Digital Studio NW, LLC

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Owner

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

I sell rare US coins.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Digital Studio NW, LLC to accomplish?

• Design a new website to display coins
• Design a coin program to categorize and archive coins sold
• Design a new logo

SOLUTION

How did you find Digital Studio NW, LLC?

Referral

Why did you select Digital Studio NW, LLC over others?

Good value for cost, Referred to me, Company values aligned

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

The new website was delivered in a timely fashion. The back end of the site is user-friendly. Anytime we need support Matt is available to us and promptly solves any problems we may have,.. he sends videos for training that were extremely helpful

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

• Definite uptick in clients accessing my website
• Being able to access my database, even from my cell phone is invaluable
• My reputation in the industry has benefited from the quality of my website

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

Yes. II have had no problem that wasn't solved promptly and professionally... and the programs are so well written I've probably only had to put in two or three service orders, and it was always something extremely minor

What was your primary form of communication with Digital Studio NW, LLC?

In-Person Meeting

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

My business is very unusual and many aspects are specific only to the rare coin industry. Their understanding of my business set them apart… He is also innovative and constantly making my job in sales easier.

Are there any areas for improvement or something Digital Studio NW, LLC could have done differently?

No

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the COO of Witherell’s, an auction and appraisal company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Digital Studio NW, LLC?

We needed someone to develop software to run our auction inventory and online options.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Digital Studio NW, LLC has designed and developed a custom software for us from scratch. and are currently fine-tuning it and providing hosting. Regarding features, the software is comprehensive with complete inventory control, reporting writing, accounting, and employee time management.

What is the team composition?

We mainly work with Matt (Owner).

How did you come to work with Digital Studio NW, LLC?

We knew about their work because they developed a website for mutual friends and colleagues.

How much have you invested with them?

So far, we've spent around $80,000 with them.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in September 2021, and the engagement is still ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Digital Studio NW, LLC has the ability to make us more efficient in our processes.

How did Digital Studio NW, LLC perform from a project management standpoint?

Digital Studio NW, LLC has met all our deadlines and stayed on budget. In terms of tools and communication, we use email and phone calls.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Digital Studio NW, LLC's team is agile, small, and creative, which are their biggest strengths.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don't think there's anything they can improve on.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Have faith in the process of working with them.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am an executive for a rare coins business that has a sales presence online through my website and at trade shows across the country.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Digital Studio NW, LLC, and what were your goals?

I had a horrible selling platform with poor security systems. Digital Studio NW, LLC, came in and created a thorough, well designed platform for sales, customer data, want lists, ebay and website transactions, covering all aspects of the transaction from start to finish. Additionally, they set up my website to be fully integrated with the database and allowed for selling on ebay at the same time, whereby the sale removes the inventory from all platforms where my coins are advertised and listed for sale.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

He was a former employee to a rare coin firm and had helped develop their software. Matt has an insider understanding of the coin business which helps him to create a product that is user friendly and meets specific, unique needs to our industry.

Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and technologies used.

They were asked to build a database I could use for both inventory, customer data and historical coin data and tie that to a brand new website that they developed with an additional feature to automate ebay listings and sales.

How many people from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

Matt, the owner.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables?

Everything was done in the time frame discussed and works perfectly. Additional support was available to me in a timely manner in spite of a 3 hour time difference. Clear explanation and walk through training was provided ahead of time so I could be up to speed when the final product was delivered.

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timeliness.

Excellent and timely communication.

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

Extremely diligent about protecting data against breaches. Constantly installing the most recent updates.

Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?

No

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the owner of Devin Hipp Enterprises, and I buy and sell rare United States coins and paper money.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Digital Studio NW?

My company needed a turnkey inventory control system, and I knew there were a number of processes that other companies in the industry had already streamlined and automated that I wanted to implement as part of that.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Matt (Owner) has been working on the system that we implemented for several years before I even came to him. From my understanding, he had a general framework in place, and then we went through the process of customizing it to all of my particular needs.

The first iteration of the inventory system was based on Magento 1, and then we transitioned to Magento 2around June of last year. During that process, he took the time to really upgrade and add a lot of different features so that we are operating even faster than we had been when we initially incorporated it.

What was the team composition?

All of my communication has flowed directly through Matt, but I believe he has 2–3 other guys that he works with as well on the coding and other technical aspects of the work.

How did you come to work with Digital Studio NW?

Somebody in the industry recommended that I look into his system. He was super upfront about the cost and what the solution is capable of providing, which I really appreciated. It seemed like the platform was the best value out of my options and provided the most future potential in terms of creating a forward-facing website long-term, so I decided to go with him.

How much have you invested with them?

The total cost of the project has been around $30,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in January 2017 and are continuing to collaborate today.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

There are a certain number of nuances when working with anything based on Magento because it provides a lot of capabilities but has some pretty hard limitations as well in terms of the elements that are hardcoded into its framework.

Despite that, Matt has figured out a way to work around and adapt that platform no matter what we are trying to do, so we’ve been really impressed with his ability to meet all of our needs in that way.

On the rare occasion that anything does break, he has always been very responsive and proactive in getting it fixed so that we don’t spend very much time down at all.

How did Digital Studio NW perform from a project management standpoint?

The management of the project itself has been very effective. Many times, we actually finish ahead of the deadlines that we put in place for the projects, so he manages our expectations for all of that work very well.

As far as interacting with them, they have a really good help desk ticket that we can use for any issue at any time, and they are always incredibly responsive to those. It also helps to track whatever we’re working on so that the progress and timeline is totally out in the open for everyone. They’ve made it incredibly easy to handle all of the work.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Matt really genuinely cares about our success and making sure that his product gives us the highest probability of achieving that success on our own, which we really appreciate. He consistently personally invests his time in solving any issues we run into, and it really demonstrates how much they care about our long-term relationship.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I really don’t have any complaints. They have been able to implement almost every idea we’ve ever come up with to improve the cost-effectiveness or functionality of the program.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Have a very clear picture of what your business does so that you can relay that to Matt, and he can translate into a solution for your particular needs. The longer Matt and I work together, the more elements of my business he sees and realizes he has a way to help with, so the more you can open that up to him in the beginning, the better he will be able to help.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m one of the owners of Sarasota Rare Coin Gallery. We have a website under the name of Sarasota Numismatics. We buy and sell rare coins.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Digital Studio NW, LLC?

We needed help with creating a web presence.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Digital Studio NW built our website from scratch using Magento. They custom-coded several features including a shopping cart, a front-page system, and a way for us to easily scan products online.

What is the team composition?

I work mainly with Matt (Owner).

How did you come to work with Digital Studio NW, LLC?

I knew him from his work with another company in the coin collection company. After talking with him, he seemed perfect.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve probably spent over $25,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project started in January 2016. They still support the website and provide updates. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Digital Studio NW’s work has been essential, especially since our state is on lockdown due to the coronavirus. Without the website, we’d have pretty much no business going on right now. We’ve also had Matt work on a partner’s site, which is a wholesale inventory system. Matt custom-built that for him. It’s been an ongoing expansion of the business.

How did Digital Studio NW, LLC perform from a project management standpoint?

We’re always in communication. We help try out new products and ideas to see if they’ll work. We keep in touch through email, phone calls, and texts, and a help desk that he built for us. That way, we can take screenshots and more easily relay any issues we have. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

The big thing with our industry is having someone who understands it. Digital Studio NW understood all the little things that our business had to have right off the bat. For example, Matt knew right away that Magento out of the box wouldn’t work for us. Once he customized it, though, it was perfect.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Everything works very well, and Matt is very attentive. The only thing that could have been easier was Magento’s update cycles, which is not his fault.

Any advice for potential customers?

The biggest problem in our industry is that people trying to work in something relatively high tech tend to not listen. Matt goes through a lot of effort to create videos and training materials that would help people in our industry not screw things up.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the owner of Americana Rare Coin. We are a buyer and seller of collectible coins and currency.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Digital Studio NW, LLC?

We wanted assistance with web development and backend administration.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They built a new website for us in Magento 2. They had previously built a site for me using Magento 1 in 2013, so it was easy for him to migrate all the data to the new site. Before working with them, I had a simple Shopify site that I put together myself, but it wasn’t very good. 

What is the team composition?

My main point of contact is Matt, but I’ve worked with a few other team members. 

How did you come to work with Digital Studio NW, LLC?

I knew of Matt from other industry contacts who had worked with him. I felt comfortable working with him because he’s familiar with the coin industry. 

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve invested between $10,000-$25,000. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We initially worked with Matt in November 2013. He developed our current site in January 2019, and he continues to provide us updates.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The quality of their work is top-notch. My website is functional and secure. Matt is always receptive to hearing about my ideas on how to improve the site. The team is diligent about keeping everything updated. They know their stuff, and they do a great job. 

How did Digital Studio NW, LLC perform from a project management standpoint?

I’m very happy with their project management style. We don’t have problems with communication or meeting deadlines. Typically, if there’s an issue on the site, they respond within an hour. 

We primarily communicate via email, but occasionally we will have phone calls. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

It’s allowed me to build an online presence that I wouldn’t have been able to achieve without them. It’s also easy for me to manage administrative and e-commerce tasks myself. They’ve done a great job and continue to check up on the site to make sure its always up and running. They’re proactive about security as well. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

There’s a learning curve using the site as a non-technical person. They do some training videos which are quite helpful. However, it would be great if there could be more frequent training. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers? 

Tell them what you need and give them a day or two to work through it. They’ll probably come up with a pretty unique solution. They’re good problem solvers.