Venture Studio

We build AI-native companies.

Custany is a venture studio. We start companies from scratch, back them with capital and operating muscle, and stay on to help them scale — a portfolio of AI-native products built on one repeatable playbook.

In the portfolio
Radi8FoclaritySashemeHugongoCORL8
The Studio

Not an incubator. A company that builds companies.

Custany is the parent behind a growing set of ventures. We don't wait for pitches — we find sharp problems, build the product ourselves, and turn each one into an independent company. Shared foundations mean every venture starts miles ahead.

01

Build from conviction

Each venture starts with a problem we believe in — validated fast, then built as a real product, not a slide deck.

02

AI-native by default

Every company is designed around AI from day one, not bolted on later — in the product, and in how we build it.

03

Shared operating muscle

Engineering, brand, go-to-market, and infrastructure are shared across the studio, so ventures move faster and cost less to launch.

Portfolio

The companies we're building.

Two are live and in the market. Three are still in stealth — all AI-native, all coming soon.

Radi8
Personal brand · content

AI that turns your expertise into a personal brand — draft, schedule, and publish authentic thought-leadership that builds authority and turns it into pipeline.

Live
Foclarity
AI hiring

An AI hiring platform that connects startups and small businesses with high-potential early-career talent — better matches, far less overhead.

Live
Sasheme
AI · stealth

An AI company in stealth. More soon.

Stealth
Hugongo
AI · stealth

An AI company in stealth. More soon.

Stealth
CORL8
AI · stealth

An AI company in stealth. More soon.

Stealth
More in the works

We're always building. New ventures enter the studio a few times a year.

Approach

How a venture goes from idea to company.

The same disciplined path every time — refined across every company we've launched.

01

Find

We hunt for real, painful problems where AI changes what's possible — and where we'd use the product ourselves.

02

Build

A small team ships a real product fast, using shared studio infrastructure to skip the usual zero-to-one drag.

03

Launch

We take it to market, find the first customers, and prove the model with real revenue — not vanity metrics.

04

Scale

Winners get capital, a dedicated team, and their own identity — spun up as independent companies with the studio behind them.

About Custany

The company behind the companies.

Custany LLC began as a marketing-technology practice and grew into what it is today: a venture studio building a portfolio of AI-native companies. We put our own conviction, capital, and craft behind every one.

Custany was founded by Michael "Mash" Ashley — founder, advisor, and builder — who leads the studio and works hands-on with each venture from first line of code to go-to-market.

5ventures in the portfolio
2live and in market
3building in stealth
AInative at the core of every one
Contact

Let's build something.

Founder with an idea, investor, or press — we'd like to hear from you. Send us a DM on LinkedIn and tell us what you're working on.

DM us on LinkedIn