I'm Dan. I've spent around 18 years running businesses and making the day-to-day work more smoothly.

Friendly Engine grew from dealing with the same things as other business owners: staff, customers, bookings, payments, invoices and an inbox that never seems to get smaller. I've run businesses in North Devon and across the UK, so I know how quickly small problems can become daily headaches.

I care deeply about customer service and about giving people sensible tools. Good AI should make a business feel more human, not less, because the team has more time for customers and fewer repetitive jobs competing for attention.

Where my experience comes from

I've run many businesses over the years. Each one taught me something about cash flow, customers and where time gets lost. That hands-on experience is why I do more than give advice. I build things that have to work in the real world.

My approach has never been about pressure or hard selling. I'm friendly, I listen, and I'm always happy to work with your plans rather than impose my own. If you want to chat through your business and see what solutions are available, I'm always happy to do that.

I work across many industries. I enjoy getting to the bottom of a problem and finding a simple answer. That helps when you know something is not working but are not sure what the fix should be.

What I believe

I believe running a business should be easier. Better systems can remove repeated work and give a team more time, without simply adding more staff.

That is the thinking behind Friendly Engine: understand the business first, then use AI or a simple system where it genuinely makes life easier. The technology works for the business, not the other way around.

The product side of what I do

Zippy Booking is my flagship product — online booking software used by rental, activity and service businesses. I build it, run it and improve it every week.

I also built Dan OS — Email Drafting, an internal capability that pulls invoice attachments out of my inbox for review and drafts replies to customer emails — draft-only, so nothing sends without my approval. Running my own systems keeps me close to real business problems and helps me build better things for clients.

How I think about technology

Start from the business problem backwards

I look at how the work happens before discussing technology. If a job is unclear, we sort that out first.

Practical over impressive

The measure is whether someone's week got easier. Nothing gets built because it's interesting to build.

No unnecessary technology

If your existing tools can be connected rather than replaced, that's what I'll recommend — even when it's the smaller project.

Build things teams actually use

A new system should make the job easier. I design it with the people who will use it.

North Devon roots. Working across the UK.

I'm Dan Bradshaw, based in North Devon, and I work with businesses across the UK. Most work can be done remotely. For nearby businesses, I can also visit and see how the work happens in person.

If you're in the area, there's more on AI automation for North Devon businesses.

On proof

I don't publish testimonials, customer counts, awards or performance statistics I can't evidence. What I can show you is software I build and operate myself. Client references are available on request during a discovery conversation.