APPROVED BIOGRAPHIES
Anton Hocking and Erik Laine, Manifestic and Business Hub OS
Minneapolis-Saint Paul, Minnesota

For use verbatim. Note: drafts prepared November 2026, pending final sign-off from Anton and Erik.

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ANTON HOCKING
Founder, Manifestic and Business Hub OS
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ONE LINE
Anton Hocking, Founder of Manifestic and Business Hub OS. He builds AI operating systems for small businesses.

SHORT (ABOUT 75 WORDS)
Anton Hocking is the Founder of Manifestic, the company behind Business Hub OS, an AI operating system for small businesses. From Minneapolis-Saint Paul, Minnesota, he works out front with owners, mapping how a business actually runs and then building the system to match: website, CRM, AI agents that answer the phones around the clock, and follow-up that does not depend on the owner remembering it. He founded the business in 2025 and runs it with his partner, Erik Laine.

FULL (ABOUT 210 WORDS)
Anton Hocking is the Founder of Manifestic, the Minneapolis-Saint Paul company behind Business Hub OS. He started the business in 2025 on a simple observation: most small businesses do not fail for lack of effort; they stall because the owner has become the system, and every lead, reminder, and follow-up runs through one person. Anton works out front with owners. He maps the operation first, then builds the connected system underneath it: a website that captures leads, a CRM that tracks them, AI agents that answer phones and messages around the clock, and an AI workspace the team actually uses. With his partner Erik Laine, he has built that pattern into a portfolio of working products, including Business Hub OS, FlowState, GEN Systems, and LotLogix for car dealerships, 64 products on the public showcase in all. Security is part of the build: Manifestic builds and runs local AI models so client data can stay inside the client's own walls, and Anton builds alongside Argent Reach, a cybersecurity firm, so a client's growth engine and its protection are designed together. Anton is available for interviews, panels, and podcasts on practical AI for small business: what to automate first, what it changes day to day, and what it takes to keep it running.

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ERIK LAINE
Partner, Manifestic
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ONE LINE
Erik Laine, Partner at Manifestic. He builds the systems underneath Business Hub OS: websites, CRM builds, AI agents, and automations.

SHORT (ABOUT 75 WORDS)
Erik Laine is a Partner at Manifestic, the company behind Business Hub OS, based in Minneapolis-Saint Paul, Minnesota. He builds the systems underneath the practice: websites, CRM builds, AI agents, and automations, and he holds release authority for Manifestic-owned work. His own personal AI automations are what pulled his partner, Anton Hocking, into AI in the first place. His working rule: every business needs a system, and the pieces only pay off when they connect.

FULL (ABOUT 190 WORDS)
Erik Laine is a Partner at Manifestic, the Minneapolis-Saint Paul company behind Business Hub OS, where he leads the engineering and release side of the work. While his partner Anton Hocking works out front with clients, Erik builds the systems underneath: the websites, CRM builds, AI agents, and automations that clients run on every day, including the live Franchise Pro site. His own personal AI automations are what pulled Anton into AI in the first place, and the pattern he works from is the one the whole practice runs on: every business needs a system, and the pieces only pay off when they connect. Erik maps how an operation actually runs, builds the systems, voice, and workspace around it, and stays in the rhythm while it takes hold. On the build side he runs local AI models wherever the work allows, part of the firm's position that client data should stay inside the client's own walls. As a two-person team, Anton and Erik design, build, and ship production AI that small businesses depend on. Erik is available for interviews, panels, and podcasts on the building side of applied AI.