App & Flow

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Director of Engineering of an event management SaaS company

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Event Management SaaS

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire App & Flow to accomplish?

• Build a new version of our onsite mobile app

SOLUTION

How did you find App & Flow?

Referral

Why did you select App & Flow over others?

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

How many teammates from App & Flow were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

Build of a new mobile app that had feature set parity with a current outdated version of our app, but with a few key additions. The mobile app supports checking in attendees to onsite events and sessions for that event via scanning codes or manually checking in the attendee. Also supports badge printing. New features:

• Offline support. Attendees can be checked in while device is offline. 
• Syncing. Syncing of data across devices. Syncing when coming back online.
• SSO.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

• Front-end POC build available based on design mockups
• Weekly builds (most weeks) to show progress on tasks
• Milestone of using an early alpha version for our own offsite, which was functional and received great feedback
• Ready for beta including offline support and syncing

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

• Weekly sync to report on progress, review tasks, ideate, and resolve open questions.
• Async availability via slack for all technical and other questions.
• Worked with us using our tools for task management, so we were always aware of their dev tasks and our dev tasks.
• Provided written weekly progress reports!
• Items were delivered on time even when asked to provide deliverables on tight deadlines.
• Added another developer to the team to help support during "crunch time"

What was your primary form of communication with App & Flow?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

I love the culture of App & Flow. They're very flexible, responsive, and take the work very seriously, but also blend in very well to our team and know how to have fun. App & Flow is incredibly professional. Working with them on this project has been incredibly successful.

Are there any areas for improvement or something App & Flow could have done differently?

I think providing additional support to the project early on would have helped us progress a little more quickly, but that was really up to us! So nothing that I can think of.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Director of Technology of an employee benefits administration and payment platform. 

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Employee benefits administration and payment platform.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire App & Flow to accomplish?

• Build a modern react-native mobile app

SOLUTION

How did you find App & Flow?

Online Search

Why did you select App & Flow over others?

• Close to my geographic location
• Great culture fit
• Contributors to Expo

How many teammates from App & Flow were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

The project entailed taking our designs and implementing them in a react-native project. This requires interfacing with 2 external APIs. The project also involved scaffolding a corresponding react web application. App and Flow was tasked with everything from development, exception handling to setting up integration and deployment pipelines for both Apple and Google stores.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Detailed weekly status reports and test builds. Excellent daily communication.

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

App and Flow are excellent project managers. They are on top of upcoming developments and ensure we are informed well in advance of potential roadblocks or slow-downs. This support has been crucial in helping us allocate our internal resources effectively. The project is on-going, but we are on pace with original projections in large part thanks to them.

What was your primary form of communication with App & Flow?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

They've inserted themselves seamlessly into our day-to-day as if they had been working with us for years. They are hard working, friendly and extremely knowledgeable. They have set the bar very high as to what outsourcing work should look like.

Are there any areas for improvement or something App & Flow could have done differently?

None. They are clear communicators.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the head of engineering of Landing, a creative social platform company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenges were you trying to address with App & Flow?

We were a primarily web-based company, including our platform, and we wanted to switch to mobile, but our internal engineering team only knew how to develop within the web environment. Therefore, we brought App & Flow to help us transition and get our mobile app off the ground.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

App & Flow provided web and mobile app development for us using React Native, the technology that our team knew, alongside Expo, which was a technology that helped React Native development. 

Regarding the app’s features, the platform had a social feed displaying all the digital collages that our users made in our interactive studio. The app also has social chat homes where users can connect over shared interests, and App & Flow played a big part in getting that off the ground. In addition, the platform had all of the base functionalities, like Google sign-in, a push notification system, and iOS and Android compatibility.

What was the team composition? 

We worked with several people throughout the several months of our project. Charles (Founder) was our main point of contact for planning sessions. Once we started the project, we worked with Vince (Lead Developer & Architect), who was awesome in launching the development off the ground. Later in the engagement, we worked with Mat and Paul (Senior Full-Stack Developers), who worked with us to follow up on the app’s launch.

How did you come to work with App & Flow?

We found them on the Expo website. We chose them because they had a lot of experience in using Expo and React Native, and after interviewing a couple of different potential partners, they seemed like a clear choice for us. Moreover, we enjoyed talking to Charles and felt they would be great partners overall.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent $100,000–$200,000 with them.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from September 2022–November 2023.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We got a 4.5 rating on the App Store for the app App & Flow developed for us. The quality of their work was very high.

How did App & Flow perform from a project management standpoint?

App & Flow met our deadlines and stayed on budget. Regarding communication, we mostly used Slack, Linear, and Zoom calls.

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

Charles wasn't just a part of the sales process; he was like a partner throughout the engagement and managed the platform's coding. We worked with him the longest, and compared with other development consultancies, he didn't disappear once we signed the contract. He stayed in contact with us daily and was super helpful in terms of giving advice and direction.

What did you find most impressive about them?

App & Flow's updates and communication style regarding changes impressed us the most. In addition, we liked their ability to advise on work instead of just doing everything themselves; they were able to integrate our team.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I didn't think there was anything they could improve on.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Do monthly sync sessions with App & Flow's team to discuss any upcoming priorities ahead of time and talk about the bigger initiatives.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the CEO of SmileML

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

We provide conversational analytics using speech recognition and facial expression recognition.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire App & Flow to accomplish?

• Software architecture development
• Application development for the web app component of our commercial application
• Documentation

SOLUTION

How did you find App & Flow?

Referral

Why did you select App & Flow over others?

• High ratings
• Pricing fit our budget
• Great culture fit
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from App & Flow were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

App&flow lead the application development for the web component of our commercial app, Optic. Optic transcribes calls for individuals to see talk ratio and speaking rate as well as a running transcript. As opposed to meeting bots that join a call, Optic uses the microphone and system audio to capture the conversation so it's less invasive. 

App&flow held weekly update meetings, designed software architecture, and developed the web application. We pivoted once during the course of development from an electron application to a web application and App&flow was happy to make the change.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

After we launched the web application, we consistently add a couple hundred new users per month!

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

We used Asana to track tasks and progress. Items were delivered on-time and App&flow was very responsive to changes in project direction.

What was your primary form of communication with App & Flow?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

Their responsiveness and ability to adapt was most impressive. App&flow was always upfront about the impacts of changes but were equally willing to take those changes on.

Are there any areas for improvement or something App & Flow could have done differently?

None

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a business development manager at a clothing measurement company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenges were you trying to address with App & Flow?

We had a prototype of a native application, and we wanted to switch everything to React Native.  

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

App & Flow is redoing our entire mobile app. Initially, we provided them with a list of features we wanted and showed them what the app looked like before; they saw our demo. After that, App & Flow started developing the new app. 

Within the app, users can create digital garments. For this feature, the app needs to connect to our existing API, so App & Flow has created an import flow. Now, there’s a backend portal connecting the backend and the API. The second main feature is the ability to compare items from the digital wardrobe to garments from our merchant partners. 

App & Flow has built all features related to our users’ accounts, digital wardrobe, onboarding, and instructions. The app works similarly on the merchants’ side, with inventory and account information. 

What was the team composition? 

We work with two teammates from App & Flow. 

How did you come to work with App & Flow?

I found them on Clutch, contacted them through email, and then had a call with the head of their team. From there, we met in person to discuss the project, and App & Flow made a proposal. We decided to work with them because they are React Native specialists.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent about $260,000 CAD (approximately $194,000 USD).

What is the status of this engagement? 

We started working together in August 2022, and the engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I am satisfied with the work App & Flow has done; everything has been very professional. The team is very transparent, giving us reports at the end of each week. 

How did App & Flow perform from a project management standpoint?

We don’t work with deadlines. Instead, we have a set of features and a rough idea of when each will be completed. We check App & Flow’s progress weekly, mainly communicating through Slack.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I’m impressed with App & Flow’s transparency and communication skills. Talking to them is easy, and they’re always open about what they’re doing.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There’s nothing they need to improve; everything is fine.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be straightforward and transparent with your expectations and communicate as much as possible. 

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm an executive of a seed-stage startup working on SaaS products and consumer applications.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire App & Flow, and what were your goals?

We hired App and Flow to rebuild the front-end of the mobile app from the ground up. When we pivoted to a desktop-first SaaS product, we had App & Flow build the front-end for this tool as well. Later we had them build the front-end for a consumer application, Hotlinks, which was built for mobile browsers.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

We were initially looking to hire several contractor developers with mobile/frontend experience, leveraging sites such as RemoteOK. When Charles reached out, we were impressed with their previous portfolio of work and it was also convenient that he represented a team of developers that could essentially "move as a pack" and help us knock out whatever work was needed.

Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and technologies used.

They transitioned us to Expo, drastically cleaned up our react native code, and added reusable components wherever possible. They built out the front-end for the Alvy.ai MVP, working through several iterations based on user feedback. For our last project, Hotlinks, we used Next 13, Edge runtime, Prisma for schema and type generation, Kysely for DB querying, and Tailscale CSS.

How many people from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

3 members of the vendor's team worked with us, however Charles remained our primary contact throughout the entirety of the relationship. He was heavily involved in our day-to-day, working as part of our product trio, attending weekly standups, and providing inputs into both technical and product direction. The other 2 members of his team helped primarily from an executional perspective.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables?

App & Flow significantly cleaned up our mobile code, dramatically reducing bugs and ensuring parity with Figma designs. They also helped us bring an MVP to market for Alvy.ai in under 1 month, allowing us to quickly test a hypothesis.

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timeliness.

Charles functioned as the point of contact and project manager, and as such he was very attentive to whatever requests came through from our end. He would then communicate the asks to his team and provide weekly updates (in writing and verbally) covering the progress made as well as the focus for the upcoming week. Most communication took place over Slack, and he was very responsive.

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

Working with App & Flow felt like we had additional members of the team. They fit in well with our team, contributed to the conversation, even if it wasn't directly related to what they were working on, and the clarity that was provided in each communication from them was incredibly professional and helpful.

Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?

This is feedback for our team as much as their team, but we could have provided more clarity around our priorities (e.g. speed vs. beauty) at times and it could have been helpful to have them push us for that clarity as well. It can be easy to get distracted by building a gorgeous product, but in a quick feedback loop time is of the essence.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the CEO of Planned.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with App & Flow Development?

We wanted to improve our development team's velocity for our web-based app. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The developers from App & Flow Development primarily worked in React.js. They reasoned with our in-house team to increase our development teams — they essentially became a part of our team. For each project, they were provided documentation, but they were in charge of their specific piece of the product. They handled the development of the chat function and several aspects of the marketplace. I believe they also used SendGrid. 

The web application facilitates app rentals. On it, users can find spaces and suppliers they like and contact them. They can then book and pay for the service or space on the platform. 

What is the team composition?

We worked with 3–4 teammates. 

How did you come to work with App & Flow Development?

We were referred to App & Flow Development. 

How much have you invested with them?

We invested around $100,000 CAD (approximately $78,000 USD) with App & Flow Development. 

What is the status of this engagement?

Our engagement with App & Flow Development was from October 2020–April 2021. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We had a very good development velocity — they delivered what we needed. 

How did App & Flow Development perform from a project management standpoint?

We used GitHub to manage the project, and I believe App & Flow Development also used Asana. Their team stayed within budget and delivered on time. Typically, we communicated with them through Slack.

What did you find most impressive about them?

App & Flow Development had excellent communication and integrated well into our team, which was important to us. Their team completed development quickly. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

Overall, we were delighted with them, so there's nothing for them to improve. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I'd advise customers to hire them because they're really good. It's important to request App & Flow Development's services far in advance because they're usually busy. 

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Unveil Social is a tech startup, producing the mobile app CanWe. My role was software architect and mobile engineer.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire App & Flow Development, and what were your goals?

We brought in App&Flow to transition our native iOS app and React Native Android app to a unified, React Native mobile implementation.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

An executive goal was consolidation of a dual-platform mobile app to a single codebase. App&Flow brought a clear vision for how this could be accomplished, and seemed to have the best "soft fit" for company goals, in terms of shared perspectives. They were both professional and flexible.

Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and technologies used.

A general sequence of milestones was agreed upon by both parties, and then implemented in an agile / sprint-oriented form. Changes were also introduced, agilely, over this time. A&F delivered rapidly and adapted to requested changes. The deliverable at every sprint was a working, deployable React Native application that could be tested on both iOS and Android platforms. In fact, there were 3, environment-specific versions for each platform that were delivered, for a total of 6, deployed applications for 2 platforms, per sprint.

How many resources from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

A project manager was always available to us with very short contact lead times. A lead developer and one or more secondary developers were actively working on different aspects of the solution at different times.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables?

Over the next year, parity with the existing apps was achieved and exceeded. Design, information architecture, user experience changes were constantly going into the hopper, and A&F were able to achieve historical parity while also adapting to these new requirements. The CanWe app deliverable was stable, elegant, and used by several hundred users within 16 months time.

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timeliness.

A&F's style is to provide a single point of contact in the form of a technically proficient project manager. We used Slack for general communication, Jira for implementation tracking, Aha for project planning. Regular sprint planning and review meetings kept us in sync on the implementation details. Ad hoc meetings were easily scheduled as needed.

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

They execute very quickly on established plans. When encountering an obstacle in the original design spec, they have repeatedly been able to propose and implement an alternative path of less resistance in as little as two days. Attention to detail is superb.The single-point communication kept meeting clutter to a minimum, remaining crystal clear with their internal process.

Ostensibly, A&F's primary offering is mobile development, but in truth they also offer very keen backend coding skills, and show themselves to be expert backend developers as well, conversant with the scalability and security needs of backend systems. I have worked with a wide variety of on and off shore teams, and nobody compares to App&Flow, in the realm of mobile "full stack" development.

Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?

In some cases, it would be nice to deal directly with developers in meetings. This was possible via Slack, so was little issue in practice. They could use a little patience for outdated / legacy systems that are expensive to replace.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder and CEO of Giglinked, an online social marketplace. We help musicians to find gigs for live performances.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with App & Flow Development?

We wanted to develop our web app platform.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

App & Flow Development did web app development and design from scratch using React Node. After I reached out to them, I met with Charles (Founder) to share my requirements and documents to outline what I wanted to build. 

What is the team composition?

I worked with Charles, Vince (Lead Developer), and Paul (Full Stack Developer).

How did you come to work with App & Flow Development?

I used to be Charles’ co-worker in another company.

How much money have you invested in this partnership?

We spent around $100,000 CAD (approximately $77,000 USD) with them.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from September 2020–July 2022.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They were instrumental in launching a fully functional platform for our business, which has helped us start generating our first revenues. The product they created for us has also assisted us in approaching other vendors and developing partnerships with large organizations on the B2B side of things.

How did App & Flow Development perform from a project management standpoint?

They were able to meet deadlines and were upfront with the budget, so I always knew how much money I’d spend with them. Regarding communication, they were always available for us — we used GitHub, Slack, phone calls, and Zoom.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Charles was very implicated and always there when we needed him. He was a great communicator and good at setting expectations.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don’t think there’s anything they can improve on.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Try to communicate with them as clearly and transparently as possible.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CTO of Ava Technologies, and we make smart indoor gardens. I’m responsible for the hardware and software of the technology.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with App & Flow Development?

We needed someone to create out Android and iOS smart app which would be connected to our IoT device.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We provided them with wireframes that were developed by another provider. App & Flow replicated those designs and created the backend around them. They utilized React Native, Node.js, and Expo as the scaffolding typescript. The backend server is hosted by AWS.

They developed the app from scratch and created a connection between the app and the garden device.

What is the team composition?

Charles (Founder, App & Flow Development) was my main point of contact. He relayed my requirements to his team of developers.

How did you come to work with App & Flow Development?

Charles reached out to us after seeing a job posting. We had originally been looking to hire someone in-house, but Charles demonstrated that his team could complete the work for us.

How much have you invested with them?

We’re on a monthly retainer with them; the total figure over the course of the engagement would be somewhere around $200,000. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together around June 2018, and the partnership is still ongoing. We’ve launched our Android app and are about to launch the iOS version as well. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They’ve successfully created a viable product. Their work has enabled us to be the first smart app on the Google Home and Alexa stores, which is a big deal. The app is an integral component of our IoT products, so they delivered valuable work.

While the product is still in Beta, the functionality and reliability seem satisfactory. Out of all the various development teams that I’ve worked with over the years, they’ve been the best.

How did App & Flow Development perform from a project management standpoint?

Since we had them on a monthly retainer, there were no financial surprises. We were also happy with their timeline. They’re pretty communicative and hit most of the deadlines. Charles was available all throughout the workweek, and we communicated on GitHub.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their communication and transparency were stellar. They were also quick learners; even though they’d never created a smart app before, they were prompt in understanding the requirements and adapting to change.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I would appreciate it if I could communicate directly with their developers. Right now, I can only communicate with them through GitHub, which is a bit messy. I typically have the information relayed to them through Charles, but it’d be nice if I had access to the dev team on Slack or another medium.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be clear with your objectives, and communicate what tech stack you envision using for your project.