BlueLabel

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

My company is developing a social platform for restaurants that provides customers with great lifetime value and rewards-based tools. I’m the CEO and founder of the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Blue Label Labs?

We needed a company to create the UI/UX of our app.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We were looking to build two separate paths for our marketplace: one that serves restaurants and one that helps consumers. I gave them the app that we initially launched to serve as a starting point for their development work. They created the diners and restaurants app from the ground up.

Their team also focused on the UI/UX of both apps. The deliverables were InVision prototypes that we’re now using to build the apps. Additionally, they created brand guidelines based on their designs and information I shared with them about our company’s vision.  

What is the team composition?

There were 3–4 people involved in the process on their end. 

How did you come to work with Blue Label Labs?

I had my marketing lead research companies to promote the initial version of the app that we launched. In doing that research, she found them because of their marketing skills. 

How much have you invested with them?

We spent about $74,000 on the project.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in Septemeber 2019, and our collaboration is ongoing. We’re taking a pause right now, but it will continue in the future.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We did a user interview with a consumer on the app and a restaurant. Most of the feedback for the UI/UX was very positive for both apps. So far, my stakeholders, investors, and my team think the UI is wonderful. Their work has surpassed my expectations for the platform.  

How did Blue Label Labs perform from a project management standpoint?

They were great at meeting our deadlines, staying on track to make sure each person was working diligently on hitting deadlines. The timeline worked out well because of that. We used Asana to communicate and comment on their iterative work. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re a dynamic team that knows what they’re doing. They came up with solutions based on really loose concepts, providing tons of functions that I wasn’t anticipating.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They didn’t immediately relay information regarding budget changes immediately, and that would’ve been helpful for planning purposes. However, when I brought this up with them, they recognized the issue and waived the additional amount on the invoice. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

People should work with them because of their dynamism and skill. They responded quickly to requests, so make sure that you’re on top of your game by providing them with information.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder and CEO of a music discovery app that leverages social networks to stimulate music discovery.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Blue Label Labs?

We’ve been working with them on developing our MVP.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

I designed the very first version myself with another agency, so we had the majority of the design assets beforehand. From there, they entered the development phase of the work. They have teams of designers and engineers developing our product native MVP. So, they handled programming as well as UI/UX. They created the final mobile app solution for iOS. 

What is the team composition?

There were four members of the team. That included a project manager, an engineering lead, a creative director, and a designer. 

How did you come to work with Blue Label Labs?

They had great Clutch reviews, and I was impressed with their prior experience. Their team seemed like a good match for us. 

How much have you invested with them?

We spent about $110,000 on the project.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started up in October 2019, and the project is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They certainly did an excellent job when we put all of the assets together in the end. The beta testing on the app has been going great so far. People who have seen the app really enjoy it. We’ve been keeping track of the quality of the product and collaboration between our teams.   

How did Blue Label Labs perform from a project management standpoint?

They were able to deliver based on what was provided to them well and according to our timeline. We used Asana to keep everyone on the same page.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their design skills and overall quality of the app were impressive. They’re work made our final product stand out. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

They’re a great team to work with, so I can’t think of much. It may be helpful for increased organization around communicating delivery dates. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

If you’re working with them, come in with full knowledge of the problem you’re trying to solve. I’d highly recommend working with them as long as you have some prior direction going into the engagement.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the founder and SEO of a project management tool aimed at making municipal project management more efficient.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Blue Label Labs?

We were looking to improve government efficiency in general. There are major inconsistencies in regards to the level of efficiency officials face in their day-to-day work. We wanted to put together a tool for their procurement needs and task management.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Blue Label Labs has taken my vision for the product and turned it into a working prototype of a web-based platform. Their team is currently working on the design phase of the prototype and the next phase will be backend development. 

What is the team composition?

I worked with Stewart (Director of Sales, Blue Label Labs) and Tanya (Director of Product Management, Blue Label Labs). We also worked with  Danny (Creative Director, Blue Label Labs), David (UI Designer, Blue Label Labs), and Kelly (Program Manager., Blue Label Labs)

How did you come to work with Blue Label Labs?

I had a prior relationship with Stewart and knew of the work he has done for a number of other companies. When I approached him with my idea, the comfort level I had with him and his dedication to making this a wonderful process for me really attracted me to Blue Label Labs. I got the opportunity to meet with some of the team members and really felt at home when working with them.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our ongoing engagement with Blue Label Labs began in July 2019.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our work is still ongoing, but we will continue to work with Blue Label Labs for the development phase. Their team has been professional throughout the process, displaying creativity and expertise. Tanya was exceptional in taking my idea and turning it into a working prototype. Danny created a beautiful landscape and visual presentation of the product. Kelly, our project manager, did an excellent job keeping everybody on task.

How did Blue Label Labs perform from a project management standpoint?

Blue Label Labs is extremely responsive. I could reach any member of their team by telephone, Slack, or email and get an immediate response. Their availability for their customers is uncanny. From that point of view, they were extremely engaged in the product and working with me to make sure any questions were answered immediately so they could move quickly. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

It felt like I was working with family members. Not only were they extremely professional in the way they were dealing with me and my vision, but they were extremely creative when it came to enhancing that vision.

Blue Label Labs is very fun to work with. Our weekly calls are always fun and interactive. Having that enjoyment working with the team is exceptional. They are truly interested in my success as a founder and continue to do more than just help me design a product. They put me in touch with people in the industry that can help further my progress as a first-time entrepreneur.

Are there any areas they could improve?

From my point of view, no. They were really hitting on all cylinders and they’ve got their operation and work management down to a tee. Their team worked extremely well together. Of course, you have some back and forth disagreements form time to time, but I think that only helps further the cause because everyone has such passion in the work they’re doing. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

When working with a team like theirs, embrace it. Ingraining yourself in the process as much as possible means you’re going to get more out of it. You can put together an idea and they’ll take it and run with it without a problem, but if you sit on the sidelines the whole time it’s not going to be as great of an experience.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder and CEO of a property management software company that caters to small DIY landlords with less than 50 units. These are landlords who have 9-to-5 jobs but have inherited a home or have some type of investment property.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Blue Label Labs?

As a smaller company, we have a good sales and operating position but needed help with some of the development work. Our goal was to get the browser version of our software ready with a really solid codebase so that we could eventually bring the development in-house.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement? 

Blue Label Labs has developed our property management software. It’s a web- and iOS-based solution that allows tenants to pay rent, submit maintenance requests, and store applications. There’s also a chat system to help landlords and tenants talk directly.

After defining our expectations with their head of sales, they gave me some estimates and pitched a few designs. We decided to move forward with their ideas and went into a week-long design sprint, which resulted in a really great prototype that we’re actually still referencing today. 

From there, they moved into the development phase for about eight months. We currently have an iOS app built in Swift as well as the web version based in JavaScript, React, and PostgreSQL.

What is the team composition? 

I initially worked with the head of product—who served as the sprint facilitator—as well as the product manager who was my liaison to the dev team. 

In the summer of 2019, they both left the company and were replaced by Darrell (Digital Product Manager, Blue Label Labs) and Jim (Product Owner, Blue Label Labs). They were very transparent about the switch, giving me weeks of notice to prepare. I was upset at first because my initial contacts were so strong, but it’s worked out for the best.

How did you come to work with Blue Label Labs?

We’d interviewed a few companies before finding Blue Label Labs on Clutch. I contacted them through their website, spoke with their head of sales, and visited their offices to review their pitch.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent approximately $350,000 so far. They’ve always been upfront about costs, whether something was going under or over budget. Generally, we’re on the same page about most things, so I’m pretty happy.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in November 2018, and the engagement is ongoing.
 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’ve just had a soft launch within the past two weeks, so we’re still pretty new to market. But my experience has been pretty good so far. Everything works, and we’ve onboarded just under 20 users.

How did Blue Label Labs perform from a project management standpoint?

We first coordinated through their project management tools, which included Asana, Jira, and Slack. As the development continued and we’d finalized our overarching decisions, we switched over to email.

I now mainly interface with Jim via email and also have an hour-long all-hands meeting each week to discuss our progress. Even though a lot of their team works remotely in different time zones, they’ve always been very responsive, getting back to me within a reasonable timeframe.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I’d say that their strongest trait is their friendliness. I’ve been able to meet them in person many times and have always appreciated how much I enjoy working with them. They feel like a part of my team because they’ve helped so much in building the product.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There were some delays, but that’s pretty common in software development projects.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Make sure you’re upfront with your wants and needs, and they’ll do their best to accommodate.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I work as an associate research scientist for a dental college.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Blue Label Labs?

We were revamping an app we’d developed for a federally-funded grant health intervention project. The app’s technology was outdated, and we needed to engage a software vendor that could bring it up to date.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Blue Label Labs has worked with us in a number of different ways on our research app for our health intervention program. It’s an iOS solution for tablets and smartphones. They’ve helped us redesign our app’s UI as well as the administrative backend.

Over the years, they’ve also helped us develop multiple spin-off projects. We still rely on them to maintain functionalities and troubleshoot/debug issues as they come up.

What is the team composition?

It’s hard to say how many people have been involved from the Blue Label team, but we’ve worked with quite a few over the years. 

They assign different teams depending on the project at hand. Typically, they provide a supervisor to manage the project and handle the coordination and communication. Then there’s the development team. 
 
I work pretty closely with Zach (Head of Business Development, Blue Label Labs) on day-to-day management, and I’ve worked with many of their development team.

How did you come to work with Blue Label Labs?

One of my colleagues identified them as a local company that seemed like a good fit. She did the background work, and we interviewed a few different vendors. We just liked the way Blue Label Labs worked, and their communication style. We were pleased with the product they had, so we decided to go with them. 

Their pricing seemed to work well with us, too. As a nonprofit organization that relies on funding, we don’t really have deep pockets when it comes to developing technology. They’ve been very understanding about that and have a lot of experience working with universities. They understand the challenges of working in this environment.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve had a lot of iterations and break-offs. We’ve definitely spent or at least allocated over $100,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

It’s hard to say exactly when we started. We’ve been working with them for at least five years, and that relationship has grown and morphed over time. Our most recent project probably started in November 2016 and is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?
 
The app is specifically for research and is being used in a very controlled environment, so it’s not freely available yet. 

That being said, we’ve collected some data on the UX, which has been overwhelmingly positive. We’ve learned a lot about what people like and don’t like, and Blue Label Labs has worked with us to make it even more user-friendly and functional over the years.

How did Blue Label Labs perform from a project management standpoint?

They’ve been phenomenal in terms of communication. Their project managers keep in touch with us during the active moments of a project, and we schedule weekly meetings. 

Blue Label has been really great about hosting webinars, and they’ve only gotten better since. I engage in webinars and conference calls with them. The more technologically-engaged people in my team use Asana.

What did you find most impressive about them?

It’s their adaptability. They have a good way of assessing our needs and working with us to tailor those needs.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, there’s nothing I can think of. The biggest thing for us was communication and staying on target with the budget, and they’ve been on point with those.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

Clients shouldn’t go in with a strict, preconceived notion of what they want. Instead, it’s important to engage in communication with the Blue Label team. Explain everything you’re looking for and let them guide you on the tech side—that’s what they do best.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder and CEO of LastSeat, which is an Amadeus platform that allows real-time bidding on airline travel.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Blue Label Labs?

When I first engaged with Blue Label Labs, we were still very much in the early phases of our development. We didn’t have a product or a design for the mobile application, so we were looking for different tech providers who could provide the frontend, backend, or both that also had design capabilities.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Blue Label Labs was our exclusive partner, so they helped with everything. They developed the application, most of which involved integration with the system the airlines use to exchange inventory and book tickets called the Amadeus media system. They also developed the search function, and the feature we were trying to bring to the market which is the actual real-time bidding capability.

They helped us with the design and feel of the actual interface, basically turning our very basic wireframe into a natural, working application and bringing our project to life. They were able to run it through Test Flight to play around with the product before bringing the app to both iOS and Android devices.

What is the team composition?

Bobby (CEO, Blue Label Labs) was our main point of contact, but we had four key people across different operations depending on what part we were working on. That included one main project manager and a few QA folks, but for the most part, their work was funneled to us through one point of contact rather than having information coming from multiple different places.

How did you come to work with Blue Label Labs?

They came to us through a recommendation by one of my business partners who had done a bit of research into the market and found that Blue Label Labs was particularly highly rated. We asked to look at their portfolio of work, and the quality of their product really stood out amongst the rest, albeit accompanied by a more premium price. Since cash is a little more difficult for startups, we reached an arrangement with them where they got

How much have you invested with them?

Including our equity and payments to them, we’ve spent around $350,000–$400,000 since the beginning of our work together.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Blue Label Labs in March 2016 and are continuing to work together today.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We are very pleased with the quality of the work they’ve completed for us. Our project took Blue Label Labs out of their depth a little bit in terms of engaging and dealing with an industry that they weren’t really familiar with on the day-to-day business end. That said, their teams handled the situation very well and were still able to build exactly what we need.

Their design team was really fantastic as well. The interface has gotten great initial feedback from users who say that it’s very clean, very easy to use, and generally savvy-looking, which I think is a big plus. Despite the project taking 6-8 months longer than expected, they worked to keep costs in line with our expectations so that our investment didn’t bubble out of control.

How did Blue Label Labs perform from a project management standpoint?

From a personal standpoint, they are a fantastic team to work with. They are very strong communicators, they establish great objectives and roadmaps, and they always incorporate feedback into their work. Despite being in a completely different time zone, they always got back to us within 24 hours on any questions or issues we had.

The project was delayed, but only because of some nuances with the API that we were trying to connect that weren’t as standard as we had hoped. The important thing was that they helped us work through that and get through it. They see the value of what we’re bringing to the consumer, and that has really made our relationship a great one.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They have an excellent portfolio of companies and make apps that are very clean and easy to use. In my opinion, their design team probably doesn’t get as much credit as they should.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, at every obstacle we’ve faced they have been open to working through it together, so I don’t hold anything against them.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I would recommend that anyone try to deal with as much as possible upfront, in terms of cost, project timeline, individual roles and such. It will help avoid unnecessary obstacles down the line. Their team is very happy to work through a lot of that in advance as opposed to putting unnecessary delays on the project themselves.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the owner and founder of Live Solutions LLC. We’re developing a dating app that provides a live user experience for those interested in dating. It’s more than just a swipe-to-match concept. Users will be able to interact on a live feed in real-time with each other and a host who will lead icebreaker questions.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Blue Label Labs?

I needed help with developing the app and all of its unique functionalities.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

I started out with only a small business plan—the app wasn’t sketched out at all. The goal was to come up with a product that I could show to investors to scale up when the time is right. They gave me a first service estimate in the beginning. From there, they listed out a full SOW with detailed steps to get to the MVP. We started the work with a discovery meeting, discussing my vision and how I pictured the app. Once they had a good idea of what I wanted, they began building the app and meeting with me intermittently.

Before they tackled functionalities, everything was laid out clearly in a prototype. They used Realtimeboard to manage how the product would flow and function. In development, we paid particular attention to the signup flow. It's an important part of the app because users must create a profile in order to interact with people and enter games on the platform. Their work makes it possible for someone to input their age, sexual preference, a short bio, photos, and Facebook login in the creation of individualized profiles. Once completed, the app will have scheduled games that will take players through a series of 10 questions where they can answer and interact with each other in real-time. 

The iOS app is ready for beta testing now. I’m meeting with Blue Label Labs soon to discuss next steps. Once we get testers on the app and games start, we’re going to have to figure out how to make it all sync up to make sure the flow works in real-time.  

What is the team composition?

I’ve been working directly with Zach (Head of Business Development, Blue Label Labs) and his team for the project.

How did you come to work with Blue Label Labs?

I found them through Google. They weren’t a tough find, but I did some additional research. At the time, I was interviewing teams based in California, but Zach and his team were based in Manhattan just a few blocks away from my office. It was very convenient to meet with them in person, so I chose them. 

How much have you invested with them?

The original estimate for the MVP was about $50,000, and it’ll be an additional $8,500 for a pitch deck and website.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project started in December 2018, and the work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I consider Blue Label Labs to be my CTO. I think that will be a big game-changer when I pitch to investors. At this point, when I show people the app, even individuals in my audience, they always praise the design. Throughout the development, every bug has been fixed within a week.

They’ve also brought their own ideas to the app that have been valuable. For instance, part-way through the build, we noticed that the app might need a tutorial so users can immediately understand how the game flow is going to work. They ended up going back and adding it after realizing it was needed. So, while we haven’t launched yet, I can attest that their work is impactful. 

How did Blue Label Labs perform from a project management standpoint?

We met in person a few times, and it was great to be able to sit down to collaborate. Those meetings made a big difference in sketching out the project in its early stages. Otherwise, we used Zoom, Asana, and email to communicate, all of which were effective. They’re very organized and were great at giving updates. The team was detail-oriented, keeping track of everything throughout the project.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They had an impressive ability to both transcribe my vision and contribute their own ideas to the project. They have a unique spin on what I’m doing, coming to me with suggestions on how I can improve the app and give my users a better experience. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

The price is a bit steep, but that’s because I didn’t have the funding that many startup entrepreneurs might have. Other than that, I can’t think of anything. They were organized and readily available to address my needs. Their team was also very clear about how certain decisions might impact my budget.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO and co-founder of a first-of-its-kind management system for student life.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Blue Label Labs?

We initially started out as a university wellness platform and first engaged Blue Label Labs to build a prototype for it. Four weeks into getting our first investment, we realized that we needed to pivot to a more comprehensive student life system. We re-engaged Blue Label Labs to implement this shift.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

This was our first time doing this, so they assisted us from square one. We partnered with them to do the earlier ideation and mock-ups for the prototype of our student wellness platform.

After our product shift to a student life system, they worked to understand and implement this transition. They employed Angular, SQL, C#, and .NET for our initial build before switching to a new architecture. This also meant reconfiguring user stories, reworking the UX/UI extensively, formatting all of the data, and producing a functional demo. Now, they're working to produce an MVP to deploy in 2020.

What is the team composition?

At any given time, there have been around 20 people on the project. Our main point of contact was Stewart Skrondal (Director, Blue Label Labs), although he’s become a friend, so we don’t refer to his title too much.

We also actively engage with Bobby Gill (Co-Founder & CTO, Blue Label Labs), project managers, and the head of design. Blue Label Labs really brought their A-Team out for us, which we’re extremely thankful for. 

How did you come to work with Blue Label Labs?

When we were looking to build a prototype, we used Clutch to help narrow our search. Blue Label Labs was one of the few service providers we spoke with, and we were really impressed by their authentic approach. 

How much have you invested with them?

We've spent between $100,000–$250,000.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The initial prototype we produced was key in securing our first investment, which prompted us to go back to them for full-scale development. They've been excellent in strategizing our business changes. From a UX/UI perspective, the product they’ve created is top-notch, and working with them has been amazing. 

How did Blue Label perform from a project management standpoint?

They're great. Initially, we had a project manager—no longer at Blue Label Labs—who just had a different working process or methodology from what we needed. That could’ve been a pain point, but the company recognized this and offered an alternative solution even before we asked. Blue Label Labs has been very on the ball about those things. They are excellent on the communication front. I collaborate with them in person and on Slack.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They were extremely nimble in adapting to our changing needs, which was very impressive. While a lot of service providers emphasize that they’re going to be partners and not just contractors, that's often not the case.

Blue Label Labs has held to their word. It's never felt like a vendor relationship: more like we have 20 additional employees who are fully devoted to our mission. Bobby would even travel with us to meetings with university executives to ensure the successful communication of our technical strategy and approach. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, we were really impressed with their services. The CTO physically traveling with us to ensure our success just speaks volumes of how good of an agency they really are.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

It’s hard to say because we were so inexperienced. I do wish we had taken fuller ownership of certain things to deter the associated cost of working with such an esteemed firm. They didn’t take advantage of us by any means, but, in hindsight, there may have been aspects of the project that we could’ve executed ourselves.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the CEO of Hoppin LLC, a carpooling transportation business for college students.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Blue Label Labs?

We reached out to Blue Label Labs to create an innovative design for the frontend of our mobile app. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Blue Label Labs designed our mobile app for iOS and Android, which is in the process of being developed by another vendor. They provided iterations for our review throughout the process, using InVision. 

What is the team composition? 

We worked with four people, including a lead designer, a UX designer, and a UI designer.

How did you come to work with Blue Label Labs?

We found them on Clutch and decided to work with them based on their positive reviews.

How much have you invested with them?

We invested about $38,000 in total.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from February–April 2019.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Blue Label Labs created innovative, user-friendly designs. It was clear by the quality of their work that they cared about the project and our success. They offered new, creative ideas that were a significant improvement on the original rough sketches we provided. Everything they delivered looks great. 

How did Blue Label Labs perform from a project management standpoint?

They were easy to work with and very responsive overall. We mostly communicated through Zoom.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their designers are top-notch and ahead of the curve; they have a lot of experience and training. Investing in their services was worth every penny. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can't think of anything. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Don't be intimidated by the investment, because the end products they're capable of delivering are well worth it. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m one of the co-founders and CIO of Frictionless Enterprises, a startup that, through the Hyer app, streamlines the deployment of an on-demand labor force.  Our platform seeks to connect individuals with business opportunities.  By partnering with both large and small companies, we can help fulfill seasonal resource gaps, while also supporting the local communities.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Blue Label Labs?

We hired Blue Label Labs to develop our platform, starting with the mobile apps and expanding into a web portal.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement? 

Our solution consists of multiple components, including a native iOS and Android app, as well as a web portal. Initially, we worked with Blue Label Labs during the early stages to gather our requirements and outline blueprints for the iOS app.

Blue Label Labs then helped us to develop and implement the app into a pilot phase within five months. We’re currently working on a mobile responsive web portal, which will allow our business customers to log in and centrally manage an on-demand labor pool. The tech stack includes a React Native framework and features about 10 third-party integrations (e.g., Stripe, Mandrill, Checkr, Twilio, MailChimp, Google Maps).

What is the team composition? 

We currently work with three core resources from a day-to-day perspective: a project manager, a senior project manager, and a UX/UI resource. In addition, there are several offshore team members, all overseen by an extremely knowledgeable lead engineer and architect.

How did you come to work with Blue Label Labs?

Coming from a technical background, I knew what I wanted in a development partner. We used reviews from Clutch and other resources to compile a list of criteria, most of which boiled down to having detail-oriented project management, strong technical know-how, great communication skills, and overall resource availability.

We were looking for a company that could partner with us to problem-solve rather than simply take orders. Our partner needed to grasp what we were trying to accomplish, understand the overall problem, and translate that into a viable solution.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent about $790,000 so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We kicked off the engagement in June 2018 and launched our iOS app in December 2018. Our work with Blue Label Labs is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

What makes Blue Label Labs a great company to partner with, is their use of the agile methodology, which enables them to deliver quickly. Within five months, we had a fully functioning iOS app that was leveraged by a major florist in the Detroit market, and we are now in pilot with one of the largest privately-owned grocery chains in the United States.

The quality of their output is outstanding. Our company engaged a third-party cybersecurity provider to scan for security risks. They ran vulnerability assessments, as well as a manual penetration test. When the results were returned, there were only low priority issues that were quickly remediated by Blue Label Labs. 

How did Blue Label Labs perform from a project management standpoint?

Their project managers are some of the best I’ve worked with.  They are detail-oriented, quick to adapt to changing priorities, and an overall pleasure to work with.

At this point in our project, we have daily stand-up calls and hour-long planning calls twice a week. If we’re planning out a new phase, we’ll have in-person meetings, as needed. They use slack and email for written communication, and are quick to respond during weekends and off-hours, when needed.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re outstanding. Not only do they understand who we are as a company, but they’re willing to challenge our ideas. We have many years of IT experience within our own team, so we are probably not the easiest customer to deal with, since we really have an in-depth grasp of the development lifecycle.

Often, we come into a situation with something already designed and ask them to implement.  However, Blue Label Labs will take the time to understand the problem to solve, push back as needed, and propose new ways of thinking about a problem. We then collaboratively come up with the optimal end solution.

Are there any areas they could improve?

The only thing I can think of is that, at times, there has been a bit of an underestimation of the complexity of what we were trying to accomplish.  This has resulted in estimates that needed to be revised after we got into the details of the situation. 

In that sense, it would benefit them to be more mindful about their estimates, from a time, cost, and bandwidth perspective.

During those cases, we discussed the concerns with their senior leadership and worked through the details to find the best solution. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

If something isn’t working, speak up and have a conversation with the senior leadership team. They are always happy to make things right.