Athena
Philippines-based managed EA service popular with tech founders
Service model
Managed
Assistant location
Remote
Minimum commitment
Annual contract
Onboarding speed
2-3 weeks
Athena has built a strong reputation in the founder community, particularly among Y Combinator alumni and tech executives. They recruit assistants from the Philippines, put them through a training program, and match them with clients based on working style and needs.
The service runs on an annual contract at around $3,000 per month, which gets you a dedicated full-time assistant. The training pipeline is their main selling point: Athena claims to accept fewer than 1% of applicants.
The annual commitment is the main friction point. If your assistant does not work out, Athena will rematch you, but you are still locked into the contract.
What works well
- +Rigorous assistant selection (less than 1% acceptance)
- +Strong founder community and referral network
- +Dedicated full-time assistant
- +Structured training program
What to watch out for
- -Annual contract required
- -Philippines timezone can cause delays
- -Rematch process takes time