The Better Bunch

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

Kamino Labs is a company that delivers user-generated walking tours of cities via an iPhone app. We are trying to democratize the walking tour space, so that when people get to unfamiliar spaces, they're not stuck to doing the typical tours, but instead they have content created by locals. This might include media on coffee shops, restaurants and parks which you might not find elsewhere.

What is your position?

I am the Chief Technology Officer at Kamino Labs.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with The Better Bunch?

Before finding The Better Bunch, we had been using local design resources, and we weren't 100% happy with the interface of the application.

After doing some research, we found The Better Bunch's work. I reached out to their principal and talked about a redesign of the interface.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their involvement in greater detail.

The Better Bunch worked purely on UX and UI design. We had them put together a visual style template that we had already developed with our in-house team.

How did you come to work with The Better Bunch?

We stumbled across a project they'd posted on another website. It was very much related to what we were doing at the time, and I was blown away by its design. It was very well thought out and beautiful. I found myself jealous of the interface they put together. I never found another company that could provide the same level of design at that price range.

I reached out to them looking to see if they could apply the same tactics to what we were doing. We quickly struck up a deal and started working together.

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

The total cost was between $10,000 and $50,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together a year and a half ago. The project has been completed.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any feedback from this engagement?

I was very happy with their work process. At first, I was a little apprehensive about working with an overseas design firm. Based on my experience, they can be problematic in terms of delivering less than the full extent of details to your product. I was constantly impressed with the level of detail and granularity that The Better Bunch provided, and how well they took feedback.

The language barrier was another initial concern, but the communication with our project lead has been fantastic.

What distinguishes The Better Bunch from other providers?

Design talent is their defining characteristic. The Better Bunch is very good at what they do. Also, they are very good at communicating and letting us know what they were doing. We never felt that we were out of the loop.

Is there anything The Better Bunch could have improved or done differently?

There were times when I wished I could have spoken directly to the designers, which was not possible due to the language barrier.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

My company is called The Second Wind. We developed a sophisticated app that allows runners to listen to music at either the pace they choose, or their current running pace. If you're making 60 steps per minute, the phone can slow down to that rate, and keep in tune with your running routine. There are other possible applications for the app, but runners consist of its driving force. We're based in California.

What is your position?

I am an investor in the company. I've been involved in the patenting process.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with The Better Bunch?

We originally used a Saint Petersburg team to develop the core of the app. We struggled with the progress for about a year. In 2014, we contacted The Better Bunch.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their involvement in greater detail.

They helped us clean up the work that had been done thus far. They looked at the requirements, provided their own ideas and brought it to the finalized, app store version.

The development process for our app was quite unique, consisting of complex mathematics. The Better Bunch had to work with the previous developers in order to figure out how to optimize and make it work with the various sensors in a smart device. The team they provided for us consisted of five developers.

Currently, we're working on integrating it with the Apple Watch.

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

The total cost of the project was over $100,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

The main work was finished in the fall of 2015. We're maintaining contact with them, but aren't making any more developments due to budgetary constraints. Apps in general are getting more and more expensive.

I can understand the fact that The Better Bunch maintained their pricing, because they have a worldwide customer base.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement?

Right now, we're trying to build a user base by letting users download it for free. Monetization will come at a later point.

Overall, I’d say we were pleased with how The Better Bunch worked.

How did The Better Bunch perform from a project management standpoint?

They were not directly managed. There was some interaction from our end regarding how the app should look, but the main management of the project itself was done by The Better Bunch. In this sense, we didn’t contract a few developers, we contracted a full team.

What distinguishes The Better Bunch from other providers?

The independence of their team. The Better Bunch was able to run on their own and didn't rely on getting constant requirements from us. They have a good sense of grasping ideas and recommending what works best. It could be due to our inexperience, but they were a good fit.

Is there anything The Better Bunch could have improved or done differently?

We struggled with the core piece that synchronizes the music. It was a unique aspect of our app, not really applicable to any other project. It's hard to demand that a generic developer provide great mathematicians that would have a deep grasp of complex algorithms. Other than that, there isn't anything.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

Cigna is a company offering health and wellness services in the form of medical bill insurance.

What is your position?

I am the head of global solutions architecture in the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with The Better Bunch?

As a side-project, we had an idea for a social application for the iOS and Android markets, that was aimed at people who wanted to meet based on social interests. There were two pillars: one was proximity, and the other was a set of common interests (drinking, sports, discussion topics, etc.).

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their involvement in greater detail.

They assign developers depending on what the client's needs are. Since we worked on a bigger project, we also had a project manager assigned to us. We also had one coder and one designer.

How did you come to work with The Better Bunch?

There are numerous options for contracting developers in the present market. You don't have to research individual companies anymore. There are marketplaces where you can shop. We found a few companies in Asia, but decided to go with The Better Bunch, even though some of the other options would have been cheaper. We liked their portfolio on an aesthetic and professional level.

We also had trust issues with the offshore market. We read of numerous instances where a copycat version of an app would be launched, after being developed by an outsourcer. This wasn't an issue with The Better Bunch. They're a long-term collaborator.

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

This depends immensely on the complexity of the application they develop for you. I will say that they were very competitive for the quality that they offered.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement?

We needed a good looking interface to attract users. The Better Bunch came up with only one proposed design, as opposed to the typical three that are presented in such engagements. When they presented it to us, we saw why: they had really embraced our idea and had come up with the best solution. There was an immediate click. I didn't mind that they didn't present alternatives.

On the aesthetic level, they had embraced the minimalistic style that has come to be associated with iOS 7, before the actual launch of that operating system. This is a testimony to their level of understanding of current trends.

How did The Better Bunch perform from a project management standpoint?

From a project point of view, The Better Bunch delivered on time, and from a design level, they delivered lovely interfaces. They understood what the project was about, and made a continuous effort to ask the right questions until they got all the right information.

In the end, the application had only two iterations. Our work was intense in a good way. It extended beyond a nine to five routine. If I sent them an email at 10 p.m., it happened more often than not that I received a reply within the same day.

What distinguishes The Better Bunch from other providers?

They're very upfront with any issue that might go wrong and what problems they're facing. Involving the client in these cases has an added value, even if it presents a messy image. The client will know their product very well, and they will be able to propose shortcuts that the developer may not have thought of. Working with them felt very honest, and I appreciated that. They didn't just deliver the work after three months of silence.

Is there anything The Better Bunch could have improved or done differently?

I can’t think of anything.