We keep you at the helm — join the waitlist

Run the business you imagined,
not the one that's running you.

Built for cafés & restaurants

When you started or bought your business, you pictured leading it — not drowning in messages, reviews, and admin. Helmsio gives you eight AI agents that handle the operational work, on your behalf and within limits you set, so you get back to the version of ownership you signed up for. You set the direction. They take care of the rest.

Join 2,400+ founders & first-time buyers on the waitlist

app.helmsio.io — Main Street Coffee Co.
Revenue
$23,074
↑ 12% vs last month
New customers
22
Target: 25/mo
Agent actions
247
96% autonomous
Review rating
4.8★
↑ +2 new reviews
Revenue trend — this month
Top priorities today
1
Review response drafted — needs your approval
2
Mother's Day campaign ready — you decide to launch
3
Reputation Agent: 2 reviews handled ✓
☕ Main Street Coffee 🧹 Riverside Cleaning Co. 🛒 Harbor Amazon Store 🚚 Coastal Food Truck 🌸 Oak & Ivy Florist 🏋 Summit Fitness 💄 Luxe Direct Beauty 🐾 Rover Mobile Pet Care 🏨 Silverton B&B ✂️ Harbor Hair Studio 📦 Maple Lane Shopify Store 🔧 Blue Ridge HVAC ☕ Main Street Coffee 🧹 Riverside Cleaning Co. 🛒 Harbor Amazon Store 🚚 Coastal Food Truck 🌸 Oak & Ivy Florist 🏋 Summit Fitness 💄 Luxe Direct Beauty 🐾 Rover Mobile Pet Care 🏨 Silverton B&B ✂️ Harbor Hair Studio 📦 Maple Lane Shopify Store 🔧 Blue Ridge HVAC

Built for your business

See exactly what your agents handle — and what stays with you.

Select your business type to see exactly what your agents handle. Every scenario below is real — from food trucks announcing their location to Amazon sellers managing overnight reviews.

Your AI team

Eight specialists. One captain. You.

Eight AI agents, each trained for a specific role. Each agent handles execution in their lane. You stay at the helm — setting direction, approving strategy, and making every call that matters. They brief you weekly.

💬
Customer Agent
Replies to all enquiries, FAQs, and complaints 24/7
📣
Marketing Agent
Posts, emails, and promotions on autopilot
💰
Finance Agent
Monitors cash flow and flags anomalies instantly
Reputation Agent
Responds to reviews, tracks your brand mentions
📦
Ops Agent
Tracks inventory and manages supplier orders
🧠
Advisor Agent
Your always-on business coach and strategist
📅
Schedule Agent
Manages appointments, staff, and reminders
📈
Growth Agent
Spots opportunities and recommends next moves

How it works

You stay at the helm. We handle the work.

1

Connect your business in 10 minutes

Link your email, social, bank, and tools. Connects to Gmail, Instagram, Facebook, Google Business Profile, Amazon Seller Central, Shopify, Etsy, Xero, Stripe, Square, and 50+ more — whether you run a food truck, Amazon store, mobile service, or café.

2

Set your limits and direction

Tell us how boldly you want to move — Steady, Growing, or Full Throttle. This sets exactly how much authority your agents have, what they must ask you before doing, and what they handle autonomously. You define the boundaries. They work within them.

3

Your agents get to work immediately

All 8 AI agents activate immediately — each working within the limits you set. Customer Agent handles enquiries in your voice. Marketing Agent drafts posts for your approval. Finance Agent monitors your numbers and flags anything unusual. Nothing significant happens without your say-so.

4

Weekly briefings — you stay at the helm

Every Friday, each agent briefs you on what they did, what worked, and what they propose next. You approve, redirect, or override. Every significant decision is yours. Over time, they learn your style so well you need to correct them less and less.

Your helm settings

You set the limits. Your agents work within them.

You're always at the helm — deciding how much authority your agents have. Set it conservatively at first, dial it up as trust builds. Change it anytime.

🌱
Steady
Protect what you have. Grow carefully. Less stress, more control.
Agents ask you before spending over $200
Post 3x/week on Google & Instagram (organic, free)
Win-back email to churned regulars or lapsed members
Respond to every review within 4 hours
Reorder supplies when stock hits minimum (auto)
POPULAR
Growing
Invest to accelerate. Agents move fast within clear limits. Best for first-timers.
Agents ask you before spending over $500
Mother's Day / seasonal campaign auto-launched ($300)
Loyalty programme with $10 referral reward (auto)
Google Ads targeting local search ($400–800/mo)
Sponsorship of local community event (proposed in 1:1)
🔥
Full Throttle
Move fast, spend to win. Maximum autonomy for owners ready to scale.
Agents ask you before spending over $2,000
Full Google + Meta campaign auto-launched ($1,500)
Hire part-time social content creator via Upwork (auto)
Bulk stock pre-order for seasonal demand ($5–8K)
$10K marketing blitz — proposed at monthly All-Hands

Real owners, real results

First-timers back at the helm
from day one.

☕ Café founder · launched from scratch
★★★★★

"I launched my café from scratch with no hospitality experience. By week two, Customer Agent was handling 94% of enquiries and Reputation Agent had us at 4.9★ on Google. I spent my time on the floor, not on my phone."

SJ
Sarah J.
Main Street Coffee Co. · acquired Dec 2024
🧹 Cleaning company · ex-corporate finance
★★★★★

"Schedule Agent completely eliminated no-shows. Finance Agent caught a supplier overcharging me by $340 in week three. Between those two things, Helmsio paid for itself in the first month."

MT
Marcus T.
Riverside Cleaning Co. · acquired Jan 2025
🐾 Pet store + gym · portfolio owner
★★★★★

"I own three businesses now. The portfolio dashboard is the only reason that's possible. My agents handled 1,240 actions last month across all three. I personally approved 47 of them. That's the job I signed up for."

DR
Dana R.
3-business portfolio · Empire plan
2,400+
founders & buyers on waitlist
96%
of routine tasks handled for you
4.8★
avg review rating achieved
$4,200
avg saved in first 90 days

See it in action

Every view, built for owners
who don't have time to waste.

Dashboard — Main Street Coffee Co.
Revenue
$23,074
↑ 12%
Agent actions
247
96% auto
Top priorities
1
Retention dipped to 79%
Urgent
2
Mother's Day campaign ready
Approve
3
2 new reviews replied ✓
Done
Customer
79%
Finance
91%
Marketing
88%
Weekly 1:1 — Customer Agent
💬
Customer Agent
Week 14 check-in · 3 targets reviewed
💬
Retention dipped to 79% — 6 churned this week. Root cause: weekend availability gap. Three options ready.
A
Extend autonomous coverage to 8am–8pm weekends$0 · Auto
B
Set a warm weekend auto-reply$0 · Auto
AJ
Go with option A.
🧠 Preference recorded — applied automatically next time.
Portfolio — 3 businesses
Total revenue
$51,840
↑ 18%
Agent actions
1,240
97% auto
Main Street Coffee Co.
$23,074 · Health 74
96% of target
Riverside Cleaning Co.
$18,320 · Health 88
115% of target ✓
Parkview Pet Supply
$10,446 · Health 72
87% — needs attention
Monthly All-Hands — April 2026
74
Health
Business is solid — retention needs attention
Revenue 94% of target · Rating 4.8★
April action plan
1
Win-back sequence for 6 churned customers
Auto-approved
2
Mother's Day campaign — needs your review
Approve now
3
Chase Horizon Supplies $340 invoice
Auto-approved
4
Request reviews from 22 March customers
Approved
Connections — link your accounts
Email
Gmail
alex@mainstreetcoffee.com ✓
Outlook
Not connected
Social media
Instagram
@mainstreetcoffee · 847 followers ✓
Facebook
Main Street Coffee Co. ✓
Finance
Chase Bank (via Plaid)
Read-only · Synced ✓
Your Playbook — 14 weeks of learning
68%
Playbook depth · Fully personalised at 80%
Prioritisation style
Alex prioritises retention over revenue — chosen 11 of 14 times.
79%
Spending thresholds
Auto-approves under $150. Always reviews marketing over $300.
96%
Communication tone
Prefers warm, local-business language — applied to all outbound.
91%
Dashboard — Main Street Coffee Co.
Revenue
$23,074
↑ 12%
Agent actions
247
96% auto
Dashboard · Portfolio · 1:1s · All-Hands → all in one place

Hover to pause · All views are live and interactive in the app

Interactive demo

Watch how a typical week
looks for an Helmsio owner.

Click through the steps or hit play to see a full walkthrough of the product in action.

app.helmsio.io — Dashboard
🏠 Good morning, Alex
Monday 7 Apr · Main Street Coffee Co. · 5 agents active · Updated 4 min ago
Revenue
$23,074
↑ 12%
Customers
22
Target: 25
Agent actions
247
96% auto
Rating
4.8★
↑ +2
Department health this month
Customer service
79%
Finance
91%
Marketing
88%
Reputation
96%
Operations
100%
Top 5 priorities
1
Retention at 79% — weekend availability gap
Urgent
2
Mother's Day campaign ready to approve
Approve
3
Horizon Supplies invoice $340 overdue
Agent handling
4
22 March customers — review requests sent
Agent on it
5
Instagram reach down 18% this week
Agent on it
💬 Weekly 1:1 — Customer Agent
Week 14 check-in · 3 targets reviewed · Monday 8am email sent
💬
Customer Agent
Customer service · 94% enquiries resolved without you
3 of 3 targets reviewed
💬
Hi Alex! Retention dipped to 79% — below the 85% target. I traced 4 of the 6 churns to a recurring complaint about weekend availability. Three options ready:
A
Extend autonomous coverage to 8am–8pm weekends$0 · Auto
B
Set a warm weekend auto-reply, follow up Monday$0 · Auto
C
Route urgent messages to you — I triage, you reply$0 · Auto
⚡ Growing profile: all 3 options within your $500 agent spending authority — executed automatically when you choose.
🏛 Monthly All-Hands — April 2026
5 agents participated · Report emailed on April 1st · 5 actions generated
74
Health
Business is solid — revenue on track, retention needs attention.
Revenue at 94% of target · Retention dropped 6pts · Rating improved to 4.8★
Department scorecards
Customer
79%↓
Finance
91%↑
Marketing
88%↑
Reputation
96%↑
April action plan
1
Win-back 6 churned customers
Auto
2
Mother's Day campaign — needs approval
Approve
3
Chase Horizon $340 invoice
Auto
4
Request reviews from 22 March customers
Done
5
Extend weekend coverage
Approve
🏢 Portfolio overview
3 businesses · Empire plan · All agents running · $51,840 total revenue this month
Total revenue
$51,840
↑ 18%
Net customers
47
+8 vs target
Agent actions
1,240
97% auto
Avg health
79
↑ +3pts
Main St Coffee
Food & Hospitality
$23,074
96% of target
⚠ Retention at 79%
Riverside Cleaning
Trades & Services
$18,320
115% of target ✓
✓ Above target
Parkview Pet Supply
Retail
$10,446
87% of target
⚠ Rev 13% below target
🧠 Your Playbook — 14 weeks of learning
Every decision you make teaches your agents to think like you. 68% personalised — full at 80%.
68%
Playbook depth · 14 weeks · Fully personalised at 80%
147
Decisions recorded
94%
Auto-approval rate
Prioritisation style
Prioritises retention over revenue — chosen 11 of 14 times.
79% confidence
Communication tone
Warm, local-business language — applied to all 22 outbound edits.
91% confidence
Spending thresholds
Auto-approves under $150. Always reviews marketing over $300.
96% confidence
🎯 Goal: within 6 months, your agents handle 95% of decisions the exact way you would — without asking.
1 / 5 — Dashboard

Pricing

Less than one hour of your time saved pays for it.

Works for founders launching from scratch and buyers taking over existing businesses. Add more businesses as you grow. 14-day free trial — no card required.

Monthly
Annual Save 20%
Starter
$7963
/month
$756 billed annually
1 business · all 8 AI agents
All 8 AI agents included
Steady growth style ($200 agent authority)
Weekly 1:1 email summaries
Knowledge base (10 docs)
Email + social + bank connections
14-day free trial
Replaces: a VA at $15/hr × 5hrs/wk = $300+/mo
Empire
$499399
/month
$4,788 billed annually
Unlimited businesses
Everything in Growing
Full Throttle style ($2K agent authority)
Custom agent training per business
White-label for advisors / brokers
API access + uptime SLA
Dedicated account manager
Thryv charges $382/mo for less. One agent = one FTE role replaced.
No contract — cancel anytime
14-day free trial, no card required
Set up in under 10 minutes
Your data is never used to train other agents

The difference

Your first 90 days — before and after.

Most first-time buyers spend their first 3 months drowning in tasks they never expected. Helmsio changes what your week actually looks like.

Without Helmsio
Founder or buyer — same reality
Your week looks like this
Mon 7am
Catch up on 34 customer enquiries that came in over the weekend. Write individual replies. Takes 2 hours.
Mon–Fri
Manually respond to every Google review. Miss 3 of them. Get a 3★ from someone upset you didn't reply.
Tuesday
Realise you're out of a key product. Spend 40 minutes on the phone with your supplier arranging an emergency order.
Wednesday
No time to post on Instagram this week. Engagement drops. You feel guilty but there aren't enough hours.
Thursday
Try to figure out last month's P&L. Spend 3 hours in spreadsheets. Still not sure if you're profitable.
Friday
Cancel plans to catch up on everything that slipped. Work the weekend. Ask yourself: is this what owning a business was supposed to feel like?
Time spent on admin: ~25 hours/week
Time spent actually learning and improving your business: ~3 hours
With Helmsio
You lead. Bots execute.
Your week looks like this
Mon 8am
Open Helmsio. Review your weekly 1:1 summary — Customer Agent handled all 34 weekend enquiries. 2 flagged for your attention. Takes 8 minutes.
Mon–Fri
Reputation Agent responded to every review within 2 hours, in your voice. You're notified only when a review needs a personal touch.
Tuesday
Ops Agent detected the stock level 4 days ago and already reordered. The delivery arrives today. You didn't know it was happening.
Wednesday
Marketing Agent posted 3 times this week — content your customers are actually engaging with. 4 new enquiries from Wednesday's post alone.
Thursday
Finance Agent sends your plain-English P&L snapshot. Revenue up 8%. Gross margin 64%. One anomaly flagged — you resolve it in 5 minutes.
Friday
Leave at 5pm. The agents keep working. You spend the weekend doing the parts of the business only you can do — or just actually living your life.
Time on execution: ~3 hours/week
Time on strategy, decisions, and actually leading: ~25 hours

ROI calculator

More time at the helm. Less time in the engine room.

Your agents handle the execution. You keep the hours that matter. Here's what that shift is worth.

Hours per week on admin tasks
20 hrs
Your time value ($/hour)
$60/hr
Bots automate approx.
80%
Hours saved / month
69
Value recovered / month
$4,144
Helmsio cost
$79
Monthly ROI
52×

Common questions

Everything you want to know before signing up.

Do I need any technical skills to set up Helmsio?
None whatsoever. Setup takes under 10 minutes — you connect your accounts (Gmail, Instagram, bank) using standard login buttons, pick your growth style, and the agents start working. No coding, no configuration, no consultants required. If you can use a smartphone, you can use Helmsio.
What happens if an agent makes a mistake or does something I wouldn't want?
You are always in control. Every agent action is logged, and anything significant — spending, public content, strategic moves — comes to you for approval before it happens. You can review, edit, or reverse any agent action at any time. The more feedback you give in your weekly 1:1s, the better the agents get at knowing exactly what you'd want — most owners report that after 6–8 weeks, they need to override decisions very rarely. And you can always lower an agent's autonomy level at any time.
Does this replace my staff?
No — and it's not designed to. Helmsio handles the information, communication, and coordination work that currently falls on you as the owner. Your staff still do what they do. What changes is that you stop being the bottleneck for every administrative decision, message, and task. Think of it as giving yourself a management team — not replacing the people doing the actual work.
Is my business data safe? Who can see it?
Your data belongs to you. It's encrypted at rest and in transit, and is never used to train AI models for other customers. Bank connections are made via Plaid (the same technology used by major banks) and are read-only by default. Only you and anyone you explicitly invite can access your account. We're SOC 2 Type II compliant and will never sell your data to third parties.
I already have tools — Xero, Shopify, Mailchimp. Does Helmsio replace them or work with them?
Works with them, not instead of them. Helmsio connects to your existing tools and acts as the intelligent layer that reads from and writes to them. Finance Agent reads your Xero transactions. Ops Agent monitors your Shopify inventory. Marketing Agent can send via Mailchimp. You keep everything you've already set up — Helmsio just makes it all work together, autonomously.
I just bought my business. Is this the right time to start, or should I wait until I understand it better?
The earlier the better, honestly. The biggest mistake first-time buyers make is spending their first 90 days on tasks that could be automated — leaving no time to actually learn the business, build relationships with customers, or spot opportunities. Starting Helmsio immediately means your agents are learning alongside you, and you're freed up to focus on the things only a human owner can do.
What does "agent spending authority" actually mean — can an agent really spend my money?
Only when you explicitly allow it, and only up to the limit you set. On the Starter (Steady) plan, agents can spend up to $200 per action without asking — things like placing a routine reorder or boosting a post. Anything above that comes to you for approval first. You set the limit, you can change it any time, and every spend is logged with a clear explanation. You are always in control.
What if I buy a second business — can I manage both from one account?
Yes — that's exactly what the Growing plan is for. You get a portfolio dashboard that shows all businesses at a glance, with rolled-up KPIs, cross-portfolio priorities, and individual business health scores. Each business has its own agents, its own knowledge base, and its own process map. Adding a new business takes about 15 minutes.
Can I cancel? What happens to my data if I do?
Cancel any time — no penalties, no questions asked. When you cancel, your data is retained for 30 days so you can export everything (your playbook, process maps, documents, agent history). After 30 days it's permanently deleted. We'll never hold your data hostage.
I'm starting a business from scratch, not buying one. Does Helmsio still work for me?
It's built for you too. In some ways, starting from scratch is an even better time to begin — your agents help you build the right habits, processes, and customer relationships from day one, rather than inheriting someone else's way of doing things. Marketing Agent builds your audience while you're still setting up. Customer Agent handles enquiries before you officially open. Reputation Agent starts building your Google rating with your first customers. Finance Agent sets your financial baseline so you know immediately if you're on track. Starting right beats correcting mistakes later.
Why $79 a month? Seems cheap for what you're describing.
We've priced it deliberately at a level where the ROI is so obvious it removes any hesitation. If your time is worth $30/hour and the agents save you 10 hours a week, that's $1,200/month in recovered time for $79. We're in early access and want to build a large, loyal cohort of founders and buyers who want to stay at the helm of their business. Pricing aggressively now is how we do that. Prices will increase at general availability, but early members are locked in at their founding rate.

Ready to take the helm?

Join 2,400+ founders and first-time buyers who are back at the helm of their business. Early members get 3 months free at launch.

No credit card. No commitment. Cancel anytime.