Industries · Tech startups
AI for early-stage tech startups where everything goes through the founders
Marketplace, fintech, deep tech or software: at 5 to 30 people, you're the bottleneck. Tessa reads email, Slack and meetings, hands out what matters and chases what's pending.
"If I don't do it, it doesn't happen"
At an early-stage startup, founders are sales, recruiting, investor relations and the final word on product, all at once. Every request from the team lands in their Slack, every prospect in their inbox, every application in their queue. Urgent eats important, and the team waits on answers that never come.
During a raise it gets worse: dozens of conversations with funds and angels, each with its own next step, while the product and the first customers still need attention. Things don't slip for lack of effort. They slip because nobody else holds the thread.
How it works with Tessa
- 1
Connect Google and Slack in ten minutes
Everyone connects their account in one click. Tessa reads the last few days and shows what is waiting on a reply or action, prioritised and with a suggested reply.
- 2
Requests become tasks
Emails and Slack messages that ask for something become tasks with a date. Anything someone else can own gets assigned from Slack: "@Tessa create a task for Marta".
- 3
Fundraising without losing the thread
Before each investor meeting, Tessa briefs you on who is coming and what you discussed. Afterwards the next step is logged, and if someone goes quiet the follow-up is drafted.
- 4
Sales and hiring that don't rely on your memory
The pipeline builds itself from your email and meetings, with no CRM data entry. Applications arrive summarised against the role, and interviews are booked in one click.
What you get
- Your time for what only you can doTessa filters, prioritises and drafts. You decide and approve in minutes what used to take your morning.
- The team stops waiting on youTasks have an owner from the start, and people can ask @Tessa "what did we agree with this customer?" instead of asking you.
- Investors updated, Sundays backEach month, a draft update with what Tessa knows (pipeline, decisions, collections and, with Stripe in beta, MRR) to review and send.
- No conversation goes coldCustomers, investors or candidates: if someone doesn't reply, Tessa flags it and leaves the follow-up ready to send in one click.
- Foundations for growthDecisions from meetings and channels go into the wiki with their source, so hire number 15 doesn't depend on what you remember.
Not just for SaaS
If you sell software on subscription, the SaaS startups page and its template add customer incidents, renewals and Stripe metrics. This page is for any early-stage tech startup: a marketplace balancing supply and demand, a fintech talking to banks and regulators, a deep tech team juggling pilots and grants. The common problem is not metrics. It is that everything runs through two or three people.
Example routines for founders
Write them in your own words and Tessa runs them, asking for approval before anything goes out:
- "Every Monday, tell me which funds in the round have gone a week without a next step."
- "If a candidate hasn't heard back in 5 days, draft an email for me."
- "Every Friday, draft the weekly recap for #general."
Privacy from day one
What Tessa reads in each person's inbox is visible only to them, even when the one asking is a founder. No individual metrics on anyone. Data is stored encrypted in the EU, and anything going to investors, customers or candidates waits for approval.
What Tessa reads for each person stays private, your data is stored in the EU and nothing goes out without your approval.
Frequently asked questions
Is it free for a small startup?
The free plan covers up to 3 people with tasks from email, one-click replies, follow-ups and search. Slack, meetings, sales, investor updates and hiring are on the Team plan, with a 14-day trial.
Does it work if we're not a SaaS startup?
Yes. What Tessa does (tasks from email and Slack, meeting notes, follow-ups, sales without a CRM, investor updates and hiring) fits any startup on Google Workspace and Slack, whatever you sell.
Can Tessa help run a fundraising process?
She handles the operational side: prepping each meeting, logging next steps, flagging stalled conversations and drafting follow-ups. The relationships and decisions stay with you.
Does Tessa decide who to hire?
No. She summarises each application against the role, with sensitive details stripped, and books interviews. A person always decides.
Will she email investors or customers without asking?
No. Anything leaving the company needs approval by default. You can relax that for specific actions in the control panel.
Keep reading
- GuidesHow to stop being the bottleneck as a startup founderIf everything in your startup goes through you, this guide helps you delegate, tame your inbox, automate follow-ups and set routines that free your week.
- FeaturesYour investor update, with the numbers already inTessa drafts your investor update with revenue, collections, MRR, pipeline and key decisions already filled in. You review it and send it.
- FeaturesApplications sorted, interviews booked, and the decision stays yoursTessa summarizes each application against the role with sensitive data stripped out, and books the interview in one click. A person always decides.
- FeaturesA sales pipeline that builds itselfTessa builds your pipeline from your email and meetings, flags deals going cold and drafts the next follow-up for you. Try it free for 14 days.
- GuidesWhat breaks when you go from 10 to 50 people (and how to avoid it)What breaks when you grow from 10 to 50 people: communication, decisions, context, onboarding and processes. Warning signs and what to do about each.
- IndustriesAn AI assistant for startups doing everything with a tiny teamTessa watches for customers in trouble, builds your pipeline from email and drafts weekly and investor updates. Connect Google and Slack today.
What does your team look like?
Same AI for both. Where you start is what changes.
- Best fit for this page
Startups
5 to 30 people
Grow without losing the thread
Tasks from email and Slack, follow-ups, sales and investors, without everything landing on the founders.
Companies
30 to 250 people
What gets decided gets done
Minutes and tasks from every meeting, commitments that get followed up and a pulse per team, without watching anyone.
Connect Google and Slack today, and tomorrow start your day with what actually needs a founder.
Start freeFree plan for teams of up to 3 people. Anything that leaves the company waits for your approval.