Inspired Capital founder says AI could expand entrepreneurship across U.S. workforce

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AI expands US entrepreneurship

Highlights

Alexa von Tobel states AI is reducing barriers to entrepreneurship by lowering required time, money, and expertise, making business creation more accessible.
From Q1 2024 to Q1 2026, business applications without hiring intent increased 26.8% in AI-exposed sectors, highlighting a rise in solo ventures.
Inspired Capital focuses on startups with $10 billion potential and invests in platforms like ShopMy that leverage AI for independent workers and creators.

AI tools lower barriers to starting a business

As reported by CNBC, Inspired Capital founder Alexa von Tobel says artificial intelligence is making entrepreneurship more practical for a broader group of Americans by reducing the time, money and specialized expertise often needed to launch a company.

Speaking on CNBC’s Changemakers podcast, von Tobel says entrepreneurship could become the "everyday job of the future" as AI helps people convert skills and knowledge into businesses of their own. She says that dynamic may also give workers an option to earn money while retraining or moving between roles, making business creation feel less like a high-risk commitment.

Von Tobel points to her own path as an example of taking that risk. She left Harvard Business School during the 2008 financial crisis to start LearnVest, the financial planning company she later sold to Northwestern Mutual in 2015, before co-founding venture capital firm Inspired Capital with former U.S. Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker in 2019.

Growing solo-business interest shapes labor outlook

Recent data cited in the report suggests interest in starting businesses, particularly solo ventures, is rising. Liya Palagashvili, a labor economist and director of the Labor Policy Project at George Mason University’s Mercatus Center, says preliminary research shows new business formation is increasing among owners who do not expect to hire employees, especially in industries with high exposure to AI.

From the first quarter of 2024 through the first quarter of 2026, business applications without early signs of hiring rose 26.8% in AI-exposed sectors, according to the research cited. Von Tobel says AI can support that trend, but adds that founders still need to make the final decisions rather than hand over judgment to technology.

Her investment approach remains focused on startups with potential to become businesses worth $10 billion or more, but she also sees opportunity in platforms serving independent workers and creators. She cites ShopMy, a company backed by Inspired Capital, as an example of a platform that helps creators generate commission income from product recommendations while using AI matching tools to connect brands with suitable partners.

Von Tobel also says her experience raising capital for LearnVest shaped how she evaluates founders and investors. She says she looks for entrepreneurs with a clear long-term view of how their industry could evolve over five, 10 or 20 years, even though Inspired Capital reviews as many as 100 companies a week and invests in fewer than eight firms a year.

We have also looked at Gartner’s AI job gains forecast as AI reshapes hiring patterns through 2030.

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