The problem
You're building a SaaS product, a marketing site, an admin dashboard, and a CLI tool — all at once. You've got agents from Claude Code, OpenAI Codex, and Qwen Code running across these repos. But managing them means juggling terminal windows, switching between billing dashboards, and losing track of which agent is doing what.
Every minute you spend managing agents is a minute you're not spending on product decisions, customer calls, or fundraising. The velocity advantage AI was supposed to provide is getting eaten by the overhead of running it.
"At one point we tried cloning our repo into three directories and running Claude in each of them, but it felt like driving a Subaru with a jet engine strapped on." — Madewithlove blog
"I chalk it up to VC subsidized pricing. I use my monthly Cursor quota, then switch to Claude Code when I run out." — lherron, HN
"Their pricing is what drove me to not roll it out across my company." — CSMastermind, HN
The feeling of one great AI agent is electric — "illegal levels of productivity," as one founder put it. Now imagine that feeling orchestrated across every project your startup is building. That's Chief.
How Chief helps
Proactive, not reactive
Chief doesn't wait for you to figure out what's next. Set a project-level goal — "Add Stripe checkout to the pricing page with test and live mode support" — and Chief proposes dependency-aware milestones with acceptance criteria. When one milestone ships, Chief proposes the next. Your agents stay busy because Chief keeps them busy — even while you're in a customer call or investor meeting.
This is the shift from writing prompts to approving plans. From babysitting agents to managing outcomes.
One dashboard for every project
One screen shows progress on your product, marketing site, internal tools, and integrations. No more "which terminal was that running in?" Chief gives you portfolio-level visibility across every active codebase — the same unified view whether you're on your laptop or managing from your phone.
Simplify complex workflows
Startups tackle ambitious features with tiny teams. Chief breaks complex goals into sequenced tasks with dependency awareness — the schema migration before the API endpoints, the webhook handler before the billing page — and dispatches agents to execute the full plan. One approval, complete execution, quality-gated at every step.
If you've used Cursor or Claude Code for single-agent work, Chief is what comes next: the coordination layer that turns individual agent sessions into a managed operation across your entire company.
BYOA eliminates subscription juggling
Stop rotating between Claude Code, OpenAI Codex, and Qwen Code based on who has quota left. Chief works with all your existing subscriptions simultaneously. No new credit system, no new pricing to learn. No credit card required.
"$10 per month seems ridiculously cheap for the value it creates." — IAmGraydon, HN
If a single agent at $10/month creates massive value, an orchestration layer that multiplies that value across all your agents and projects is disproportionately valuable. Chief is free to start.
Usage tracking
Track what every agent is doing across all your projects in real time. Chief shows per-agent, per-session, cross-provider activity breakdowns so you can see where effort is going and make informed decisions about what to prioritize next.
Mobile-first agent management
Review agent output, approve milestones, and redirect work from your phone during a commute, investor meeting, or dinner. Agents that ran overnight have results waiting for you in the morning. Check agent progress, approve tasks, redirect work — all without opening a laptop.
Shared context that compounds
Chief maintains persistent context across your projects and sessions. It knows what shipped yesterday, what's in flight now, and what your goals are. When planning new work, it accounts for recent changes and avoids duplicate effort. You shouldn't have to be the memory layer for your agent fleet.
A day with Chief
Morning commute (phone, 5 minutes). Dashboard shows 4 milestones completed overnight. The SaaS product has a new Stripe webhook handler ready for review. The marketing site's pricing copy is updated. The admin dashboard has a new user analytics view. One milestone flagged a test failure.
Quick triage. Approve 3 completed milestones from your phone. Redirect the failed one: "Skip the caching layer for now, just get the webhook handler passing tests." Set a new goal for Stripe checkout.
Chief proposes a plan. By the time you reach the office, Chief has proposed 3 milestones with acceptance criteria. Scan, tweak one criterion, approve. Agents start working.
Mid-day check (30 seconds). Stripe checkout is 60% done. Marketing site agent is idle — set a new goal: "Add testimonials section to the homepage." Agent dispatched.
End of day. Three features shipped across two projects. One more in progress. Total founder management time: 15 minutes. Total agent output: meaningful progress on every active codebase. The rest of the day was spent on product decisions, customer calls, and fundraising — not babysitting terminals.
"Changed my mental model on how to work and ship code with AI." — Conductor user, Product Hunt
The shift from "I code with an AI assistant" to "I manage a fleet of agents across my company's projects" is the mental model change Chief enables for startups.
Why startups choose Chief
| Pain Point | Without Chief | With Chief |
|---|---|---|
| Multiple codebases | Separate terminals, separate context | One dashboard, all projects |
| Multiple subscriptions | Check three billing pages, rotate on quota | BYOA — use all providers at once |
| Agent babysitting | Manual prompts, constant context-switching | Proactive planning — Chief proposes next steps |
| No persistent context | Re-explain everything each session | Shared context that compounds across sessions |
| Async and mobile work | Can't manage agents away from laptop | Full mobile management interface |
| Usage visibility | No idea what agents are doing per project | Per-agent, per-session usage tracking |
| Quality review | Read every line of agent output | Quality gates with milestone-based acceptance criteria |
No lock-in
Chief works with the Claude Code, OpenAI Codex, Qwen Code, and OpenCode subscriptions you already pay for. Your repos stay in GitHub. Your agents stay on their platforms. Chief adds the management layer on top.
If you outgrow it or your needs change, walk away with zero switching cost. Startups can't afford vendor lock-in — Chief is designed so you never have to worry about it.
When to use Chief
- You're building across multiple codebases and managing agents in each one separately.
- You're already paying for 2+ agent subscriptions and want unified cost visibility instead of checking three different billing dashboards.
- You need agents to keep working while you're doing non-coding work — customer calls, fundraising, hiring, product planning.
- You work from your phone or tablet as much as your laptop and need to manage agents from anywhere.
- You're a small team that ships like a big one and need the coordination layer that makes that sustainable without burning out.
If you're a solo founder, Chief is your force multiplier. If your startup is scaling and tackling large refactors, Chief coordinates that too.
FAQ
Is Chief free for startups?
Yes. Chief is free to start with no credit card required. You bring your own agent subscriptions — Chief manages them without adding another bill. Paid plans are available when you need advanced features like team-wide cost analytics and priority orchestration to keep pace with your growth.
How does BYOA (Bring Your Own Agent) work with Chief?
Connect your existing agent subscriptions to Chief. Chief dispatches work to your agents across providers — you keep your current billing relationships, quotas, and preferences. No vendor lock-in, no proprietary credits.
Can I manage agents across multiple repos and projects?
Yes — that's the core use case. Chief gives you a single dashboard showing agent progress across every project. Dispatch agents to your product, marketing site, admin tools, and integrations from one place.
Does Chief work from mobile?
Chief is built mobile-first. Review agent output, approve milestones, redirect work, and set new goals from your phone or tablet. Agents keep shipping while you're away from your desk.
How does Chief's cost tracking help manage startup runway?
Chief tracks spend per agent, per session, and per project across all your providers. You see exactly what each project costs in agent compute — making budget decisions with data, not anxiety.
What AI coding agents does Chief support?
Chief works with Claude Code, OpenAI Codex, Qwen Code, OpenCode, and more. Any agent that works in a codebase can be managed through Chief.
Do I need to change my existing workflow to use Chief?
No migration required. Chief works with your existing repos, agents, and tools. Point Chief at your GitHub repos and start managing — zero switching cost if you ever want to stop.
Can Chief work with my co-founder's agent subscriptions too?
Yes. Team members can connect their own agent subscriptions. Chief coordinates work across all connected agents — sequencing dependencies and giving everyone visibility into what's being built.