At TechCrunch Disrupt 2026, a panel featuring leaders from Gusto, Insight Partners, and Leland will examine how artificial intelligence agents are redefining early-stage hiring strategies. The session, titled “Hiring When AI Is a Co-Founder,” addresses the growing trend of delegating engineering, customer support, research, and operational tasks to AI systems rather than human employees.
Josh Reeves, CEO and co-founder of Gusto; Michelle Johnson, senior vice president at Insight Partners; and John Koelliker, CEO and co-founder of Leland, will appear on the Builders Stage. Their discussion will explore how founders can balance speed, accountability, and company culture while integrating AI agents into their workforce.
The conversation highlights a fundamental shift in how startups approach talent. Rather than immediately filling job requisitions, founders are increasingly asked to evaluate which responsibilities require human judgment and which can be effectively managed by autonomous systems. This change is particularly relevant for companies building AI-native products, where questions about oversight and error handling are no longer theoretical.
Reeves brings perspective from Gusto, which serves over 500,000 businesses with payroll, benefits, and HR solutions. Johnson offers insights from her role at Insight Partners, where she advises CEOs and CROs across North America and Europe on go-to-market strategy and AI implementation. Her background includes helping scale Flock Safety from under $1 million to $90 million in annual recurring revenue. Koelliker contributes experience from his roles at LinkedIn, Curated, and Uber, along with his current work at Leland, a platform focused on career development in the AI era.
The panel will emphasize that while AI agents can accelerate task completion, human employees remain essential for strategic decision-making, understanding customer needs, and fostering company culture. Attendees will learn how to design organizational structures that leverage both human judgment and AI efficiency.
TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 takes place October 13–15 at Moscone West in San Francisco. Tickets are available now, with savings of up to $200 for registrations completed before September 25 at 11:59 p.m. PT. Group discounts of up to 30% are also available.
Finally, someone admits AI agents can’t replace company culture. Speed isn’t everything when you’re building a real team.
Oct 13 at Moscone West—I’ll be there! The early bird discount makes it too good to pass up this year.
Gusto’s Josh Reeves always delivers practical takes. Can’t wait to see how Leland’s approach fits into this conversation.
Does this mean entry-level roles disappear entirely? Looking for human judgment and culture is easy to say, hard to execute.
Hiring when AI is a co-founder? That’s the new normal. Curious how they handle accountability.