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THE HARBEN PROJECT — THE FULL STORY
THE HARBEN PROJECT — THE FULL STORY
It didn’t begin with a business plan.
It didn’t begin with a business plan.
It didn’t begin with an idea.
It didn’t begin with an idea.
It began with everything stopping.
It began with everything stopping.
After losing my leg, I couldn’t go back to the life I had.
After losing my leg, I couldn’t go back to the life I had.
I had been living on a boat, and there was no way to return to it in a wheelchair. So instead of going home, I stayed in hospital.
I had been living on a boat, and there was no way to return to it in a wheelchair. So instead of going home, I stayed in hospital.
Not because I needed to be there medically,
Not because I needed to be there medically,
but because there was nowhere else for me to go.
but because there was nowhere else for me to go.
Days turned into weeks.
Days turned into weeks.
Weeks turned into months.
Weeks turned into months.
Waiting.
Waiting.
Watching life move on without me.
Watching life move on without me.
Knowing things had changed, but not knowing what came next.
Knowing things had changed, but not knowing what came next.
Eventually, I was discharged into temporary accommodation.
Eventually, I was discharged into temporary accommodation.
Social housing.
Social housing.
Emergency placement.
Emergency placement.
A hotel room that wasn’t mine, in a system I didn’t understand, surrounded by people all trying to deal with their own situations.
A hotel room that wasn’t mine, in a system I didn’t understand, surrounded by people all trying to deal with their own situations.
It wasn’t home.
It wasn’t home.
It wasn’t stability.
It wasn’t stability.
It was just somewhere to exist.
It was just somewhere to exist.
Time stretched.
Time stretched.
Days blended together.
Days blended together.
Nothing moved forward.
Nothing moved forward.
And being there, in that environment, it started to wear me down.
And being there, in that environment, it started to wear me down.
Not physically — mentally.
Not physically — mentally.
You get to a point where the noise, the pressure, the feeling of being stuck… it becomes too much.
You get to a point where the noise, the pressure, the feeling of being stuck… it becomes too much.
So I started leaving.
So I started leaving.
I’d get in my car and drive.
I’d get in my car and drive.
No destination. No plan.
No destination. No plan.
Just out.
Just out.
And eventually, I found a place.
And eventually, I found a place.
A car park in Great Linford, Milton Keynes.
A car park in Great Linford, Milton Keynes.
Nothing special about it.
Nothing special about it.
No one would look at it twice.
No one would look at it twice.
But for me, it was the only place I could find that was quiet.
But for me, it was the only place I could find that was quiet.
No noise.
No noise.
No pressure.
No pressure.
No expectations.
No expectations.
Just space.
Just space.
I started going there regularly.
I started going there regularly.
Sometimes I’d sit there for hours.
Sometimes I’d sit there for hours.
Sometimes I’d stay all night.
Sometimes I’d stay all night.
Sometimes I’d sleep there.
Sometimes I’d sleep there.
Not because I wanted to be there…
Not because I wanted to be there…
but because it was the only place where I could actually think.
but because it was the only place where I could actually think.
At that point, I was 57 years old.
At that point, I was 57 years old.
First time in a wheelchair.
First time in a wheelchair.
Thirty-plus years of working life behind me — gone.
Thirty-plus years of working life behind me — gone.
Everything I knew had been stripped back.
Everything I knew had been stripped back.
And sitting there, night after night, something shifted.
And sitting there, night after night, something shifted.
Not suddenly. Not dramatically.
Not suddenly. Not dramatically.
Just slowly.
Just slowly.
The thinking started.
The thinking started.
What could I do?
What could I do?
What was even possible now?
What was even possible now?
Where do you go when everything you built your life on is no longer there?
Where do you go when everything you built your life on is no longer there?
There was no clear answer.
There was no clear answer.
But there was a decision.
But there was a decision.
A simple one.
A simple one.
I wasn’t going to stay like that.
I wasn’t going to stay like that.
I was going to learn something.
I was going to learn something.
I was going to build something.
I was going to build something.
I was going to find a way forward.
I was going to find a way forward.
No background in tech.
No background in tech.
No experience in software.
No experience in software.
No roadmap.
No roadmap.
Just time, persistence, and a refusal to stay stuck.
Just time, persistence, and a refusal to stay stuck.
That car park became the starting point.
That car park became the starting point.
Not a business location.
Not a business location.
Not an office.
Not an office.
A reset point.
A reset point.
From there, I began learning.
From there, I began learning.
Testing.
Testing.
Trying to understand how things worked.
Trying to understand how things worked.
Small steps at first.
Small steps at first.
Messy steps.
Messy steps.
But real steps.
But real steps.
That’s where the first ideas came from.
That’s where the first ideas came from.
That’s where the first structure formed.
That’s where the first structure formed.
That’s where the foundation of everything that followed was laid.
That’s where the foundation of everything that followed was laid.
And eventually, that led to the creation of Physically Limited.
And eventually, that led to the creation of Physically Limited.
Not from comfort.
Not from comfort.
Not from opportunity.
Not from opportunity.
From pressure.
From pressure.
From necessity.
From necessity.
From starting again.
From starting again.
The Harben Project isn’t a company in the traditional sense.
The Harben Project isn’t a company in the traditional sense.
It’s a record of that beginning.
It’s a record of that beginning.
A real place.
A real place.
A real situation.
A real situation.
A real turning point.
A real turning point.
It exists to show what it actually looks like to rebuild from nothing.
It exists to show what it actually looks like to rebuild from nothing.
Not the polished version.
Not the polished version.
Not the success story after the fact.
Not the success story after the fact.
The reality of it.
The reality of it.
The uncertainty.
The uncertainty.
The setbacks.
The setbacks.
The slow progress.
The slow progress.
The moments where you don’t know if it’s going to work.
The moments where you don’t know if it’s going to work.
But also the movement.
But also the movement.
The change.
The change.
The fact that something can be built, even when it doesn’t feel like it at the start.
The fact that something can be built, even when it doesn’t feel like it at the start.
The Harben Project is where it began.
The Harben Project is where it began.
Everything that comes next — the systems, the tools, the business — comes from that point.
Everything that comes next — the systems, the tools, the business — comes from that point.
A car park.
A car park.
A decision.
A decision.
And the start of something new.
And the start of something new.
THE MISSION: REBUILDING FROM ZERO
THE MISSION: REBUILDING FROM ZERO
I am not building a secret. I am building a roadmap. The Harben Project is the live documentation of how I am constructing a digital business engine using AI and new-age tools—starting with nothing but a car and a laptop.
I am not building a secret. I am building a roadmap. The Harben Project is the live documentation of how I am constructing a digital business engine using AI and new-age tools—starting with nothing but a car and a laptop.
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