The Idea
Most of us own tools we barely use. A drill here, a ladder there. Meanwhile, your neighbor just spent money on the exact same thing. Multiply that across one street and there's a lot of money sitting idle in garages.
We started FriendsWithTools to ask a simple question: what if, instead of everyone buying their own, we shared what we already own with people we trust?
It sounds obvious in hindsight. It still meant building somewhere the rules were clear, ownership stayed protected, and nobody had to worry about strangers turning up on their doorstep.
Our Mission
Reduce waste. Fewer tools manufactured means less plastic, metal, mining, and shipping. If your group shares five drills instead of buying ten, that's five that never got made.
Strengthen neighborhoods. Borrowing a tool means talking to a neighbor, and returning it means talking to them again. Do that a few times and you know what skills live on your street, and who might help when you need it.
Make tool ownership communal where it makes sense. Not everything needs to be public or handed to an algorithm. Groups of 10 to 30 people who already know each other is about the right size: small enough that everyone stays accountable, private by default.
Our Values
Privacy-First
Your tools aren't public and your groups aren't indexed. We don't track, profile, or sell data. Your shelf is shared by invitation, and you control who sees what.
Transparent
We're building a business, so we have to make money somewhere. We're open about how: paid plans and donations cover the servers. Core features stay free.
Practical
No social features, and no notifications designed to pull you back in. It does one thing: helps a group of friends keep track of shared tools.
What We're Betting On
The bet is simple: people want to be good neighbors, and it's more rewarding than the alternative once someone makes it easy.
This isn't trying to disrupt anything. It's a way to do something you'd probably do anyway, if keeping track of it were easier.