Combinely

What do they actually do

Combinely provides an AI helper for accounting and tax teams that plugs into a firm’s systems (notably Outlook) to draft client replies, chase missing documents, and produce first‑pass deliverables and preliminary reviews. Accountants stay in the loop to edit and approve the drafts, with Combinely positioned as a junior teammate rather than a standalone chat tool Combinely site YC Launch YC company page.

The product is live and sold through demos and pilots (no public pricing or self‑serve sign‑up). Public materials reference pilots with mid‑to‑large firms, and the homepage states that over 1,500 accountants have joined their waitlist/early access. The team claims material time savings during busy season (e.g., “90 minutes a day” per tax accountant), presented as performance claims to be validated by customers Combinely site London Business School profile YC Launch pricing commentary.

Who are their target customer(s)

• Partners and engagement managers at mid‑to‑large accounting firms: They need to reduce time spent by staff on routine client communications and first‑draft work while maintaining firm‑level controls, audit trails, and accuracy before allowing AI into sensitive workflows Combinely site LBS profile.
• Senior tax accountants and seasonal preparers: They are buried in email, chasing documents, and preparing first‑pass deliverables. They want reliable drafts and automated follow‑ups to increase throughput and spend more time on review work YC Launch Combinely site.
• Practice managers and operations leads: They need standardized, auditable workflows that handle firm‑specific exceptions and integrate with existing tools to onboard juniors consistently and scale processes YC company page LBS profile.
• IT, security, and compliance owners at accounting firms: They must control vendor risk and data access. They look for granular permissions, logs, and clear integration/security guarantees before approving tools that connect to email and client records YC company page reviews summary.
• Regional or growing firms scaling without proportional hiring: They want repeatable automation for intake → draft → review that copes with firm exceptions and proves accuracy before shifting more routine pipeline work off humans LBS profile YC Launch.

How would they acquire their first 10, 50, and 100 customers

• First 10: Run high‑touch 4–8 week pilots with the existing waitlist and YC/LBS intros, connecting to Outlook so teams see drafts in their real inboxes; quantify time saved and convert pilots using short ROI case studies Combinely site YC Launch LBS profile.
• First 50: Standardize a 3‑week pilot package with scope, security checklist, and audit logs; build a small outbound team for account‑based outreach to regional firms and use early ROI stories to speed decisions Combinely site reviews summary.
• First 100: Add referral incentives, integrations/ISV deals with popular practice/email vendors, conference sponsorships and demos for partners/managers, plus a limited self‑serve pilot tier to reduce friction; prioritize features that demonstrate auditability and controls for IT/security sign‑off YC company page reviews summary.

What is the rough total addressable market

Top-down context:

There are roughly 1.4 million accountants and auditors employed in the U.S., representing a large pool of potential professional users BLS OES 13‑2011. In the UK, there are thousands of registered audit firms (3,760 in 2024), indicating a sizable market of multi‑user practices with structured workflows FRC Key Facts & Trends 2025.

Bottom-up calculation:

If Combinely targets mid‑to‑large US/UK firms with an estimated 250,000 tax staff seats serviceable in the near term, and charges about $1,800 per user per year, the initial serviceable TAM would be roughly $450 million annually.

Assumptions:

• Focus on US/UK mid‑to‑large firm tax teams; excludes sole practitioners and very small firms.
• Average price of ~$150 per user per month for an AI assistant with enterprise controls.
• Serviceable seat count of ~250k near‑term based on a subset of the ~1.4M US accountants plus UK multi‑user firms.

Who are some of their notable competitors

• Karbon: Practice management platform for accounting firms with workflow, email, and AI‑assisted features. Competes on firm‑wide process, email triage, and team collaboration.
• Canopy: Accounting practice management and client communications software. Offers workflow automation and portals that overlap with document chasing and standardized processes.
• TaxDome: All‑in‑one practice management for tax and accounting firms with client portal, pipelines, and automation—often adopted by growing regional firms.
• Wolters Kluwer CCH Axcess: Tax preparation and firm workflow suite used by many mid‑to‑large firms; increasingly adds automation and integrations across tax workflows.
• Microsoft 365 Copilot (Outlook): Horizontal AI assistant embedded in Outlook and Office that drafts emails and summaries; a baseline alternative for firms prioritizing general email automation over domain‑specific workflows.