Market

Software helps you do the work. Lia does the work.

What changes when a business hires the finished work instead of another tool

Leia em português

Almost every business already has more software than it needs: a CRM, a calendar, a billing system, spreadsheets, accounting. And the work is still there, waiting for someone to open the screen. The customer who messaged at 10pm waits until morning. The invoice comes due with no reminder. The deal sits in the same pipeline stage for a week. The software stored everything, but nobody did the work.

Sequoia's math #

In March 2026, Sequoia published Services: The New Software, by Julien Bek. The number that opens the piece: in the US, for every dollar spent on software, six are spent on services. The example is accounting. A company pays about $10K a year for QuickBooks and $120K for the accountant who closes the books.

The thesis follows from there: a copilot sells the tool; an autopilot sells the work. A copilot helps the professional, who still does the job. An autopilot delivers the outcome. And whoever delivers the outcome competes for the bigger budget, the six dollars.

A tool or the finished work: three questions #

To tell whether something helps you do the work or does the work, ask:

1. Who starts? Software waits for someone to open it. Lia starts on her own: she answers the customer who wrote after hours, checks first thing in the morning what came due and what was paid, and at the end of the day reviews what was left open.
2. Who presses the last button? With software, the last step is yours. Lia goes all the way: she replies, records it in the CRM, creates the charge and sends the payment link to the customer. When a step is sensitive, she prepares everything and asks for the owner's Yes on WhatsApp, with buttons, before she acts.
3. What do you get at the end? Software gives you a screen full of data. Lia gives you the result: the customer served, the charge sent, the note in the CRM, the document ready for review.

The work Lia does today, in five roles #

Lia works in five roles, on the business's official WhatsApp and inside the systems it already uses: the CRM, the finance system and the document folders.

The owner also asks for reports the way they would ask a colleague: "every Monday at 8am, send me the pipeline". Lia sets it up and delivers on time.

Intelligence and judgement: what stays with the team #

Sequoia's piece separates two kinds of work. Intelligence is what follows rules: answering a question that already has an answer, reminding a customer of an appointment, chasing an overdue payment, checking whether a payment came in. Judgement takes experience: giving a discount, making an exception, deciding the next step with a difficult customer.

Lia does the intelligence part, which is most of the routine, and hands the judgement back to whoever decides:

• Money going out and collection campaigns only with the owner's Yes, asked on WhatsApp each time.
• The daily review flags, it does not fix. The fix comes ready for someone on the team to apply.
• A document is a draft until someone on the team reviews it.
• When in doubt, she asks before acting.

Sequoia also says that today's judgement becomes tomorrow's intelligence. With Lia, that happens when the owner teaches her: an exception the owner has already decided becomes an agreed rule, and next time she follows it.

Where to start: the work you already outsource #

For Sequoia, the way in is the outsourced task. There is already a budget for it, and the business has already accepted that someone else does it. In practice, look at three places:

• Customer service handled by a remote receptionist, or left unanswered at night and on weekends.
• Collections that depend on someone remembering to send the invoice.
• The checks nobody has time for: the outdated CRM, the customer nobody reminded of the meeting.

Start with one job, follow it for a few weeks, then expand.

Where Lia works today #

Lia started with law firms in Brazil, a demanding niche for anyone who serves clients on WhatsApp: confidentiality, deadlines and bar rules. Today there are 150+ companies with Lia working, and RIA counts 3,500+ law firms and lawyers served since 2023.

In the US and the UK, Lia is in early access.

Frequently asked questions #

How is Lia different from customer service software? #

Customer service software organizes the conversation so someone on the team can reply. Lia replies, collects, records and reminds, and calls in the team when the decision is theirs.

What does Lia do without asking for permission? #

What follows the agreed rules: answering what already has an answer, reminding, recording in the CRM. Money going out and collection campaigns only with the owner's Yes, each time.

What about my team? #

They keep the judgement: the difficult customer, the negotiation, the exception, the decision. The routine that follows rules moves to Lia.

Where do I start? #

With the work the business already outsources, or the work that goes undone for lack of time, such as after-hours customer service, collections and meeting reminders.

Is Lia available where I am? #

In the US and the UK, Lia is in early access. Join at https://lia.im/us/#early-access or https://lia.im/uk/#early-access.

Reinaldo OliveiraFounder, RIA

Published November 9, 2026 by Reinaldo Oliveira, RIA. Markdown version for AI: lia-does-the-work.md · All articles in English · Blog em português