About Us

We build AI evergreen companies. We create or buy, then install an operator to run day to day.

Our Principles

Durability over sizzle

Build for the long term with sustainable competitive advantages. We ignore the hype cycle in favor of fundamentals.

Real users over vanity

Solve real problems for real people with metrics that matter. Revenue and retention beat headcount and press mentions.

Small teams, high leverage

Achieve maximum impact with lean, focused teams. We use automation and AI to keep operations efficient.

Clear ownership & clean tables

Maintain transparent ownership structures and decision-making authority. No complex governance that slows us down.

Our Approach

Thesis

AI native businesses that endure. Created or acquired. Run by operators. We focus on longevity.

Model

Build or buy. Validate fast. Install an operator. Scale with tight systems. Invest when capital speeds learning.

Ownership

Structure varies by situation. We prioritize alignment with operators and sustainable growth over rigid formulas.

Playbooks

Discovery

We rigoriously validate market size and problem acuteness before writing code.

Brand & Onboarding

We craft premium identities that command trust and automated onboarding systems to reduce friction.

Engineering & Data

Scalable, clean architecture from day one. Robust data pipelines to track unit economics.

Growth & Partnerships

Systematic customer acquisition, B2B partnerships, and content engines.

Operator Hiring

Finding the right CEO. Our 4-stage vetting process ensures cultural fit and operational excellence.

Founder

Cody McLain

Founder & CEO

Cody McLain is a repeat founder based in Austin. He built a $30M outsourcing company, ranked on the Inc. 5000. He hosts the MindHack podcast and wrote From Foster Care to Millionaire.

Cody started Inverse Collective to build calm, durable software companies that solve real problems and last.