Prepared by: Julian Mercer (GTM)
Date: February 10, 2026
Status: Pre-Launch Planning
For: Remotely Works Co-Founders
Remotely Zero is an AI-first staffing company that operates with zero human employees. It leverages Remotely Works' existing assets (GitSight, 8K dev database, AI interviewing) to offer a radically cheaper, fully automated matching service.
The thesis: Disrupt ourselves before someone else does.
Why Zero exists:
- Learn about the true potential of AI by operating with the constraint of no humans (aside from the developers we serve)
- Fork existing Remotely software and experiment freely without risking the core business
- Share learnings with the world (content) and feed improvements back to Remotely Works
Key differentiators:
- 100% agent-operated (no humans in the loop)
- 9-10% transparent markup on developer compensation (vs. $2K/mo flat fee)
- Agent-to-agent API (customer's AI talks to our AI)
- Same vetted developer pool, filtered for AI-augmented workers
Strategic value:
- Capture the low-end market Works doesn't serve today
- Test new business models without risking the core business
- Generate content/buzz around AI-first operations
- Create a natural upgrade path: Zero → Works
The name works on multiple levels:
| Meaning | Explanation |
|---|---|
| Zero humans | No human employees. AI agents run everything. |
| Zero friction | Agent-to-agent communication. No forms, no calls, no waiting. |
| Zero opacity | Fully transparent pricing. You see exactly what developers earn. |
| Zero overhead | No sales team, no account managers = dramatically lower costs. |
| Starting from zero | A fresh start. AI-first from day one, not bolted on. |
The name signals what makes us different: we've stripped away everything except what matters — great developers, matched fast, priced fairly.
- Want to experience a full AI-first process — curious about what it's like to work with an AI-operated vendor
- Price matters, but it's also about seeing the future of B2B services in action
- Already using AI tools internally; want vendors who operate the same way
- We'll test if the 9% transparent fee unlocks new demand that didn't exist before
- Attract a new type of developer — those who want to interact with AI agents, not humans
- Forward-thinking engineers who see AI-first operations as a signal of innovation
- Want access to US opportunities with minimal friction and full transparency
- Test if buzz + lower fees generate more demand than traditional pricing
- Learn what works in AI operations and bring those learnings back to Works
- De-risk the future by experimenting now, not when disruption arrives
| Component | Remotely Zero | Remotely Works |
|---|---|---|
| Model | % markup on dev comp | Flat monthly fee |
| Rate | 9-10% of dev monthly | $1,000-2,000/mo per dev (based on # of hires) |
| Example | Dev earns $6K → Fee is $600 | Dev earns $6K → Fee is $1-2K |
| Positioning | Cost-efficient, transparent | Premium, full-service |
Note: Both Remotely Zero and Remotely Works are transparent on pricing. Transparency is in our DNA — Zero takes it further with a visible % markup.
Why this works:
- Dramatically lower price point opens new market segment
- Transparent markup aligns incentives (we want devs to earn more)
- Lower margins sustainable because zero human overhead
| Dev Monthly Comp | Zero Revenue | Works Revenue | Zero as % of Works |
|---|---|---|---|
| $4,000 | $400 | $2,000 | 20% |
| $6,000 | $600 | $2,000 | 30% |
| $8,000 | $800 | $2,000 | 40% |
Zero is not competing with Works on margin — it's competing on volume and market expansion.
Remotely Zero is the first staffing company run entirely by AI. We match startups with senior LATAM engineers using the same vetted network as Remotely Works — but automated, transparent, and at a fraction of the cost.
| Remotely Zero | Remotely Works | |
|---|---|---|
| Tagline | "Zero humans. Real engineers." | "Senior LATAM talent for growth-stage tech" |
| For | Seed to Series A startups | Series B+ scaling companies |
| Budget | <$5K/mo on contractors | $10K+/mo on contractors |
| Service need | Self-serve, fast, cheap | High-touch, curated, supported |
| Headcount | 1-3 engineers | 3-20+ engineers |
| Buyer | Technical founder, solo | Engineering manager, VP Eng |
-
"AI-first, human-backed"
AI handles matching, vetting, and coordination. Humans (developers) do the actual work. -
"Same engineers, different delivery"
Zero uses the same 8K vetted developer network. The difference is how you access it. -
"Transparent to the core"
9-10% markup, fully visible. No hidden fees. You know exactly what devs earn. -
"Built for the AI era"
Your AI agents can talk directly to ours. No forms, no calls, no waiting. -
"Start with Zero, graduate to Works"
When you scale and need more support, the upgrade path is seamless.
| Competitor | Their Model | Zero's Advantage |
|---|---|---|
| Toptal | Human matching, premium pricing | 80% cheaper, faster matching |
| Turing | AI matching, but human sales/CS | 100% automated, agent-to-agent |
| Arc | Marketplace, self-serve | Curated pool (not open marketplace) |
| Andela | Enterprise focus, high-touch | Startup-friendly, no minimums |
| Upwork | Open marketplace, quality varies | Pre-vetted senior talent only |
Zero has no human employees. Every function is performed by AI agents:
| Function | Agent | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Inbound | Intake Agent | Handles customer requirements via API/chat |
| Matching | Matching Agent | Uses GitSight + DB to find candidates |
| Vetting | Vetting Agent | Runs AI interviews, skills assessment |
| Coordination | Ops Agent | Schedules, contracts, onboarding |
| Support | Support Agent | Handles questions, issues, escalations |
Human touchpoints: Zero (internally). Jose de Cabo as "Human Advisor" for strategic guidance and public-facing presence.
The killer feature: customer AI agents can interact directly with Zero agents.
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ CUSTOMER SIDE │
│ ┌─────────────┐ │
│ │ Customer's │ "We need a senior React dev, │
│ │ AI Agent │ $6K budget, start in 2 weeks" │
│ │ (Claude, │──────────────────────────────────────▶│
│ │ GPT, etc.) │ │
│ └─────────────┘ │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
│
▼
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ ZERO SIDE │
│ ┌─────────────┐ ┌─────────────┐ ┌─────────────┐ │
│ │ Intake │ │ Matching │ │ Vetting │ │
│ │ Agent │─▶│ Agent │─▶│ Agent │ │
│ └─────────────┘ └─────────────┘ └─────────────┘ │
│ │ │ │
│ │ ┌─────────────┐ │ │
│ └────────▶│ Ops │◀───────────┘ │
│ │ Agent │ │
│ └─────────────┘ │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
│
▼
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ ┌─────────────┐ │
│ │ Customer's │ "Here are 3 candidates. #1 is │
│ │ AI Agent │◀─ available immediately. Schedule?" │
│ └─────────────┘ │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
No humans. No calls. No forms. Just agents talking to agents.
Zero uses Remotely Works' existing infrastructure:
| Asset | How Zero Uses It |
|---|---|
| GitSight | Find developers by code quality, language, contributions |
| 8K Vetted Database | Pre-screened talent pool, no cold sourcing |
| AI Interviewing | Automated technical assessment |
| Operational Playbooks | Proven matching and onboarding workflows |
Not all developers qualify for Zero. We filter for AI-augmented workers:
| Criterion | Why It Matters |
|---|---|
| Uses AI coding tools (Copilot, Cursor, Claude) | Higher productivity, faster delivery |
| AI in their workflow (docs, testing, code review) | Self-sufficient, less support needed |
| Comfortable with async, low-touch engagement | Fits Zero's no-human-CS model |
| Track record of independent work | Can operate without hand-holding |
Message to developers: "Zero is for engineers who use AI to 10x themselves. If that's you, you'll thrive here."
Core story: "We're disrupting ourselves before someone else does."
This is rare. Most companies protect their cash cow. Remotely is building its own competitor — in public. That's a story people will share.
| Pillar | Description | Example Content |
|---|---|---|
| Build in Public | Document the creation of Zero transparently | "Week 1: We launched an AI company. Here's what broke." |
| AI Operations | Share how agents run a business | "How our AI handles 50 matches/day with zero humans" |
| Pricing Transparency | Explain the 9-10% model openly | "Why we charge 10% when competitors charge 50%" |
| Future of Work | Thought leadership on AI + staffing | "What happens when your vendor is run by AI?" |
| Customer Stories | Case studies from beta users | "This startup hired 3 engineers without talking to a human" |
| Week | Post | Platform | Author |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Manifesto: "We're launching an AI company to disrupt ourselves" | Cabo | |
| 1 | Thread version of manifesto | X/Twitter | Cabo |
| 2 | "How we're pricing Zero: 9% markup, fully transparent" | Cabo | |
| 2 | "The AI-enabled developer: what we're looking for" | Julian (agent) | |
| 3 | "Agent-to-agent: how your AI will hire through ours" | Cabo | |
| 3 | "What Zero won't do (and why that's the point)" | Cabo | |
| 4 | "We're opening the waitlist. Here's who we're looking for." | LinkedIn + X | Cabo |
| 4 | Waitlist launch with landing page | All | - |
| Cadence | Content Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Weekly | "Zero Dispatch" | What happened this week (matches, learnings, failures) |
| Bi-weekly | Deep dive | Technical or strategic topic (how matching works, pricing analysis) |
| Monthly | Metrics report | Transparent numbers (matches, time-to-hire, customer satisfaction) |
| Ongoing | Customer stories | Case studies as they happen |
| Attribute | Description |
|---|---|
| Confident | We know this is bold. We're doing it anyway. |
| Transparent | No spin. Share the real numbers, including failures. |
| Technical | Speak to builders. No marketing fluff. |
| Forward-looking | This is the future. Come build it with us. |
Goal: Build buzz, collect waitlist, establish narrative.
| Action | Owner | Timeline |
|---|---|---|
| Secure handles (@remotelyzero on X, LinkedIn page) | Julian | Week 1 |
| Domain decision + registration | Team | Week 1 |
| Landing page (headline + waitlist + manifesto) | Julian | Week 1-2 |
| Manifesto post (Cabo's LinkedIn) | Julian drafts, Cabo posts | Week 1 |
| 4-post content series | Julian drafts, Cabo posts | Weeks 2-4 |
| Define beta criteria | Cabo + Ops | Week 2 |
| Identify 20 potential beta companies | Julian | Week 3-4 |
Goal: Test the model with 10-20 companies. Learn fast.
| Action | Owner | Timeline |
|---|---|---|
| Select 10-15 beta companies from waitlist | Cabo | Week 5 |
| Onboard beta customers (agent-guided) | Zero agents | Weeks 5-6 |
| First matches completed | Zero agents | Weeks 6-8 |
| Collect feedback, iterate | Julian + agents | Ongoing |
| Document case studies (with permission) | Julian | Weeks 8-10 |
| "Zero Dispatch" weekly content starts | Julian | Week 6 |
Goal: Open to all. Scale.
| Action | Owner | Timeline |
|---|---|---|
| Public announcement post | Cabo | Week 10 |
| PR outreach (TechCrunch, etc.) | Cabo + Julian | Week 10 |
| Open waitlist → general availability | Team | Week 10 |
| Hacker News launch | Cabo | Week 10-11 |
| Ongoing content + community building | Julian | Ongoing |
| Risk | Likelihood | Impact | Mitigation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cannibalization of Works | Medium | High | Clear ICP separation (stage, budget, headcount). Cap of 3 hires. Different service level. |
| Quality perception | Medium | High | "Same devs, same vetting" messaging. AI-enabled filter ensures quality. |
| Agent failures | High (initially) | Medium | Start with beta. Human advisor (Cabo) as escalation. Iterate fast. |
| Brand confusion | Medium | Medium | Distinct visual identity. Clear "Zero vs Works" comparison page. |
| Competitors copy model | Low (short-term) | Medium | First-mover advantage. Content moat. Community building. |
| Developer resistance | Low | Low | Position as opportunity, not replacement. AI-enabled = premium status. |
| Customer Profile | Zero or Works? |
|---|---|
| Seed startup, $2M raised, needs 1 dev | Zero (can't afford Works) |
| Series A, $10M raised, needs 2 devs, wants support | Works (needs human touch) |
| Series B, $30M raised, scaling to 10 devs | Works (volume + support) |
| Bootstrapped, profitable, needs 1-2 devs, technical founder | Zero (self-serve preference) |
| Enterprise, 50+ devs, compliance needs | Works (or neither — not ICP) |
Startup discovers Zero (cheap, AI-native)
↓
Gets 1-3 devs through Zero
↓
Grows, raises money, needs more support
↓
Upgrades to Works (warm lead, knows the brand)
↓
Remotely captures full customer lifecycle
Net effect: Zero expands the market. Some Zero customers become Works customers. Very few Works customers downgrade to Zero (different needs).
| Question | Options | Recommendation |
|---|---|---|
| Domain | remotelyzero.com / zero.remotely.works / remotely.zero | zero.remotely.works (brand connection) or remotelyzero.com (independence) |
| Visual identity | Same as Works / Darker variant / Totally new | Darker variant (same DNA, different vibe) |
| Agent team structure | Single agent / Specialized agents | Start single, specialize as volume grows |
| Human escalation path | Cabo only / Works CS team / None | Cabo as advisor, no CS escalation (pure AI) |
| Pricing publication | Public from day 1 / Beta only first | Public from day 1 (transparency is the brand) |
| Developer badge | "AI-Enabled Developer" certification? | Yes — differentiates pool, content opportunity |
- Agent infrastructure (likely existing — Julian, etc.)
- Landing page + waitlist
- API for agent-to-agent communication
- Integration with GitSight + dev database
- Contract/payment automation
- Manifesto draft
- 4-post pre-launch series
- Landing page copy
- "Zero vs Works" comparison page
- Logo variant (Zero version)
- Social handles secured
- Domain registered
Human Advisors (Remotely Works Founders):
- Jose de Cabo — Human Advisor
- Pau Sabria — Human Advisor
- Pau Suris — Human Advisor
- Sebastian Alvarez — Human Advisor
AI Team:
- Julian Mercer — Founding Agent (GTM)
- Additional agents TBD (matching, vetting, ops)
| Metric | Target |
|---|---|
| Waitlist signups | 200+ |
| Manifesto post impressions | 50K+ |
| Manifesto post engagement | 500+ reactions |
| Metric | Target |
|---|---|
| Beta companies onboarded | 10-15 |
| Matches completed | 15-25 |
| Time to first match | <7 days |
| Beta NPS | 40+ |
| Metric | Target |
|---|---|
| Monthly matches | 20+ (scaling) |
| Zero → Works upgrades | Track (no target yet) |
| Content engagement | Consistent growth |
| Revenue | Break-even on agent costs |
| Action | Owner | Deadline |
|---|---|---|
| Review this proposal | Co-founders | Feb 12 |
| Decide on domain + brand approach | Co-founders | Feb 12 |
| Secure social handles | Julian | Feb 11 |
| Draft manifesto post | Julian | Feb 11 |
| Identify beta company candidates | Julian | Feb 14 |
For Cabo's LinkedIn — to be refined
We're launching an AI company to compete with ourselves.
Four years ago, we started Remotely Works to disrupt a multi-billion dollar industry — staff augmentation, nearshoring, outsourcing. An industry built on opacity, middlemen, and misaligned incentives.
We built a different model: transparent pricing ($1-2K/month flat fee based on volume), senior LATAM engineers only, and a team of amazing human beings who genuinely care about matching the right developers with the right companies.
That business is thriving. And we plan to keep it that way.
But today, we're announcing something new: Remotely Zero — a staffing company with zero human employees.
Same developer network. Same quality. But run entirely by AI, with a transparent 10% markup on developer compensation instead of a flat fee.
Why would we build a competitor to ourselves?
Because if we don't, someone else will.
We want to learn what's truly possible when AI runs the show — with the constraint of no humans (aside from the developers we serve). We want to test if a radically lower fee structure unlocks demand that doesn't exist today. We want to see what happens when your AI agent talks directly to ours.
The future of staffing isn't human sales teams and account managers. It's agents talking to agents. Your Claude scheduling calls with our matching engine. No forms. No waiting. No humans in the loop.
We're not ready to fully launch yet. But we're going to build this in public:
- Share our thinking (even when it's messy)
- Show what works (and what doesn't)
- Open up our pricing model completely
The learnings will flow both ways — to the world, and back to Remotely Works.
If you're a founder who uses AI and wants to hire engineers without talking to a single human, join the waitlist.
Remotely Zero: Zero humans. Real engineers.
[Link to waitlist]
This proposal is a living document. Updated as decisions are made.
Prepared by Julian Mercer
GTM Agent, Remotely Works / Remotely Zero