AI is unlocking new opportunities both for solopreneurs and venture capital investors, by changing the economics of operating a small business.
The phenomenon of the solopreneur is on the rise: 84% of American businesses were run by a solopreneur in 2020, up from 76% in 1997, and 2024 figures are looking even higher. This demographic shift dovetails with the ongoing technology shift of new generative AI tools. These tools are automating new workflows, aiming to lower the effort and complexity required to launch and manage a business.
AI technology can change the margins of these businesses, making it more profitable than it once was to start running your own business. Where it might have been prohibitively expensive to hire employees to help run different parts of a business, now, one AI tool can provide sales, marketing, operations, financial, and other assistance.
In the world of traditional SaaS, investors often believed that businesses had to be fully horizontal to capture a big enough market, because of low revenue per customer (think: Mindbody). We believe that vertical solutions (as described below) represent exciting venture-backable opportunities when powered by AI.
We’re interested in the opportunity these convergent waves create for “business-in-a-box” solutions that allow small businesses to leverage AI to manage end-to-end operations. We are looking closely at full-stack, AI-powered, vertical-specific solutions that help service professionals run and grow their businesses.
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Below, we dig into how we see this area evolving.
From Software-as-Service to Service-as-a-Software
Historically, vertical SaaS platforms provide management systems for operations—but they don’t carry out the execution itself. Generative AI can fill this execution gap, effectively transitioning companies to a “service-as-a-software” model.
The business-in-a-box category takes this concept to the next level, bundling disparate tools for service workers into one seamless platform. With an advanced business-in-a-box solution, AI agents work together so seamlessly that interacting with a platform feels less like working with a software tool and more like working with a seasoned professional.
Instead of needing one SaaS tool for payments, and another one for scheduling, and another one for marketing, and so on, entrepreneurs could theoretically manage all their business needs in one place. Machines could perform mundane operational tasks, so business owners can get their time back to focus on what they do best: the real work.
We view the business-in-a-box tech stack across a few different layers:
Administration: Many platforms today are already starting to bundle and handle administrative work, and this is where we’re seeing the most early iterations of biz-in-a-box. Solutions here may handle operational business tasks like payments, scheduling, simple customer communications, forms and signatures, and tax and finance. Given that the average entrepreneur spends more than a third of their workweek on small administrative tasks, the need here is huge.
Acquisition: Our larger vision of this sector adds a discovery component to the mix, helping entrepreneurs to grow their customer bases. Solutions here may offer solopreneurs tools for marketing, branding, more robust customer communications, prospecting, or sharing services on marketplaces. For example, a tool may help a contractor identify and post across marketplaces like Thumbtack or Upwork.
Education: An even more advanced layer involves biz-in-a-box solutions that help train or upskill entrepreneurs. For example, a solution might offer a training course that teaches someone graphic design skills. It could then also help them set up their graphic design business, create their website, find clients, project manage, and manage daily operations.
Unified platform: The most advanced state for a business-in-a-box solution puts all of the above modules together, creating a cohesive system. This could allow business-in-a-box users to achieve a level of performance that would be difficult—if not impossible—to replicate if they were stitching together disparate point solutions.
Verticals of interest
We are interested in both horizontal and vertical approaches to business-in-a-box solutions. That said, we often find vertical solutions are more differentiated from existing tech, because they can do a larger portion of operational work.
We believe the best verticals for business-in-a-box solutions are defined by skilled professionals and high rates of sole proprietorship. Some of our verticals of interest for biz-in-a-box solutions include:
Health services: End-to-end solutions for providers such as nurses, therapists, counselors, and other health specialists (dentists, optometrists, chiropractors, etc.). Tools here aim to make the patient management seamless, from scheduling visits, to follow-up communications, to billing and insurance. Players here include solutions like Moxie, a medspa management tool.
Home services: This category serves small business owners offering a range of home services, from electricians and plumbers to interior designers and housekeepers. For example, Topline Pro is a generative AI platform enabling home services professionals to manage and scale their businesses online.
Legal & accounting: Solutions for service providers in law (lawyers, paralegals, mediators, legal consultants) and accounting (CPAs, bookkeepers, tax accountants)—two areas with particularly heavy requirements around time tracking, communicating with clients, and file management. For example, Noodle is an AI-powered automation platform for law practices, supporting both administrative tasks (calendaring, document review, customer support chat) and growth tasks (on-site lead generation, AI-managed CRM).
Personal care & wellness: Solutions here are directed at professionals like estheticians, hair stylists, makeup artists, and nail technicians, as well as service providers like personal trainers, nutritionists, yoga and fitness instructors, and more. For example, Arketa’s platform helps fitness instructors build online businesses.
Creative: These solutions allow creatives—like designers, photographers, writers, web developers, or other content creators—to spend more time focusing on their creative work. For example, Passionfruit offers AI-enabled lower cost SEO optimization for SMBs who don’t want to work with consultants.
Education: Solutions to support freelance educators, such as tutors, music teachers, life and career coaches, college consultants, and language instructors. For example, AI-powered app Vcita supports professionals across industries, including helping teachers and tutors manage students, classes, payments, and marketing.
This list is not exhaustive—so if you’re a business-in-a-box founder building in a different vertical (auto services? laundromats and tailoring? pet care?), we’re still interested in hearing from you!
Get in touch
We are continuing to dig into the business-in-a-box space and invest across the future of work at large. If you are building or working in the space, drop us a note. We’d love to chat!
Anna Barber, Partner
anna@m13.co
Whitney Hazard, Investor
whitney@m13.co
AI is unlocking new opportunities both for solopreneurs and venture capital investors, by changing the economics of operating a small business.
The phenomenon of the solopreneur is on the rise: 84% of American businesses were run by a solopreneur in 2020, up from 76% in 1997, and 2024 figures are looking even higher. This demographic shift dovetails with the ongoing technology shift of new generative AI tools. These tools are automating new workflows, aiming to lower the effort and complexity required to launch and manage a business.
AI technology can change the margins of these businesses, making it more profitable than it once was to start running your own business. Where it might have been prohibitively expensive to hire employees to help run different parts of a business, now, one AI tool can provide sales, marketing, operations, financial, and other assistance.
In the world of traditional SaaS, investors often believed that businesses had to be fully horizontal to capture a big enough market, because of low revenue per customer (think: Mindbody). We believe that vertical solutions (as described below) represent exciting venture-backable opportunities when powered by AI.
We’re interested in the opportunity these convergent waves create for “business-in-a-box” solutions that allow small businesses to leverage AI to manage end-to-end operations. We are looking closely at full-stack, AI-powered, vertical-specific solutions that help service professionals run and grow their businesses.
Below, we dig into how we see this area evolving.
From Software-as-Service to Service-as-a-Software
Historically, vertical SaaS platforms provide management systems for operations—but they don’t carry out the execution itself. Generative AI can fill this execution gap, effectively transitioning companies to a “service-as-a-software” model.
The business-in-a-box category takes this concept to the next level, bundling disparate tools for service workers into one seamless platform. With an advanced business-in-a-box solution, AI agents work together so seamlessly that interacting with a platform feels less like working with a software tool and more like working with a seasoned professional.
Instead of needing one SaaS tool for payments, and another one for scheduling, and another one for marketing, and so on, entrepreneurs could theoretically manage all their business needs in one place. Machines could perform mundane operational tasks, so business owners can get their time back to focus on what they do best: the real work.
We view the business-in-a-box tech stack across a few different layers:
Administration: Many platforms today are already starting to bundle and handle administrative work, and this is where we’re seeing the most early iterations of biz-in-a-box. Solutions here may handle operational business tasks like payments, scheduling, simple customer communications, forms and signatures, and tax and finance. Given that the average entrepreneur spends more than a third of their workweek on small administrative tasks, the need here is huge.
Acquisition: Our larger vision of this sector adds a discovery component to the mix, helping entrepreneurs to grow their customer bases. Solutions here may offer solopreneurs tools for marketing, branding, more robust customer communications, prospecting, or sharing services on marketplaces. For example, a tool may help a contractor identify and post across marketplaces like Thumbtack or Upwork.
Education: An even more advanced layer involves biz-in-a-box solutions that help train or upskill entrepreneurs. For example, a solution might offer a training course that teaches someone graphic design skills. It could then also help them set up their graphic design business, create their website, find clients, project manage, and manage daily operations.
Unified platform: The most advanced state for a business-in-a-box solution puts all of the above modules together, creating a cohesive system. This could allow business-in-a-box users to achieve a level of performance that would be difficult—if not impossible—to replicate if they were stitching together disparate point solutions.
Verticals of interest
We are interested in both horizontal and vertical approaches to business-in-a-box solutions. That said, we often find vertical solutions are more differentiated from existing tech, because they can do a larger portion of operational work.
We believe the best verticals for business-in-a-box solutions are defined by skilled professionals and high rates of sole proprietorship. Some of our verticals of interest for biz-in-a-box solutions include:
Health services: End-to-end solutions for providers such as nurses, therapists, counselors, and other health specialists (dentists, optometrists, chiropractors, etc.). Tools here aim to make the patient management seamless, from scheduling visits, to follow-up communications, to billing and insurance. Players here include solutions like Moxie, a medspa management tool.
Home services: This category serves small business owners offering a range of home services, from electricians and plumbers to interior designers and housekeepers. For example, Topline Pro is a generative AI platform enabling home services professionals to manage and scale their businesses online.
Legal & accounting: Solutions for service providers in law (lawyers, paralegals, mediators, legal consultants) and accounting (CPAs, bookkeepers, tax accountants)—two areas with particularly heavy requirements around time tracking, communicating with clients, and file management. For example, Noodle is an AI-powered automation platform for law practices, supporting both administrative tasks (calendaring, document review, customer support chat) and growth tasks (on-site lead generation, AI-managed CRM).
Personal care & wellness: Solutions here are directed at professionals like estheticians, hair stylists, makeup artists, and nail technicians, as well as service providers like personal trainers, nutritionists, yoga and fitness instructors, and more. For example, Arketa’s platform helps fitness instructors build online businesses.
Creative: These solutions allow creatives—like designers, photographers, writers, web developers, or other content creators—to spend more time focusing on their creative work. For example, Passionfruit offers AI-enabled lower cost SEO optimization for SMBs who don’t want to work with consultants.
Education: Solutions to support freelance educators, such as tutors, music teachers, life and career coaches, college consultants, and language instructors. For example, AI-powered app Vcita supports professionals across industries, including helping teachers and tutors manage students, classes, payments, and marketing.
This list is not exhaustive—so if you’re a business-in-a-box founder building in a different vertical (auto services? laundromats and tailoring? pet care?), we’re still interested in hearing from you!
Get in touch
We are continuing to dig into the business-in-a-box space and invest across the future of work at large. If you are building or working in the space, drop us a note. We’d love to chat!
Anna Barber, Partner
anna@m13.co
Whitney Hazard, Investor
whitney@m13.co
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What We Talk About When We Talk About AI
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