Entrepreneur and Carleton student Robert Poole knows that some of the smallest moments make the greatest difference.
For the founder of Freebird Connect, that small moment was a simple wine and cheese event where he was introduced to Carleton’s technology innovation management (TIM) program — the program that would help him lead his business to success.
Poole says he wasn’t new to entrepreneurship when he set out to find a new business idea after selling software for eight years. Freebird Connect is actually his fourth business.
“I always dabbled in business,” says Poole, describing himself as a “serial entrepreneur.”
Before coming to Carleton, Poole knew he wanted to start out on a new venture, but he says he realized he needed help finding a business plan.
In January 2010, Poole enrolled in Carleton’s TIM program because he says he saw the program as a great opportunity to create a new business model.
Freebird Connect allows cities and municipalities to measure their economic growth, and also gives citizens a place to discuss possible solutions to local problems, according to Poole.
It’s a platform that brings all of a municipality’s relevant information together in one place, says Denes Bartakovich, co-founder of Freebird Connect.
“[It] can help municipalities to attract business investment, effectively communicate and collaborate around plans and opportunities, benchmark performance against other municipalities and generally provide a high degree of transparency for citizens,” Bartakovich said in an email.
Freebird Connect is already gaining some attention. Its first customer is the City of Ottawa, and other municipalities are expressing interest in trying it out, Poole says.
Poole says the success of Freebird Connect is directly associated with Carleton’s TIM program. Being a student of Carleton’s TIM program, Poole was able to apply for funding from the Ottawa Young Entrepreneurs Program.
“Freebird would not exist without TIM. It’s clear,” Poole says. “Freebird is in every way a product of the TIM program.”
And with the data analysis tools provided by Freebird Connect, Poole says his latest business will be “brilliant and massive.”
He hopes that word of mouth and the company’s track record with municipalities will carry the business to further success.
As with any business, there will be challenges along the way. But Poole believes he will be ready to face them.
“If it doesn’t work, we’ll just tweak it until it does.”
