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1. Before you start: prerequisites

Think of this like hiring a personal assistant. You could bring in the best PA in the world - but you'd still need to train them. You'd need to invest time communicating your rules, expectations, and preferences. The more you invest upfront, the better they perform. Your agent is exactly the same. The system is only as good as the rules you put into it.

With that in mind, here's what you need before you start:

Budget (monthly):

• VPS server (Hetzner): ~€8/month
• Google Workspace (dedicated agent account): ~€10-20/month
• AI model (Codex Pro / GPT-5.5): ~€82/month
• OpenClaw (agent runtime): free, open-source
• Total: roughly €100/month

Time:

• Setup: 2-4 weeks of focused effort
• Maintenance: light and ongoing - you tune the rules as the agent runs

This is the setup I use. Other options and combinations exist - this is what works for me and why I recommend starting here.

This is not a weekend project you install and forget. It's a system you design, launch, and gradually make smarter. The founders who get the most out of this are the ones willing to invest the first month seriously - and then let it run.

2. What your agent actually does

Before we get into how to build it, let's talk about what it actually does - because most people imagine a chatbot. This is not a chatbot.

Here's what my agent, Alfred, does on a daily basis: