At Draw A Fence, Marc and Tamara are no strangers to carving out their own opportunities. On immigrating from South Africa in 2012, Tamara says “we came here with $400, our suitcases, and a job offer.” Given this, they’re experienced in tackling challenges with limited resources, relying on hard work and thorough research.
With Tamara’s 25 years in the fence industry and Marc’s background as a CAD operator and tradesperson, they found a problem in the fence building industry:
a costly need for technical drawings and limited experts. Though qualified to create the drawings manually, they recognized the income ceiling that comes with a time-bound service mode - there are only so many hours in a day.
That’s where digital products come in.
With years of coding experience, Tamara and Marc built a one-of-a-kind digital tool that produces professional fence drawings immediately. After completing a 2–5-minute form, companies receive detailed specs ready for an architect—something that would otherwise cost hundreds of dollars and hours of skilled labour.
It’s not meant to replace AutoCAD, but “to give people a tool that they can do 90% of their day-to-day drawings.”
Now, the benefit of a digital product is their ability to serve an international customer base while enjoying life in a low-cost community. They aren’t limited to serving their immediate area, and they can keep their overhead low. Most of their business comes from the year-round fencing industry in the American Midwest. “Every day we're inventing something new… how do we do it with no money?” says Marc. Digital products offer just that and give them the ability to control their growth.
Juggling day jobs, family responsibilities, and building their business can be challenging; some people even asking, “Oh, is it AI? And I say, no, not unless you're talking about actual intelligence,” Tamara laughs. No wonder people think that—they’re constantly improving their drawings to be more detailed and builder friendly.
Although only officially opened in September 2024, Draw A Fence has already gained popularity and attention. In fact, they even had a waitlist before expanding to Canada. They hope for further expansion into the UK, Australia, and South Africa, with a goal of reaching 1000 users.
With creativity and determination on their side, they’re well on their way to achieving that goal. And because digital products can go anywhere, their business can too.
Check out their business, Draw A Fence, at https://www.drawafence.ca.
