Our story
Our mission in building OpenCommunity
A note from the founders
The two of us first crossed paths as coworkers at a highly profitable software startup in Vancouver, years ago. Most of our careers had already been spent in fast-paced startups: building and selling productivity software for developers and big corporations, and driving AI technology in document management, cybersecurity, and AI operations.
Along the way, we kept noticing the same thing: great software doesn't just help people do their work better, it's also become easier to build than ever before. Yet startups and big tech alike will always price their best products at premium tiers.
That's an understandable strategy to satisfy investors, but it keeps the most useful innovations out of reach for nonprofits, whose cause isn't figuring out cumbersome or limited base tiers of software, but making a positive impact in their communities.
We know what great software can do for companies with big budgets, and we want to bring that same caliber to nonprofits and community organizations, so they can spend less time in front of a screen and more time on the people they serve.
That's what we set out to do with OpenCommunity, which is why we're a fully bootstrapped and independent company.
Our mission is to be the change we want to see.
Julian Ertelt
Co-founder
Andrey Safonov
Co-founder
What moved us
Great software for a specific field usually ends up only in the hands of companies with big budgets, because that's where the big money is for the investors behind those companies.
We wanted to do something different: We've seen the important work community organizations do, and since we knew how to build something powerful, we are bootstrapped OpenCommunity without pressure from investors so we can offer the best experience for the nonprofits and small teams who need it most.
What OpenCommunity means to us
OpenCommunity is our take at bringing purpose-built, cutting-edge software and automation to organizations that usually wouldn't get access to such a value proposition at a realistic price point.
We seek to liberate nonprofit organizations from the budget-driven and admin-heavy workarounds that eat into people's time, so staff can keep focusing on the work that actually matters to their communities.
Ready to make your day-to-day easier?
Let's chat and we'll share how OpenCommunity helped organizations like yours free up time for the work that really matters.