Joe Simmons
Case Study | RemoteOne
The ultimate tool for remote freelancers
Introduction
In 2018, I co-founded a time tracking tool inspired by my own remote working experience.
My co-founder and I came up with the idea for RemoteOne while remote working in Bali, Indonesia. As freelancers, we found there weren’t any good tools to help manage long-distance relationships with clients. Either they were too expensive, or didn’t have the features we wanted. So we set out to build a tool that we would use ourselves.
The challenge
A competitive market.
The challenge was creating something that could cut through the noise. The ‘time tracking’ market is competitive. We needed new differentiators and a strong marketing strategy to build a successful business.
The solution
Branding and USPs.
The core of the product came from its brand and positioning. I wanted to stay true to our experience and build a tool for people who work and travel. To do this we identified the features and benefits that would meet our own needs as remote freelancers. The suite of tools we came up with included easy currency conversion, time-difference tracking, easy mobile access and automated invoicing.
Launch and testing.
We built the tool and marketing materials and launched on Product Hunt, winning our first customers. Then we focused on collecting feedback from our target niche through our Slack channel. This ongoing research from our users’ experience helped us to refine the product and to develop new features.
Main USP
Client-facing dashboard.
After testing our own assumptions with real users, we created a real-time project dashboard to allow our users’ clients to track a project’s progress, removing the need for lots of email updates and slack conversations. This also provides clarity and helps to build a more trusting and transparent relationship with clients.
The results
Selling the business.
Our client base was growing but our situation changed. Now back in the UK, I was busy with my full-time job and my co-founder with his other startup, so we accepted an offer to buy the business. We moved on motivated by our experience of building, growing and selling our first business.
