Our Story

The Real Story Behind
Cheaper Than Karen

How watching my brilliant assistant waste time on repetitive tasks led to a mission to transform administrative work everywhere.

It Started With Frustration

Every successful business tool starts with someone getting frustrated enough to build a solution. In our case, that someone was me watching my brilliant executive assistant, Catalina, waste her talents on repetitive email tasks that a well-trained AI could handle better.

Meet the Team

Jason Long

Founder & Chief Problem Solver

LinkedIn Profile

I've spent my career in technology and business operations, but this project is personal. After watching Catalina—one of the most capable professionals I know—spend hours daily on automatable tasks, I couldn't unsee the problem. When not building productivity tools, I'm usually planning the strategic projects that Catalina now has time to execute.

Catalina

Head of User Experience & Original Guinea Pig

The inspiration and reality-check behind every feature we build. Catalina ensures that our tools actually solve real problems for real assistants, not just sound good in demos. Her feedback drives our product development because if it doesn't work for her daily workflow, it doesn't ship.

If something we build doesn't pass the "Catalina test"—meaning it doesn't actually save her time or improve her work quality—we don't release it.

Our Philosophy

Technology Should Amplify Human Intelligence, Not Replace It

We're not trying to replace assistants—we're trying to free them from mundane tasks so they can do what they're actually great at. Catalina didn't become less valuable when we automated her email responses; she became more valuable because she could focus on strategic work.

Real Problems Deserve Real Solutions

Every feature we build solves a problem that Catalina actually experienced. We don't add functionality because it sounds impressive; we add it because it addresses a real workflow pain point. This keeps us focused on utility over novelty.

Simple Tools That Actually Work

The best productivity tools are invisible—they solve your problem without creating new ones. We prioritize reliability and ease of use over feature complexity because frustrated users don't save time, regardless of how sophisticated the technology is.

Why "Cheaper Than Karen" Isn't Just a Joke

The name captures an important truth about business automation: it should provide clear economic value. Our AI email automation costs less per month than two hours of assistant time but saves 2-3 hours daily. That's not just convenient—it's financially transformative for businesses of any size.

We could have chosen a more corporate name, but "Cheaper Than Karen" reminds us (and our customers) that we're solving a real economic problem, not just building cool technology.

What's Next

This started as a solution for one assistant's email overwhelm and has become a mission to transform how businesses think about administrative automation.

Smart Calendar Management

That actually understands preferences

Meeting Prep Automation

Briefing documents that write themselves

Follow-up Systems

Never let anything fall through the cracks again

Document Processing

AI that reads, summarizes, and organizes like your best intern

Our Commitment

Every tool we build will be tested in our own operation first. If it doesn't make Catalina's workday better, it doesn't get released. If it doesn't provide clear economic value, it doesn't get built. If it doesn't solve a real problem that real assistants face, it doesn't make it past the idea stage.

We're not just building software—we're building the future of administrative work, where human creativity and strategic thinking are supported by intelligent automation instead of buried under routine tasks.

Because the best assistants shouldn't be doing assistant work—they should be doing strategic work that happens to include some assistance.

Ready to Join Our Mission?

Help us transform administrative work by starting with your own email automation.