Hooman

Founder serving founders @collectivefin+@expa. Founder @AddThis (ORCL). Investor in founders @uber @sweetgreen @onfido @openai @sleeperhq @range_finance +45

[Hooman @hoomanradfar]

My name means good thoughts, good words, good deeds. Trying to live up to the gift and responsibility of this name daily. 🙏🏼🙂

[Darian Shirazi @darian314]

Thank you @TIME for naming @GradientVC to America’s Top Venture Capital Firms of 2026! Our first year being eligible since the spin out - lots more to do 🚀 https://t.co/baF1m6Vn5n

[Collective @CollectiveFin]

Our co-founder and CEO @HoomanRadfar appeared on @SchwabNetwork's Market on Close to discuss why accounting is the next industry facing major AI disruption, and what that means for the nearly 30 million solopreneurs driving $1.7 trillion of economic activity in the US.

Highlights from the conversation:

- 80% of US businesses are solopreneur-run

- Those businesses are currently served by 50,000 small CPA firms

- AI has already automated 94% of transaction categorization

AI isn't just disrupting corporate employment, it's making self-employment viable at a scale that wasn't possible before

Watch the full segment → https://t.co/GSEvcBeQfZ

[Collective @CollectiveFin]

Health insurance is one of the hardest parts of being self-employed- not just finding affordable coverage, but understanding how it actually affects your taxes and your books.

We partnered with Solo Health to fix that.

Starting now, Collective members can access affordable health plans built directly into their Collective experience, nationwide, with no extra accounting lift at tax time.

Join us July 30 at 11am PT for a free session on how it works, how it becomes a deductible business expense, and how to get started.

Register here → https://t.co/6sD6KhxdUM

[Hooman @hoomanradfar]

@Zephyr_hg Love this. Would love to chat about how we can jam with you @CollectiveFin and help bring these awesome skills to our community! Hit me up.

[Itai Damti @itaidamti]

Today, we’re announcing that we’ve doubled our annual transactions volumes in the last 12 months, and reached $100 billion.

This is an especially sweet moment for us. It took us 5.5 years to reach the first $50 billion.

What I’m most proud of is the character and unusual choices that led to it.

We chose the most valuable problems, not the easiest ones. We saw huge value in building a system DEEP and BROAD enough to replace 10-15 vendors that banks + fintech programs typically use, starting with a core system. Many people that had 10x our knowledge tried to help and tamper our ambitions: “why build a core system?”, “why operations and not just tech?”, ��why not partner with a vendor that already built a credit card ledger?”

Today, Unit could be installed on any bank - immediately. There is no dependency on legacy tech. All money movement happens directly with the Federal Reserve and card networks. Banks and the programs they power do business at scale, with 10x better security, oversight, and modularity.

We built heads-down while there was widespread skepticism. Until recently, the category of modern financial infrastructure has been attacked non stop. For years. People questioned it from every single angle: is it sound? Valuable? Sustainable? We weren’t phased. We had the field context that many skeptics didn’t have, and we saw the proof points every day.

We made changes along the way when they were needed. We took no shortcuts and turned down high-risk deals that could make us bigger.

Importantly, we put ourselves on an independent financial trajectory, so that we don’t have to take shortcuts OR depend on the opinions of others.

Proud of our team for the hard work and character. Grateful to our customers (old and new) that placed trust in us. And to millions of end-users who have access to better financial services... without knowing that Unit exists 😉

Back to work.

https://t.co/qVYsLIC72o

[AI:AM @AI_in_the_AM]

"TurboTax is really cheap"

Hooman Radfar, co-founder and CEO of Collective, argues that tax customers pay for certainty and someone with skin in the game — not just cheap software.

"TurboTax is really cheap. It's really cheap. It's $99."

"They want someone's ass on the line."

"there's a price to the risk"

@hoomanradfar

[Nikunj Kothari @nikunj]

Being a founder is so freaking hard man.. chewing glass every day. If you fail, no one cares. If you succeed, you are given way more problems. Sometimes I really wonder how many founders wake up in the morning and ask themselves "is it really worth it".

Starting a company is so glorified - but building, scaling and maintaining one is a different story. This is why it's so important to do this for the right reasons - solve problems you are deeply passionate about and one you'll do even if the world is against you. At least there will be light at the end of the tunnel that's constantly drawing you in on those days when you are questioning your motivation.

I have never had the courage to personally start a company for this reason. Just wanted to say to the ones going through this - I see you, I salute you and I admire you 🫡

[Hooman @hoomanradfar]

@nikunj Love this. Good post. Thx :)

[Elad Gil @eladgil]

People at major AI labs (using internal models) 3-4 months ahead of startup silicon valley engineers

SV founders/eng 3-6 months ahead of NY

NY founders/eng 6-12 months ahead of rest of world

Most people have no idea how fast AI shifting as 1-2 years behind SOTA

"The future is here, just not equally distributed" - Robert Heinlein

[Hooman @hoomanradfar]

@emilygsands @CollectiveFin couldn't agree more. 27m solopreneurs and 6m+ are making over $100K. We have the revenue data for a LOT of great solo businesses - they are booming!

[Hooman @hoomanradfar]

Memos or decks for Series C AI companies?

Thoughts appreciated.

[Paul Graham @paulg]

Worrying that your startup will be eaten by the model companies is like worrying that your life will be constrained after you become a movie star. You're far more likely simply to fail.

[Hooman @hoomanradfar]

@paulg Beautiful. Agree. That's the 412 way to think about it.

[Hooman @hoomanradfar]

Big ups to @garrytan for calling this out.

AI is real. Many companies are doing incredible things not just from a tech POV, but also on revenue growth.

That said, the misrepresentation of the business health is something that I've noticed an unfortunate uptick in.

It's not just revenue. It's margin, it's CAC, etc.

Hopefully this gets back to a healthier spot soon.

[Garry Tan @garrytan]

Here's YC's official advice about being truthful and precise about what is pilot, bookings, revenue and recurring revenue.

Founders, particularly first time founders, need to sear this into their brains. Don't mistake one tier for another. Be precise, and always be truthful.

[Hooman @hoomanradfar]

@nabilal_rawi @openledger @CollectiveFin We agree.

[Hooman @hoomanradfar]

I'm happy to welcome @openledger to @CollectiveFin.

This is another important step toward a more complete AI-native financial operating system, purpose-built for the backbone of the economy, Businesses-of-One.

The future is not a back office that disappears.

The future is a back office that drives itself.

Collective is building it now for 30M solo businesses.

Read more here.

https://t.co/If5Bu9njXu

[Collective @CollectiveFin]

Collective has acquired @openledger

If you want to build a self-driving financial platform for solopreneurs, you have to own the engine.

30M self-employed Americans deserve an AI back office working for them 24/7.

We're building it - now.

https://t.co/lJx3WVGIq1

[Hooman @hoomanradfar]

@iamjakestream Thanks Jake! We wouldn't be here w/o you!

[Jake @iamjakestream]

Collective figured out "AI services", how to build an AI-native product that serves historically difficult customers, and how to make the numbers work at scale, before most had even heard the term

[Hooman @hoomanradfar]

@naveen @pryceandstuff @openledger @CollectiveFin Thx Naveen!

[Hooman @hoomanradfar]

@naveen @GradientVC @HustleFundVC @SigniaVC @levie @samyamiam @aplusk