Otian AI, from formation to launch
I run the business side of a software company I co-founded in July 2026.
Jett Nguyen and I started Otian AI with no outside money. Jett builds the product and I run the business side. I formed the LLC in Texas and built the brand. I also helped write the operating principles we publish.
Our product is Archie. It runs an AI agent on a small-business owner’s own computer, and the agent handles their office work. Archie runs on Mac and Windows, with iPhone and Android companions, and we launched it in October 2026.
Selling it
I handle the first sales conversations, for Archie and for our consulting work. I meet owners in person and scope the first job with them. We have two paying clients, and one says it saves two to three hours a day.
Early demand pointed toward hands-on work, so alongside Archie we now build custom agents inside an operator’s own workflows.
- Archie, for one person
- $30/month
- Archie for Teams
- $99/month
- Consulting
- $250/hour
Picking a first market
I helped write our pitch deck, and we showed it to a few investors we go to for advice. They told us to pick one industry and sell to it first, instead of every small business at once, so I wrote our sales plan around that.
I led the research to pick the first industry. Portable sanitation came out on top, with about 3,500 operators in the U.S.
I also ran our competitive analysis and wrote our positioning and website messaging from it.
The growth model
I built our 12-month growth model. It has a plan case, a floor and a stretch, each grown month by month from the paid accounts we have now, with annual recurring revenue for each. We use the plan case for the targets on our internal dashboard.
Questions about Otian? Email me at jlraney99@gmail.com.