About
Hi, I’m Corey Fruitman, the founder and owner of Instant Housecall. I’ve been running Instant Housecall since 2007.
I got my professional start in technology in telecommunications. I’ve been programming since grade 4 on the Commodore PET computer. I’ve worked for companies large and small including a start-up called Norigen, AT&T Canada, Sprint, and Rogers Communications. After I had my fill of the enterprise world, I struck out on my own and started my own business. I’ve been passionate about small business ever since and never looked back. I have since started other new entrepreneurial ventures, like Regarding, an app for Slack that lets you send messages without notifications.
What’s the story behind Instant Housecall?
I used to have a job at George Brown College in Toronto in their Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services department. One of the deaf students wanted to start a computer repair business. He had concerns about growing his business without a way to easily communicate with his hearing clients. I put together a small program that did remote and chat. The rest, as they say, is history.
You can still see that imprint any time you use Instant Housecall. It’s why it’s so easy to use, why there are no keys or PINs to type before a session starts, why your customer has a field to answer “How can I help you?”, and why you can automatically leave notifications and notes on your customer’s desktop at the end of a session. While Instant Housecall has changed a lot over the years, it’s still made for a deaf guy who was concerned about working with his hearing clients. It just so happens that’s great for everyone.
Do you do all the programming for Instant Housecall?
No. There’s a small team of designers, developers, and marketers who help make Instant Housecall great. I focus on being the face of the company. I do sales, customer support, and strategic partnerships. I’m also the product manager, chief everything officer, and chief bottle washer.