Entity Watch did not start as a conventional accounting software idea
Entity Watch came out of software building first. After building an options-trading bot against the Charles Schwab API, the founder became more interested in the broader potential of APIs than in the bot itself. The next question was simple: which overlooked workflow market had strong source data and room for a more focused product?
That search led to Companies House. The earliest version of Entity Watch was straightforward: keep a watchlist of companies and surface changes. But as the market became clearer, it became obvious that simple alerts were not enough for firms handling real client portfolios.
Teams did not just need to know that something changed. They needed to know what changed, what mattered, what was due, what was blocked, who owned the next step, and what proof existed that the work had actually been handled.
The product direction changed quickly once the real workflow came into focus
Built as a one-week prototype The first working version of Entity Watch was built in Chicago in one intense week as an API-led product experiment, not as a long-planned accounting software company.
Started with API curiosity Before Entity Watch, the founder had been building an options-trading bot in VS Code against the Charles Schwab API. That led to a broader question: where else could strong APIs support an overlooked workflow product?
Companies House stood out quickly After screening public API ecosystems for an English-speaking market with room for a focused workflow product, Companies House emerged as the most interesting fit. The first version was simple: track companies and notify users when something changed.
The market forced the product deeper The March 2026 Companies House incident, deeper market learning, and competitor review made one thing clear: alerts alone were not enough. Firms needed verification tracking, ownership, blockers, audit trail, and a more useful daily operating summary.
A workflow product built around monitoring, verification, and proof
Monitoring that is useful the next morning Entity Watch is designed to show what changed, what matters, and what needs follow-up without forcing teams back into manual Companies House checking.
Verification workflow, not just raw alerts The product now connects company change monitoring with director and PSC verification tracking, ownership, blockers, and progress so teams can work from one operating view.
Differentiation around proof and follow-through Instead of stopping at feature proximity, Entity Watch has been pushed toward a clearer audit trail, detailed client-focused daily digests, and reusable proof that the team actually reviewed and handled the work.
The result is a product that is intentionally different from a generic company-data dashboard. Entity Watch is designed for firms that need a clearer daily operating picture across a portfolio, with enough structure to support internal review, client follow-up, and repeatable control.
No traditional accounting background. A strong focus on workflow.
Elijah Thompson did not arrive here through a traditional accounting or company secretarial route. He came in from software, APIs, and AI-assisted product development. That meant earning context quickly, learning the workflow from first principles, and staying honest about what the product could genuinely do well.
That outsider route also shaped the product in a useful way. The focus stayed on operational questions teams actually ask every morning: what changed, what is due, what is blocked, who owns it, and what can be shown to a client, partner, or internal reviewer without rebuilding everything by hand.
Early customers are choosing speed, honesty, and direct access to the person building the product. If a firm starts a Team trial, the goal is not a generic onboarding script. It is to test the workflow on a real company list and see whether it saves meaningful time quickly.
Entity Watch is best judged on a real workflow, not a vague promise
If you are an accountant, ACSP, corporate services team, or diligence-focused operator considering a Team trial, the fastest way to evaluate Entity Watch is to use it on a narrow, real company set. That is where the product should prove itself: better morning visibility, clearer ownership, and less manual reconstruction when someone asks for status.