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Small Fish In A Big Pond
How does the CEO of a New Zealand-based creative design agency become a provider of project management software? Ask Julian Stone, director of ProActive Software Ltd. Stone created a project management tool for his Palm Pilot five years ago and shortly thereafter began marketing it internationally. But it’s tough for a small firm to build credibility, cater to would-be customers and find its niche in a universe dominated by much larger stars.
Julian Stone was frustrated. His creative design firm was growing, taking on new projects continuously and he didn’t have a way to keep track his work. Stone, a New Zealand native based in Christchurch, brought his creativity to the problem and wound up creating a project-, task- and time-management system for his Palm Pilot.
Stone’s solution worked so well that his team started asking if they could use it, too. He enlisted the help of a software developer friend, Alan Barlow, to expand the solution and put it on the Internet where it could be shared. When it worked for Stone’s team, friends and colleagues started asking if they could purchase it for their companies.
And thus, Stone’s small business was born. Barlow became co-director of ProActive Software, the company he and Stone founded to commercialize ProWorkflow, his project management software tool. Within the company’s first month of operation, …
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