Chamber Insider Blog

GoodFences started with my own experience as a homeowner. I couldn’t get my HOA to approve my request for solar panels, and my frustration with the process ultimately led me to run for the board. After I was elected, and later became Board President, I got to see the challenges from the other side. Board members are volunteers trying to make good decisions for the community, but the processes and technology available to them often make that much harder than it needs to be.

Michael Timmons

That experience planted the seed for GoodFences. I wanted to build the platform I wished we had when I was a homeowner trying to navigate the process and later as a board member trying to make it work better. GoodFences has since evolved into an AI-powered platform that brings the different pieces of managing a community association together in one place. Along the way, we’ve built an incredible team and developed patent-pending AI technology that helps automate some of the most time-consuming processes associations deal with. The technology has evolved considerably from where we started, but the idea behind GoodFences hasn’t: create a better way to HOA.

What are you most proud of when it comes to your team and/or business?

I’m most proud of the team we’ve built. Building a startup is hard, and everyone on our team could be spending their time somewhere else. Instead, they’ve chosen to believe in what we’re building and contribute their experience and talents to making it happen. I’m also proud of how far we’ve come together. We’ve taken GoodFences from an idea based on a problem I experienced personally to a platform that communities are using today. Seeing something that once existed only as an idea become an app that people can download from the app stores and actually use to run their communities is incredibly rewarding.

What sets your business apart?

A community association is made up of three groups: owners and residents, board members, and the operational staff who keep the community running. They all want the community to succeed, but each has different needs, priorities, and perspectives.

First, there are owners and residents. For them, this is their home. It represents their style and tastes, and for many owners, it is their single largest investment. Property is personal, so decisions made by an HOA that affect it can feel very personal as well. Next, there are the board members. They are owners who have voluntarily taken on the additional responsibility of governing their community. Their neighbors have elected them and entrusted them to be stewards of the physical and financial well-being of the community. Boards are trying to protect property values, keep owners and residents happy, control expenses, and make decisions that are in the best interest of the community. Finally, there are the operational staff. As employees of the HOA, they experience the community from yet another perspective. They are trying to keep the community running efficiently, respond to owners and board members, and manage a tremendous number of moving pieces. It’s a tough job with high turnover. When they do something well, they may hear very little about it, but when something goes wrong, they hear about it quickly.

the HOA letter that ultimately started GoodFences

What sets us apart is that GoodFences was built with all three perspectives in mind. We want to make it easier for each group to accomplish what matters to them while giving everyone greater visibility into the process. When everyone can see what is happening, understand what comes next, and experience processes that move quickly and consistently, the entire community works better. Visibility builds trust.

In what ways do you give back to or stay involved in the Loudoun community?

Loudoun has been my home for many years, and being involved in the community is very important to me. I was appointed by the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors to a three-year term on the Economic Development Advisory Commission, where I co-chair the Loudoun Forward Ad Hoc Committee. I’m also active with the Loudoun Chamber, where I lead a LeadShare group and serve as a Chamber representative on the Loudoun County Permitting Task Force.

Youth and families have been another important part of my involvement in Loudoun. I am a former foster parent. I previously served as President of the Central Loudoun Youth Football League, and today I am an assistant football coach at Heritage High School.

What would it mean to you and your team to win a Loudoun Small Business Award?

Winning would mean a tremendous amount to our team. We’ve put a lot of long days, late nights, and hard work into building GoodFences, so to have that work recognized by the Loudoun business community would be incredibly meaningful. And because GoodFences was born right here in Loudoun, it would make the recognition even more special.

Who is one person who has influenced you most in your career?

My mother, the late Dr. Nancy Timmons, had the greatest influence on me. She was an educational executive and renowned curriculum expert whose work took her across the country and around the world, including advising a former governor who became President on education policy. Growing up, she stressed the importance of education and hard work. She taught me that there really isn’t a substitute for either, and those lessons have stayed with me throughout my career. Whether I was studying engineering, working at NASA, building my first company, or starting GoodFences, that foundation has always been there.

Michael Timmons and his team in the Mission Control Center when he worked at NASA

What did you want to be when you grew up?

An astronaut. That dream led me to get a degree in Aerospace Engineering from The University of Texas at Austin and ultimately to start my career at NASA’s Johnson Space Center. I haven’t made it to space yet, but getting the opportunity to work at NASA was a pretty good consolation prize.

That engineering background still influences how I approach things today. I like complicated problems, understanding how systems work, and figuring out how to make them work better. In some ways, that is exactly what we’re doing with GoodFences.

When you’re not working, where can we find you or what is another passion you have?

During football season, there’s a pretty good chance you’ll find me on a football field. I’ve been coaching football since 2007, and it has become a big part of my life. I love the game, but what I enjoy most is working with young people and seeing the lessons that come from being part of a team.

I’m also really into genealogy. I enjoy researching my family history, tracing where different branches of my family came from, and uncovering the stories of the people who came before us. It has given me a real appreciation for how much our lives are shaped by the generations that came before us. We owe so much of who we are to people we have never met.

How do you see your business evolving over the next five years?

Over the next five years, I see GoodFences becoming a significant player in the community association technology market. We want to grow our customer base, continue expanding the capabilities of the platform, and use AI to fundamentally improve how community associations operate. Our goal is to build a company that has demonstrated real scale, strong recurring revenue, and technology that is difficult to replicate. If we execute on that vision, I see us reaching a point within five years where GoodFences is well positioned for acquisition by a larger company that can take what we’ve built and bring it to an even broader market.

Between now and then, there is a lot of work to do. The technology will continue to evolve, and so will the company. But the purpose behind GoodFences will remain the same: create a better way to HOA.

https://www.gfhoa.com/