Five Pack

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the co-founder and CEO of Consie.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Five Pack?

We needed help designing and developing our website in preparation for a new and disruptive customer experience e-commerce platform.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Five Pack has been instrumental in the scoping and ongoing support of the design and implementation of our website in preparation for a new and disruptive customer experience e-commerce platform. We're only one month into the project, so I'll have more input if we talk again.

We were having trouble developing content of enough quality up front, so Five Pack graciously lent us or tapped into their Adobe account to put placeholders that were giving us an aspiration to work towards visually. They also helped us maximize our budget by starting with Shopify versus everything custom. Because we want to differentiate ourselves, they have been using Hydrogen to help us create our imprint on the market.

We're an e-commerce platform serving the global diaspora, so we have hired Five Pack to build a website that could scale quickly to reach an international audience and be a niche to the Indian diaspora. There would be some custom inputs concerning what that diaspora needed. They value tailoring, so Five Pack had to create a custom input field for collecting individual measurements.

From our e-commerce point of view, we need to be able to work with businesses to create a breadth and depth of our inventory quickly. Five Pack has helped create a framework for virtual stores to help us converse with businesses. We hope to be the next version of an elevated Amazon for people who live in India, outside of India, or love Indian artistry and craftsmanship.

What is the team composition?

We have an excellent team of five people. Kaira, the VP of business development and products helps translate our vision into concrete business requirements. Stacey helps ensure we all stay sane and keep the project moving forward to budget and on time. She's the VP of software development.

Jeremiah is the brain trust. He's the architect, ensuring we can implement practical and iterative work towards our vision. Jake is the developer making our dreams into reality. And Kerry is the designer who ensures that our vision is aesthetically up to the standard we want for our customers and ourselves.

How did you come to work with Five Pack?

We found them through a Google search and ChatGPT, inputting the specific requirements we needed. We've been working with a vendor trying to outsource to India and found it challenging to get into a cadence to meet our project timelines.

We wanted a partner to collaborate with and bounce ideas off to think outside our workflows, a relatively close organization, so that we could work in the same working space and time zone. We looked for an organization with similar values and ambitions for their organization. Our requirements were an iterative, practical approach and awareness of what starting a business is like, with a people-centric focus.

How much have you invested with them?

We've spent around $30,000–$40,000 with a budget of $100,000 for this initial phase.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in January 2025, and the engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We've challenged Five Pack to help create an MVP that would be ready in time for my trip to India, where I would be meeting with future partners, vendors, and business owners that we wanted to work with from a concierge perspective.

The team has risen to the challenge and exceeded my expectations. Their work has helped make the conversations with our potential business partners seamless and inspirational, accelerating our ability to close those relationships.

We couldn't be happier with the quality of their understanding of our aspirations.

How did Five Pack perform from a project management standpoint?

Five Pack has demonstrated the ability to communicate what is possible, what requires additional scoping, and what we need for a future roadmap. Stacey is doing a fantastic job helping us stay on budget and on time. She makes sure that we plan for the future.

We primarily use email exchanges and weekly meetings on Zoom.

Are there any employees from the service provider's team that you would like to give a shout-out to in this review?

I want to highlight Kaira. She and I have been conversing since the first email exchange, and she's consistently been an objective value add to every conversation, from marketing to business development to fulfillment. Following the order of longevity in collaboration, Jeremiah has been the architect who helped us understand what's possible and what can be worked on in the roadmap.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They've delivered above and beyond my expectations. Five Pack has exceeded our expectations regarding the deliverables' quality, aesthetics, timeliness, and capabilities.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Nothing immediate comes to mind.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Use Five Pack as an extension of your team. They bring invaluable support from laying the groundwork to being an objective sounding board for you as a founder of your business.

Five Pack is a potential immediate and long-term partner as your business thrives. They've helped me tremendously in reaching my immediate deliverables, understanding my needs for upcoming and future deliverables, and working with me to ensure that I also don't miss out on any potholes that are awaiting me.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Co-Owner of an automotive company 

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

We prepare diminished value appraisals for all types of vehicles, and offer a streamlined and professional PDF document of our assessment.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Five Pack to accomplish?

• Increase efficiency.

SOLUTION

How did you find Five Pack?

Online Search

Why did you select Five Pack over others?

Google search. Then, impressed by initial meeting.

How many teammates from Five Pack were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

Website with web based app with customer portal and admin backend.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Complete overhaul of workflow for our business

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

For the most part, items were delivered on time. They were VERY responsive. 

What was your primary form of communication with Five Pack?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

They went the extra mile to understand our business and the needs of our project. They really thought about our problems and were vested in their solution. They were creative problem solvers and felt like they were on our team. It felt like they geniunely wanted to see us succeed. We weren't just another client to them. They were patient with us the whole time and saw our project through.

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

Towards the end of the project, it felt like maybe we were put on a back burner. Communication slowed down a bit. Our project lasted quite a while. In the early days we felt like VIPs. Towards the end of the project, it started to feel like we were nags and maybe second fiddle to other projects. This NEVER interfered with the quality of their work...but I did sense a lessening urgency on their part to hustle for us.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the CEO of SwapIt Fast LLC

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Provider of an online Social Media App

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Five Pack to accomplish?

• Help scope and define our App's functionality
• Develop V1 to our specifications
• Develop V2 to our specifications
• Develop future enhancements and provide support

SOLUTION

How did you find Five Pack?

Clutch Site

Why did you select Five Pack over others?

• High ratings
• Pricing first our budget
• Great culture fit
• Company values aligned

What was the size of Five Pack’s team?

6-10 Employees

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

V1 has been to build an online events directory that enhances the UX to find events in their area of interest and geographic location chosen. Deliverables have been to scope, design, build, test and launch in Apple and Google stores within 6 months from start to finish. We are on track to meet this objective and then continue working with them on future versions/enhancements.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

• App functions as expected
• Timeline to launch is met
• Team collaboration between our companies
• Ability to work as business partners rather than the traditional Supplier/Customer relationship

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

All objectives to date have been met by or before our expected timelines. The entire Five Pack team we have engaged with have been extremely responsive throughout the project.

Very high aptitude for Project Management, able to keep things on track, push back on things we may not have needed and suggest alternatives and conducts themselves in a very professional manner. They are able to articulate the design and build process to those on our team that are novice in App Development and coding.

What was your primary form of communication with Five Pack?

• In-Person Meeting
• Virtual Meeting
• Email
• Messaging App

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

Their ability as a team to connect with us right from the start and work as if they were part of our own company. To me this is a true partnership and goes a long way in our ability to get our product to market quickly and succeed.

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

Not that I can think of. We are very pleased to be working with them and look forward to a long term partnership.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Gameday Logistics is a full service sports travel company focused on streamlining team travel from booking to billing. I am the founder and President of Gameday.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Five Pack, and what were your goals?

We are currently using a CRM to manage all of our team trips and are in and out of multiple spreadsheets per day. We found 2-3 main bottle necks that were stunting our growth and have found a solution with Five Pack.

SOLUTION

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

We met with 5 vendors. Five Pack was the most impressive and every person on the team brings a ton of value in their own way. Overall a fantastic team to work with.

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

We're building a tool to tie teams (coaches) to vendors (bus companies, hotels, etc) by creating automation. Internally, we will have a dashboard to manage all teams and trips. Each client will have tools within their dashboard to manage rosters, trips, and itineraries. There will be automation also to help push along the contracting and booking process for travel by notifying coaches of what we need from them.

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

I've worked with everyone at Five Pack starting with Colin in sales up to about 10 people on the Launch Lab meetings.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Launch Lab was a painless 5-6 hour meeting. After our meeting, I felt they had a really good understanding of our business and what our bottlenecks are. This is a very unique business and I was concerned that it may take more time for them to fully understand but I walked out of Launch Lab very confident.

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

Communication is great. I don't believe there is a such thing as over communication but if there was, Five Pack would fall into that category.

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

You can tell it's a tight team, and they genuinely care about the product they are putting together because they want their client to succeed.

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

So far, none.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the General Manager for a family owned outdoor related media company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Five Pack, and what were your goals?

We had an existing App that needed an overhaul as well as some major new features developed. Our goal was to continue and service our clients by becoming a one stop shop/app for all things related to the outdoor related tasks they were trying to perform.

SOLUTION

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

We sought out several developers in order to dial in to the one that best fit our goals and best understood our clientele and what type of product we were trying to create. We felt as though Five Pack had a basic understanding of the Midwestern core values and beliefs that we held. Ultimately that and their workflow/staffing ability helped us make our final decision.

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

Our SOW was somewhat of a moving target based on the complexity of our existing app. There were a lot of moving pieces that were developed from a previous company and we needed to streamline that existing process as well as work towards the new feature set. Key deliverables up front were to create a new flow for the social/community feature within the app. That then parlayed into helping us during peak usage season with hot fixes and ultimately into a major new Mapping feature within our existing app.

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

We worked primarily with a group of 3 or 4 people from the Five Pack team. Overall, there are probably 6 or so people that we work with from time to time. Ranging anywhere from COO to Project Managers and Developers.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We have had steady year over year growth since we released the app, but with the new Mapping features we have implemented new pay tiers that will ultimately help us realize our growth goals this year and beyond.

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

We work within Slack, Confluence and a Jira board primarily. Weekly touchpoint meetings help keep us all on track and working towards the same common goals.

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

I most appreciate Five Packs willingness to jump on any issue that we have arise within the app. They are very timely and always help us run down a hotfix.

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

Early on we all had a little bit to learn regarding workflow, but we are in a groove now and knocking out feature requests and updates in a very timely manner.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of ConsumerDirect, a fintech company that helps consumers with their money, credit, and privacy.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Five Pack Creative?

We needed help with mobile app development.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Five Pack Creative is creating the frontend of an app for us. We already had the backend developed, so we just needed them to build the frontend. Thus, we initially provided them with the full scope and documentation, but we also had some brainstorming sessions with their team. Their work is almost entirely focused on development, but their team includes a designer whose input has been really helpful at times.

We’re building this app for iOS and Android separately, using native technologies. Additionally, we use AWS, JavaScript, Apache, and MySQL as the technology stack. This app will help people primarily with their privacy, and also will help them manage their money and credit. 

What is the team composition?

We work with around 10 people from Five Pack Creative, including a project manager, an account manager, a designer, and various developers. The project manager is our primary liaison with their team.

How did you come to work with Five Pack Creative?

I don’t know how we found Five Pack Creative, but we went through a bidding process to engage them. This process included other companies, but we ended up choosing them because we felt more comfortable with them given that they weren’t a big organization.

How much have you invested with them?

This has been a multi-million-dollar project.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in March 2021, and our engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We measure our project’s success by looking at Five Pack Creative’s ability to build what we ask them to build in a timely manner and checking if it works correctly. Throughout our project, we’ve established different timelines and goals, and they constantly meet them. We’ve also added features to our app along the way, extending their goals, and they’ve always worked very well around those changes. Overall, they’re doing a great job.

How did Five Pack Creative perform from a project management standpoint?

Five Pack Creative excels at project management. We use Jira to manage the project and Teams, Slack, and Zoom to communicate.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Being an on-shore development company is Five Pack Creative’s strength. The hyper-technical nature of what they’re building requires very smooth communication at a native level, and they’ve satisfied that need while offering their services at a decent price.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Communication is key.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the Product Manager for many of the projects that FivePack has managed and augmented staffing for us in the past. Prior to this position I was a Product Owner/BA that worked directly with the team at FivePack.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Five Pack Creative, and what were your goals?

Our goal was to be able to outsource management of a mobile development project since we did not have the capability or bandwidth to take care of. Once we established a good ways of working we expanded the amount of assets that FivePack aided us in.

SOLUTION

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

I was not in the initial decision to select FivePack, but i am a part of continuing their current work line and pushing to use them for a wider range of tasks.

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

Every year we "re-launch" a seasonal sales app for our force in the field. It takes some tweaking and updating as well as new development every year. Their assistance in this product is integral to a successful campaign launch. After a couple of seasons of that we identified a specific affinity we have for working with this team and we started trying to expand the scope of what we can utilize them for.

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

It's a bit nebulous at this point because I've seen probably at least 10 different assets come in and out of projects as the different skillsets are needed but I regularly work with Kirk and Ryan. Jer is involved regularly in our conversations.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

After a successful launch of ACT in 2021, the team has continued to grow the tools within the app that lead to a direct increase of app utilization by 20%. The number may sound low but we are nearing 100% tool adoption.

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

We have a weekly meeting with Fivepack to get status and discuss any changes. The different facets of the teams interact with our PO's and engineers on a day to day basis

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

Five Pack Creative has all the skillsets we might need to augment our staffing, but their flexibility in ways of working helps them to plug in adapt to how that particular project was working.

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

I don't have any current needs that are not being met at a high level.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the CEO of an Energy Compliance technology company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Five Pack Creative, and what were your goals?

We had too many projects and not enough software developers to meet the needs of our clients. Our first project was specific--we have a project to see if they could deliver. They did with flying colors. Then we decided to go into a long term contract with staff augmentation.

SOLUTION

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

We had hired a developer that had worked with Five Pack in the past and he made the recommendation. After meeting with them, we found them to be honest, trustworthy with delivery and helpful in understanding our pain points.

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

We used them for several projects. We had them develop a mobile app that tied into our internal LMS as well as three developers that were integrated into our internal teams to build out new features in our software.

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

Senior Mobile developer, QA team member, 3 mid to senior developers.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We launched the project on time and have had great success with the time that we have engaged in working with the Five Pack team both from developers and management. Trust is not a word that I use lightly. They are professional and serve their clients and deliver.

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

Our dev team and Five pack developers integrated completely into our teams and we had no problem adopting or them adopting our specific workflow tools.

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

We've had a strong relationship with them. They have listened to our needs and delivered. Check-ins with upper management were clear and detailed as well as daily and weekly check-ins and work production with our software teams.

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

I cannot think of anything that stands out.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of engineering and technical lead for GoDaddy e-commerce public product offerings. GoDaddy is a hosting company that helps ventures get online.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Five Pack Creative?

We’ve had several different mobile endeavors that Five Pack Creative has helped us out with.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Five Pack Creative has played various roles in several projects. The first project they worked on at GoDaddy was to develop a voiceover IP mobile app. The team worked on and maintained the latest revision of the company-wide GoDaddy mobile app. They helped us uplift older iOS and Android apps to more modern versions of the platform, and they contributed solid engineers to our newer platforms as well. 

Besides filling core engineering roles, they’ve also provided project management assets who help determine what work needs to be done and then provide estimations. An example of this would be the uplift of our older mobile apps. We’ve also worked with their QA folks who help us test changes when we’re short-staffed.

They’ve helped with some of the creative and design on a couple of the projects, but they’ve mostly provided technical support because our styling is fairly corporate-specific.

What is the team composition?

They’ve provided different team models depending on the project. For one project where we needed to update an outdated iOS and Android app, they provided a full team, including a project manager, mobile engineers, and QA resources. The project manager came in and helped sort out what work needed to be done, how to phase it, and what the estimates of the work were.

For other projects where we were either short-staffed or starting a new project and needed help proofing it out, they’ve been able to provide engineering resources with mobile expertise in iOS, Android, and React Native.

How did you come to work with Five Pack Creative?

I’m not sure how GoDaddy first heard of Five Pack Creative. My group learned about them from the team at GoDaddy that had contracted them to work on the voiceover IP app project. I spoke with several global options for mobile development, and Five Pack Creative was able to provide a wide breadth of support services. They also had great experience and were engaged. They understood our needs and talked through how to execute a lot better than some of the other options we considered.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our work with Five Pack Creative began in October 2018, and they provide ongoing support. I believe they completed the voiceover IP app project. They’ve done 4–5 projects for my team, and they’ve finished the larger ones where they were doing core engineering for active applications. Now, they’re just supporting and continuing to uplift one of our legacy apps.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Five Pack Creative has taken apps that would’ve completely stopped working under newer phones and platform versions and brought them back to life. Since they’ve done the uplift for us, we generally don’t see issues with our legacy apps; they basically cleared out our bug backlog. They also scaled by months some of our newer kickstart efforts. 

How did Five Pack Creative perform from a project management standpoint?

Five Pack Creative is super flexible in how they execute. They’ve embedded themselves into the tools we use, like Confluence, Jira, and GitHub. They manage the projects within our ecosystem.  

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their collaborative, flexible spirit in helping us get things done has been most impressive. We’ve had such varying projects that we’ve needed help with, and Five Pack Creative doesn’t pigeonhole themselves into just one service that they provide. If they don’t have the expertise in-house, they go out and find someone who does.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, not that I can think of.

Any advice for potential customers?

Know what you want in terms of outcomes. Be clear about what resources you need; they can find them, but you’ve got to let them know.