About us
Why we created Aurus
Aurus exists because we believe AI is the future — and that small firms deserve it as much as anyone.
AI is incredibly powerful, but it comes with a real cost: most AI tools work by processing your data in the cloud. That’s a problem when your files are confidential.
The largest firms have spent enormous sums building private AI systems — the advantage of AI without giving up their data. Smaller firms can’t. We created Aurus to close that gap: a private, in-office AI system built for small firms.
The team
Meet our team
Andrew Johnston
Co-founder & Head of Customer Relations
I co-founded Aurus because I’ve seen the benefits and drawbacks of AI — the untapped efficiency it unlocks, and how damaging it can be when implemented without care. I studied Business at Biola University, LA and Wheaton College, IL. I spent six years running my own marketing business for clients including CPX Pickleball and The Hamilton Collection, and worked with brands like Progressive Insurance, Incogni, and Lew Oliver. I adopted AI tools early to dramatically increase productivity and learned how vital guardrails are to this technology. Watching law firms face that exact tension, with far higher stakes than a marketing campaign, is what inspired me to start Aurus.
Zeke Thelen
Co-founder & Lead Engineer
I co-founded Aurus to help bring private, custom AI systems to small law firms. I spent three years at a President’s Club State Farm agency (top 100 in the country), where I built AI-driven tools and a lead-generation system that helped find over 2 million extra leads for the agency. I designed and built the system Aurus runs on, and am currently studying Finance at the University of Tampa.
See what private AI can do for your firm.