For years I watched software companies cover up bugs, lie to their users, and stick with inefficient products because profit was easier than the fix. Today, those same companies are selling out their users' data for more of it.
I decided to build something different. I'm asking 30 of you to help me finish.
What would you build into the software for your trade — if anyone actually asked?
30 of you get to answer it for real. Not as a survey. As partners.
ManageBee was never a startup to me. It's a mission: Ease for the people doing the work. Excellence in what they hand their customers. That's what the bee stands for. We're 80% of the way there — the last mile is yours to shape with us.
Three months of partnership — no card, no charge. 33% off everything we ever ship — for life. The thank-you, not the offer.
— Chris
ManageBee · May 1, 2026
Founding Circle fit
I'm looking for builders, not just users.
30 spots, 7 days to fill them. That's the bandwidth we have to bring partners to the table at once. If you want a hand on the wheel while the platform is still soft, this is the round.
You'll fit if…
You want a seat at the table while a service platform is still being shaped — not the version that ships in two years to everyone else.
You run a real service business — home inspection, HVAC, property management, contracting, cleaning — and you have opinions about how the tool should work because you live the work.
You'd rather help build something that fits than keep duct-taping software that almost-fits. The pace of change is the point.
You'll send a 30-second voice memo when something annoys you — and you'd rather have a direct line to the people fixing it than a support portal.
You can spare ~2 hours a week — one Tuesday call, plus tapping Send Feedback when something gets in your way. The dialogue is what makes this work.
You're okay running phased — first two weeks setting up your business in the platform (services, pricing, Chores, templates), then shadow runs in parallel, then you go live with clients. Existing tool stays as backup the whole way.
Skip this round if…
You need a finished product today. ManageBee is ready for partnership now and ready for everyday production by mid-summer — that gap is the whole point.
You don't have the bandwidth to hop on a Tuesday call or send a quick note when something breaks. Without that loop, the partnership doesn't have anything to chew on.
You'd rather have a polished sales experience than a direct line to the founder. We don't have a sales team. You'll be talking to Chris.
You're shopping. The next Founding Circle (whenever that is) might be a better fit if you're not ready to actively co-design right now.
No hard feelings if it's not your moment. We'd rather you join when the partnership actually fits.
What we're asking of you
The honest ask.
~2 hours a week
One Tuesday call, 45 minutes. Plus around 75 minutes of clicking Send Feedback when something gets in your way.
Phased — setup, then shadow, then real
First two weeks: set up your business in the platform like you're starting tomorrow. Then shadow runs in parallel. Then you go live with clients. Your existing tool stays as backup the whole time. See the partnership timeline below.
Half-formed thoughts welcome
Voice memos. Screenshots. A one-line gripe. Anything that helps us see the friction. Polished bug reports not required.
The partnership
10 weeks. Four phases. You keep running your business the whole way.
Every service business starts the same way: set up your services, your pricing, your automations, your templates. Field work comes later. The partnership timeline mirrors that.
Weeks 1–2
Set up your business
Configure ManageBee like you're going to use it tomorrow.
Stand up your service catalog and pricing modifiers. Build out your document templates (or import them). Set up your Chores — our name for automations. Test workspace creation. Wire up online booking. This is heavy-feedback territory: anything that doesn't fit your business yet, send it. If your pattern matches what's already in the platform, fixes turn around in days, not quarters.
Weeks 3–5
Shadow
Run in parallel — no client risk.
"Shadow" means you run the same inspection on both your existing tool AND ManageBee. Your client gets the report from your existing tool — nothing from ManageBee leaves the building yet. You're building muscle memory and finding the friction in real field conditions, with zero risk to the client relationship.
Weeks 6–8
Real, simple
Lower-stakes work first.
First live jobs on ManageBee. Existing tool stays as backup. Lower-stakes work first — you pick which ones feel safe. Send Feedback stays open for anything that surprises you.
Weeks 9–10
Real, full
ManageBee as primary.
ManageBee is your primary tool. Existing tool only if something blocks you. By the end of week 10, you know if this is the platform you want to keep — and we know what to ship next based on what you flagged.
Weeks 1–2
Set up your business
Configure ManageBee like you're going to use it tomorrow.
Stand up your service catalog and pricing modifiers. Build out your document templates (or import them). Set up your Chores — our name for automations. Test workspace creation. Wire up online booking. This is heavy-feedback territory: anything that doesn't fit your business yet, send it. If your pattern matches what's already in the platform, fixes turn around in days, not quarters.
Weeks 3–5
Shadow
Run in parallel — no client risk.
"Shadow" means you run the same inspection on both your existing tool AND ManageBee. Your client gets the report from your existing tool — nothing from ManageBee leaves the building yet. You're building muscle memory and finding the friction in real field conditions, with zero risk to the client relationship.
Weeks 6–8
Real, simple
Lower-stakes work first.
First live jobs on ManageBee. Existing tool stays as backup. Lower-stakes work first — you pick which ones feel safe. Send Feedback stays open for anything that surprises you.
Weeks 9–10
Real, full
ManageBee as primary.
ManageBee is your primary tool. Existing tool only if something blocks you. By the end of week 10, you know if this is the platform you want to keep — and we know what to ship next based on what you flagged.
Your typical week
Tuesday 12:30 PM ET — 45-minute group call. Wednesday morning — digest hits your inbox with what shipped. Sometime that week — you click Send Feedback when something gets in your way. That's it.
The centerpiece benefit
Bring me what you need.
I'll look at what we have, where we're going, and figure out how to build it so it works across every industry on the platform — not just yours. Most things I can find a way to make happen. The ones I can't, I'll tell you why, directly.
When you tell me what you need:
I evaluate it against what's already built and where we're heading.
I figure out how to make it serve every industry we support — not just yours.
I tell you honestly what's possible, what isn't, and what the timing looks like.
What you'll have access to
Where the platform stands today.
No traffic-light theater. Four honest categories — what works, what's testing, what's landing, what we're shaping with you.
Working today
Functional today. How smooth it feels depends on what you're coming from — where it doesn't fit your business yet, that's exactly what we want to hear.
- Calendar + scheduling
- Contacts, workspaces, custom fields
- Document builder + 300+ templatesStandard layouts solid. Complex/non-standard layouts may need an extra pass.
+9 more
Ready for testing now
Real implementations with rough edges. Your input is exactly what closes the gaps.
- Spectora template importerJSON / HTML / ZIP detection shipped. Most exports come through clean; edge-case templates get a concierge import — your edge case becomes part of the importer for everyone after.
- HomeGauge template importerHTML / ZIP detection shipped. Coverage is narrower than Spectora's; many templates need concierge import. Send yours.
- Home Inspector Pro .tpz importerParser ships with sample-template fixtures; works for the common shapes.
+5 more
Landing during your partnership
On the way during the 10 weeks. Dates we expect to hit, not promises we'll stake reputations on.
- Custom phone numbers + 2-way SMSTelnyx infrastructure shipped (10DLC + toll-free + numbers). Number-provisioning flow lands Week 1; 10DLC registration carries the usual carrier-side delays.
- ManageBee Payments — processor swap-inWeeks 2–4. Final processor selected and integrated. Live for founding members who opt in.
- Native mobile parity pushClosing the 100+ high-priority gaps through May. Specific gaps you hit get fast-tracked.
+2 more
Looking for founding members to shape
Co-designed with founding members. Bring it; we'll design it together.
- HVAC service-record templatesCo-designed with an HVAC founding member.
- Property-management move-in/move-outCo-designed with a property manager.
- Other industries members bring usSame offer — bring it, we design it together.
Honest disclosure
What's still rough.
Here's what to expect during your partnership:
Some buttons might not do anything yet. They're placeholders for features we haven't shipped. We don't always know which ones until someone clicks. When you find one, hit Send Feedback — those are exactly the gaps we need to know about.
Hivewell occasionally produces results that need review. It's AI. Don't trust it blindly. Tell us when it gets something wrong — that's how we tighten it.
Some workflows have rough edges. A click that should be smooth might take an extra step. A loading state might be longer than it should. Send Feedback is your friend.
Mobile is catching up to web. If something works on web but not your phone, that's a known gap closing through May. Tell us specifically what blocked you in the field.
Edge cases will hit you. Finding them is the work. We've never claimed otherwise.
Why we call it what we call it
Six pieces of language that signal what kind of platform this is.
Workspace
Others call it: Project, site, job
Holds anything tied to a customer engagement — inspections, maintenance jobs, recurring services. The same workspace can hold a 3-year property-management relationship or a 1-day inspection. More flexible than "job" because the platform doesn't assume the shape.
Document
Others call it: Report
Reports + quotes + proposals + service records + future output types — the same flexible substrate. Quotes and proposals are coming directly into the document system or a version of it.
Element
Others call it: Comment / question / field
A title + a function (table, chart, full-width media, narrative, signature, calculation). Other software locks you into "comment with picture." Elements are building blocks. Hivewell speaks both dialects — say "comment" and it knows what you mean.
Service Unit
Others call it: Job, task, work item
The thing you actually deliver. An inspection, a repair, a maintenance visit, a cleaning. Generic enough that an HVAC tech and a home inspector both fit.
Custom Field
Others call it: Inspection field, form field
Any structured piece of data you define on top of the platform. Works for anything.
Chores
Others call it: Automations, workflows, rules
Things that run on your behalf in the background — a booking confirmation when someone schedules, a follow-up task three days after delivery, a reminder when a recurring service is due. The mechanism is automation; the framing is having something look after the rhythm of your business so you don't have to.
Frequently asked
The questions you'd ask over coffee.
Each one has a quick answer plus a longer one in the founder's voice when you want it.
The deal
· 11 questionsThe product
· 13 questionsThe Circle
· 8 questionsStill have a question? Ask the founder directly →
Step into the Circle
Reserve your founding spot.
The window is open through May 8, 11:59 PM ET. Sign up creates your account — your founding-member status flips automatically the moment you're in.
What happens next: You sign up at the standard onboarding page. Because you're signing up during the Founding Circle window, you automatically get founding-member status — three months of partnership (no card, no charge), then 33% off everything we ship after, for life. Welcome email and Tuesday call invite hit your inbox once you've verified your email.
No credit card. No spam. The deal is the deal — see the FAQ above for the full picture.
Read Our Promise — what we'll do, what we won't, what you keep when you leave.