Alexa von Tobel Says AI Will Turn Entrepreneurship Into an Everyday Job as Solo Business Applications Jump 26.8%
Updated
Updated · CNBC · Nov 15
Alexa von Tobel Says AI Will Turn Entrepreneurship Into an Everyday Job as Solo Business Applications Jump 26.8%
2 articles · Updated · CNBC · Nov 15
Summary
Alexa von Tobel said AI is making entrepreneurship a lower-stakes, more accessible path, arguing it could become an “everyday job” and even a fallback income source between traditional roles.
26.8% growth in business applications without early hiring signs from Q1 2024 to Q1 2026 in AI-exposed industries supports that view, pointing to rising interest in solo ventures rather than employer firms.
Von Tobel said AI can help people turn existing skills into businesses, but stressed founders must keep final judgment instead of handing core decisions to the technology.
Inspired Capital, the firm she co-founded in 2019, still targets startups worth $10 billion or more, yet she pointed to portfolio company ShopMy as an example of AI-enabled tools helping creators build flexible income streams.
Her comments align with a broader industry view that AI could trigger a boom in smaller business formation, even as she says investors still back only a tiny share of founders she meets—fewer than eight out of about 100 companies a week.