Ryan H

building Qlo, we use AI to automate underwriting workflow for commercial MGAs and program admins.

[Ryan H @hcsfox]

@alexytung @leonyaolh @whitespacehqai Let's gooooo!

[Alex @alexytung]

We 4x'd our ARR in YC. Here's my favorite moment during the batch.

Last Friday, a customer called after referring us to one of his suppliers.

He said: "I want to help you guys get going, because if you keep growing, then you're always going to be around for us."

Moments like these keep us going, and we're just getting started at Whitespace.

[Ryan H @hcsfox]

@juliafedorin @felixleezd @ADPList It's siiiiiiick!

[Julia Fedorin @juliafedorin]

"They said AI would replace design. Instead it proved how much design matters."

That's @felixleezd's line, and he'd know. A VC told him at 20 that Singaporeans can't build companies. No design degree, rejected from the jobs he wanted.

Then he built @ADPList into the biggest free mentorship platform in the world instead. A million users, 40,000 mentors, 140 countries.

We got into:
•Why judgment, not pixels, is the real moat in design now
•Why "originality is dead," and why similar-looking apps can both win
•Why super-app clutter vs. Western minimalism is cultural, not a quality gap
•Splitting with a co-founder the right way
•The hiring mistakes he'd take back

𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐌𝐏𝐒
(00:00) Oakland Ice Center Intro
(00:47) From Singapore's National Skating Team
(02:22) AI vs. Human Design
(04:53) Is Originality Dead?
(06:42) Designers vs. Engineers
(08:23) Minimalism and Culture
(10:55) Ethics and AI Trust
(12:57) What ADPList Is
(13:37) Closed Doors and Why He Built It
(17:42) Quitting to Go All In
(20:31) The Founder Outreach Playbook
(26:04) Don Norman Lessons
(28:56) Scaling Free Mentorship to a Million
(31:57) Designing With Claude
(33:59) Fable Workflows
(41:51) Audience vs. Community
(43:16) The PR Crisis
(52:31) What Sports Taught Him About Failure
(54:42) Splitting With a Co-Founder the Right Way
(59:33) Hiring Mistakes
(01:04:21) San Francisco Culture Shock
(01:11:25) Long-Term Games

[Ryan H @hcsfox]

@hannah_chuu @OneTriangleAI @deepseek_ai @MIT @GoogleDeepMind @ycombinator @medha_rv Congrats on the launch!

[Hannah Chung @hannah_chuu]

@OneTriangleAI (YC S26) is building the fastest lightweight, cheap inference and hosting @deepseek_ai V4 Flash today at $0.15/M input and $0.35/M output tokens. Live at https://t.co/3xk6ys5T3W.

Our group of @MIT grads and olympiad medalists from @GoogleDeepMind, @JaneStreetGroup, and @NeurIPSConf /ICML publishers are setting a new standard for cost and latency efficiency using KV cache optimizations.

[Ryan H @hcsfox]

@Arthur_NC_ This is amazing....congrats!

[Arthur @Arthur_NC_]

we missed our entire YC batch to build in Ukraine.

we went from idea to field testing, landed $500M in LOIs, and sold 45 units to a special forces unit

all in 8 weeks.

some things you just can’t build in SF

[Ryan H @hcsfox]

@jonathanfishner Congrats on the launch!

[Jonathan Fishner @jonathanfishner]

Introducing OneCLI (YC26),

An open-source pro assistant for teams.

Built for companies, integrated with your identity provider. Secured, sandboxed personal agent with human in the loop approvals.

It runs with your access, and never holds your keys.

https://t.co/hpECqEANRq

[Ryan H @hcsfox]

@samilaa congrats!

[Sami Laakkonen @samilaa]

Last Accounting Company (YC S26) is the agent-native accounting firm.

LAC replaces both the traditional accounting firm and legacy accounting software with one end-to-end service. Our agents keep the general ledger always up to date while expert accountants validate everything before it’s filed.

Sign up at @lastaccounting and never worry about accounting again 👀

[Ryan H @hcsfox]

@Rohit_Writes @landrew7363 @touchyapp @ycombinator Congrats!

[Rohit Agarwal @Rohit_Writes]

Your smartphone has a camera, your location, your calendar, and the apps you use every day—but today’s assistants understand very little of that context and rarely take action across it.

Today, @landrew7363, @kevwangz and I are launching @touchyapp as part of @ycombinator S26 to change that.

Try Touchy today: https://t.co/7nl1NHrS0N 📷

[Ryan H @hcsfox]

@superdapp they realized 3x weekly primary quote throughput!

[Ryan H @hcsfox]

We just launched Qlo’s Inbox Agent.

Commercial underwriters can spend up to 80% of their day in the inbox, chasing missing applications, loss runs, and other submission documents.

Most underwriters know exactly what that feels like.

Their value isn’t in operational or mechanical work. That work matters, but their time is better spent on underwriting judgment and building broker relationships.

We rebuilt the commercial underwriting system of record from the ground up. But we’re not asking underwriters to change how they work.

Stay in your inbox. Keep using Word and Excel.

Once the underlying system is in place, the interface becomes simple: text the agent and get things done.

The underwriter makes the call. The agents make it happen.

The party has begun. Let the agents dance on top of Qlo.

https://t.co/VmamFizFsn
--
See our YC launch! https://t.co/pZBW4q8GeV

[Ryan H @hcsfox]

@Chahatusharma there are quite a few solution in the market actually, but most of them don't work well..

[Ryan H @hcsfox]

@boardyai @andrewdsouza it's so cool even though i know you're a bot🤣

[Ryan H @hcsfox]

@boardyai @andrewdsouza awesome! sure, would def love that! let me shoot you DM real quick!

[Ryan H @hcsfox]

@DanEKatzman @DavoTheDev @BernardLabsHQ Congrats!

[Dan Katzman @DanEKatzman]

Excited to finally share what @DavoTheDev and I are building: @BernardLabsHQ (YC S26).

Running an appliance servicer takes relentless coordination. Owners, CSRs, dispatchers, technicians, and parts teams keep every job moving across calls, texts, warranty feeds, schedules, and systems that rarely talk to one another.

AI does not pull a washer out of a closet or carry a compressor up three flights. Technicians do.

Bernard gives servicers AI employees that work alongside their teams, taking on customer communication, scheduling, dispatch, diagnostic evidence collection, parts preparation, technician handoff, and follow-up.

At the center is Pre-ID, which helps technicians arrive with a likely diagnosis, ranked parts, supporting evidence, and a plan.

We are already working with some of the country’s largest servicers, helping their teams handle thousands of calls every day and get more repairs ready before the truck rolls.

Built for the people who keep the physical world running and make the first visit the last.

learn more at https://t.co/OrFYn7ZVth