Founders’ Five: Orlie Benjamin, Founder of Lasoh
In Founders’ Five, Rev1 Ventures checks in with Ohio founders who are growing their companies, and helping strengthen the community around them. Through five recurring questions, founders share what they are building, why they work at Rev1 at The Peninsula and what is keeping them energized as they move forward.
This month, we spoke with Orlie Benjamin, founder of Lasoh.
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What are you building, and what inspired you to start it?
Lasoh provides AI-powered marketing software for vacation rental operators. Our newest product is essentially an AI marketing team. An operator can describe a goal, whether it’s to reactivate past guests, promote holiday stays or feature top-performing properties, and the software can create and execute the campaign across email and text within minutes.
The idea began personally. I built a family cabin that we also used as a short-term rental and became fascinated with creating a better guest experience. I soon saw a much larger opportunity: thousands of small and midsized vacation rental operators need to attract, understand and stay connected with guests, but without the marketing teams, budgets or technology of major hospitality brands.
That became the problem I wanted Lasoh to solve. Two years ago, we were building traditional software interfaces. Today, we are building AI-native tools that make sophisticated marketing capabilities accessible and practical for these businesses.
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Why did you choose Rev1 at The Peninsula as your workspace?
First, it is a really nice place to work, and the economics are almost a no-brainer for a startup.
But the bigger reason is the community. We work in such an asynchronous world that relationships can become arm’s-length. At The Peninsula, I can run into another founder, an attorney or someone from Rev1 and have a five-minute conversation I never would have scheduled.
Being a founder can also be lonely. I work long days, and being around people working just as hard on similarly ambitious things makes me feel connected.
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What’s one thing you’ve enjoyed most about the Peninsula community?
The way relationships compound.
Very early on, attorney Alex Brown at Dickinson Wright suggested that I connect with Rev1 rather than simply hiring him out of pocket for legal work. That introduction led me to Rev1 and, from there, to Ohio Third Frontier, JumpStart, TechGROWTH and other parts of Ohio’s startup ecosystem.
One connection creates another. For Lasoh, that journey has led to more than $500,000 in non-dilutive funding as well as experts and mentors like Alex. You discover resources and people you simply would not have found on your own.
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It’s midday at The Peninsula—what’s your go-to kitchen grab or workday ritual?
Very specifically: raspberry Fig Newtons, bananas and probably more chocolate than I should admit.
I am not a great lunch planner, and I do not like interrupting my workday to figure out food. Being able to grab something and keep going matters when I am working 10 or 11 hours. If I am being slightly less disciplined, there may also be chips involved.
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What are you working on that excites you most—or what’s on the horizon?
I am excited by what AI lets us give our customers. We are democratizing marketing for vacation rental operators, giving them capabilities that previously required an experienced, well-funded marketing team.
But what excites me has become more nuanced. I care about the guest having a better vacation. I care about helping the operator grow a stronger business. And I care deeply about the team we are building to make that happen.
I went to law school and passed the bar, then realized practicing law was not the path I wanted and added business school so I could pivot. That experience taught me not to stay attached to something simply because I started it.
Lasoh is evolving the same way. We are listening carefully, moving deliberately and treating every early customer as precious. We are going slow now because we believe that is how we go faster later.
