Steno.ai, Techstars '23
Finding the digital twin use case, then landing Tony Robbins as the flagship customer.
The technology to clone a voice works. The hard question is which people are worth cloning, and for whom. That is a positioning problem, not an engineering one.
Where things stood
Steno.ai had working AI digital-twin technology inside the Techstars '23 cohort, but no settled answer for which people were worth cloning, or who would pay for it. The category was young enough that there was no comparable company to point to and no buyer already shopping for the thing.
The call
The obvious move with cloning technology is enterprise: customer service, sales enablement, internal knowledge capture. I identified a different target instead: experts and influencers with existing audiences, a body of recorded thinking, and enough trust for a synthetic version to read as generous rather than as a shortcut. I met the founders through Techstars, then came in separately as a strategic advisor to lead the positioning and the customer engagement itself, staying on with both the Steno.ai team and Tony Robbins' own team through the successful launch of his Steno-powered app.
What got built
- Identified digital cloning as a fit for the influencer and expert markets rather than enterprise use cases
- Shaped go-to-market and brand strategy for the venture inside the Techstars '23 cohort
- Led the engagement that secured Tony Robbins as the company's flagship customer
- Worked with both the Steno.ai team and Tony Robbins' team through the successful launch of his Steno-powered app
Results
Tony Robbins
landed as flagship customer, giving the company a reference case in a category with no comparables
Scope
Strategic advisor, not an operating role. Met the founders through Techstars, then separately engaged as a strategic advisor: identified the use case and target market, led the engagement that closed the flagship customer, and worked with both companies' teams through launch. The product, the technology, and day-to-day execution were the founding team's.
Aaron was instrumental in our early success and helped us achieve lift-off by connecting us directly with Tony Robbins, one of our first marquee customers.
Read full recommendation on LinkedIn →Arman Assadi · Founder & CEO, Steno.ai