Be Unicorn

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We’re a startup marketplace for active life entertainment. This includes carting, quest games, and active sports like kayaking. We’re developing a website and application on which users can find active sports and entertainment for themselves, and make bookings online. I’m the CEO of the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Be Unicorn?

This project was started three years ago as a transformation of our old business, which was a marketplace limited to quest games. These are real-life activities where people—usually in groups of four—are tasked with solving puzzles in a themed environment. We originally focused on the Russian market, but these games are becoming popular in the U.S. and Europe as well.

We decided to start working on an iOS application for this. We’ve had a lot of experience working with different agencies. We do have an internal development team, but decided to hire Be Unicorn in order to work faster.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We showed them our current website and mobile application. We then put together a brief describing where we were moving to, what we planned, what kinds of businesses we wanted to integrate, and what kind of interface we wanted. We also submitted screenshots of applications we liked. This was enough for their team to start the project.

We’ve been working on the prototype for the last four months, having started with the wireframing. The app has typical marketplace functionalities. Users can use filters in order to find specific services and make their bookings.

What is the team composition?

I’ve been in contact with three people from their team, including their principals and designers. Our internal development team had a lot of communication with Be Unicorn’s developers around the app’s API.

How did you come to work with Be Unicorn?

My partners gave me the contacts for the agency. They had experience with Be Unicorn on the development of another application and gave positive reviews of the service.

How much have you invested with them?

So far, we’ve invested around $55,0000 in their work. The total budget will be around $70,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We had our first meeting with Be Unicorn in August 2017. The initial development started in September or October of that year and was completed five months later, in January 2018. Because of our ever changing requirements, we delayed the launch of the app and are continuing to work on additional features.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’ve done beta testing with a small group of users and received positive feedback. There were some bugs, which is typical for any development project, but the overall impressions were good. Their members are experts in design. They created a beautiful and simple UX/UI design.

How did Be Unicorn perform from a project management standpoint?

We haven’t had any issues in this area. The design and development process was managed using specific web services, with clear and transparent tasks. We could always see the current stage of development. Communication was initially done using Telegram, then later we added their project managers to our Slack channel. We used Jira for development and Figma for design and prototyping.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their team has a good combination of design and tech savviness. They use the latest services and development languages, and as a result, we’ve built a modern application that won’t become outdated in a year.

Are there any areas they could improve?

The project management could have been better in the first part of our project, but, after moving our communication to specialized web services, the process improved.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

New customers should give the team some freedom to explore the scope. They are experts and understand the field much better than a typical client.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m one of the founders of Hello Baby. We provide support applications for family needs.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Be Unicorn?

We needed help with production services.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They covered the whole process, from UI/UX design and production to coding, publication, and promotion. We gave them our ideas and vision, and they designed the final mockups.

They developed four apps. The main application stores baby memories and milestones and allows users to talk with friends, read articles by contributors, and find best nearby activities.

We have a subscription model, and also sell goods in a personal baby marketplace.

We use big data to understand family interests, formulate suggestions, and offer a selection of goods on our page. Be Unicorn helped us integrate with Amazon to select the proper products for each stage of baby development.

The app was built for iOS and Android. We started a web version, but decided to stop that and continue on with mobile. The first app was launched in May 2015.

What is the team composition?

We usually work with Anna [Art Director, Be Unicorn] or Tim [Founder, Be Unicorn]. There are 10-12 people on their team, and Anna manages the whole process.

How did you come to work with Be Unicorn?

We’ve known each other for about five years through a personal connection. When I decided to launch this product, we reached out to them.

How much have you invested with them?

Between $500,000-$1 million.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from 2014 until 2015. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’re definitely happy. The products work well and are functional. We have 50-100 users every day. We have five applications for parents and one not for parents. If something doesn’t work, they fix it. The app looks perfect.

Be Unicorn’s team and our in-house team have 15 years of design experience. Design is our strongest quality, according to comments from our seed funds, clients, and companies. Everybody loves our designs.

How did Be Unicorn perform from a project management standpoint?

We connected on Skype and met in San Francisco as needed. Everything was good.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Everything was good. They met all our needs and we had no issues with them.

Are there any areas they could improve?

If there’s something wrong, we tell them, and they fix it immediately.