Big Kitty Labs

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the founder and CEO of Anexis, which developed a platform called Peerro. it provides entry-level employment to young adults aged 14–24. They can schedule interviews directly through the platform and receive guidance toward securing liveable-wage positions.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Big Kitty Labs?

I was the sole member of the startup and I didn’t have domain knowledge in the technology space. This made it difficult to identify a developer that could produce what I was trying to do and bring my vision to fruition.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They developed my app for iOS, Android, and desktop. I provided some requirement documentation, trying to offer as much direction as I could. We collaborated on those, breaking down what the requirements would look like. They’re now handling app maintenance and we have a new set of requirements to add.

They’ve helped me on the marketing side as well, in the sense of connecting me with people. They spoke highly of me and the company, which opened up a lot of doors, including to funding.

What is the team composition?

Dan (CEO, Big Kitty Labs) acted as project manager, but the major points of contact have been Tushar (Co-Founder and COO, Big Kitty Labs) and another member. They handled the development work as well as the project management.

How did you come to work with Big Kitty Labs?

Once I found them, they gave me a level of confidence in the fact that the product would actually do what we expected it to do and that the development would be high quality.

What is the status of this engagement?

I started working with them in July or August 2017 and we have an ongoing relationship. We launched the initial iOS, Android, and desktop versions in April 2018.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The aggregation works quite well. Issues will always arise, but they're on top of them. It’s unrealistic to expect everything to work smoothly, especially when building out new platforms; the bigger value is being able to work with individuals who are responsive and willing to improve the product as much as us, and who are as invested in it as we are.

How did Big Kitty Labs perform from a project management standpoint?

They use Asana as a project management system and they’re on top of it in terms of managing time and being responsive. This is an area I haven’t had issues with.

We communicate through email, phone, and Excel spreadsheets, and we’ve also met each other quite often.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They build technology and they do it well, but they also do a good job of making the client feel comfortable in an unfamiliar space. Being able to send someone an email and to see a response within an hour means a lot to me. I’m able to communicate it when something isn’t working and they get back to me within 12 hours. Their biggest strength is their ability to communicate with the customer and put their mind at ease. They’ve delivered the product I envisioned and they’re working for me.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There's some room for growth in terms of communicating better. I’ve given the requirements to my contact during calls and he translated those to the rest of the development team. Sometimes, things get lost in translation, and it becomes worse when there’s a language barrier.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

I recommend them to clients who want to receive functional products; they’re an honest and upfront group. The product will be as good as the client is engaged, so they shouldn’t expect the development team to read their minds. Constantly communicate what it is they’re trying to build out, because it’s their creation, and the partner is just molding it.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the COO of TNT Services. We’re commercial appearance specialists that primarily provide fleet washing services. However, we’re currently expanding our business into adjacent industries.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Big Kitty Labs?

Most of our internal processes were done manually on paper. Since our service jobs take place remotely, communicating and processing frequently changing data was an arduous responsibility. We wanted to go paperless by utilizing a data collection API that expedites our processing tasks.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We started with the idea that all we needed was an efficient way to get data from the field and generate invoices. Specifically, we wanted a mobile software that enabled our technicians to collect data at job sites. Then, they’d integrate that information through an API that’s connected to our QuickBooks system. Ankit (CTO, Big Kitty Labs) came to our office and scoped out the work.

By virtue of scope creep, the project morphed into a lot more than what we initially expected. Big Kitty Labs were instrumental in getting us to think long-term by having them built out an infrastructure that’s now an asset to our business. They challenged us to develop a future-proof vision instead of just asking for software that’d be outdated in two years. As a result, they developed a system with a customer portal that notifies people when we arrive on a job site. There’s also subsequent notifications that detail when we left a location and what services we performed while there. There are similar notifications that help organize our internal scheduling. They even built in a function that helps us maintenance fleet vehicles.

What is the team composition?

In addition to Ankit, we mostly worked with one of their co-founders and a single developer, Andrey. Another developer currently maintains the software on a daily basis.

How did you come to work with Big Kitty Labs?

Before I came to TNT Services, I’d regularly attend WakeUp StartUp meetings. I met one of the gentlemen who runs that program and he recommend three software development firms. Once TNT Services needed me to lead this project, I interviewed those three firms and decided to hire Big Kitty Labs.

What is the status of this engagement?

We hired them in April 2017. They completed the central part of the development work in April 2018. They provide maintenance and support at this time.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The new software increased our internal processing efficiency better than we could’ve hoped. We experienced a reduction in workforce by 25% through attrition and were able to keep production up without bringing in replacements. Furthermore, we’d originally planned to expand into a new location in 2019. However, with the new system in place, we’re able to open our fourth location as early as Q4 2018. Big Kitty Labs helped accelerate our growth in a tangible way.

How did Big Kitty Labs perform from a project management standpoint?

I have nothing but excellent things to say about them in this area. Our contacts have come to our offices in-person, but we usually communicate with them via email. They’re responsive and forthcoming with information. The transitioning process from development to maintenance was seamless.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They help clients think about the future and try to innovate wherever possible. I’m an extremely practical person, so I’m consistently impressed by their creative solutions to even mundane problems. For example, their looking into utilizing virtual reality tools to train our onboarding employees. This is a great idea because it means we can teach employees in a safe environment with all the resources required. Before they pitched that idea, I just accepted that in-field training was a necessary evil of our business. Big Kitty Labs has their finger on the pulse of modern technology.

Are there any areas they could improve?

We expected the project to take four months to complete, but it obviously took a lot longer than that. However, the project scope evolved into a massive undertaking, so we understand the delay.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

As I mentioned, Ankit designed out the project’s concept and another developer built it. This created some disconnects that could’ve been prevented had the developer been present during the initial consultation.