Upskill
Prompts and repos from people in the Collective, plus the demos, academies, books, podcasts and research worth your time. Find what fits where you work and who you are, and upvote what is worth copying.
92 AI tools across 17 jobs, each with its price and the use case that makes it worth it. Upvote the ones you’d recommend. Prices change often, so treat them as a guide. Links checked 17 September 2026.
Claude that can operate on your Mac to do real tasks (files, browser, apps).
Use case: Founder ops assistant: turn messy folders/screenshots into usable docs, draft updates, prep investor notes, reconcile 'what did we decide?' across tools.
Included with Claude Pro $20/mo (and also Max $100 to $200/mo).
Viral 'personal assistant' agent that automates across apps on your machine.
Use case: Founder 'mini-COO': automate repetitive workflows (inbox triage, basic admin, copying data between tools) without hiring a VA yet.
Tool price unclear (looks like the cost is mainly your model/API usage + setup). The hype is real; pricing is not clearly posted on the homepage.
AI agent browser, can act like a human and complete tasks for you given an instruction
Use case: I use it for loads of personalised outbound, menial manual tasks like removing emails from a list or something. Use it for finding hard sections of a website to find. Also use it for finding discount codes hehe.
Free if you have PayPal! Otherwise from $20 p/m
This is quite general but basically the entire Google AI Studio if you already have a Google Workspace account
Use case: Image generation, managing Google Drive
Free if use Google Workspace
Telepathic' autocomplete that writes inside Gmail like you. Helpful for impatient people like me.
Use case: Founder comms at scale: reply faster without sounding like a corporate robot who just discovered ChatGPT.
Free to install / currently free during beta (no paid tiers shown yet).
Inbox + calendar + meetings automation (drafts in your voice + notetaker). Also labels stuff like 'important' if it is!
Use case: Founder exec-assistant-lite: organise inbox + draft replies + meeting notes → follow-ups you actually send.
Starter $22.50/user/mo billed annually (7-day trial). Pro $37.50/user/mo billed annually (7-day trial).
Premium email client with AI layered in.
Use case: Founder speedrun: triage + send faster, keep threads moving, reduce 'inbox dread'. (my co-founder has 52k unread emails, i am campaiging for her to use this)
Starter $25/user/mo billed annually; Business $33/user/mo billed annually (monthly higher).
AI-first email (summaries, search, workflows).
Use case: Founder knowledge retrieval: find decisions fast, summarise threads, keep projects moving.
Free tier; Pro $18/user/mo; Business pricing exists (varies by plan).
Writing assistant evolving into broader productivity suite.
Use case: Founder polish on stuff like investor emails, job specs, press copy - make it crisp without rewriting 12 times.
Suite access tied to paid subscription; pricing for some newer 'Go' features has been time-limited/promotional.
AI presentations/docs/webpages with quick export.
Use case: Founder deck drafts, investor updates (not pitch decks), product narratives, quick sales decks, quick for last minute webinars or team presentations.
Free tier; Plus/Pro paid tiers shown on pricing page (Plus removes branding, more AI).
Smart-slide decks with strong design constraints.
Use case: Founder 'clean slides', board decks, partner decks, internal storytelling that doesn’t look like PowerPoint.
Pro $12/mo billed annually (monthly higher); team plans available.
Design suite with strong AI features.
Use case: Founder brand engine incl. pitch visuals, social assets, hiring ads, quick design at scale.
Pro commonly listed around $15/mo; Teams typically $10/user/mo with minimum seats (varies by region).
AI presentations/docs etc using natural language.
Use case: Quickly building presentations, getting the style correct
tbc
AI search + answers with citations (great for fast 'what’s true?' checks).
Use case: Build investor-ready briefs incl. market sizing, competitor positioning, 'what’s the evidence for X?' with links you can footnote.
$20/mo or $200/yr.
Turns your docs + sources into an explorable 'research notebook' (with audio overviews etc.).
Use case: Founder due diligence e.g. turning scattered PDFs, notes, and docs into a coherent decision doc before you spend money / hire / partner.
Included in $19.99/mo Google AI plan (One AI Premium / AI Pro depending on region).
Academic-grade research assistant: search papers, extract evidence, build tables.
Use case: When you need to sound credible with evidence e.g. build a research-backed POV for content, product claims, or partnerships.
$49/mo or $499/yr (Pro).
Evidence-based search across research papers, with 'study snapshot' style outputs.
Use case: Founder positioning- when you’re making a claim (wellbeing, learning, productivity), pull the supporting studies fast.
$15/mo or $120/yr.
Enterprise market intel (filings, earnings calls, broker research, etc.).
Use case: If you’re selling into enterprise / regulated industries and need serious market intel without hiring an analyst.
Contact sales / annual subscription.
Lead enrichment + workflows: stitch data sources + AI to build 'perfect lists'.
Use case: Founder 'target list'- build ultra-specific prospect lists (industry + headcount + triggers) and personalise at scale.
Pricing is credit-based; official page lists plans (exact tiers vary by billing).
All-in-one prospecting database + sequences + basic engagement.
Use case: Founder outbound in week 1- get lists, run sequences, and build pipeline without a Frankenstein stack.
Free; $49/user/mo (Basic, annual), $79/user/mo (Professional, annual), $119/user/mo (Org, annual).
Cold email outreach + warmup + scaling infrastructure.
Use case: Founder GTM: run outbound experiments quickly (ICP tests) without nuking your domain reputation.
Growth $37.6/mo (annual shown), Hypergrowth $77.6/mo (annual shown), etc.
Cold email sequencing with lots of deliverability tooling.
Use case: Founder outbound when you want 'team access' economics (per-account style) and lots of inbox management.
Starts $39/mo (monthly) or $32.50/mo (annual) for Basic.
AI coach for sales emails (clarity, personalisation, tone).
Use case: Founder outbound that doesn’t sound like it was written by a bored SDR bot.
Free tier; Starter $29/user/mo (per G2).
AI sales agents that run outreach and prioritisation across your TAM. (Regie.ai)
Use case: Founder with a real outbound motion: scale prospecting + sequences while keeping your human team focused on closing.
Starting at $35K (AI Agents; also Agents + Dialer starting at $35K).
LinkedIn content assistant: ideas, drafting, scheduling, engagement.
Use case: Founder thought leadership system: ship consistent posts + turn your ideas into repeatable formats.
Starter $32/mo, Standard $49/mo, Pro $149/mo.
Marketing copy platform with brand voice + campaign workflows.
Use case: Founder marketing ops: consistent copy for landing pages, emails, ads, and campaign messaging without rewriting everything 6 times.
Pro $69/mo monthly or $59/mo yearly.
Video/podcast editor with AI features (cleanup, text-based editing, etc.).
Use case: Founder content repurposing: edit podcast/video fast > clips, captions, clean audio for socials.
Free; paid plans start from $16/mo.
Turns long video into short 'viral-ish' clips automatically.
Use case: Founder distribution: turn webinars/podcasts into Shorts/Reels/TikToks to keep your funnel warm.
Free plan (60 credits/mo, watermark).
AI video generator with creator presets (very 'new-gen content').
Use case: Founder ads + socials: generate campaign creatives fast for tests (hooks, product explainers, launch teasers).
Free; Basic $9/mo (annual), Pro $17.4/mo (annual), Ultimate $29.4/mo (annual).
An all in one tool where you can scriptwrite, copy write and content ideate
Use case: Incredible for short form video scripting, visual brainstorming, research sythesis and content repurposing.
Credit based pricing; check it out here
Best-in-class image gen for 'wow, that’s a campaign visual' outputs.
Use case: Make brand moodboards + hero visuals for launches, pitch decks, ads - without waiting 2 weeks for a designer to come back.
$10 / $30 / $60 / $120 per month (Basic/Standard/Pro/Mega). Annual discount available.
Image gen that’s weirdly good at text in images (logos, posters, social tiles).
Use case: Founder content system: churn out branded social tiles + event posters + landing-page graphics that don’t look sh*t.
Free; $8 / $20 / $60 per month (Basic legacy / Plus / Pro).
Vector-first gen for logos, icons, and brand assets that actually scale.
Use case: Build a scrappy-but-consistent visual identity: icons, badges, simple marks, illustrations for product UI + decks.
Paid plans are credit-based; commercial rights + privacy on paid tiers. (Exact tiers vary by credits.)
Generative AI inside the Adobe ecosystem (safer for commercial workflows).
Use case: Founder + marketing: rapid concepting > refine directly in Photoshop/Express without redoing everything.
Firefly is free with limits; Creative Cloud Pro ~£19.99/mo bundle mentioned on Adobe UK page (includes credits).
Advanced AI video generation model designed to create high-definition, cinematic, and photorealistic videos from text or images.
Use case: Soooo good for social first short videos like Tiktoks and Reels - punchy 8s clips, now more usable with vertical formats + 1080p support
$12 / $30 / $60 per month (Mini/Standard/Plus). Yearly option shown at $144 / $360 / $720 (40% off).
AI video generation + editing (ads, trailers, motion concepts).
Use case: Founder launch content: turn product screenshots + scripts into punchy ad concepts before paying an editor.
Free + paid plans; widely listed as $15 (Standard) / $35 (Pro) / $95 (Unlimited) monthly.
Vibe code' full pages/apps fast (and iterate in plain English).
Use case: Founder prototyping: get a working internal tool / landing page / simple dashboard live before hiring a full team.
Free tier; paid credit packs + plans (e.g. $25/mo for 100 credits, $50/mo for higher security features mentioned by reviewers).
Design-to-live-site with strong interactions (and a growing AI layer).
Use case: Founder marketing: ship a high-converting site with motion + polish without building a React religion.
Pricing simplified; Basic is $10/mo (was $15) per Framer’s own update.
AI sitemaps + wireframes + component libraries (Webflow/Figma workflows).
Use case: Founder + designer flow: map your product/marketing pages in minutes, then hand to a contractor with far fewer revisions.
Starter commonly listed around $32/user/mo (annual) or $38 monthly.
The default design homebase - now with AI credits on paid seats.
Use case: Founder UX: keep product, marketing, and dev aligned - one source of truth, fewer Slack archaeology missions. Figma Make is like Lovable but for design.
Seat-based: e.g. Full seat $16/mo on Professional (and higher for Org/Enterprise).
Prompt-to-UI generation (React/Tailwind), geared for shipping.
Use case: Founder + dev speed: generate clean UI components for dashboards/admin panels fast, then let engineers wire logic.
Usage-based 'model pricing' shown on v0 pricing + Vercel notes on included credits by plan.
Prompt to UX generation. My favourite part if you can expert to Figma to edit directly.
Use case: I use it for creating a nice UX layout wit the correct font and colours etc. Then I export to Figma and make changes myself as it does look quite generic in UX Magic.
Powerful workflow automation (best when you need logic + flexibility).
Use case: Founder ops: automate onboarding, lead routing, CRM hygiene, candidate comms, internal alerts - without hiring ops early.
€20/mo Starter (2.5k execs) and €50/mo Pro (10k execs), billed annually.
The fastest 'connect tools' option with tons of integrations.
Use case: Founder experiments: glue together marketing + forms + CRM + email in an afternoon to validate GTM.
Free; Pro from $19.99/mo billed annually (after trial) per Zapier’s own pricing explainer.
Visual automation builder (great for 'I want control but not code').
Use case: Founder ops: build multi-step automations (enrichment, content workflows, reporting) without a dev on every request.
Free; $9 (Core) / $16 (Pro) / $29 (Teams) (annual pricing shown).
AI agents that can run workflows (email, ops, scheduling, etc.).
Use case: Founder leverage: turn repeat admin (follow-ups, enrichment, internal updates) into an agent-run pipeline.
Pricing page is partially dynamic; commonly reported ~$49.99/mo Pro with a free ~400 credit tier.
AI scheduling + tasks + meetings (calendar autopilot).
Use case: Founder time defence: auto-plan deep work, stop meetings eating the week, keep priorities from dying quietly.
$19/seat/mo (Pro AI) and $29/seat/mo (Business AI) shown on Motion pricing.
Enterprise integration and automation platform with AI agents built in.
Use case: Where the finance, HR and procurement systems holding your emissions data actually live. The enterprise-sanctioned route when Zapier is too lightweight for IT.
Enterprise, pricing on request. No public tier.
Enterprise automation and integration with embedded AI.
Use case: Same job as Workato. Worth pricing both if your IT team already runs one.
Enterprise, pricing on request.
Premium inbox + chatbot/AI agent that resolves tickets. (Intercom)
Use case: Let Fin handle repetitive 'how do I…?' tickets so your tiny team can stay focused on retention + high-value accounts.
Fin: $0.99 per resolution + Intercom seats (plan-dependent) + 14-day trial.
Big-boy support suite with AI Copilot add-ons. (Zendesk)
Use case: Founder selling B2B: build a credible support operation (SLA vibes, reporting, routing) before you hire a full CS function.
Example: Suite + Copilot £135/agent/mo (Pro, annual) / £169 (Enterprise, annual). Copilot add-on listed $50/agent/mo (annual).
Clean helpdesk for growing teams, with built-in AI assist. (helpscout.com)
Use case: Early-stage CS: ship a proper shared inbox + KB + lightweight workflows without Zendesk-level overhead.
Standard: $25/user/mo. 15-day trial. (AI Answers has a 3-month free trial per FAQ on page.)
Ecommerce-first helpdesk (Shopify etc.), ticket-volume pricing. (gorgias.com)
Use case: Founder running ecommerce: reduce 'where’s my order' tickets and automate refunds/FAQs without hiring 5 agents.
Starts from $10/mo (varies by ticket volume; trial available).
AI agents for customer support (more 'agentic' than chatbot). (decagon.ai)
Use case: When you’ve got meaningful ticket volume and want to keep headcount lean without your support quality falling off a cliff.
Pricing model: per-conversation or other flexible usage options (no public self-serve rates).
Shared inbox + helpdesk + AI chatbot + automation.
Use case: One inbox for email + chat, plus AI automation for FAQs and routing.
Free; $45/mo (Mini); $95/mo (Essentials); $295/mo (Plus). 14-day trial.
Straightforward ATS with sourcing/job boards baked in. (workable.com)
Use case: Founder-led hiring: go from 'email chaos' to an actual pipeline in a day, not a quarter.
From $299/month (Standard; headcount-based tiers).
AI interview notes + structured feedback for recruiting teams. (Metaview)
Use case: Founder scaling interviews: consistent notes + better hiring decisions without relying on someone’s memory from a 45-min call.
Tailored pricing (team/enterprise).
ATS with a strong candidate experience + career site focus. (teamtailor.com)
Use case: Founder brand-building through hiring: make the careers experience feel premium (which helps when you’re not the highest salary in the market).
Quote-based; UK pricing docs show examples up to £28,000/year at higher headcounts.
AI sourcing + search + outreach workflows on huge talent datasets.
Use case: Early hiring: find niche candidates fast and cut dependency on recruiters for first 10 to 20 hires.
Free plan. Starter $119/seat/mo. Growth $179/seat/mo. Agents add-on $300 for 2 agents/mo.
LinkedIn’s premium sourcing tool.
Use case: Founder sourcing when you need speed + messaging volume, especially for GTM roles.
Often quoted around ~$170/mo (Lite) to ~$900+/mo (Corporate) depending on plan/contract.
Personal CRM to track relationships + reminders to keep in touch. (Dex)
Use case: Founder networking: keep investors/partners warm (nudges, context, last touchpoint) so you don’t only message people when you need something.
Official site doesn’t show self-serve pricing; listings commonly cite from $12/month + free trial/free version.
AI job matching + recruiting marketplace (jobseekers free; companies pay success fee). (jackandjill.ai)
Use case: Founder hiring experiment: use as an extra inbound channel, but don’t bet your hiring plan on it.
Jobseekers: Free. Companies: 10% of base salary success fee (refund guarantee noted).
Not a legal tool spcifically, but go to the customGPT store and search for legal GPTs for your use case.
Use case: Check terms sheets for "founder unfriendly" terms, draft email replies to legal questions.
Free to access.
The default e-sign tool for anything important. (Docusign)
Use case: Founder closing loop: NDAs, customer contracts, offers - keep deals moving without 'can you print, sign, scan'.
UK site shows £8/mo (Personal, annual billing). Business tiers vary.
Simple e-signature tool with clean UX. (sign.dropbox.com)
Use case: Founder ops: keep signature workflows light for standard docs (contractor agreements, basic client agreements).
$15/mo (Essentials); $25/user/mo (Standard); Premium is custom.
Proposals + quotes + contracts + e-sign (sales docs). (PandaDoc)
Use case: Founder sales: turn proposals into trackable, signable docs so you can see what prospects read and where they stall.
Has a Free tier; paid plans from $19/user/mo (Essentials noted in PandaDoc materials).
Contract lifecycle management for SMBs (create, store, automate). (contractbook.com)
Use case: Founder compliance sanity: stop losing contracts in Slack/email and never miss renewal/termination windows again.
Start free; G2 lists editions €399,€599 (verify quote with sales for your plan/currency).
Contract automation + workflows + templates (CLM style). (juro.com)
Use case: Founder deal velocity: self-serve contracts for sales/procurement while keeping approvals + templates controlled.
Quote-based, based on contract volume + integration complexity.
An LLM specifically for law, specialising in research and contraact drafting. (https://www.harvey.ai/)
AI-native contract lifecycle management (create, review, approve, sign, store). Rebranded from Pocketlaw.
Use case: Founder scaling B2B deals: stop contracts living in inboxes, standardise templates/playbooks, and speed up review cycles.
Starts at €8,000/year; higher tiers are custom/enterprise.
AI-first accounting + real-time startup metrics (cash, burn, runway, etc.). (puzzle.io)
Use case: Replace the 'monthly panic' with live runway + burn tracking so hiring decisions aren’t vibes-based.
14-day free trial. Tiers incl: Accounting basics (starts free/then $25/mo after $20K transaction value), Insights $50/mo, Advanced Automation $100/mo, Scale from ~$300/mo.
Spend management + corporate cards + 'AI-assisted' expense/receipt flows. (Ramp)
Use case: Stop bleeding money on rogue tools/subscriptions and keep spend visible before month-end surprises.
Free: $0/mo/user on the AI-assisted tier (per Ramp pricing page).
Spend platform + cards + budgets/controls (more finance-ops heavy). (Brex)
Use case: Founder finance control: enforce budgets, approvals, and tracking early so scaling doesn’t turn into chaos later.
Plans start at $0/user/mo, advanced features $12/user/mo.
Collaborative analytics workspace with agents + 'publishable' data apps. (hex.tech)
Use case: Build a KPI hub (activation, retention, revenue) and ship internal 'apps' for the team instead of sending charts in Slack.
14-day free trial. Team: $75 per editor/month (listed on pricing page).
Upload data → ask questions in plain English → get analysis + charts. (Julius AI | AI for Data Analysis)
Use case: Why did signups drop last week?' analysis in minutes, using exports from Stripe/GA/CRM without building pipelines.
Free tier; Plus $20/mo, Pro $45/mo, Business $450/mo.
Turns connected sources into dashboards + includes an AI chat layer. (Polymer)
Use case: Quick ops dashboards for marketing + revenue without a data warehouse project (aka: the thing you’ll say you’ll do 'next month').
Plans shown incl $50/mo (Starter), $100/mo (Pro), $250/mo (Teams); Shopify connector add-on noted.
AI agent + canvases for analysis you can actually deploy/share. (Zerve)
Use case: Turn recurring analyses (cohorts, churn drivers) into shareable outputs your team can reuse, not one-off slides.
Free (50 credits/month); Pro $25/user/mo; Team $50/user/mo.
ChatGPT that lives directly in your Google sheets -> use the =AI(..) or =INFER(...) function (numerous.ai)
Use case: Summarise user feedback, clean scraped data or any messy data (also great for digital marketing ideation & planning)
7-day trial for $1. $8/mo (Personal), $24/mo (Pro), $8/user/mo
Enterprise search and an AI assistant that reads across everything your company already has.
Use case: Finding the disclosure answer that already exists in a deck from 2 years ago, instead of asking 6 people.
Enterprise, pricing on request.
AI inside Notion, across docs, databases and your team's knowledge base.
Use case: If your sustainability team already runs trackers in Notion, this reads them without moving the data anywhere.
Bundled into Notion Business plans. Check current pricing.
Enterprise generative AI built around your own brand and terminology rules.
Use case: For teams that need every output to hold one voice and one set of approved claims. Relevant where greenwashing risk makes wording a legal matter.
Enterprise, pricing on request.
AI-assisted docs and collaborative planning. Coda was acquired and now sits inside Superhuman.
Use case: Docs that behave like a database. Useful for a disclosure tracker that several people edit.
Check current pricing. The Coda brand is being folded into Superhuman.
AI notepad for meetings with strong integrations (Attio/Notion/Slack etc.). (Granola)
Use case: Capture investor/customer calls into your CRM/Notion with structured notes so follow-ups don’t die in your inbox.
$14/user/mo (Business, per pricing page).
Meeting recording + transcripts + summaries (very popular, very simple). (fathom.ai)
Use case: Keep sales + CS calls searchable; pull clips/summary points for onboarding new hires without rewatching full calls.
Free $0 plan; Team $14 shown on pricing page (billing toggle for monthly/annual).
Meeting assistant that records/transcribes + AI summaries + integrations. (Fireflies.ai)
Use case: Auto-push action items + notes into tools (Slack/CRM) so your team stops 'forgetting' what was agreed.
Free; Pro $18/mo ($10 annual); Business $29/mo ($19 annual); Enterprise $39 annual.
Meeting transcription + AI chat across meetings + workflows. (Otter.ai)
Use case: What did we decide on pricing/roadmap?' - search across months of meetings and answer instantly.
Pro $16.99/user/mo (or $8.33 annual); Business $30/user/mo (or $19.99 annual).
Claude working directly in your terminal, reading and writing real files and shipping code.
Use case: What weeks 3 and 5 of the Accelerator run on. Turns a spreadsheet problem into a working tool you can hand to someone else.
Included with Claude Pro and Max.
AI pair programmer embedded in the editor, now running several model providers.
Use case: The one most enterprise IT teams have already approved, so often the only option available at work.
Free tier, then paid Pro and Business plans. Check current pricing.
AI-native code editor built for full-stack work.
Use case: A gentler first step than the terminal if you want to see the files you are changing.
Free tier, then paid. Check current pricing.
Builds and deploys a working app from a prompt, entirely in the browser.
Use case: Nothing to install, which matters if your work laptop is locked down. Good for a first prototype.
Free tier, then paid. Check current pricing.
Autonomous software engineer that handles multi-step tasks. Now also owns Windsurf and Codeium.
Use case: The far end of delegation. Worth knowing exists rather than starting here.
Check current pricing.
Open-source browser automation. Drives a real browser to click, fill and scrape.
Use case: Pair it with Claude Code to pull data off a portal that has no export button. How we sync our own cohort registrations.
Free and open source.
