree in English/Philosophy and a minor in rhetoric. She enjoys dogs, the city of Austin and not eating meat.

Koby Wong
Koby Wong is a 2009 graduate from The University of Texas at Austin with majors in Finance and the Business Honors program. He has been with Zilker Ventures since March of 2008. His focus is in search engine marketing with an emphasis on the use of financial metrics to drive the company's paid search campaigns. In his free time Koby enjoys playing poker, listening to music, and keeping up with the latest SEO and SEM news.

Darcie Duttweiler
Darcie Duttweiler, copywriter and PR assistant at Zilker Ventures, LLC, graduated magna cum laude from Southwestern University with a B.A. in Communication Studies and English. Prior to graduation, Darcie was the Arts and Entertainment Editor at the school’s newspaper, The Megaphone, and interned at Jane magazine in New York City. She also is a member of Phi Beta Kappa, the oldest honor society in the United States. Darcie previously held writing positions at various publications and websites in Austin. In her down time she enjoys watching (and writing about) films, sampling cheeses and hanging out with fat cats.

Adam Malden
Adam Malden graduated in December 2009 from The University of Texas at Austin with a BBA in Consulting and Risk Management. He has been with Zilker Ventures since February 2010. Adam’s primary focus is new category and company research and quality control. In his spare time Adam enjoys watching UT sports, outdoor activities, and spending time with friends.