I set up a company that runs without me. Seven AI agents, each with a job, coordinated through Paperclip — an open-source orchestration layer for autonomous AI companies.
Here is the setup and what I learned.
What is Paperclip
Paperclip is a Node.js server that manages AI agents like employees. Each agent has a role, a budget, and a heartbeat schedule. They wake up, check their tasks, do work, and go back to sleep.
Think of it as a task manager where the workers are AI agents instead of humans.
Install:
npx paperclipai onboard --yes
My Company Structure
| Agent | Role | Heartbeat |
|---|---|---|
| CEO | Reviews all agent outputs, adjusts strategy | Twice daily |
| Bounty Hunter | Scans repos for security vulnerabilities | 4x daily |
| Code Bounty Hunter | Solves open source issues for cash | 3x daily |
| Skill Builder | Creates Claude Code skills for sale | Twice daily |
| Content Engine | Writes technical articles | MWF |
| Trader | Monitors live trading bot health | Every 30 min |
| Ops | Keeps everything running | Hourly |
How Heartbeats Work
Each agent has a routine with a cron trigger. When the cron fires, Paperclip creates a task issue and wakes the agent. The agent checks its inbox, picks up work, executes, and reports back.
The Trader agent runs a bash script that checks if the trading bot process is alive and restarts it if needed. The Claude-based agents spawn Claude Code sessions that can read code, write files, and make API calls.
What Actually Works
The Trader heartbeat is the most reliable — it is a simple process check that runs every 30 minutes. The Claude-based agents need more tuning, but the infrastructure is solid.
The key insight: start with one agent doing one thing well, then add more. Do not launch seven agents on day one expecting them all to work perfectly.
Revenue Streams
The agents manage five income streams:
- Security bounties (Huntr MFV program)
- Code bounties (Algora)
- Digital products (Gumroad skills)
- Content (Dev.to articles)
- Algorithmic trading (Polymarket crash-fade bot)
None of these are getting rich quick. But they compound, and they run without me checking in.
Setup Cost
- Paperclip: free, open source
- Claude Code subscription: existing
- Server: runs on my laptop (launchd keeps it alive across reboots)
- Total additional cost: zero dollars
Lessons
- Agents are only as good as their instructions. Vague prompts get vague results.
- Budget caps prevent runaway costs. Set them before you launch.
- The hardest part is not building the system — it is resisting the urge to keep building instead of letting the agents work.
The dashboard builder and API connector skills I use with these agents are at manja8.gumroad.com.
Source: github.com/LuciferForge | Built with Paperclip
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