I've spent a considerable amount of time over the past few years thinking about the kind of business I'd like to build, and more recently, what opportunities might emerge as technology continues to develop.
It's a particularly interesting time to be working in software. Artificial intelligence is progressing at an extraordinary pace, and although I don't pretend to know exactly where things are heading, I have a strong feeling that the way businesses operate and interact with technology is going to change quite substantially, and in so many ways already has.
That's part of what has brought me back to an idea I've explored in different forms over the years, now called Omvona.
What I'm building
The ambition behind Omvona is to build a new kind of business operating system.
Today, even relatively small businesses depend on a growing collection of applications to manage their customers, finances, marketing, communications, operations and everything else involved in running a company.
Many of those applications are excellent individually, but they don't always work particularly well together. Information becomes fragmented, processes become unnecessarily complicated, and people spend far too much time managing the software that's supposed to make their work easier.
I want to explore whether there's a fundamentally better way of doing things.
The long-term vision for Omvona is a single, thoughtfully designed environment that brings the different parts of a business together. Something that combines the capabilities of traditional business software with the possibilities emerging through artificial intelligence, while remaining simple, intuitive and genuinely enjoyable to use.
There's obviously an enormous amount of work involved in attempting something like this, and I don't expect to have all the answers from the outset.
The ambition is clear, but the exact shape of the product will evolve as I build, experiment and learn.
Why I'm writing this blog
I've decided to document the development of Omvona publicly, starting from these very early stages.
My intention is to publish a short update every day, covering the progress I've made on the application, what I've been working on, the decisions I've taken and any problems I've encountered along the way.
Some days that might mean discussing a new feature or a design decision. Other days it might be something more technical, or simply an idea I've been exploring that could influence where the product goes next.
I also want to be open about the things that don't work. There will inevitably be mistakes, changes of direction and plenty of challenges, particularly with a project of this scale.
Rather than only documenting the successes, I'd like this blog to become an honest record of what building Omvona actually looks like.
Part of the motivation is to give myself a reason to reflect on the work each day, but I also think it could be interesting to look back on in a few years, wherever the company ends up.
Where things stand
Right now, Omvona is in the earliest stages of development.
The initial technical foundations are being established, the product vision is taking shape, and there's a long list of things still to work through.
I'm approaching the project without any particular desire to rush towards a launch date. I want to enjoy the process of building, take the time to make good decisions and gradually develop something that people might genuinely find valuable.
I don't know exactly where Omvona will be in a year, let alone five.
But I have an idea I believe is worth pursuing, the tools to begin exploring it, and the motivation to give it another go.
This blog is where I'll document what happens next.