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Ricardo Uzcategui

Founder, Ethoz · San Francisco

I build AI systems
that run companies.

The 1-person billion-dollar company is real.
I'm building one.

I'm Ricardo Uzcategui. I design them to scale to enterprises and whole ecosystems. I help founders build AI agent teams, and I'm building Ethoz, an AI workspace for founders (in development).

Request a fit call

I run my company with a team of AI agents: they research, draft and check the work. I review and approve what ships. Building it in public, week by week. Follow along while it's early.

Ricardo Uzcategui

Proof

  • Techstars mentor

    Mentoring founders since 2023.

  • Live demos

    Six public demos you can open today. See them

  • YC Startup School '18

    Y Combinator Startup School, 2018.

  • EN / ES

    I work in English and Spanish.

What I'm building

Ethoz: an AI workspace for founders (in development).

Founders are creating AI-agent versions of themselves to run their companies. That's the thesis. Ethoz helps founders plan company setup, prepare filings and track deadlines, with human approval on every step. You review and submit everything yourself.

  • ✓Setup, planned. Entity, EIN, banking, licenses, deadlines: agents help you prepare each step. You review and submit.
  • ✓A doc vault that works for you. Contracts, filings, and records organized by agents that surface what matters before you ask.
  • ✓Talk to it like a teammate. Voice or messaging, in English or Spanish. Daily briefing, stage dashboard, accountability.
  • ✓Built to stay lean. The goal: a real company run by one founder plus AI. Every system I ship has to pass that test.
weareethoz.com (opens in a new tab)

Bootstrapped, building in public. Solo founder.

Latest projects

Starting vertical

Ecosystems I'm building

The same AI systems, applied to whole ecosystems, one vertical at a time. Starting with: AI tools for Latin music and nightlife in San Francisco. I build AI tools for Latin music and nightlife: Encore AI for musicians, Venue AI for bars, and Montuno, a membership-first Latin supper club in development.

The musicians and venue operators using it shape what gets built. If you run a venue or play Latin music in San Francisco, start with a fit call.

For founders

Founder-led AI consulting

Your week runs you. Let's flip that. I help founders build AI agent teams and find where AI can take work off your plate. Start with a fit call. You leave with a plan, not a pitch.

Every engagement starts with a fit call. Reach out through the contact form.

Request a fit call

Consulting is offered separately by Ricardo Uzcategui under its own agreement.

Background

I don't sell theory. I've done the work: scaled platforms, mentored founders through Techstars.

About Me

I'm Ricardo. Originally from Venezuela, now in San Francisco. My path wasn't a straight line: Chase retail ops, Comcast IT, Wells Fargo digital fraud, then startups. Now I'm a solo founder. My goal is to build a 1-person billion-dollar company myself. It's a bet, not a result. Sam Altman says it will happen (Fortune, Feb 4, 2024 (opens in a new tab)). Dario Amodei said as soon as 2026 (Inc., May 2025 (opens in a new tab)). I build agent-native companies and lives, so people keep their purpose in the age of AI. I run Ethoz this way: a team of AI agents drafts, researches and checks the work, and I set the direction, make the calls and approve what ships. Nothing goes out without me.

I'm also building an ecosystem in Latin music and nightlife, here in San Francisco. I build AI tools for Latin music and nightlife: Encore AI for musicians, Venue AI for bars, and Montuno, a membership-first Latin supper club in development.

Harvard cert in CS for AI. YC Startup School '18. Techstars mentor since 2023. When I'm not building, I'm usually somewhere high up or far away: Everest Base Camp, Kilimanjaro, the Inca Trail, 20+ countries and counting. The bigger question is human. As AI and robotics make more things abundant, how do people keep their purpose, meaningful work and a good life? That's my mission: work it out in practice. I'm testing it in how I build a company and how I live.

Cool things I've done:

  • 🥾Everest Base Camp, Kilimanjaro summit, Inca Trail
  • 🏃‍♂️2 half marathons (SF & Sydney)
  • 🤿Dove the Great Barrier Reef
  • 🪂Skydived & bungee jumped
  • ✈️20+ countries, 5 continents

What I Do

Quick answers

Who is Ricardo Uzcategui?
Ricardo Uzcategui is a San Francisco founder who builds AI systems that run companies, designed to scale to enterprises and whole ecosystems. He started Ethoz in 2026, an AI workspace for founders (in development), and runs his own work with a team of AI agents that ship through pull requests, with his approval on every step. Starting vertical: he builds AI tools for Latin music and nightlife: Encore AI for musicians, Venue AI for bars, and Montuno, a membership-first Latin supper club in development. He is a Techstars mentor and works in English and Spanish.
Can one person build a billion-dollar company?
Ricardo's bet is yes: the 1-person billion-dollar company is real, and he's building one. Sam Altman says it will happen. Dario Amodei said as soon as 2026. Until someone does it, Ricardo treats it as a bet, not a result, and shares what he learns in public.Sources: Fortune, Feb 4, 2024 (opens in a new tab), Inc., May 2025 (opens in a new tab)
What is an agent-native company?
It's how Ricardo describes a company set up so AI agents can actually help: plain Markdown files as the shared brain, a team of agents with titles, rules and lanes, and every change shipped through reviewed pull requests. Agents draft, research and check the work. Ricardo sets direction and approves what ships.
What is Ethoz?
Ethoz is an AI workspace for founders (in development), started by Ricardo Uzcategui in 2026. AI agents help founders and small business owners prepare each step from idea to launch, in English and Spanish, with human approval on every step. It is still in development and not open to the public yet.
What is Ricardo building in Latin music and nightlife?
It is the ecosystem he is building now. In his words: "I build AI tools for Latin music and nightlife: Encore AI for musicians, Venue AI for bars, and Montuno, a membership-first Latin supper club in development." Encore AI gives working musicians an AI crew for promo, inquiries and logistics. Venue AI: AI tools that help venues audit, plan and automate operations: QR ordering, marketing, inventory, SEO and AEO. Live demo, example data. Montuno: a membership-first supper club and dining room with live Latin music in San Francisco. In development.
Does Ricardo offer consulting?
Yes. Ricardo offers founder-led consulting for founders who want a team of AI agents to take work off their plate. It starts with a fit call through the contact form on his site. Consulting is offered separately by Ricardo Uzcategui under its own agreement.
What does Ricardo write about?
Building an agent-native company in public: what his AI agent team ships, what breaks, and what he still does himself. His bigger question is human. As AI and robotics make more things abundant, how do people keep their purpose, meaningful work and a good life? He asks it as an open question, not a policy.

Get In Touch

Founder with a week that runs you instead of the other way around? Want a fit call, consulting, or just to talk shop about AI agents? Tell me about it below. I'm also starting to write about building a 1-person company with AI agents; first posts go up on LinkedIn.

GitHubLinkedInXMastodonAll my linksEthoz
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