About Us

Cottage Software, LLC takes its name from the "cottage industry" economic model. Centuries ago in the U.S. and Western Europe, many a country cottage contained a spinning wheel, a weaving loom, or a similar apparatus that enabled a household to create a finished or semi-finished good. The manufacturer often "farmed out" work to the cottage household in units known as "piecework." Those living in the cottage enjoyed an independent existence, and benefitted from the extra income. The manufacturer was not required to maintain a full-time workforce, and benefitted from a reliable source of finished and semi-finished goods.

The industrial revolution came about when machines powered by steam produced goods more rapidly and reliably than the individual cottage households. This lowered the price of the finished product, driving up demand. Large numbers of workers were needed for the factories that housed the steam-powered machines, but their skills were not. Many people abandoned the country for life as full-time employees in the big city. The era of the cottage industry was ended.

The confluence of the personal computer and the internet in the 1990's caused business strategists to describe what they called a "Virtual Corporation". They theorized that persons in faraway places, connected via the Internet and working in a setting of their own choosing, could come together for a single project. At the end of that project, these people and then disperse to join another virtual corporation, working with entirely different people. The cottage industry was reborn.

Cottage Software was formed in 2001 to develop consumer software destined for a retail shelf. Employees and independent contractors were in geographically distant areas, but could work cooperatively over the internet to create and market software products. With the collapse of the technology sector, however, the focus of Cottage Software turned to providing consulting services for companies that were abandoned when their IT consultants went bankrupt. Today, consulting is the main focus of Cottage Software's business, although we plan to soon release a package of consumer software.