FYC Labs

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the Director of Operations at Remax Mexico. We have the franchise for this real estate brand in Mexico and we have 1600 agents in the entire country.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with FYC Labs?

We’ve had a good relationship since they've been our software providers. They helped transitioned our firm from an outdated platform to a more modern one for our agents for the past 3 years. They’re great and they have helped us improve all of our systems.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They used Amazon Web Services, PHP, MySQL, Code Igniter, CSS, HTML and they also help us export properties.

What is the team dynamic?

They assigned a designer, a programmer, Justin Fortier [CEO, FYC Labs] and some others that I wasn’t in touch with.

How did you come to work with FYC Labs?

I met them through some other businesses here in Mexico. We created an alliance to build some applications here and I suggested that he helped us with the platform project. Now they are our providers.

How much have you invested in them?

[Confidential]

What is the status of this engagement?

Mar. 2015 - Ongoing

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Both of their teams in San Diego and Mexico have helped us out. FYC created the system’s bases to structure and their teams are working on improvements. Our users had good responses to this system. As with any platform there were some problems that needed to be fixed. They’ve been improved over time. Our users are happy working with us. It has been a good alliance.  

How did FYC Labs perform from a project management standpoint?

I can only say good things about this topic. We all participated in the project management.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I went to San Diego some days and Justin was also available to come to Mexico to work directly with us. They worked some intensive hours and were really invested in completing the deliverables that we had.

Are there any areas they could improve?

The database structure could have been cleaner and the design was too minimalistic for real estate agents but we’ve been improving it and it has had good responses.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

CH Projects establishes restaurants in San Diego, California.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with FYC Labs?

We needed website development for our bars and restaurants.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

FYC Labs developed websites for a couple of our locations. They continue to maintain them.

What is the team dynamic?

Justin [CEO, FYC Labs] and Paola [Creative Designer, FYC Labs] worked on it.

How did you come to work with FYC Labs?

Justin [CEO, FYC Labs] was actually employed by us before he created FYC. When he left our company, he did a really great job in the transition. I knew he was a hard worker and quite talented, so we wanted to give him a chance. It wasn’t solely based on our past relationship. He brought in some talented people to his new company.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent $3,000–$5,000 on their services.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together five years ago.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They’ve performed well and created a couple of really cool websites for us. I don’t have hardcore numbers, but our business has suddenly gone up over those five years. I give all of the credit to the website.

How did FYC Labs perform from a project management standpoint?

We communicate through email. They’re always responsive. When we need an update that we couldn’t handle on our side, they’d get it done quickly.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They are responsive, and they get things done, which seems to be a challenge with any vendor we’re working within our industry. They are on top of things. They’ve gotten bigger, but we have a good enough relationship that they always seem to prioritize us, which is nice.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the president and director of client strategy of Beacons Point. We are an inbound content and marketing agency.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with FYC Labs?

As a content and inbound marketing agency, we focus on the content. We partner with FYC for help with website development and design.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Over the last 2–3 years, FYC has been our design and development partner numerous times. They have built various forms of WordPress sites, some custom and some out of the box. They have used some custom JavaScript and custom CSS coding. They use Photoshop, Illustrator, and all the main design tools for design and development.

What is the team dynamic?

We usually have two main contacts: Paola, who works more with design, and Erich, who works more with development. They also have an internal team that they assign some tasks to within projects.

How did you come to work with FYC Labs?

We did a Google search for web design agencies in our area and found FYC Labs. After doing some preliminary discovery calls with them, we decided to try them out on a project. It went well, and we have been working with them ever since to the point where they have become our exclusive design and development agency.

How much have you invested in them?

We have invested $10,000–$50,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with FYC Labs in 2014, and it is an ongoing collaboration.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

All of the clients that we have used FYC for have been excited and happy with the design and development process. For us internally, they are on time, they do the work they say they are going to do, and do so both quickly and efficiently. They have been an extremely invaluable partner and asset to our company and new business, as well as the services we can offer.

How did FYC Labs perform from a project management standpoint?

Internally, they use a project management system called Wrike but have not used any project management tools with us. For our latest project, they gave us detailed monthly reports of the tasks and projects they spent their hours on. This has been extremely helpful on our end to know where we are in the campaign and where we are in terms of hours. They have always been great with communication and upfront and honest with timelines and whether they can meet them or not. They have always met deadlines they have set.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Not only do FYC provide great work and great communication; they are also great people. We have come to know them over years and have become more friends than work partners. They make an effort to know you and better understand what you’re looking for.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There is nothing that I can think of.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I served as executive director of tech companies Little World Discovery Center and Computer Explorers. At the time, FYC Labs was hired to create our websites, design our graphics and branding, and handle all of our marketing material.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with FYC Labs?

We were launching an entirely new business, which was a children's entertainment and discovery center in Dubai. We wanted a website for Little World Discovery Center and needed strong branding. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They designed a range of characters to serve as our brand mascots, and they designed our website to highlight all the services that we offer. We wanted the site to be as modern and up-to-date as possible and have a real westernized spin to the design. 

What is the team dynamic?

I worked with one contact person, Paola [Creative Director, FYC Labs], although in my initial communication was with Justin [CEO, FYC Labs]. I'm not sure how many people were working behind the scenes, but I was in contact with two to three people.

How did you come to work with FYC Labs?

A lot of Dubai's city culture is shared with cities like San Diego and San Francisco. These areas are up and coming, like to try new things, have new ideas, and are very modern. That's why for our branding, we were attracted to cities like San Diego, which seems to be at the forefront of the hipster culture and a lot of different, new ideas. FYC Labs popped up as a business to watch, so we reached out to them when we needed assistance.

How much have you invested with them?

We've collaborated on a variety of different projects. We had an initial vision, and then they had a lot of great ideas. The work snowballed and ended up in the range of $60,000–$75,000. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in 2012. Whenever we need anything, we go back to them as our frame of reference. It's an ongoing collaboration.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We were extremely happy with the quality and ease of navigation for the website. Even though we’re a homegrown business in UAE, everybody thought that we were part of a bigger company coming from the U.S., U.K., or Europe, which lends a lot of credence to us for the demographics that we're targeting in the wealthier sectors of the UAE and its western expats.

They shared a lot of helpful advice. This was the first time we were building a business. Their site really helped us look like a high-quality firm that was managed by someone experienced. That design attracted people.

Right now, we're looking to franchise in different countries. I really think a lot of that success is because they branded us so well. When people see one of our characters, they know exactly who it is. 

Whenever we're doing things remotely, it's hard to not be specific or lengthy about what we want. They made the process as easy as possible, which was really nice.

How did FYC Labs perform from a project management standpoint?

They hit all the deadlines. I would call and ask them if they could roll out something in a short timeframe, and they would make it happen. We put pressure on them at different times, and they excelled at working within these really short deadlines.

When we launched the website and listened to customer feedback, we tweaked a few things along the way. Our business took another direction, and we tweaked more things, allowing us to remodel and renovate.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They kept us updated with regards to how many hours they've used and how our budget was being affected by those hours. If something big was coming up, we could buy a package of hours. Then, once I knew how long different tasks would take, I could calculate the number of hours and decide if I needed to buy a package deal. That made the process a lot easier for me and meant that there weren't any surprises.

They're great at getting back to us in a timely way. If we sent them an email, they would at least let us know when they were going to come up with an answer. They're in constant communication.

Are there any areas they could improve?

When working with a graphic design company that's remote, emails tend to be long when we're trying to describe something that is probably very simple. If I was beside the designer, I could just point out what I want. 

They're professionals, and I can tell that their graphic design team is really strong, so sometimes they would have alternative suggestions. Each time they shared their ideas, I went with their suggestions. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

The East Village Association is a business-improvement organization for a downtown in San Diego. I am a program manager in charge of the organization’s programming.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with FYC Labs?

We were facing some challenges in driving people to use alternative transportation, and started a campaign called Do the Right Thing.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

FYC Labs was able to design a campaign which brought fun, interest, and excitement into using alternative transportation.

We put out a survey in 2016 in order to see how our neighborhood was using alternative transportation. Residents and employees in our area let us know how often they use public transit or their automobiles. We received a lot of good information which helped us design new programs for our next fiscal year.

There are different characters with our campaign, some using buses, bikes, skateboards, and so on. FYC Labs built a website which goes along with this, and is interesting to look at.

They took care of all the technical elements around our project. We have worked with 2-3 developers from their team.

How did you come to work with FYC Labs?

We put out an RFP to which many firms responded to. FYC Labs was located in our neighborhood, and we contacted them for a presentation. They came up with something which appealed to our board members, so we selected them.

How much have you invested with FYC Labs?

The cost of their work was between $35,000 and $50,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with FYC Labs in June 2016. The project will continue into the next fiscal year.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement?

We’ve had a lot more visibility for the campaign, and have seen more engagement from the community. The work in 2016 was based on awareness and research, and it completed on July 1st, at the start of our new fiscal year. It will pick up more after the next month, when we’ll be launching a lot more programming which goes along with the main campaign.

How did FYC Labs perform from a project management standpoint?

I can send them an email or give them a call whenever I need something. FYC Labs has always been responsive, and always changed our campaign, keeping up with trends and ensuring that we keep people engaged. They linked us on Wrike, which was used as a project management tool, but we didn’t use it very often. We had meetings every 2 weeks, and discussed what we planned to work on for the next period.

What did you find most impressive about FYC Labs?

A combination of their creativity, organization, and the quality of work. I don’t understand the technical details, but everything which FYC Labs produced for us has looked and worked great. We even have some tangible promo items, which are also high-quality. They’re overall great, and I love working with them. Anytime I needed to communicate something, FYC Labs was readily available.

Are there any areas FYC Labs could improve?

No.