Friend and fellow Irregular Dennis Howlett is a true Renaissance man. I couldn't imagine Dennis doing just one thing at a time, his mind works best when it's thinking about a lot of different ideas simultaneously. His latest passion project involves an intriguing new startup called FreeAgent Central.
From the company FAQ:
FreeAgent is an online money management tool intended for small, UK-based service businesses of 1-3 employees. This will include most kinds of freelancers, contractors and consultants. Whether you are just getting started, or are already in business as a sole trader or limited company, VAT registered or not, FreeAgent can save you time. FreeAgent will probably not be for you if you tend to sell lots of products rather than services, hold materials and stock, or handle cash as part of your business.
FreeAgent Central is going to provide a good litmus test for many of the ideas Dennis and we Enterprise Irregulars espouse:
- Bringing better functional solutions to the long tail -- FA Central is, at least initially, targeting the very smallest of companies (1-3 employees), yet is looking to leverage web services and an internet delivery model to provide a level of functional parity that wasn't available to them previously
- Bootstrapping to viability -- Dennis and his partners are bootstrapping to launch, again something that would've been impossible prior to the days of internet-based services delivery
- Software-as-a-service -- Web-based, subscription-pricing, iterative development release cycles, mobility computing
If I've one reservation in the early going it's the fact that I'm not FreeAgent's target audience, so my utility as a beta user has been limited. But as Charlie says, I think it's great that the FreeAgent team are so focused out of the chute. There's plenty of time to be more things to more people, for now cultivate a loyal set of early adopters and prove out the use case.
If there are any accountants, particularly in the UK, who would like to participate in the beta, please do so with my highest recommendation. All that I ask is you provide honest and detailed feedback to Dennis and his partners; they won't take your efforts for granted.
Best of luck Dennis, Ed, Olly and Roan.
dennis howlett enterprise irregulars freeagent central innovation woodrow
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