From Late Night Side Project to Worldwide Success

When Ovatu began, it wasn’t meant to be a business, just a side-project tinkered with during late nights and baby bottles. But for founders Dave and Ula Hole, that quiet work eventually grew into something remarkable. They told The Bugle News

“It was literally me from 10 pm until 1 am… tapping away at my computer answering queries and building it whilst raising two kids at that time,” recalls Dave.

Fast-forward more than a decade, and Ovatu is now a global booking and automation platform, used by thousands of businesses worldwide, supported by a dedicated team across Australia and the UK.

The roots: simplicity, necessity and a commute

The couple started working on Ovatu around 2010 after moving back from London. What began as “mucking around with ideas” during Dave’s commute, quickly gained traction. They saw that existing booking and business-management tools were often “clunky and expensive,” so they set out to build something simple, intuitive, and accessible.

By 2014, it had become clear: this wasn’t just a side-project anymore, it was their business.

A business built on real people, and real lives.

Even though Ovatu now serves thousands globally, the company still operates from their home in Berry, and the values remain the same. Calm, practical, and focused on “the simple things.”

They prioritise work-life balance: when new team members join, there’s a running joke that the first thing they do is “go out and buy a dog.”

For Dave and Ula it’s a metaphor, a sign they’re doing something right. That spirit of simplicity is baked into Ovatu’s design.

Their aim: to make admin, booking, invoicing, and reminders effortless for small-business owners, especially those who just want to focus on their craft, not fuss over complicated software.

Why it matters now In a world where tech solutions rapidly complicate business, Ovatu is a reminder: sometimes the best ideas begin quietly, at night, with nothing more than a desire to make things easier.

To see how the journey evolved, the early years, the challenges, and the growth, you can read the full article here: 👉 How a Berry couple turned a simple idea into software used worldwide