Coleman Oates

Look, here’s the real scoop on Coleman Oates – this guy’s the real deal in the startup world. He’s a serial founder and product guy who’s been crushing it in customer ops and automation platforms. Like, he’s been building stuff that actually makes businesses run smoother, faster, smarter.

So, here’s the scoop: Cole’s currently a co-founder at Lapel, which he launched in 2025. It’s a San Francisco-based company, part of Y Combinator’s Spring 2025 batch. Basically, Lapel is all about scaling personalized service online – making it super easy for brands to give every customer that personal touch without losing efficiency. That’s huge, especially in today’s online world where everyone expects VIP treatment.

But before that, he was all-in on another startup called Onward, which he co-founded with his long-time buddy Nikolas Huebecker. Onward came out of YC’s S23 batch and was all about automating post-meeting tasks for sales and support teams. Think, making follow-ups, summaries, and action items automatic so teams can focus on actually closing deals or helping customers instead of drowning in admin. These two have been partners forever – their first AI automation product was built back in middle school. Yeah, middle school! That’s some real chemistry. They’ve been collaborating on ventures ever since, which shows how much they trust each other and how deep their passion for automation runs.

Before jumping into startups, Coleman cut his teeth at Chick-fil-A, scaling hospitality operations. That’s where he learned how to handle big teams, simplify processes, and basically be productive – skills that he’s now bringing to the tech world. His background? It’s all about understanding people, operational excellence, and then using tech to level that up.

This guy’s story is straight-up inspiring. He’s driven by making things better, faster, and more personalized-no bullshit. He’s about solving real problems that matter, the kind that shift the game for companies and their customers. Starting early, teaming up with his partner since middle school, and scaling from hospitality to SaaS-his whole vibe is about that relentless push to create real impact.

So, why’s Coleman Oates important? Because he’s the type of founder who’s been in the trenches, knows how to build products people actually use, and has a vision for making online customer service advanced. He’s not just chasing shiny tech – he’s solving real pain points, and that’s what makes him someone to watch. No Cap.