For the past 15 years, Henrik Werdelin has helped entrepreneurs build big brands like Barkbox through startup studio Prehype. Now at his new New York-based venture Odez, he bets that AI can help him expand the process from “dozens” to aspiring business owners a year to “hundreds of thousands.”
I certainly feel the timing is correct. With massive layoffs across different industries, AI tools have significantly reduced barriers to building digital products and services as many workers rethink their career paths. At the heart of that Venn diagram is Werdelin's latest venture, pledged to help “everyday entrepreneurs create million-dollar AI companies” without the need for technical skills.
Werdelin's journey from Prehype to Audos reflects the wider changes that are happening in entrepreneurship today. At Prehype, we focused on working with high-tech founders to build traditional startups.
Now he tells TechCrunch:
The idea is that while “everyday entrepreneurs” may feel that change is ongoing, they may not be keen to try out what is called AI agents or know how to reach customers. Audos offers these individuals AI tools to build sophisticated products using natural language, and is willing to help them find niche customers using social media algorithms.
“Facebook and many of these platforms are incredible algorithms, and they are incredible [how to reach your customer] Defining a customer group says Werdelin, who co-founded Ard with prehype partner Nicholas Thorne. In fact, Audos uses this system to quickly test whether the founder's business ideas have sustainable customer acquisition costs.
The approach seems to be working. Since its beta launch, Audos has been helping to launch “hundreds of low” companies, and customers have discovered the platform through Instagram ads asking “I've thought about starting something, but I don't know where to go.” Among them, Werdelin said individuals who sell auto mechanics, “After Death Logistics” services, virtual golf swing coaches and AI nutritionists who want to help people evaluate repair estimates. In a winking reference to a billion-dollar corporation, or so-called unicorns, he calls these one and two teams “Donkeycorns.”
Everything went through the same process. They clicked on the ads for Audos, and the AI agent started a conversation, figured out the issues these individuals wanted to tackle and who they wanted to serve, and when they were happy with the answer, Audos got it in front of potential customers as quickly as possible.
In terms of return, the Audos operates on a fundamentally different model than traditional accelerators and venture capital. Instead of taking fairness, the company has acquired a 15% revenue share from companies that help launch. In return, founders will help raise up to $25,000 in funding, access and distribution of these AI-powered business development tools (again, primarily through paid social media ads).
“We don't take the fairness of their business,” Werdelin says. It doesn't make much sense. “I don't think these companies will be sold,” he says. “What we really get inspired is the mom and pop shops, the backbone of our society.”
Revenue share continues indefinitely, similar to platform fees charged by Apple's App Store. For founders, that means permanently giving up a significant portion of the revenue. This is a 15% reduction that can potentially cost entrepreneurs hundreds of thousands of dollars over time. You'll definitely see that trade-off as worth it. Others may question whether long-term costs justify benefits.
The Audos value proposition also raises other questions, given how quickly the landscape is changing. Werdelin emphasizes helping founders build relationships with customers, but it is unclear how much work an AI agent can actually handle. There is also the issue of differentiation. As Werdelin quickly admits, “The world is full of these tools,” they are getting better quickly. What if an entrepreneur has access to similar AI capabilities without paying permanent income tax?
The VCs at Audos are not worried about these scenarios. True Ventures led the Audos' $11.5 million seed round, with partner Tony Conrad explaining the appeal this week on a Zoom call. In addition to gaining confidence in Werdelin and Thorne, “I think there are a lot of people,” Conrad says, who might be enthusiastically embracing the opportunity to work on platforms like Audos.
Conrad suggests that AI, which currently only employs five people, can now allow for even more leverage, as it resembles a billion-dollar exit with 13 Instagram employees. As Werdelin explains, “We're here with millions of people who can create millions of dollars of businesses and millions of people who can create realistic, life-changing $500,000 businesses.”
Werdelin adds separately why he spuns the Audos. [in annual revenue]. It's a $1 trillion turnover project. ”
It doesn't sound like crazy in the middle of 2025. As traditional employment is beginning to feel more and more stable, expanding the benefits of entrepreneurship to those who have traditionally not accessed startup capital and technical skills is an increasingly compelling proposition.
“We believe there should be someone who can really help these little entrepreneurs who are out and building something that isn't venture back,” Werdelin says. “We believe that the world is better with more entrepreneurship.”
Other investors at Audos include offline ventures and Bungalow Capital, with many well-known angel investors, Niklas Zennstrom and Mario Schlosser.
Photo above, left to right, Ardos co-founders Nicholas Thorne and Henrik Wardellin.