Web App Dev for Hospitality Startup
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Web Development
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Other app platform WordPress CMS
- $10,000 to $49,999
- Apr. 2017 - Ongoing
- Quality
- 5.0
- Schedule
- 4.0
- Cost
- 5.0
- Willing to Refer
- 5.0
"[W]e’ve been very pleased with everything we’ve seen thus far."
- Hospitality & leisure
- Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- 1-10 Employees
- Phone Interview
- Verified
ChopDawg is developing a web app after suggesting it was best for releasing a new product. The project is on track and they’re contracted to develop native iOS and Android apps after the solution’s launch.
ChopDawg has a responsive and collaborative approach and is willing to provide a variety of design options and guidance on other business aspects. Their contribution to the marketing side is invaluable and practically saved the project from shutting down.
A Clutch analyst personally interviewed this client over the phone. Below is an edited transcript.
BACKGROUND
Introduce your business and what you do there.
I am the founder of Guestroom.com, which will be an online app that will have a mobile component supporting both iOS and Android. The app itself is a home sharing network for friends and friends of friends with no nightly fees.
OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE
What challenge were you trying to address with ChopDawg?
We needed someone to develop our iOS and Android apps.
SOLUTION
What was the scope of their involvement?
They provided mockup wireframes to help me understand the complete flow of the site at the very beginning. We looked through the wireframes in detail and then moved on to a Highfive version thereof. The Highfive version has added some color to the actual site and also included some of the copy that we’re going to add to give me a better understanding of how the site will flow and the overall customer experience.
From there, they started to build out the backend in WordPress, which will allow me to make edits and support different landing pages, blog posts, and things along those lines. From what I understand, it’s a platform that makes it easier for less technical individuals to maintain ongoing activities on the site. We’re about four months into the project and will launch later this month, after which we’ll have one more month of development for creating the apps.
What is the team dynamic?
Josh [Founder & CEO, ChopDawg] joins our weekly call with the whole team which typically includes a designer, who has been responsible for the wireframes, branding, and all of the Highfives. There’s also a VP of design and a backend developer that attend as well. In total, we end up usually with four people on the call. The backend designer usually joins every other week and there is a fifth team member who supports a lot of the marketing strategy. I don’t have a lot of experience on the marketing side so he’s been very helpful with supporting a marketing plan and its execution.
How did you come to work with ChopDawg?
I interviewed three or four different development companies but Josh was always very engaged from the very beginning and answered all of my questions about pricing, scheduling, and more. ChopDawg is extremely responsive—I usually get responses to emails within 15–20 minutes.
The other thing that convinced me to hire them is that when I started the project, I had been considering a purely native app for iOS and Android. Josh explained that it would be an expensive route to go for a launch, especially for a product and a service that hadn’t really been proven and doesn’t have any subscribers yet.
He suggested that a web app might be the better choice because a web app, with a scaled mobile component, could hit all platforms. Native apps are more expensive and they’re built individually, so starting off with a web app in order to launch a product and then gradually work towards native apps made a lot more sense.
Ultimately, he was pitching a less expensive option and was very interested in making the project as affordable as possible. I felt a certain level of transparency when I spoke with him in the way that he communicated all of this information to me. Josh had a very clear commitment from the very beginning.
How much have you invested with them?
We invested $45,000.
What is the status of this engagement?
We started working together in April 2017 and the work is ongoing.
RESULTS & FEEDBACK
What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?
The app hasn’t been launched yet and the only people who have seen it are my business partner and me, however, we’ve been very pleased with everything we’ve seen thus far. They’ve been very collaborative in presenting different color options, fonts, and layouts based on our questions. They’re also very open to feedback.
All in all, we’re really appreciate what we’ve put together on the site, including the marketing and branding.
How did ChopDawg perform from a project management standpoint?
From the very beginning, they’ve been open about the schedule. We fell behind at one point and they quickly let me know so we could make up some of that time and launch according to plan. Josh has been incredibly helpful with getting everything in order, including things like SSL certifications, bank accounts, finding the right accountant, getting the company incorporated, and more.
They don’t really have a formalized project management tool; we communicate mainly through email. They provide updates on progress, agendas for upcoming meetings, and any materials I need to review. Josh provides a lot of guidance, especially with the things that could potentially delay a launch if they’re not in place on time.
What did you find most impressive about them?
I didn’t expect their support on the marketing aspect. It was probably two months into the project when I got very nervous about my ability to support a marketing plan and subscriber acquisition, to the point where I asked Josh to consider shutting the project down. He assured me that they would put together a plan and help me come up with a way to execute on that plan such that subscriber acquisition wouldn’t be as big of a challenge as what I had anticipated.
While we haven’t gotten to the point of actual subscriber acquisition, the plan we put in place thus far has made me feel much more confident. It’s given me something to work on in the interim so that I’m not just waiting for the project to launch, but rather documenting blog content and preparing information so that when we do launch, there’s actually a rich site behind the services and not just an empty shell.
The marketing guidance that they’ve given has been really invaluable to me and made me feel much better about the overall project, especially since all the expenses are coming entirely out of my own pocket. It’s been really helpful to have their feedback and guidance.
Are there any areas they could improve?
Their expertise, at this point, is really in web page development and in communicating during the whole process the work that’s being done. They’re slowly becoming a more marketing-centric company as well, which is the one area of improvement that they could pursue. I know Josh would like to offer more marketing-focused services to startups like myself and other entrepreneurs, but they’re still refining that process.
RATINGS
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Quality
5.0Service & Deliverables
"They’ve been very strong with what they’ve delivered and have always given me options."
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Schedule
4.0On time / deadlines
"I didn’t find out that we had fallen behind by seven to ten days until we actually got to that point. It would’ve been good to know that we were inching closer to a delay, but they made up the time and it appears that we will launch on schedule."
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Cost
5.0Value / within estimates
"They were a little bit better than everyone else that I spoke with."
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Willing to Refer
5.0NPS
"Absolutely. I already have.