Building Trust with Tech: Doby Lanete’s Innovative Approach to Client Engagement

Doby Lanete's journey from wantrepreneur to entrepreneur is a testament to resilience and innovation. As the founder of DobotAI, he revolutionizes marketing and email/SMS agencies with intelligent automation systems, freeing teams to focus on strategy and client relationships. In this Wantrepreneur to Entrepreneur Spotlight, Doby shares how a post-college rut sparked his entrepreneurial leap, leading to impactful solutions like AI-powered workflows. His unique approach, including personalized Loom outreach, reflects a deep commitment to client success. Doby's story is a powerful reminder of the transformative power of faith, discipline, and asking for help.

Hi, Doby! Thanks for joining us today. Tell us about your business. Who do you serve, how do you serve them, and what's the impact that your business and work makes?

I run DobotAI, an AI automation agency that serves marketing and email/SMS agencies. We build intelligent automation systems — AI agents, CRM automation, content generation workflows, onboarding sequences, and end-to-end process automation — that free agency teams from repetitive, time-consuming work so they can focus on strategy and client relationships.

We start every engagement with a free automation audit where I map out the agency's entire pipeline — marketing, sales, and operations — identify the biggest time sucks, and prioritize by impact. Then we build and deploy the systems.

The impact is tangible. One client, a 25+ person email marketing agency doing six figures a month, went from a messy CRM with no lead tracking to having a complete bird's-eye view of their operations with automated lead routing, onboarding, and AI-powered call summaries. Another client went from paying $140 per email flow setup with a 3-day turnaround to same-day delivery at zero additional cost. A third cut their copywriting process from 3-4 hours per client down to 10 minutes — generating full 25-page flow strategy documents through automation. We don't just build tools; we think like co-owners and solve business problems with AI.

Tell us about the moment you finally felt like you went from wantrepreneur to entrepreneur.

I felt like I finally become an entrepreneur when I hired my first engineer. I started the business freelancing, so this change made it finally seem like I no longer was tasked with the fulfillment job, allowing me to become the business owner.

Describe the moment or period in your life/career that motivated you to make the entrepreneurial leap.

I was in quite a rut after graduating college with my computer science degree. I lazed around for 5 months before finally having enough. I felt as if I was a failure to the most important people around me at the time and I started freelancing to break that cycle. 

Describe a tool, service, or software that has been a game-changer for your business. How does it contribute to your success?

When we integrated AI Agents into my business, all of my team members found a large jump in their capabilities. We found that copywriting, editing, and even automation logic was much more streamlined allowing us to produce more in a smaller amount of time. We also found that our clients really wanted these tools as well, so we started adding it to our offer.

We know that success is very often a non-linear path. Tell us about a failure, pivot point, or lesson that changed your course or direction and helped to get you where you are today.

Six months into the business, in December 2025, I experienced a major personal life change. It forced me to reflect deeply on my life and recognize the negative habits and mindsets I had been carrying, both in business and personally.

During that time, I gave my life to God and committed to becoming a better man every day. Since then, I’ve been working continuously to grow in character, discipline, and faith- and my business has begun reflecting that transformation as well.

What unconventional strategy did you employ that significantly impacted your business?

Loom outreach. Instead of sending cold emails or generic proposals, I would record personalized Loom videos for every prospect showing them exactly what I would automate in their business. I'd screen-share their website, their processes, their tools — and walk through specific automation opportunities. Most people in the AI automation space are sending templated pitches. I was spending 10-15 minutes per prospect creating something they could immediately see value in. That approach is how I landed my first three clients and built trust before we ever got on a call. People could see I wasn't just selling, I had actually studied their business and was already thinking like a co-owner.

What’s something you wish you knew sooner that you’d give as advice for aspiring or newer entrepreneurs?

Everyone I have met so far in my entrepreneurship journey has ALWAYS been willing to help. I wouldn't have made it to where I am if I didn't ask for help from others. 

Want to dive deeper into Doby's work? Check out the links below!

• Visit DobotAI's website: dobotai.com
• Connect with Doby Lanete on LinkedIn: Doby Lanete