Founder Focus: David Hunegnaw of AboutOurWork

Since hiVelocity first met David Hunegnaw earlier this year, he's been on the move advancing his company AboutOurWork, which takes the footwork out of bringing small businesses together. We caught up with Hunegnaw to see how things have been going.
 
David Hunegnaw felt a little lonely when he first launched AboutOurWork. The Central Ohio entrepreneurial scene was still finding its bearings; and an established assistance network for startups wasn’t quite fleshed out. Today, it’s a different story.
 
“We’ve got 10X, Founders Factory and TechColumbus,” says the AboutOurWork founder. “There are all these great organizations that focus on servings startups and the startup community. There’s a lot of great momentum and things happening here in Columbus.”
 
Hunegnaw is relishing central Ohio's vibrant entrepreneurial scene. After launching his idea of developing a small business network designed to automatically identify business-to-business opportunities, he’s seen startups flourish in the region. “The startup community is robust,” he says. “There’s venture capital out there looking for great opportunities and great ideas. I think it’s a pretty exciting time.”
 
Though happy to sing the praises of Columbus’ growing startup community, Hunegnaw is equally excited to share the growth of his own company.
 
“Coincidentally, today we hit 100,000 users.” These users represent a myriad of companies across the country with different needs and attributes looking to connect with industry brethren and expand their respective opportunities.
 
Hunegnaw offers the example of a wedding photographer in Cleveland. “You’re always on the lookout for partnerships with wedding decorators,” he offers. Before AboutOurWork, you would have to attend industry events to exchange business cards and reach out to chambers of commerce. With AboutOurWork, the hypothetical wedding photographer can create a profile and let their “recommendation engine” do the work, saving the entrepreneur countless hours. “Our systems know you’re in the wedding industry in Cleveland, so we’re automatically going to introduce you to other wedding professionals in the Cleveland market.”
 
Entrepreneurs interested in AboutOurWork can easily imagine similar scenarios working in their respective industries.
 
“One of the reasons we say we’re the 'eHarmony' for small business is because it’s very similar,” says Hunegnaw. “You set up your profile, say what you’re looking for and you’re connected.”
 
Looking ahead, Hunegnaw has set an ambitious goal for his company: a half a million users by the end of the year with a long-term goal of connecting companies across the globe.
 
“We really want to get to a place where we can connect people around the country and around the world." he says. "And through those insights, get a better understanding of how the community is connected.”
 
 Such an endeavor, Hunegnaw believes, is invaluable.
 
“Think about the value of that data. Not just for us, but the small businesses that are part of our community.”