Latest Interviews

“Every small business should run itself” | Lassie with a16z

Alex Rampell, Olivia Moore, Steijn Pelle, Frédéric Renken

Founders of Lassie address severe labor shortages in U.S. small businesses by developing autonomous AI agents that execute complex administrative workflows rather than merely digitizing data storage. Initially launched in the dental sector to replace 200 hours of monthly manual paperwork for practices like Dr. Kwan's, the platform utilizes a human-in-the-loop evolution to achieve 95% automation and targets a $1 billion market by selling labor savings instead of software licenses. This approach leverages regulatory shifts toward direct deposit and proprietary workflow ontologies to create a defensible moat against incumbents, with plans to expand into fully autonomous business operations across healthcare and other labor-constrained industries.