By Director Robin Bennett (& AI)
October 2026
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| Some of the memories from our Celebration Week |
Editor’s Note: Twenty years ago, code was written line by line in Microsoft Access and Visual Basic 6. Today, we are deep into the era of agentic AI. It felt only fitting that this 20th-anniversary retrospective was drafted collaboratively by Robin and Start Software’s AI assistant, looking back across two decades of software, friendships, and global adventures.
On 20 September 2006, Start Software officially came into being. That's 20 years ago. People often say "I can't believe it is that long ago" when reflecting on a milestone like this, but actually it does feel like two decades have passed! The difference in our working methods then and the world of software development now is extraordinary.
To mark our big birthday, we've just had a week of celebrations with colleagues travelling from Australia, Indonesia & Kosovo to the UK to meet, eat and talk about our history and our future. The week's events included axe throwing (really), a two-day trip to Amsterdam for World Summit AI, and a visit to Anfield to watch Liverpool play Man City. What a week.
We don't take any of our success or longevity for granted. This is a family business, and all colleagues are treated like family. We are grateful for every client who has chosen to spend money with us, and for all of the partnerships we've built and adventures we've had along the way. Our new software platform (which will replace Alpha Tracker - do ask for a demo!) has its first trial users, and we have plans to restructure the business and build again to ensure we are here for our wonderful customers in 2036, 2046 and beyond.
Thanks again from everyone at Start Software.
Our Story
We began through an amicable split from our sister company Start Technology when I decided to start a dedicated software company and leave the hardware & networking side in the capable hands of James Guestford and Ian Groves. Start Technology has been transformed into the absolute powerhouse that is now Start Tech (massive congrats, Ian & team). When we branched out on our own, we set up camp in Lasyard House in Bridgnorth, Shropshire with a simple mission: build reliable, bespoke software that genuinely solves operational headaches for businesses.
I'd been coding professionally since I'd been a teenager (with even a brief spell on TV explaining how the first home computers worked!). Back then, everything ran locally on Windows desktops. We built bespoke systems for logistics, manufacturing, and environmental consultancies, including our desktop "Tracker" software for asbestos surveyors. We were lucky to form partnerships with brilliant clients who believed in us from day one, including many clients who still use our services today, 20 years later.
The Cloud Leap: Alpha Tracker & Going Global
By 2011, the writing was on the wall: the world was moving to the web and mobile devices. We took a bold leap, rebuilding our core platform on Alpha Anywhere to create Alpha Tracker.
Surveyors could suddenly ditch the paper clipboards, capture data on tablets on site, and produce 200-page UKAS-accredited reports before they had even driven home.
(somewhere between Dubai and the UK)
Alpha Tracker took us around the world. We welcomed Judy Key in Adelaide to lead our Australian and New Zealand operations, formed business partnerships in North America, and proved that a software house rooted in Shropshire could support critical operations on every continent — even at 39,000 feet on an Emirates flight with in-flight Wi-Fi!
Our links with Alpha Software, the creators of Alpha Anywhere, took us to the States, introduced us to businesses around the globe, and to some amazing people including the Rabins brothers and the inventor of the spreadsheet and coding legend, Dan Bricklin.
OERCA, Clive Ponder & The CTT Family
Software is really about the people you build it with and the problems you solve together.
Through our partnership with Alpha Software users Mark and Todd in the US, we re-wrote OERCA — specialized animal record management and zoological welfare software now used in world-leading aquariums, marine parks, and wildlife centres across the globe.
In May 2020, our story took another big step forward when business partners Clive Ponder and Bob Massey invested in Start Software, bringing us even closer to the CTT Group family. Clive was a force of nature - an entrepreneur with boundless energy, warmth, and ambition - and had been a business partner and friend of mine for decades. We lost Clive late in 2024, but his vision and generosity continue to inspire us every single day as we work alongside Andrew Houston, Bob and the wider CTT team.
Celebration Week: 10 Days, 5 Countries, 1 Family
To mark our 20th birthday, we decided to do something truly special. Between 3 and 13 October 2026, we brought our global team together in the UK and the Netherlands:
- Falah, Bonggo, and Ferry flew in from Indonesia.
- Fatbardh (and his wife Fortesa) travelled from Kosovo.
- Judy and family joined us from Adelaide, Australia.
- CTT's Alex and family member Connor joined us in the Netherlands.
We spent days working together in our Telford e-Innovation Centre office, threw axes in Shrewsbury (congrats Jamie!), celebrated together over meals, and boarded the Eurostar and EasyJet for Amsterdam.
Nine of us attended World Summit AI 2026 at the Taets Art and Event Park — immersing ourselves in the very latest frontier models, autonomous agents, and AI engineering that are already shaping the next generation of our software.
To round off an unforgettable 10 days, 12 of us headed to Anfield on Sunday to watch Liverpool take on Manchester City from the Brodies Lounge, before one final late-night table football tournament at the Knowsley Inn.
Looking Forward to the Next 20 Years
From a desktop MS Access database in Bridgnorth in 2006 to cloud platforms running across Australia, New Zealand, and the US, and now to full-stack, AI-driven applications built in weeks rather than years - technology changes beyond recognition.
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| Our 2026 offices at the e-Innovation Centre |
What hasn't changed is the ethos: look after your clients, invest in your team, stay curious, and enjoy the ride.
Thank you to every client, colleague, partner, family member, and friend who has been part of our first 20 years. Here’s to the next chapter!
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