Appetizer Mobile

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the sole creator of this manifesting daily journal routine! It is a simple three step routine for maintaining good mental balance and also manifesting things into your life!

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Appetizer Mobile?

I wanted Appetizer to turn my gratitude / self-love formula into a mobile journal application!

What were your goals for this project?

The goal was to create something simple but with pizzazz to entice users to get in touch with self-love and manifesting their desires!!

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

I found them online somehow and their site jumped out at me!

Describe the project in detail.

It’s a mobile application that allows users to journal each day and it is pin protected for privacy! The journal entries are saved and there are encouraging messages when you submit each daily entry!

What was the team composition?

Just me and the development team which consisted of like 3 people I believe!

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The app is perfect and even better than I imagined!!!!!!!

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

It was 10/10! They were very responsive and flexible

What did you find most impressive about this company?

I liked the creativity that they added to my initial project!

Are there any areas for improvement?

Nope!

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the co-founder of a mobile matchmaking/dating app that offers an entirely new experience for daters. The app allows singles to enjoy the support of a matchmaker, often a user who is already in a committed relationship. The app also offers a gaming environment for the matchmaker and continuously rewards the user via improved rankings.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Appetizer Mobile?

Since we ran into some issues with our original developer, we hired Appetizer to fix existing bugs in our app and help with development.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

Appetizer was recommended by a friend in the industry. We spoke to some of their current clients, who had very positive things to say about them. After meeting with Appetizer, we knew they were the right team.

Describe the project in detail.

Initially, they spent a few weeks identifying issues and debugging the app. Since then, they’ve focused on implementing additional features and improving existing ones.

What was the team composition?

Our project manager is our main point of contact. We’ve also worked with several backend and frontend developers as well as someone who handles QA.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our customers used to point out a lot of bugs in the app, but since we started working with Appetizer, these issues have drastically decreased. We are still finalizing the development, but we are confident that the app will function smoothly when we do a major push to get users.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

It has been a very collaborative process. They listen to our needs, provide solutions, and take our feedback into account. We either email through Teamwork or have status calls. During the initial development phase, their project manager responded to emails in a timely manner and did a good job of relaying things from the developers. He also sent updates every Friday and kept us informed if the team was falling behind, which rarely happened.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

I’m impressed with their expertise in developing mobile apps. Plus, they have been incredibly patient in explaining complicated topics. I feel confident about recommending them to others.

Are there any areas for improvement?

It would have been useful to have more face-to-face meetings. Fortunately, their output has always been excellent.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the co-founder of a mobile app startup in the restaurant and hospitality industry. Our company is based in the Philadelphia area. We have less than 10 employees.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Appetizer Mobile?

We had a thorough understanding of the target market, relationships within the industry, and expressed interest in our product concept. However, we lacked the knowledge, expertise, and capital necessary to develop the mobile app.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

At the time we engaged with Appetizer Mobile, we had already defined the proposed product features and prepared a detailed business plan. Appetizer Mobile is now developing our iOS app and providing industry consulting. We plan to develop an Android version after the initial launch phase.

How did you come to work with Appetizer Mobile?

With a limited pool of app developers in the Philadelphia area, we decided to search for a partner in New York. We interviewed a number of firms, looking for one that could assist us with our strategy in addition to developing the app. We found ourselves coming across two types of firms in general. Smaller, less-established firms were willing to develop our app at a discount but lacked the track record we wanted. In contrast, the higher-end, more established companies had a few big names under their belts. However, most firms in the latter category were outside our budget and had a “take it or leave it” attitude in our negotiations.

Appetizer Mobile was initially outside our budget as well, but instead of writing us off and sending us on our way, they insisted on finding a way to work with us. The biggest thing that stood out for my partner and I was that Appetizer Mobile took a genuine interest in our vision and wanted to help us deliver it. They proposed developing the UX/UI [user experience/user interface] and a functioning prototype within our budget. We could then use those assets to pitch an outside investor for the full development of the app. We never planned on going in that direction and had every intention of engaging a firm who could develop and launch the app within our budget. We ended up going with Appetizer Mobile because of the level of interest they expressed in our idea.

How much have you invested with Appetizer Mobile?

The cost of Appetizer Mobile's work has been about $50,000 so far. The overall cost is expected to be around $250,000 for the fully developed iOS app platform.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Appetizer Mobile in June 2016. The UX/UI and prototype phases have been completed. We're now moving on to the investment stage.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement?

We have not yet launched the product, but we're very happy with the development work completed thus far. It's exciting to see our idea come to life. At the end of the day, everything was completed to our liking, on budget, and on schedule.

How did Appetizer Mobile perform from a project management standpoint?

There have been many conference calls and message posts to refine the product. My partner and I had no experience in the development world, so we had a big learning curve. Appetizer Mobile was patient with us. At the same time, they gave pushback when we were going off-track or deviating from industry norms. There's been a good balance of patience and guidance.

What did you find most impressive about Appetizer Mobile?

They are more focused on the long-term potential for success rather than short-term gains from development fees, and that's exactly what we're looking for. Instead of "Take-it-or-leave-it," their attitude was "This is a great idea. How can we make this work?"

Are there any areas Appetizer Mobile could improve?

There were a few instances during our back-and-forth when Appetizer Mobile didn't address a comment or question, so we had to reference them again. This is not a reflection of the Appetizer Mobile team being sloppy—it’s just a normal part of the collaborative process. There was simply a lot going on.

What tips or recommendations could you share that might increase the likelihood of success with Appetizer Mobile?

Clients need to interview as many firms as they can. Not only will this give them a better idea of who's out there, but they will get a tremendous amount of valuable feedback on their idea. Like many startups and entrepreneurs, we were very hesitant to share our idea with others when we first started out. But we soon realized in order to get the project done right, we needed to see what was out there. Protect your idea, sign NDAs [non-disclosure agreements], get out there, and educate yourself. If we hadn’t expanded our search, we would have chosen another firm without even meeting Appetizer Mobile. I have no doubt that we made the right decision in choosing a partner to build our business.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

I develop apps as a side job. I have three projects with Appetizer Mobile at this time.

What is your role and responsibilities?

I’m in partnership with Appetizer Mobile.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What was your goal for working with Appetizer Mobile?

We are developing a game together. Our goal is develop a very high quality entertaining game that is different from anything else. We also want to create a brand for this game.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their work.

The original code of the game was horrible and Jordan [Edelson, founder and CEO of Appetizer Mobile] said it wouldn’t be worth the money to fix it. He brought in new ideas that raised the bar, and we became partners in this project. I meet with Jordan every week. 

What was your process for selecting Appetizer Mobile with which to work?

I had this idea for a game in 2013. I went to another company, and it did not work out.  I wanted to turn the project into something positive. I went to several companies, and they were not interested. Jordan listened to me and was willing to get into the details of the code. 

Can you give a sense of the size of the initiative in dollar terms or a personnel work-hour figure?

The original work was $50,000 to $200,000.

When was the work completed?

Hopefully, it will be released in January [of 2015].

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Do you have any statistics or metrics to track improvement from the project?

It’s not launched yet, so I can’t answer that at this point.

Are you satisfied with their performance?

Yes, absolutely satisfied. I loved what they have done. They have gone above and beyond. Every status meeting I see progress.

Is there anything unique or special about Appetizer Mobile that really makes them stand out compared to other online marketing companies?

The point people working on the project are easily accessible. They are very responsive. The status meetings aren’t just about how the project is going, but they show everything they’ve done for that week. After a failed attempt with another company developing this game, Jordan is never condescending. He always explains things no matter how many times he has to repeat himself until you’re comfortable with the idea. He and his staff take an idea and it explodes.  He’s got a very talented team behind him.

Looking back on the work so far, is there any area that you think they could improve upon or that you might do differently?

No. 

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company.

It’s just a single app startup company. The best way to describe it would be a social media app. It has different facets, different features. I am the founder.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What was your goal for working with Appetizer Mobile?

I wanted them to create the front end for me, and we did that. 

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their work.

They just did the UX/UI [user experience/user interface]. I did want them to do the back-end, the code, but it was too expensive. The quote they gave me was a bit too high.

What was your process for selecting Appetizer Mobile with which to work?

I Googled different app sites, and I think they were number 10 or 12. They fell within my price range, and they were highly rated. I think it was on your site.

Can you provide a sense of the size of the project, either the cost or the amount of hours spent?

For the UX/UI, it cost around $50,000. For the coding, they quoted about $350,000, but they didn’t do that part.

When was the project completed?

Their part was completed in May of 2014. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the results of the project?

It’s brilliant. They listened to everything I wanted. They suggested stuff for the parts I wasn’t quite sure about. They were great to work with. I’m very happy with the results. If I do raise the money, I will definitely use them again. They were perfect for me. 

Do you have any statistics or metrics to track improvement from the project?

No. My partner handles the financials. I don’t have them.

Is there anything unique about them that really makes them stand out, compared to other companies?

I haven’t used any other companies so it’s tough for me to answer. I think they are definitely above average based on my positive experience.

Looking back on the work so far, is there any area that you think they could improve upon or something that you might do differently?

No.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company.

I’m the founder and CEO of an Investment LLC.

What is your role and responsibilities?

I run the operations of the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What was your goal for working with Appetizer Mobile?

Our project is very large in scope. Our business goals are rather complex, and we've had a few of them. Our first goal was to find someone who could actually do it. I had an idea for this project and some of the firms we went to told us it could not be done.

I met with Appetizer Mobile to pitch the idea for the app. He figured out a way it could be done, and we recently were accepted by the App Store. If it weren't for their team, it would not have been possible.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their work.

There will be some support afterwards, but we're just wrapping up now with the app development. Development is the main service.

What was your process for selecting Appetizer Mobile with which to work?

I Googled a list of the top app developers in the country, and they were ranked number eight at the time. I randomly chose them.

Can you provide a ballpark dollar figure for the size of the work that they’ve done for you?

It was thousands and thousands of hours. The project was very large in scope.

When will the project launch?

We plan to launch in September of 2014.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Do you have any statistics or metrics to track improvement from the project?

I am beyond satisfied. I love the team at Appetizer Mobile. They have helped us throughout the entire long process. If we have any issues, we call them right away and it's fixed immediately. There were some areas where we needed help, and they worked with us to fill in the knowledge gaps that we had. I don’t know if we would have been able to do this without Appetizer Mobile.

Is there anything unique about them that really makes them stand out, compared to other companies?

I don’t have much experience with other developers, but I've heard some horror stories. They really became part of the team. We have a close team here who have been with us from the beginning. Appetizer Mobile came into the fold, and they’ve been part of the team. We don’t look at them as outsiders. We see them as part of our team. Appetizer Mobile has been amazing and complete team players for us.

Looking back on the work so far, is there any area that you think they could improve upon or that you might do differently?

We haven’t had any problems with Appetizer Mobile. They’ve been great.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company.

Our company makes corporate training, HR compliance, workplace safety, a lot of IT training. It's all online, and it's also mobile online.

What is your role and responsibilities?

I'm the president and owner of LearnSmart.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What was your goal for working with Appetizer Mobile?

We make online corporate training. It's a fast solution, software as a service solution, meaning that the person has to be online to get our training. We also have a lot of government clients, or people that are in the field who don’t have access to their training through networks that aren’t their own. If a government employee is onsite and needs to access their training, they can’t get that. We wanted a mobile iPad app that would allow our customer to download videos and training that we produce to their iPad while they’re on an approved network. They can then watch it offline.

We also wanted that to have some degree of security in the subscription service, so we could shut it down, grandfather them into a certain amount of time in which they can use the training. Otherwise, they have to get back online to authenticate.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their work?

We designed it, and we're fairly talented on that. We wanted to make sure that we kept it within the framework of the brand that we offer. We designed the look of it, and we gave them the scope of the interaction. We designed the UI and the UX of how you interact within the system. They had to figure out the back end to communicate with our servers. They were the coders.

Their performance was very nice. We're good at design work, and we have very good attention to detail. Because we didn’t have them do design, we usually interfaced with their engineers. To be fair, the missed a few thing with regard to QA, and making sure it's perfect. Every pixel is important to us, in terms of how everything matches up. They missed one or two of those. In our QA process, when we went back to them, they never got frustrated with us when we wanted a pixel moved over or something else changed a bit. They were willing and eager to go back and forth. They never expressed any frustration about the whole process. We probably went back and forth about 20 times on tiny revisions to get it right with our specs. There was not a single complaint.

Why did you select the iPad as opposed to Android or iOS?

The original version of the app is about a year and a half old. We talked to them about two years ago when I was in Washington, D.C., on a business trip. Two years ago, the iPad had a stranglehold on this. This was well before Samsung and the other companies got a foothold in tablets. The main reason was because the iPad was dominant, but also because of the fragmentation. We're a niche provider. We're not Pinterest or Facebook, and we're not going to sell to all these individuals, and we don’t have the flexibility or the affordability to make seven different versions of the Android app. We have always told Appetizer Mobile we would start with the iPad and, because we have a close relationship with Microsoft, porting it onto to Windows. They said they could do that, but we haven’t done it because the service hasn’t gotten any traction. It comes down to iPad market share. We fully expect to expand it into Android.

What was your process for selecting Appetizer Mobile to work with?

I did a Google search to find them, and I put a few feelers out there. There are a lot of international firms that offer iPad and iOS services, but we really wanted to work with a domestic firm. We knew what we wanted, but we weren’t well versed in the iOS terminology, and mobile was still relatively new. I wanted someone who was flexible and wouldn’t be so rigid with us so that they weren’t going to help us learn and be flexible as we learn to make sure that we got what we wanted.

I didn’t want to have a situation to be told that’s not what we agreed to. Flexibility and who they are as people are important to us. We went through a few companies that made all the promises, but you didn’t feel like you were getting the full story. We liked the fit as far as personalities, and the flexibility that they ultimately did give us.

Can you provide a ballpark dollar figure for the size of the work that they’ve done for you?

The fundamental need to download an app is fairly simple. The backend occupied more of the time for the build. The backend communicated and authenticated our access, used our user name and password that we granted the person and made sure that they didn’t have access to content that they weren’t permitted to have.

The project was in the $20,000 range. I was happy with the price, and I think we should have paid about $30,000. Because of that, we’ve gone back to them for a few revisions since then. They were very accommodating with the idea that we could continue to work with them.

When was the latest milestone completed for that work?

The first version was done in July of 2012, and the most recent version updated for iOS 7 was completed in October of 2013.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Do you have any statistics or metrics to track improvement from the project?

I don’t have that available. Our product is not one that can be downloaded, and used without paying for our service. That wouldn’t be a fair representation. What would be a fair representation, is that we just had a presentation with a large multinational company. One of the gentlemen pointed out how much he loves the iPad app. It was one of the major differentiators in our service. I believe that mobile learning in my business will be the dominant way people learn in the future, and this is our first effort. People are very satisfied with it. It never had issues, and it consistently works.

Is there anything unique about them that really makes them stand out, compared to other companies?

With the exception of this app, we’ve always done development in house. Our company is about 15 years old, and in the early days of our company, we dabbled in some outsourcing, we weren’t satisfied. With Appetizer Mobile, we got exactly what we wanted, which was a flexible team. I haven’t worked with other mobile development firms to say whether they’re better or worse. I know they are a relatively small firm, and that we could get someone else to do the project on a grander scale or more quickly. As far as flexibility, and somebody working with a smaller company, they were exactly what we needed. I’ve recommended them at least three times since then. In my business, if you ask somebody if they would recommend someone to a friend or colleagues, that’s the best endorsement.

Looking back on the work so far, is there any area that you think they could improve upon or that you might do differently?

No. I was very happy, and I have no complaints.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company.

It's an app dedicated for voice encryption systems developed by Appetizer Mobile.

What’s your role and responsibilities?

I am the founder of the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What was your process for selecting Appetizer Mobile?

We did some research on people that have knowledge on app development, but also knowledge on systems. I narrowed the list down to three companies and received proposals from all three. Appetizer Mobile had the best presentation so I chose them. I am happy I made the correct choice.

What was your goal for the app?

It is a paid app so we want to drive revenue from it.

SOLUTION

Can you talk about the scope of their work?

I think they participated in every step. They helped us with Web development, app development, logo and design, and color selection. They were involved in the entire process. Some of it, they were driving in the forefront. Jordan, owner of Appetizer Mobile, is directly in contact with me all the time. They participated from concept to delivery.

Can you give us a ballpark dollar figure for the size of that project?

It was close to a $100,000.

When was the app completed?

It was first created 18 months ago, and then updated 6 months ago. It’s working very well. The app itself is solid. The backbone of it is really solid. The interconnectivity with the cloud servers and all that setup was also done by Appetizer Mobile. I really have nothing to complain about.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Do you have any stats or metrics to track improvement from the project?

I think we had about 3,000 downloads in the first two weeks, which was good for a specialized app like ours.

Is there anything unique or special about Appetizer Mobile that stands out compared to other IT firms?

Our relationship is quite strong. They want to grow their company and I think they are great partners.

Looking back, is there anything that you think Appetizer Mobile could improve upon, or something you would do differently?

No. Everything worked well. We are a small app compared to all the things they do. We’re probably just one small thing. We’re really happy with it.

BACKGROUND

Please provide a description of your company.

Our company is a startup. We have a new photo-sharing application designed by Appetizer. It’s based on what we call stacks. Stacks are similar group content. So, anything of a similar topic or category that users can upload is grouped into these individual stacks.

Right now, we’re focusing on using these stacks and partnering with news networks and media outlets. We’re trying to cover any real-time events or breaking news, any big event. You have to be Facebook-verified to use our app, so it shows a credible source, and we take the location of where the photo’s captured from. Then users can upload the content, and the news networks are licensed to pull these images and use them on their own networks.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What was the main objective going into the project with Appetizer?

Basically, we started from scratch with Appetizer. I came in with an idea originally. Then with their help, we modified it quite a bit. They were really good with coming up with new ideas. Before we even engaged, they actually came up with ideas on how we could improve the project before anything was signed or any money was exchanged. The goal for them was to go and develop the iPhone app and the website for us.

SOLUTION

Did they handle the visual design as well as the back end?

Yes. They did everything.

How did you originally find Appetizer?

I was on Google and was researching different app development companies when I came across a site that rates the best app development companies. They were right at No. 7 at the time for the American companies. They were in a convenient location for me. I emailed them. This was actually something that impressed me instantly. It was late that night, and I was up working. It was 3 in the morning. I received an instant response, which was a real response, not an automated response, from Jordan who’s the CEO. We ended up talking for a while, going back and forth. I ended up going to New York and meeting with them. From there, we just ended up going back and forth, and then engaged them.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

How happy are you with what they’ve produced so far?

I’m very happy. They’ve exceeded my expectations. They’re very efficient. When they say that something will be done by a certain date or time, they always make sure that it’s done by that time. In a couple of cases on the project, they were actually ahead of schedule.

The work itself I’m very happy with. I’m very particular. I went through a number of different app development companies before engaging with them. I really think they’re level of work is very high.

BACKGROUND

Briefly describe what your company does and your role there. 

I am a flutter developer and I developed various Android and IOS applications in my company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What were your company's goals when you started looking for a partner?

Our goals were to developed various mobile applications and mobile gaming applications when we started looking for a partner.

SOLUTION

Describe the scope of your partner's work with your company. Please include a summary of any key tasks or deliverables.

There is a larger scope with our partner's work with our company; we developed the mobile applications for various field specially in gaming field.

How many people does your company work with?

Over 11 people

How did you find this provider?

Referral

Why did you choose to work with them?

• Pricing fits our budget
• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost
• Referred by a trusted source
• Company values aligned

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What are the results or deliverables of this partnership that demonstrate progress or success?

We have delivered so many mobile applications for our trusted clients and also has deployed in Google and Apple play store also. And the response is quite impressive.

How does your team communicate with this service provider?

• In-person Meetings
• Virtual Meetings
• Phone Calls
• Email or Messaging App
• Project Management Platform
• Mobile Text Messages

Are there any areas for improvement or something this service provider could have done differently?

The colours and animations could be slightly improved so that the user experience could be improved.