OpenSpace

Mustard Seed Software, LLC
Growing Great Ideas

Mustard Seed Software is a small, award-winning software development company that collaborates with clients in engineering, research, and academic fields. They partner to guide and mature innovative technology into the marketplace, creating meaningful solutions, achieving maximum impact. Their prowess, perception, and practical knowledge pilot laboratory-grade computational capabilities into commercial-grade applications.

Mustard Seed Software is one of these rare gems—a small company with long-time partnerships with notable clients—determining that client relationships, quality assurance, and challenging projects are absolute priorities.

Mustard Seed Software, the trio, is made up of guys who are wicked smart engineers, with multiple degrees in multiple disciplines. They can create complex solutions in diverse domains such as Engineering Design Reliability, Probabilistic Analysis, and Non-Destructive Evaluation. And yet, they are accessible and balanced as professionals and as individuals.

This well-roundedness can be found on their website. It is highly attractive and thoroughly informative. It ranges from intensely technical to the interestingly personable. And when meeting and talking with the trio it is easy to see they are as dedicated to making a difference with their work as they are in their personal lives.

The Trio: Sim & The Bens

Simeon Fitch, Principal & Senior Software Engineer
“I am passionate about the sliver of the market we engage in and helping them realize the full potential of their technology. My pitch is this—‘the impact of their technology is directly proportional to the number of people who can use it.’ I am a very curious person and am good at asking the right questions to understand the client’s perspective. I really care about our clients’ goals and am honored to be standing on the shoulders of giants—being a part of larger projects and systems I would normally not be able to. This is my approach to making sure we are doing work that matters.”

Ben Guseman, Software Engineer
“The best part of what I do personally is to try to find elegant and robust ways to solve interesting problems. It is very satisfying to know that what we do contributes to society in some way. That’s the big picture. For me day to day, I enjoy working with our team at Mustard Seed Software and our team of clients. I like that we are small, without that big corporate feel. Sim and I are in similar life situations—family, kids. It is comforting to know I have a boss who is understanding and flexible and places a value on life outside of work.”

Ben Hocking, Associate Software Engineer
“It is great having challenging work. I get to use all of my skill set—physics, math, as well as computer science. My colleagues at Mustard Seed Software, as well as the engineers we have as clients—we understand and speak the same language. We get each other. Our work makes a difference. One of my favorite software solutions involved writing software so that airplanes can be built in a way that inspectors can do their job more effectively, preventing accidents and saving lives.

Why OpenSpace

Most of Mustard Seed Software’s clients are not local—some based as far away as Texas and Ontario. The Internet and technology allows this business to work remotely, with very little travel. The trio has been working in OpenSpace on a regular basis. In Simeon’s words:

“OpenSpace enables more high-achieving business owners to stay in Charlottesville, to do great work. And being surrounded by these forward-thinking professionals helps keep the motivation high. I am much more focused on my work because everyone here is more focused.”

“What I like most about working at OpenSpace is the sense of being taken care of, especially after years of having to run the business and take care of everyone else. It really means a lot to me that I am always greeted with a smile, the kitchen is so clean, snacks and coffee are always available. All of these things add up to a feeling of being appreciated. The day goes by faster and when I am done with work I can head back to home life with my worries left behind.”

What You Might Not Know

Mustard Seed Software has a mascot: Bindy the dog. She is known to bring ease and spiritual insights to the staff of Mustard Seed Software and a photo of her energetic dog-self can be found on her own webpage on their site.

(Photograph by Billy Hunt)