Our History
Foxsoft Ltd was founded in 1997 by Hugh Braithwaite, a database programmer with over 30 years of experience. He had become disillusioned with the philosophies of the development houses he had worked for and wanted to offer clients better value from bespoke development. Since then, Foxsoft Ltd has bloomed into a capable and established developer of custom web applications offering a range of services.
Our Team
Foxsoft today is a team of technologists and software engineers. We bring holistic, long-term, systems-oriented thinking to building and rescuing applications.
We look for the best solutions within the budget, and when we don’t see a way to make the project a win for the client, we don’t take it on. We’d instead give you frank but friendly pushback than sabotage the relationship by telling you what you want to hear.
Despite our 20+ years of experience, you won’t find that we’re close-minded know-it-alls. Quite the opposite. We make mistakes. We own them. We set things to rights. And considering our earliest clients are still with us, our mix of expertise, open-mindedness, and honesty must be working. With us, you’ll be confident in the roadmap, timeframe, and obvious value.
Whether your project is a new build or a “rescue,” you get an up-to-date, reliable software product. You have full control of software that your end users can use to get their jobs done effectively. And we’ll handle the support, maintenance, and updates too. We get you to where you should be and keep you there.
Our Mission and Core Values
Our mission is to build the right software products with a support-and-maintenance-first philosophy and to win appreciation from clients by delivering extraordinary value and doing the right things.
This idea can be applied to our own work as much as it applies to our clients. We want to improve our clients’ lives by applying technology to work harder for their businesses. If we can make our clients’ lives just a bit brighter every day, we can say we have done our job well, whether helping the boss get home a little earlier or becoming a more profitable enterprise by removing the day-to-day friction for employees.
To guide us in our mission, we live by a set of shared values that embody and define the spirit and culture of Foxsoft. As with everything we do at Foxsoft, this list of values is a continual work in progress.
Treat others how they prefer
At Foxsoft, the Platinum Rule guides us personally and professionally. It means mutual respect and trustworthiness.
We value differences in personality and culture. Healthy tension and a diversity of viewpoints enable us to build better software. We treat team members, clients, partners, suppliers, and competitors how they want to be treated.
Earn Trust
We draw inspiration from David Maister’s The Trusted Advisor (and the “trust equation”) and Daniel Coyle’s The Culture Code.
Trust is earned by being credible, reliable and proactive. We keep promises that we make to each other and our clients. Instead of focusing on ourselves and our needs, we focus on our client’s needs, especially their long-term success.
Do what needs to be done
This company was built on the foundation of doing whatever it takes to get the job done well, and we aim to exceed our client’s expectations. We are a team who strives to be effective and deliver.
Become 1% better every day
We can always improve. We have a growth mindset and take the initiative to improve ourselves, our clients, our company, and our community.
Embrace the inspectors
We drew inspiration from Turn This Ship Around! by L. David Marquet. Clients (aka, the inspectors) aren’t the enemy. They’re collaborators. They turn to us because we’re the technical experts, but we rely on their domain expertise.
We welcome strong opinions while holding our own strong opinions loosely. “Loosely” means staying open-minded and truly considering other viewpoints.
Have fun
We’re serious about our work but don’t take ourselves too seriously. If we’re not enjoying what we’re doing, what’s the point? So we crack jokes and enjoy the journey
We approach clients and projects with an air of playfulness without sacrificing quality or professionalism. The key to a successful, happy life is finding a vocation you enjoy—one that excites you and gets you out of bed in the morning.