Arkansas Alums Team up to Offer Affordable Software Solutions

Ability LLC

Principals: Scott Curnel and Don West

Address: 585 Willoughby, Fayetteville

Phone: 479-521-7527

E-mail: [email protected]

Hours: By appointment

Startup date: January 2010

When investigating the feasibility of an enterprise resource planning software company, Don West made a presentation to an industry heavyweight, “just to see if we got laughed out of the room, or if there was interest.”

“And there was interest,” West said.

Their collective confidence boosted, the Ability LLC team moved forward. The company develops and tailors software designed to help manufacturers in practically every area of operations, from accounting and scheduling to project planning and data analysis.

“We’re easy to use and affordable, and that’s our main distinction,” West said.

Ability targets small- and mid-sized businesses, and Scott Curnel said one of the advantages it offers over larger competitors is that Ability is “a developer, not a re-seller.”

Ability also boasts a response and action time ranging from weeks to 90 days, while it claims larger companies often take months or even years. And while Curnel said larger companies often offer solutions at a price ranging from $500,000 to $1.5 million, Ability provides better functinality “at a fraction of that cost.”

All but one of Ability’s 10-person staff are graduates of the University of Arkansas, and in-state clients include Whirlpool’s Fort Smith facility. Now the idea is to further expand Ability’s reach from coast to coast.

Simple Spaces LLC

Owner: Jenna Ruhe and Laurie Malloy

Address: 2784 N. Brookbury Crossing, Fayetteville

Phone: 479-301-6505

E-mail: [email protected]

Hours: By appointment

Website: www.simplespaces.us

Startup date: October 2010

Tidying other people’s messes doesn’t bother Laurie Malloy or Jenna Ruhe, the mother-daughter team that is Simple Spaces LLC.

“Keeping things organized, keeping them simple, makes people’s lives easier,” Ruhe said. “The end results outweigh any challenges along the way.”

Accredited by the National Association of Professional Organizers and National Association of Senior Move Managers, Simple Spaces work in three basic areas: professional organizing, home staging, and relocation. Fees range from $160 (two hours) to $2,800 (five full days) for organizing and relocation services, while home staging runs about the same with a $100 assessment charge.

Ruhe and Malloy perform the assessment by taking digital photos, compiling an inventory list and making recommendations. The idea is to “one down the personal touches so that the attention is drawn to the home, not the stuff in the home,” Ruhe said.

“As far as being comprehensive, we don’t really feel like there’s much out there like what we do.”