3 SIDED CUBE

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We are a humanitarian aid nonprofit organization. I work in the Health and Safety Division. My team is responsible for the product development and product management of mobile apps across the entire organization. My title is Senior Director of Health and Safety Digital Engagement.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with 3 Sided Cube?

We have about a four-year history with 3 Sided Cube. We’ve launched probably 10 to 12 different apps with them, the majority of which have been met with incredible success. Because we’ve launched apps across all the different verticals within our organization, each app we’ve done has had their own business objectives.

Starting with the first two that put us on the map, we launched a first-aid app that they had worked on with our British counterpart organization. We took that and tweaked it for U.S. audiences based on our first-aid pedagogy. We launched that, and we got an amazing reception for the app.

Then, the next app that we did was for hurricane preparedness. The business objective there was to deliver a complete hurricane preparedness tool with as much capability baked into the app in case your power goes out or the cell service goes out, to deliver the best possible tool to be prepared right before, during, and after a hurricane. It also had the ability to plan ahead for the next hurricane season. That was an incredibly complex app. The interesting thing was that we launched that mid-August of 2012 I believe. Two weeks after we launched it, Hurricane Isaac hit down South, and then that October was when Sandy hit.

We launched this real-time alerting app, and all of a sudden it’s being tested in arguably one of the largest hurricanes or storms the country has seen in 100 years or so. As a testament to how well it did, there were numerous user reviews saying how much it helped them through it, but from a sheer app success lens, we made it to number two of all free apps across Apple’s App Store. That was immensely successful. We got great metrics and learnings by watching how people use the app, the emails we received, the user reviews, etc.

In March 2013, we launched a tornado app, which was even more challenging because with a hurricane, you know a hurricane’s coming a week out. With a tornado, you only know that it’s coming when you hear your town’s tornado sirens go off, and you have a matter of minutes, if not seconds, to get to the lowest point of your house. That was a whole other challenge, to make sure that these tornado alerts got out and then that we would be able to make a siren alert significant enough that it could potentially wake people up. After we launched the app, May 2013 was when those tornadoes touched down in Moore, Oklahoma and really devastated that area. We literally had emails saying, “Your app saved our life because the alerts went off. The siren in your app went off before my town’s sirens went off. I was able to get to safety, so it literally saved our lives.”

Like I said, there’s been plenty of highlights since then culminating this past May or June. With 3 Sided Cube, we won a Webby Award for Best App for our blood donor app. In between there, we’ve had a lot of successes with 3 Sided Cube.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Everything we’ve done has been available on iPhone and Android. On a technology aspect, especially with tornadoes, when an alert goes out, users are going to their apps, everything’s converging on the servers at one time. 3 Sided Cube has had to learn how to optimize their whole back-end system for that, in order to make sure it doesn’t go down, because that’s one thing that they know is non-negotiable, these apps cannot go down. Not only are they phenomenal on the app side, they’ve got tremendous chops on the back-end server side of things.

How did you come to work with 3 Sided Cube?

We were taking our first foray into apps, and the British organization really liked what they did for them. We thought it was pretty clean and simple, and to be honest, the price was really good, especially as a non-profit. The price was attractive.

How much have you invested with 3 Sided Cube?

The prices for the apps have ranged. We never have just launched one of these apps and just let it sit. Because we see them as valuable tools, I actually used to work constantly, perpetually updating them. So, we have basically done apps in a whole range of amounts.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement?

I mentioned hitting number two of all the free apps. For us, that was tremendous, obviously. In four years, we’ve done 8.7 million downloads across the board, which to us is pretty phenomenal. We know our preparedness apps are working thanks to the emails and user reviews we receive.

With the blood donor app, the organization takes blood donations, and we sell that blood to hospitals. That’s the organization’s overall biggest revenue driver. We launched it two years ago and it has the highest show rate of any channel for this organization. What we’ve found is donors that make appointments through the app have the highest show rate, meaning those people actually make the appointment and then show up most frequently. Whatever the blood donor app is, it’s 10 percentage points higher than the next one down, which is probably the website. Not only do the app users have the highest show rate, they also have the highest production rate, meaning that we are able to get more blood from the app-based donors than the other channels as well. Again, it’s a ten-percentage point difference between the next highest channel.

What distinguishes 3 Sided Cube from other providers?

There’s a few things. First of all, it’s creativity, problem solving, and business understanding.

We’re a very close partner in the overall user experience of the app, the concept, what tools are going to be in there, and what features will be created. The thing that we always are impressed by is that 3 Sided Cube will always make the app do whatever we want it to do, but in a way cooler or better looking way than we had anticipated. This is what I mean by creative.

As far as problem solving, there are times when we will ask them to do something and sometimes they will come back and explain why they’re not going to be able to do it. More often than not, they come back with a solution to the problem at hand when we really push on them.

From a business partner perspective, they quickly understood the importance of our projects, especially the preparedness apps with the alerts, the blood donor apps, the nature of what we do, and the nature of the users of our apps. They get it. Especially with developers, you don’t always want them talking to the internal client. Sometimes my team is the internal client, but for other apps, they’re talking to other internal teams. There are different internal teams who don’t think like we do, but we never have had an issue.

Is there anything 3 Sided Cube could have improved or done differently?

I think from a project management process perspective, we’ve found ourselves almost trying to do too much too quickly. Sometimes we just needed to step back, stop for a second, and analyze things. It’s a matter of them not wanting to say no to us, of course. They’re a great partner and they feel the success.

Another area for improvement is QA [quality assurance]. Because of the nature of the apps, especially the preparedness ones, people’s lives were literally depending on those apps, so my team would do more than UAT [user acceptance testing]. We’d QA the apps, and we almost admitted we were too hard on them. We wanted perfection. Because of that, they eased up a bit on the QA because they knew we were doing it. We always knew this was a problem, and we’ve had extra resources come on to help us QA, but we’re moving away from it and are working with the 3 Sided Cube team to move more of the QA back to their team.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

The Global Disaster Preparedness Center is a reference center created by the American Red Cross in partnership with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, the IFRC.

What is your position?

I am the Senior Advisor for Programs and Partnerships. I lead a portfolio of activities including some app development and app-related activities supporting different national societies in our network, which includes 190 countries.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with 3 Sided Cube?

We came to 3 Sided Cube with the idea that we wanted to create a mobile app that could be adapted to different countries and contexts to be delivered to the public in the local language. We did that. We’ve done that really successfully.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their involvement in greater detail.

3 Sided Cube has been able to help us design and build an easy-to-use content management system that requires almost no training. The app that they have developed is really stable and really reliable so that very little support is needed. We’ve set it up so that we provide basic customer service to our partners or our customers. 3 Sided Cube creates and does the app development and maintenance on the back end. It’s a great partnership and collaboration. We deliver apps on iOS and Android.

How did you come to work with 3 Sided Cube?

We had a competitive process. There were 15 different agencies originally, and 3 Sided Cube won based on their price and the quality of their proposal.

Could you provide a sense of the size of this initiative in financial terms?

The original proposal was probably in the $200,000 plus range.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement?

I don’t have all the numbers off the top of my head. We have millions of users and many apps in more than a dozen countries. We’ve had smashing success. Our first-aid app right now is live in 79 countries and is available in 36 languages.

What distinguishes 3 Sided Cube from other providers?

We really like that 3 Sided Cube approaches our work as a partner more than as a customer, because that translates to really responsive and friendly customer service, and collaboration on project planning and design. We have a lot of flexibility, and we work to improve our processes as much as possible to address any bugs or challenges. Duncan Cook, Chief Executive Officer, and the team that supports him in 3 Sided Cube are really good guys, and we’ve appreciated working with them for several years as they’ve grown. They’ve been great.

Is there anything 3 Sided Cube could have improved or done differently?

They’re a small company, and there are limitations to working with small companies in the sense that when they take on too much work, sometimes they suffer to deliver on time. We, for the most part, know what to expect at this point, but through their growing pains, we’ve experienced some rocky times, but we’ve always been able to address them directly with them. We’ve had a developing dialogue, and they’re really very responsive to our needs. It’s been a very good experience overall.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

We’re the largest mental health charity in the UK. We have a lot of different functions, but the part that I’m involved in and which 3 Sided Cube has worked on concerns developing programs that help people who are most vulnerable to developing mental health problems stay well.

What is your position?

I am the Community Programs Manager.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with 3 Sided Cube?

The challenge was to engage university-aged students to get them to think about their own mental health, but then also to deliver some tips and useful information to the audience in a way that’s going to be engaging, friendly, and non-stigmatizing.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their involvement in greater detail.

We engaged 3 Sided Cube to develop the app for us. We got much more value from them because they were very engaged with developing the idea and the concept. They developed an idea through consulting with students and potential users, so they very much came up with the concept, though they were brought on board really to develop an idea and to turn that into an app.

How did you come to work with 3 Sided Cube?

We invited any agency to express interest. We had a really good response. I think we probably had about 15 to 20 written responses, and then we short listed 4 app developers that we met and interviewed. We chose 3 Sided Cube based on the way they presented themselves to us in their written expression of interest, but also at the interview where they performed really strongly.

Could you provide a sense of the size of this initiative in financial terms?

It cost about £100,000 [US $129,815.00].

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement?

We’ve launched the app fully. We had a beta launch last October, and then we fully launched the app in February 2016. We’ve so far had around 6,000 downloads, which has exceeded our expectations. We’d never developed an app before. One of the great things about working with 3 Sided Cube was that they really held our hand throughout the whole development process. Because we’d never done it, we didn’t really know how many downloads to expect. I think the immediate impact of the app was huge. We received 2,000 downloads in the first 24 hours, which we just had not expected at all.

What distinguishes 3 Sided Cube from other providers?

I think that there are a lot of things that set them apart. The first thing that struck us about 3 Sided Cube was their enthusiasm for doing a good job for the client. I also think that they are an agency that only wants to take on projects that they really care about because they’re the type of people that throw themselves into something 100%, so they don’t go about anything half-hearted. They are super enthusiastic, so they very much mirror our passion.

The other thing that really impressed us about them was their desire to really understand our work and what we did. They really wanted to have a deep understanding of the impacts of poor mental health and what we were trying to achieve through them. Then, I think the other thing that really attracted us to them was their ability to put the end user at the very center of what they’re doing. They were very much about the user experience first and foremost and using the end user in the development process wherever possible. We love that about them.

They have been a pleasure to work with. They are really nice people to deal with day to day and a really great organization to have on our side.

Is there anything 3 Sided Cube could have improved or done differently?

I don’t think there’s anything that really could have gone better. I think it would be fair to say that you either love them or hate them because they don’t do anything half-hearted. They are who they are, and are very in your face about it. If you like that, then you love that. I can imagine they’re not the agency for everybody, but I also think they are quite selective around who they work with as well, so I think that probably works both ways. They’re not the cheapest, but I look back now on the competition, and they were clearly the best in lots of ways. Absolutely no regrets working with them on this project, and I’m pretty sure we’ll continue to work with them on other projects as well.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm a co-founder of Swagatar, a small technology consulting firm focusing on engineering, architecture, mentorship, and product development.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with 3 SIDED CUBE?

We engaged 3 SIDED CUBE to build the next cross-platform mobile application and backend services. Specifically, we were building a new platform to serve hundreds of students with a scalable, AI-enabled coaching intervention.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

3 SIDED CUBE built a cross-platform mobile application using React Native Expo and backend services (API) in AWS and Supabase. They also handled product visual UX/UI design.

What is the team composition?

We flexed from two up to about seven dedicated team members.

How did you come to work with 3 SIDED CUBE?

I met the 3 SIDED CUBE team as a fractional CTO consulting engagement with EPOG Academy. 3 SIDED CUBE was hired to build the previous version of EPOG's web-based platform, and I recommended that EPOG continue working with 3 SIDED CUBE for the next iteration of their platform for iOS and Android. The decision to work with 3 SIDED CUBE was clear when evaluated across values alignment, engineering ability, experience with strict compliance requirements, and value for money.

What is the status of this engagement?

The initial phase of our project began in November 2024 and concluded at the end of May 2025.  

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

The measurable outcomes came in the form of program success — over 100 students completed an average of between 10–20 sessions with an on-demand coaching and goal-tracking agent by program completion. We had a 10% MAU (monthly active user) base and over 1,500 messages exchanged with our agent. Students have reported feeling less overwhelmed at school and that they have greater agency when evaluating and moving toward their short- and long-term goals.

How did 3 SIDED CUBE perform from a project management standpoint?

3 SIDED CUBE responded to our needs quickly and were accurate in their estimates of work duration and completion, consistent with industry standards. We had daily standups and asynchronous communications managed in Slack.
We faced two main challenges: First, we had only 6 weeks to design, build, test, and deploy the initial mobile app version into both app stores, over the winter holidays. Second, we had limited funding for our spring program.
3SC dedicated an integrated team comprised of account management, project management, engineering, QA and design, and managed the project closely, readily handling all aspects of the engagement while augmenting the existing small engineering and management team at EPOG.

Are there any employees from the service provider's team that you would like to give a shout-out to in this review?

3 SIDED CUBE team members are values-aligned, Tech For Good experts with a broad skill set and commitment to excellence.

What did you find most impressive about them?

3 SIDED CUBE is unique in both their mission and professionalism. I was most impressed with their ability to flex skillsets, schedule, and allocations to meet our program and financial goals. They're simply a wonderful, fun, engaged group of humans who do wonderful work with optimism and joy.  Working with the 3 SIDED CUBE team has been a highlight across nearly three decades of work in technology.

Are there any areas they could improve?

In retrospect, I would have partnered more closely with their product management capability. We had some program elements that ran over budget (and time) due to ballooning scope.  We could have communicated earlier and more often about how to leverage our spend and time together more effectively as a shared responsibility.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

 I am the Founder & CEO of a nonprofit company 

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

We are a national charity in the UK supporting young migrants in their career aspirations in partnership with FTSE100 and leading firms.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire 3 SIDED CUBE to accomplish?

• Transform the mentoring experience for our charity's mentors and mentees
• Automate the mentor mentee matching process
• Bring all our corporate partners opportunities to our charity's mentees

SOLUTION

How did you find 3 SIDED CUBE?

Online Search

Why did you select 3 SIDED CUBE over others?

• Great culture fit
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from 3 SIDED CUBE were assigned to this project?

6-10 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

Transforming our charity's mentoring experience by automating the mentor mentee matching process and enabling our team to share our coprorate partners opportunities with the mentees.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

Functionality of the app against the user stories developed together and approved by our charity's team. 

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

Great delivery. They were very responsive to our feedback.

What was your primary form of communication with 3 SIDED CUBE?

Virtual Meeting

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

Their expertise and motivation in the apps for good market. 

Are there any areas for improvement or something 3 SIDED CUBE could have done differently?

None

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Director of a research company 

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

We perform environmental research

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire 3 SIDED CUBE to accomplish?

• Streamline our project processes
• Develop a collaborative UI

SOLUTION

How did you find 3 SIDED CUBE?

Referral

Why did you select 3 SIDED CUBE over others?

• High ratings
• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost
• Referred to me
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from 3 SIDED CUBE were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

Developed a unique web platform that allowed us to directly interact with our clients. It also allowed our clients to interact with their own data on our platform.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

The entire process and project deliverable was a success. They were absolutely great during every aspect of the project, including the final product. Top notch.

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

Communication was excellent. Their project management was fantastic.

What was your primary form of communication with 3 SIDED CUBE?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

The experience was above my expectations. Specifically, their communication and commitment to understanding our vision for the end product were incredible.

Are there any areas for improvement or something 3 SIDED CUBE could have done differently?

I have no suggested improvements.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

We are a voice of the customer provider. Based in the UK and USA, We specialize in collecting feedback in the moment with on site feedback devices. I'm the CEO

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Chelsea Apps?

They led the re-write of our survey collection app on both IOS and Android. We had a version working but needed to update a number of things.

What were your goals for this project?

Delivering the project on time and within the quoted budget which they achieved.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

Through recommendation and primarily due to their close proximity to our HQ.

Describe the project in detail.

We needed the app to support a number of new features for how questions were asked and the support of a v3 theme engine we'd internally built.

What was the team composition?

We met and conversed with the PM and lead developer when needed, both face to face and remotely.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

Delivered ahead of time, to budget and handed over with suitable documentation to allow us to continue the software maintenance.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Very simple and quick responses. From weekly meetings to ad-hoc requests as needed.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

They were very responsive to requests and had their own opinions on the project.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Nope

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Founder of a commercial leasing platform

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Chelsea Apps?

Full end to end app development

What were your goals for this project?

We needed a full service offering to assist us with everything from design sprints to alpha product

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We picked them from a number of others and were impressed with their dedication creativity and ideas. They were also happy to challenge and develop our thinking

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

Everything from design sprints all the way through project managing the app build process

What was the team composition?

A broad range of skill sets and all led by Duncan who has done a fantastic job of leading the team.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any information that demonstrates the impact that this project has had on your business?

The project is ongoing but it has been successful so far.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

Duncan led on PM. Their methods and workflows have been very effective.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The broad range of skill sets and combination of PM and challenging and developing our thinking