How solo founders use AI to run their businesses
Case studies of AI solopreneurs around the world: people running a real business on their own, with AI at the core of the product or the operation.
Latest articles
A Former Recruiter Who Now Teaches Recruiters to Use AI: Vanessa Raath and The Talent Hunter
Vanessa Raath spent years as a recruiter and head of talent acquisition before starting her own sourcing training business in South Africa in 2019. After ChatGPT launched, she began teaching recruiters how to use AI on their desks, and she has trained more than 8,000 recruitment professionals in over 100 countries. Here is the workflow she uses to turn a CV, interview notes and a LinkedIn profile into a client-ready summary in under five minutes.
A Spanish History Teacher Built an AI Platform for Talking with Historical Figures: Julio Candela and Habla con la Historia
Julio Candela teaches geography and history at a secondary school in Elche, Spain. In October 2023 he launched Habla con la Historia, a website where students talk with AI versions of historical figures and watch them debate. It drew more than 83,000 users from 25 countries in its first half of 2024.
A Freelance Ads Consultant Measured What AI Saves Him: Lionel Fenestraz and 14 Hours a Week
Lionel Fenestraz is a freelance Google Ads and Meta Ads consultant in Alicante, Spain. Over six months he measured, task by task, how much time Claude saves him: monthly reports, client briefs, search term analysis and SEO audits. By his count it adds up to about 14 hours a week, which he used to take on three new clients without hiring. Here is what he hands to AI, and what stays with him.
A Solo Counselor Who Has No One to Audit His Notes: How Tom Schlosser Uses AI for Clinical Documentation
Tom Schlosser is a licensed professional counselor who runs a solo private practice south of Pittsburgh. Writing progress notes used to take him hours of catch-up and repeated checking. AI built into his electronic health record now drafts and polishes his notes, saving him about an hour a week. Here is what he hands to AI, and what stays with the clinician.
Running a Photography Business Alone with AI: A Full-Time Wedding Photographer and a Weekend Photographer with a Day Job
Wedding photographers often spend more hours at the computer than behind the camera. A documentary wedding photographer in North Carolina and New York lets AI cull thousands of photos while he sleeps. A photographer who works a full-time job and shoots on weekends uses AI to cull, edit and retouch so she can deliver galleries faster. Here is what each one hands to AI, and what stays with the photographer.
A Nurse Who Was Dismissed as a Patient Built an AI Advocacy App on Her Own: Rachell Dumas and HEARD
After years as a critical care nurse and health informatics specialist, Rachell Dumas was sent home from an emergency room with stroke symptoms. She turned that experience into HEARD, an AI-powered app that helps patients document symptoms and speak up, and she runs it as a solo founder with an advisory board.
Running a Law Practice Solo with AI: A Contract Lawyer Who Built His Own AI Intake and a Personal Injury Attorney with No Paralegal
A California lawyer runs his practice alone and built an AI intake system that screens prospective clients for him. Another California attorney handles a personal injury docket with no paralegal by letting AI draft demand letters and search medical records. Here is what each one hands to AI, and what stays with the lawyer.
Running an Accounting Practice Solo with AI: A CPA with Zero Employees and an Accountant Who Doubled Her Firm
A Virginia CPA runs his firm with no employees and has AI draft tax workpapers in minutes. An Adelaide accountant doubled her revenue and client base without hiring staff. Here is what each one hands to AI, and what their accounting experience still has to do.
Running a Real Estate Business Solo with AI: A Landlord with 72 Homes and a 20-Year Agent
A Houston landlord manages 72 rental homes without a property manager, and a Pennsylvania agent has worked solo for over 20 years. Here is how each one uses AI to do the work a team used to do, and what their experience in real estate made possible.
From the Farm to a One-Person Software Business: Two Founders Who Built Agriculture Tools with AI
An Illinois farmer and a fourth-generation farm kid each built and launched agriculture software on their own, using AI for the code they could not write. Here is what they did with AI, and what their farm experience gave them that AI could not.