Switch from Cofounder to Task Machine
How to move from Cofounder to Task Machine: bring your own accounts, keys, and workers, with approvals as workflow steps instead of a narrow allow-list.
Prefer the side-by-side comparison?Cofounder and Task Machine both promise to run an entire company with AI — engineering, sales, marketing, ops. The difference is what you own. Cofounder hosts everything: agents run on its platform, you can't bring your own model keys or coding subscriptions, and human approval covers a narrow list of dangerous actions like incorporating an LLC or opening a bank account. Task Machine runs on accounts and machines you connect, and approvals are first-class workflow steps you place wherever the stakes are.
Why do people switch from Cofounder?
- A dangerous-actions allow-list misses most consequential work. Incorporation and bank accounts get flagged, but the outbound email to a real prospect, the published page, and the ad spend mostly don't. Task Machine makes approval, question, and verifier steps part of the workflow itself, so you decide what counts as consequential.
- No BYO keys means paying twice. Cofounder can't use the model key or Claude Code/Codex subscription you already have. Task Machine agents run on machines you connect — local workers today — with the tools and subscriptions you already pay for.
- Hosted everything is a form of custody. With Cofounder, your product and operations live inside its platform. Task Machine never custodies your accounts: agents act through the Stripe, email, and repos you own, and you keep 100% of your revenue — no cut of anything.
- Rubber-stamping flagged actions vs seeing the work. Cofounder's agents work alongside you and surface the occasional dangerous action. Task Machine's three-surface workflow (chat, inbox, tasks) runs over deterministic, verifiable workflows with step-level run history — you steer where work is, not just at the flagged moments.
What maps to what?
| In Cofounder | In Task Machine |
|---|---|
| Agentic departments with managers | Agents and teams you configure, or a playbook that installs one |
| Approval on flagged dangerous actions | Approval, question, and verifier steps anywhere in a workflow |
| Milestone-based roadmap | Goals and tasks with step-level run history |
| Hosted execution, no BYO keys | Workers on machines you connect, with your own keys and subscriptions |
| Connector support and custom skills | Connectors and custom skills |
| Agent apps, skills, and schedules | The playbook catalog — 123 playbooks across 17 categories — plus scheduled recurring workflows |
What do you give up?
Honesty first: Cofounder's breadth out of the box is real. It designs, builds, and deploys product, monitors infrastructure and auto-fixes it, warms inboxes, and will even register your domain or incorporate an LLC — and it starts at $20/month with a seven-day trial. Task Machine does none of that provisioning work for you, and connecting your own accounts and a worker takes longer than signing into a hosted platform.
How does the switch work?
- Join the Task Machine waitlist and connect a workspace to the accounts you own — since Cofounder hosted execution, this means wiring your own Stripe, email, and repos through connectors.
- Connect a worker on a machine you control, using the model keys or coding subscriptions Cofounder couldn't accept.
- Pick the playbooks that match the departments Cofounder ran for you (outbound, content, marketing, support, engineering) — each installs the agents, workflows, and documents for that job.
- Set autonomy levels low to start and place approval steps where your own line for "dangerous" sits, then raise autonomy where an agent proves itself.
Common questions
Can I use my own Claude or Codex subscription with Task Machine?
Yes — that's the point of the worker model. Agents run on machines you connect, so they work with whatever keys and subscriptions live there.
What replaces Cofounder's dangerous-action approvals?
Approval steps you place yourself. Instead of a platform-defined list, any workflow step can require your sign-off, ask you a question, or run a verifier — and every one of them lands in a single inbox.
Does Task Machine host my product?
No. Task Machine is the operating layer, not the host: your product, domain, and Stripe stay in accounts you own, and agents act through them. That's slower to set up than Cofounder's hosted stack, and it's also why leaving Task Machine never means losing your business.
Details about Cofounder reflect its public materials at the time of writing; check their site for current terms.