Our Story So Far.
Turning the adventurous idea of a brand new Housing System that's true cloud, web based, server-less, multi tenanted, regularly updated, API enabled and desirable to integrate to, into a 7 figure revenue with a healthy profit, zero debt, no investors and just 3 owner operating shareholders - In just 3 years, what could go wrong?
Creating Rubixx Solutions Limited.
Rubixx was formed in early 2016 by 2 of our Founders, Simon and Adam as a portal and bolt on system provider. Both founders had decades of experience in housing IT systems and both went to Sheffield Hallam to study Software Engineering. Rubixx worked to develop products that filled functional gaps in legacy systems, particularly Open Housing and Open Accounts.
As we progressed and developed more advanced finance system bolt ons we worked more and more with Michelle, the third of our ultimate founders who was (arguably still is) one of if not the UK’s leading authority on Open Accounts setup. As our paths crossed more and more, it just made natural sense to merge the businesses together and work more closely. Thus the OG Rubixx was closed, and Rubixx Solutions Limited was created with the 3 founders who remain to this day the 3 founding directors and are in day to day control of the business.
Was it the right time to be doing something so big?
As we expanded our bolt ons we continued to hit wall after wall of integration barriers. We decided there must be a better way. We started planning a new housing system. One that was web based, true cloud, serverless, multi tenanted, regularly updated, API enabled and keen to integrated. All the things we wanted the existing systems to be. 2 weeks after starting the first line of code….. covid hit.
At this point we had to think, “is this the right time to be doing something so big?” We were an Open Accounts reseller with a successful array of bolt on portals and warehouses for various legacy systems. We made good money and this housing system was a massive investment of time and money. The worlds uncertainty at the start of a global pandemic is often forgotten for the subsequent experiences, but right at the start, we just knew so little.
Gratitude to our forward thinking early adopters.
The quiet business landscape of Covid gave us a remote but focused time to work together on it. We got the prototype ready then finished it to a minimum viable product. We announced the launch at an online forum, and promoted hard.
We secured early clients in our first year who without doubt are the most forward thinking and visionary companies in the sector. They saw the vision we saw and helped us start our real journey. To this day we remain grateful to those early adopters.
We grew and filled out the missing functions in the platform stabilising and fleshing out both the software and our processes, not without growing pains at the time. We knew we had a hit of a product on our hands and it would become mainstream over time.
Keeping the lights on.
We were then booted out of the reseller program of Open Accounts. We later found out why and who had forced that particular issue at the time.This was potentially devastating for us as a business. Overnight this wiped off most of our revenue from the business. We suspect it was designed to destroy us as a business, and it would have worked too, if it wasn’t for the meddling kids… no we mean meddling directors. Our founders worked hard to make sure that we always kept the lights on and the bills paid without accruing big debts and having to take investment or sell shares.
The lesson we learned there was to never outsource or never offshore. That’s why all our software is all our own, written by hand in our Stafford HQ by directly employed staff. It’s also why we make sure we point this out about our competitors, and enjoy it just a little bit more when we take clients from the competitor that forced our exit from Open Accounts.
Helping others build the future of their sectors.
It also helped us decide that the worlds best housing platform would need the worlds best accounts platform. Michelle had 30 years of experience of accounts systems, so who better to lead the design and build?
Fast forward to now, we have housing and accounts all well established and live with tens of thousands of properties managed on the platform which we wholly own. We also have support planning and commercial clients and are moving. We turn a 7 figure revenue and a healthy profit with no debt, no investors and the only shareholders are the 3 owner operators.
We employ locally, remain open to integration partners and include APIs in our platform to support new and emerging technologies trying to break into the sector. We have a thriving community of users who work with us to build the future of their sector.
And that's all she wrote.