The Founder's Den
Field notes for founders.
Strategy, execution, and lessons from building companies with an AI cofounder.
Company NewsAJ Thomas Joins CoFounder.AI as Chief Operating Officer
AJ Thomas, former Global Head of Talent & People Products at Google X and founder of Troublemaker Ventures, joins CoFounder.AI as COO to lead partnerships and operations. Her fund, Good Trouble Ventures, becomes our founding portfolio partner.
October 6, 2026 · 3 min read
ProductYour AI Cofounder Now Knows Where the Capital Is
Tell your cofounder what the money is for. It weighs twelve kinds of capital against your real numbers, closes the gaps a lender would flag, backs every figure with proof, and drafts the application. Nothing goes to a lender until you approve it.
September 28, 2026 · 8 min read
AI CofounderWhat Is an AI Cofounder? (And What It Isn't)
An AI cofounder is an AI partner that helps you build and run your business the way a cofounder would — thinking with you and doing the work — without taking equity. Here's the clear definition, and how to tell a real one from a chatbot.
September 17, 2026 · 7 min read
AI CofounderCoFounder.AI vs. ChatGPT for Running a Business: Advice vs. Execution (2026)
ChatGPT gives you answers. An AI cofounder gives you execution. An honest side-by-side for founders and small business owners — including when ChatGPT is the right call.
September 17, 2026 · 7 min read
AI CofounderCan't Find a Cofounder? 6 Real Options, Ranked (2026)
Matching services, your network, fractional executives, freelancers, going solo, or an AI cofounder — six ways to stop building alone, compared on time, cost, and equity.
September 17, 2026 · 8 min read
ProductYour Site, On Your Own Domain
Point a domain you already own at anything your AI team has built — landing page, booking page, client portal — in about two minutes. Free SSL, every page along for the ride, and you can rename any page's address without rebuilding it.
September 9, 2026 · 5 min read
EventsCreators Brunch: A Sunday at HQ About the Business of Being a Creator
On August 23 we opened our Marina del Rey office to a room of creators for a candid conversation about the business side of creating — and let them put my AI cofounder, Avery, on the spot about creative AI, TikTok, integrations, IP, and how you actually talk to her.
September 9, 2026 · 5 min read
ProductRefer a Founder, Get a Month Free. Refer Six, Get Paid.
Every founder you refer who subscribes earns you a $39 credit — a free month on Starter. From your sixth, take $30 cash instead. And the new Referrals dashboard shows you everyone who used your link, not just the ones who paid.
September 9, 2026 · 5 min read
ProductYour AI Cofounder Just Learned Your Tools
QuickBooks, Stripe, HubSpot, Slack, Notion, Mailchimp, Calendly, Asana, and Zoom — your AI team now works inside the tools you already run your business on. No workflows to build. You approve, delegate, and direct.
August 27, 2026 · 5 min read
EventsAI on the Vineyard: A Night in Edgartown About What AI Actually Changes
On August 8 we gathered 60+ founders, investors, and operators in an Edgartown backyard for an evening on AI and building — including a live Q&A where the room asked my AI cofounder, Avery, anything.
August 19, 2026 · 3 min read
SaaPSoftware as a Partner: The New SaaS in the Age of AI
For two decades, software sold us better tools. The next two will sell us teammates. Why the age of Software as a Service is quietly ending, and what comes after it.
July 16, 2026 · 10 min read
The EssaysThe Solo Founder Tech Stack: Everything You Need to Run Your Business (And the $39 Shortcut)
Every solo founder ends up running the same 8-app stack — CRM, project management, email, calendar, and more. See the full list, then the $39 shortcut that replaces it.
July 13, 2026 · 2 min read
The ResearchFractional Executive Cost vs. AI Cofounder: What Solo Founders Actually Pay (2026)
The C-suite expertise solo founders need has always been priced for companies further along. Here's what it actually costs — and how founders are closing the gap for $39 a month.
July 13, 2026 · 4 min read
The ResearchWhy Most AI Tools Don't Work for Solo Founders (And What Does)
New JHU Carey Business School research shows founders across four industries hit the same wall with AI tools — not a skill gap, a memory gap.
July 12, 2026 · 4 min read
The ResearchWhy Solo Founders Keep Hitting the Same Ceiling: A JHU Research Breakdown
A Johns Hopkins research team studied solo founders across four industries. They found the same three structural gaps in every interview.
July 12, 2026 · 5 min read
The EssaysI Built the Cofounder I Never Had
Twenty years of building solo taught me what founders actually need. So I built it.
July 12, 2026 · 4 min read
The EssaysWhat is Software as a Partner?
A new category for founders who outgrew SaaS — and never had a team to run it for them.
July 8, 2026 · 6 min read
LaunchCoFounder.AI Is Live: The First AI Built to Be a Partner, Not a Product
On June 25, 2026 we opened the doors — to our new Marina Del Rey HQ and to CoFounder.AI itself. A look inside launch day, and the Software-as-a-Partner category we launched.
July 4, 2026 · 2 min read