We’re Samantha and Andrea, the founders of Harlow. In 2014, we met at Campaign Monitor, where we both worked in marketing. Andrea ultimately became the CMO and Samantha ran marketing for the self-service business. We both learned and grew a ton there, and eventually reached a place where we wanted more freedom and flexibility. So in 2018, we left Campaign Monitor to found a boutique consulting business (which is just our fancy way of saying we decided to freelance).

At our new company, Interimly, we experienced the ups and downs of freelancing first-hand. On top of supporting our clients, we were running a small business, and there’s a whole lot of (usually unpaid) work that goes into that: following up with prospects, creating proposals, chasing down invoices, and on and on.

Even though we had a strong handle on the business and were growing our client base, the day-to-day management definitely wasn’t streamlined. We were watching other freelancers struggle and juggle the same responsibilities. All of us were attempting to manage complex workflows using a mishmash of different software and tools. The more we talked to our peers, the clearer our shared challenges became.

In early 2021, we got serious about solving some of these issues. After talking to a number of our freelancing friends, it became clear that there really wasn’t a fan favorite tool or solution out there specifically for the B2B freelancer. We have to navigate corporate HR departments, advocate for reasonable payment terms (Net 45 is NOT reasonable!), and sometimes work with multiple internal stakeholders rather than a single human.

And that’s why we started Harlow. We want to give freelancers like us an all-encompassing tool that would make managing their businesses a cinch, so they wouldn’t have to open ten browser tabs to run their business. We want to help freelancers manage and organize their day-to-day operations, get a full view into their clients, and get paid for the work they do – all in one centralized hub.

The more we talked through our vision, the more we recognized the opportunity to not only help freelancers upgrade their lives through the software they use, but also give them the resources they need to run their business—and by deepening our participation in this sprawling community—we could help magnify and advocate for our freelance pals.

We don’t just want to make software. We want to help freelancers transform their work lives. We want to help them find the pleasure and flow that can seem so unattainable when you’re managing everything from A to Z. And, we want to support them in finding and building supportive connections. (It can be lonely out there.)

We were lucky enough to have a strong network of fierce female freelancers to tap into for advice when we built Interimly, but not many people have that when they’re first starting out. So while we build this amazing software to help freelancers manage their day-to-day and get paid, we also want to create a supportive space for freelancers to grow—a resource for them to find answers, connect over common challenges, and experience solidarity.

We’re just beginning our journey with Harlow, but it’s already been so rewarding. We’re grateful to have lots of people behind us, supporting us in building this company. In September, we closed our first funding round of $1.15M to help us do just that. It was an incredible moment of celebration and affirmation for the months of focus we’ve put into this venture. This investment will help us turn our vision into a very real solution that will help so many amazing freelancers do better work and live happier lives.

Thanks for joining us on this wild ride. Be sure to join our newsletter and stay up to date on all things Harlow.