Henrik Werdelin, who has spent the past 15 years supporting entrepreneurs in building successful brands—including Barkbox—through his startup studio Prehype, has introduced an ambitious new venture named Audos. This New York-based startup leverages advanced AI technologies, aiming to dramatically scale the process of company creation from a handful per year into hundreds of thousands annually.
The inception of Audos coincides with an expansive shift in the entrepreneurial landscape. Recent widespread layoffs across various industries have led many professionals to reassess their career options, at a time when increasingly sophisticated AI tools are lowering barriers to building digital products and businesses. Positioned squarely where these trends intersect, Audos promises to empower “everyday entrepreneurs,” equipping them with user-friendly digital tools to create potentially lucrative startups—without the requirement of any deep technical knowledge.
Werdelin describes this evolution as a natural extension of his experience at Prehype, which traditionally worked alongside tech founders to nurture hundreds of startups targeting substantial funding rounds and major market exits. Now, Audos represents an intentional pivot, focusing instead on democratizing entrepreneurial methodologies previously reserved for venture-funded enterprises. As he explains, the mission for his latest venture is clearly inclusive: helping regular people quickly develop businesses that may generate six- or seven-figure revenues.
Using an intuitive conversational AI agent, Audos guides aspiring founders through identifying potential business opportunities and lucrative niche markets. It then quickly tests their ideas with real audiences through targeted social media advertising. Werdelin believes social platforms like Facebook, with their powerful algorithms, are perfect mechanisms to validate business concepts and rapidly pinpoint viable customer segments.
Already, encouraging signs have emerged. Since its beta release, Audos has assisted in launching hundreds of startups, attracting founders through eye-catching Instagram ads designed to resonate with individuals contemplating independent business ventures but uncertain how to begin. The early alumni base is impressively diverse, including a car mechanic offering guidance on repair quote evaluations, a provider of “after death logistics” services, online golf swing coaching, and AI-based nutrition advisors. Werdelin humorously refers to these ventures as “donkeycorns”—a playful nod to billion-dollar unicorn startups, highlighting the smaller-scale, streamlined nature of such businesses.
Unlike traditional accelerators or venture capital firms, Audos does not take equity stakes in the startups it nurtures. Instead, it utilizes a revenue-sharing model, taking a perpetual 15% cut of sales from these new companies. In exchange, entrepreneurs receive up to $25,000 in early-stage funding, full access to Audos’ AI-powered toolkit, and active assistance in acquiring customers via paid digital marketing. While some founders may find this trade-off favorable, others might pause, considering the long-term implications of surrendering a significant revenue share indefinitely, which could add up substantially over time.
Werdelin maintains this model is better suited to the realities faced by the startups Audos supports, many of which are unlikely to pursue traditional exits. He emphasizes the value in cultivating a large ecosystem of stable small businesses, praising them as fundamental contributors to economic stability and prosperity.
Still, questions remain about Audos’ long-term viability. The accelerating advancement and widespread availability of powerful AI tools could mean that the competitive advantage Audos currently offers entrepreneurs may soon diminish. Werdelin acknowledges the rapid evolution of these technologies but remains confident. He sees the platform as providing genuine value through early-market experimentation and customer validation—elements still difficult for many first-time entrepreneurs to navigate alone.
Investors appear optimistic. True Ventures recently led Audos’ $11.5 million seed financing, joined by Offline Ventures, Bungalow Capital, and prominent angel investors including Niklas Zennstrom and Mario Schlosser. True Ventures partner Tony Conrad highlighted not just the visionary strength of Werdelin and Audos co-founder Nicholas Thorne, but the potential for vast numbers of previously unserved entrepreneurs to utilize Audos’ offerings and create sustainable, profitable ventures.
While most startup studios chase unicorn valuations, Werdelin insists Audos takes a different path, defining success as enabling vast numbers of profitable small businesses. By potentially launching one million companies each generating a million dollars in turnover, Audos aims to build what he calls “a trillion-dollar turnover business,” significantly widening participation in the entrepreneurial economy at a time when economic stability and job security are increasingly uncertain for many.
