Goji Labs

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder and CEO of Swipe Out Hunger, a nonprofit committed to ending hunger amongst college students. We work with universities across the US.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Goji Labs?

Swipe Out Hunter went from being a grassroots movement with one site to scaling across the country and having dozens of sites. We needed a clear message and a strong digital presence. In particular, we wanted a beautiful website that would clearly explain to people who we are, what we do, and how they can get involved in our work.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Goji Labs built out our website using Ruby on Rails. After providing wireframes, they created an interactive map feature of every campus we’re involved with. Each campus page provides students with information on how they can obtain resources or become involved as an advocate. Goji Labs also made our donation feature more front-and-center. We’ve discussed several site features that we’d like Goji Labs to build out in the future.

What is the team composition?

Our key contact person is David (Product Development, Goji Labs). During the design stage, he brought in a designer who was very personable and worked efficiently. Backend engineers were working on the project as well.

How did you come to work with Goji Labs?

I met Goji Labs at a startup event a few years ago. We chose them for this project because they seemed more invested than larger vendors. Also, David and his team are entrepreneurs that built Goji Labs from the ground up, so we knew they’d ask the right questions and implement the best processes. We felt as though we could fully trust them.

How much have you invested with them?

My company has spent around $50,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our engagement began in October 2018, and the work is ongoing. When the website launches in a couple of days, I’m hoping that we gain a strong digital footprint. I know technology will be increasingly central to our work, so I’m sure we will continue to work with Goji Labs.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We think the map feature could go viral on college campuses. Although the site hasn’t launched yet, we believe we’ll see an increase in donations made through the website. Also, since the FAQ and About Us pages are easier to find and navigate through, we think there will be a decrease in the number of phone calls and emails we get with questions.

How did Goji Labs perform from a project management standpoint?

Goji Labs was process-oriented and strove to understand what we were looking for as an organization. At the start of the project, they presented communication and scheduling expectations. The project stayed on a clear timeline, and we as the client knew what to prepare for. Goji Labs was flexible when we needed time extensions.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Instead of simply doing the work and delivering the site, as our last developer did, Goji Labs asked for our feedback and opinions throughout the project. They ensured that they were designing the website we wanted.  

Are there any areas they could improve?

Nothing comes to mind. They’ve given us exactly what we wanted, so I have no complaints.

Any advice for potential customers?

To get the most out of the process, work closely with Goji Labs, and be prepared to present your vision.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the founder and CEO of Digital Medical Tech, a real-time location services provider for healthcare facilities and medical device companies. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Goji Labs?

We reached out to Goji Labs to build a web-based platform and mobile app for iOS and Android devices, including UI/UX design.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Goji Labs worked with our team daily to design and develop our web and mobile app for iOS and Android devices. They provide ongoing support as needed, fixing any bugs and adding other features as requested. 

What is the team composition? 

We mostly work with David (CEO, Goji Labs) and Adam (CTO, Goji Labs). David has a good eye for UI/UX design, and Adam complements those skills with strong backend development expertise.

How did you come to work with Goji Labs?

We vetted about five software development shops and reached out to Goji Labs based on a referral from our CFO. Based on initial conversations with them, we felt they had a robust skill set and would be able to deliver the best product. 

How much have you invested with them?

We've invested over $600,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We've been working together since November 2017. They continue to provide ongoing maintenance. We have no plans to hire in-house developers because our relationship with Goji Labs is so strong.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Goji Labs has done an exceptional job at building our products and getting them to where they need to be today. They've been so great to work with that we'll never work with another developer; their knowledge, timeliness, and thoroughness set them apart. 

How did Goji Labs perform from a project management standpoint?

We have an excellent relationship with their team. We generally talked to them on the phone daily during the development phase. Aside from that, we communicate through Slack and track milestones on Trello. They're very hands-on, responsive, and accessible. They're also very adaptable, taking the time to learn about our industry to provide valuable feedback throughout the process. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their communication and willingness to take the time to understand our unique challenges and goals have been very valuable. They've also been great at collaborating with us and bringing new ideas to the table. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don't have any constructive feedback.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be honest and as detailed as possible when explaining project goals. They're also good at guiding if the client is a little lost in the beginning. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the founder of WANDR. We specialize in product strategy and user experience design.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Goji Labs?

We primarily offer design services to our clients, so we call on Goji Labs when we have projects that require some sort of development.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Each year, we complete 3–5 projects with Goji Labs—anything ranging from native mobile apps to web applications and websites. In each case, David (CEO, Goji Labs) and I are very much involved in the strategy. Before we even discuss the design or development, we conduct whiteboard sessions with the client to scope out what we’re going to create. We’ve sometimes had projects that include an existing platform for them to work from, but other times Goji Labs develops something from scratch.

Our largest project currently is a series of website development and content migration tasks for a particularly large client. We rely on Goji Labs to coordinate website hosting, front- and backend development, and maintenance.

What is the team composition?

David and Adam (CTO, Goji Labs) are our central points of contact.

How did you come to work with Goji Labs?

We met at a networking event a few years ago, and we soon found a project that we could complete together. Our partnership has grown from there.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent between $500,000–$1 million to this point.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our engagement began in November 2016 and remains ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I’m a strong proponent of the quality of their work. They are not an inexpensive development team—I could save money elsewhere, but I choose not to because I’m such a believer in their abilities. Their work is top-notch.

How did Goji Labs perform from a project management standpoint?

Goji Labs requires very little oversight. David is very organized and detail-oriented. He’s responsive when we need something, and I trust him and his team to complete their tasks as assigned. We communicate well through phone calls, Slack messages, or in-person meetings.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I appreciate their overall flexibility. We’ve never had a contract for how this partnership would work. We sometimes bid on a client together, but other times we do it separately and introduce the other side later on. We operate on a case-by-case basis as we determine what works best for both parties and the client.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They come with a high sticker price, but we receive high-quality work as a result.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Once you’re working with Goji Labs, you’re in good hands.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the owner of a tech startup. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Goji Labs?

I needed a partner to help with app development.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

I have quite a few apps I’m working on, so Goji Labs helped develop some and advised on the others. They built an iOS app from scratch that has emojis that users can pull up on their phone and also integrate seamlessly into their iPhone keyboard. They worked on additional emoji apps and also provided insight into how to approach and pursue the development of other apps.

What is the team composition? 

We had one main point of contact.

How did you come to work with Goji Labs?

Someone referred them.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent between $25,000–$50,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from May-November 2017. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our app got onto the third page of the App Store, and it had no technical issues after launching. I’d definitely work with Goji Labs again.

How did Goji Labs perform from a project management standpoint?

They effectively communicated, using clear language to help non-technical people understand. They also met our deadlines.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re honest and help you make the most informed business decisions. Although they weren’t the cheapest option, they did excellent work and finished our project to completion.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No. They’re a high-performing team that works fast.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

Have a clear idea of what you want and how to bring it to life. Give them direction, and they’ll do a great job.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of Actelis Networks, a telecoms equipment company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Goji Labs?

Our website had collapsed. As a crucial part of our marketing efforts, this was a critical situation. It had been poorly designed, so people hacked into it. 

We needed a firm to redesign our site in a way that was compelling, modern, and usable for our clients. Our timeline was roughly three weeks because it was such an urgent issue.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Before starting development, Goji Labs had to familiarize themselves with the code in our existing website so they could recreate it in a new version. They took the basic information from our original platform to embed into a brand-new site. 

The website is based on modern technology in the market. It’s laid out very well. Our team can independently maintain, modify, and add to the platform internally without much difficulty in the future. 

Goji Labs handled all of the design. They collaborated with my marketing team to put it together properly so customers could find what they’re looking for with little effort. They structured the data and designed the software to function quickly. Rapid performance enables users to access our information from around the globe.

What is the team composition? 

We interacted with Adam (CTO, Goji Labs) and David (CEO, Goji Labs).

How did you come to work with Goji Labs?

It was difficult to find a vendor willing to take on our project, since it had so many challenges and so little support on the technical side. The original programmer of the code had disappeared. My team couldn’t provide much help, either. We needed a team who could work independently and invest a lot of effort.

One of our IT specialists had used Goji Labs as a consultant in the past. They had helped us fix some glitches. He suggested we use them for this project. They offered us affordable pricing. 

How much have you invested with them?

We spent $25,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together over a three-week engagement in 2016. Now that we’re looking to take our website to the next level, we’re requesting quotes and keeping Goji Labs in the loop. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

When we built our original website, the previous vendor took about six months and charged us three times more. They required two full-time resources to make it happen. Goji Labs offered more competitive prices and completed the new website within a much shorter time frame. We’re very pleased with the results. The website they delivered has never crashed; it’s been perfect.

How did Goji Labs perform from a project management standpoint?

My IT and marketing teams were happy with the project management style. We never had to wait long for answers to our questions. 

It was amazing to see how well Goji Labs performed compared to the team we’d used before. They just breezed through our project.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The quality, time, responsiveness, and price Goji Labs offered were all very impressive.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the former chief innovation officer at Next Story Group, a space management company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Goji Labs?

We were building a mobile app for our coworking space members. We had six spaces around the world, and we wanted an app that allowed members to book space and perform other social functions. We also wanted it to integrate with Bluetooth beacons and other location-based technology.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Goji Labs built a prototype of our app, but we ended up not going through with the project for budget reasons. We had some exploratory meetings where they took time to understand our goals and outline some potential UX and design components. They worked with us from the very beginning, designing the project architecture. The backend was in Ruby on Rails, and the frontend was in React Native. Their team delivered screens of what the app would look like and the functionality, including proofs of concept. 

What is the team composition? 

We mainly worked with two people.

How did you come to work with Goji Labs?

We shared a coworking space, and they always took an interest in our business and problems. We reached out to them and a few other agencies, and everyone in our company was most impressed with Goji Labs. They were transparent and had a great approach, so we hired them.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent around $35,000. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from June 2017–February 2018. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I had unclear directions from my internal supervisors, but Goji Labs helped create clarity and build prioritization frameworks. They became like part of our internal team, working hard to solve our problems and concerns.

How did Goji Labs perform from a project management standpoint?

They were incredibly transparent, allowing me to immediately see the results of their work and what they had come up with. We had a complex system of various teams and partners, and they fit perfectly into that environment, never causing a bottleneck or delay. Their team was always available and easy to get a hold of.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They went from an external resource to part of our in-house team, working closely with us from the very beginning. They seemed more concerned about building a high-quality solution that they were proud of than trying to make money off of us, which I greatly appreciated. The entire team was extremely competent and invested in our project.

Are there any areas they could improve?

If our project had gotten larger in a short amount of time, I’m not sure how quickly they would’ve been able to scale. 

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

If you have something fully developed that you just want to be built in the cheapest way possible, they’re probably not your team. However, if you want someone who will sit down with you and take time to understand your business goals and dilemmas, then Goji Labs is your team.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder of Kitchen Table, which is a social dining experience platform that meaningfully brings people together to connect over a shared homemade meal.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Goji Labs?

I was looking for someone to develop the platform. I had the concept of bringing people together around a table to meet neighbors, make new friends, and make in-person connections, and Goji Labs helped to build the technology that enables that concept.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The app acts like an Instagram feed of gatherings. It’s geography-based, and it allows users to search for gatherings based on theme, purpose, date, host, cuisine, dietary restriction, and price. The app allows the user to see who else is going, learn more about the host and what else they have hosted, request a seat, invite a friend, or apply a promo code. Once the user requests a seat, if the host approves it, there is a booking confirmation. At that point, the address is released and uncovered, directions are available, and it can be shared on social media. The user can reach out to the host and ask questions and introduce themselves. They can also keep a profile of all the meals they have attended. The app gives the option to apply to be a host, contact the Kitchen Table team, read our privacy and terms, share the app with a friend and more.

At our first meeting, I shared screenshots from other apps that I liked for their look and feel, functionality, or features. We then brainstormed the app together on a whiteboard to map out the user flow. Next, they created the wireframes in Mockingbird. We edited those and the UX a bit, and ultimately those wireframes served as a blueprint for the final design. We chose to build an app for iOS.

What is the team composition?

I work mainly with the CEO. Initially, I hired a design team outside of Goji Labs. At the time, there were eight developers working on the project. About a year later, we added several new features, and they hired a designer that they work closely with, and she had a team of two or three that worked specifically on our app.

How did you come to work with Goji Labs?

My business partner met their CEO, David, socially through David’s father, and they liked each other. When we decided to build this app, we interviewed multiple developers including Goji Labs and determined that they were the best fit both personally and technically.

How much have you invested in them?

We spent between $100,000–$250,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working together in October 2016, and the work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The last time I checked, we had 71 five-star ratings in the App Store. Feedback has been exceedingly positive. Everyone loves it. It’s clean and is designed beautifully. When the user opens the app, they feel welcomed into someone’s home. The hosts’ pictures look inviting, the pictures of the gatherings look great, and using the app is a friendly experience.

Goji Labs excels at risk mitigation. They helped us take this huge idea of making the world a kinder place through having these special dinners and distilled it down to what we could do in the coming months instead of having a massive investment right away.

How did Goji Labs perform from a project management standpoint?

It’s been excellent. David is great. He is now a personal friend as well as a colleague. He is a terrific communicator. We have a case management file that we constantly update. We communicate through Slack, which works well for us. It was important to me to have a local team since this is my first app and first big venture. It was nice to communicate in-person.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The most impressive thing is the overall level of care. They are extremely thoughtful and mindful. David and I worked through risk management a lot. I have big ideas and want many features and functionalities in the app. 

Instead of building the iOS and Android app at the same time, we built the iOS version and put it out in the market. Now, when we’re ready to build the Android version, we can apply the lessons we’ve learned, which I think is the right way to do it.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They are expensive, but I’m funding this with my savings. If I had an investor or funding from another source, I may feel differently. It’s expensive, but I’m also happy with the way it’s working and the way it looks. I feel confident about the growth. I know it will pay off eventually, but it’s a big expense in the beginning.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Don’t rush into it. Work with Goji Labs on due diligence. Market research will help manage your costs as well. For example, some of the features that we built are not used as much as we thought they would be. They were expensive to design and build, and they aren’t our customer’s favorite features. We could have done better user testing first before we built those. Lean into what Goji Labs is good at, which is risk mitigation, and use that to your advantage.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the founder and managing director of a design strategy consultancy. We serve businesses, nonprofits, and the public sector.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Goji Labs?

Goji Labs is our go-to development partner for website design and software advisory. Recently, we engaged them for a third-party project.

What were your goals for this project?

Goji Labs needed to develop and launch a website for our client, an energy association.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

The team’s user-centered development work has always attracted us. We keep re-engaging them because the team values good design and UX.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

The build for this site was representative of other development projects Goji Labs has done for us. On any project, the team is responsible for backend development, API integrations, debugging, and the launch. For the energy association, Goji Labs included third-party plugins.

What was the team composition?

David (CEO, Goji Labs) is our main point of contact and Adam (Software Engineer, Goji Labs) leads the projects’ technical aspects. There’s a team behind the scenes that does coding and testing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any information that demonstrates the impact that this project has had on your business?

I’ve never had issues with Goji Labs. They launch solutions on time.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

We have a full-time project manager in-house, which expedites communication between teams. We’ve worked with more than 20 vendors and no one is as detail-oriented as Goji Labs.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Goji Labs routinely enhances the UX and products’ overall value proposition. The team brings energy and passion to their work. They’re passionate about achieving success for clients.

Are there any areas for improvement?

No, I can’t think of anything.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there. 

I’m the founder of CommonMarker, which is a production management platform for organizing information on Hollywood film sets.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Goji Labs? 

My background is in design. As a young startup, I was looking for a firm with tech experience to be my development partner. I also needed help on the project management side to get me through the initial development to my beta release.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement? 

Goji Labs has extensive involvement with my product. David (CEO, Goji Labs) sat down with me to look at my designs. He thought the product could do a lot more so he suggested we go back to the drawing board. We started some new wireframes based on their guidance. We went through many rounds of revision and design feedback in order to create the initial MVP for my product. 

The product digitizes a predominately paper-based workflow. We have two documents that Goji Labs is helping to digitize. As a project management tool, there’s a lot of information involved. They honed in on the complex data modeling that has to be done. They handled the backend work in Ruby and programmed the database. They also did all the frontend work in React.js. They’re creating the functionality on the frontend, such as drag and drop features and project archiving. 

What is the team composition? 

I work with 1–2 frontend developers, one backend developer, a QA engineer, and David. 

How did you come to work with Goji Labs? 

They were a recommendation through the startup community here in Los Angeles. What really attracted me to them was they build real products not prototypes. Also, they were willing to work with a beginner founder. I had some bad luck with other development shops not delivering what they promised. I was grateful that Goji Labs followed through. 

How much have you invested with them?

I’ve spent between $50,000–$100,000.

What is the status of this engagement? 

We started working together in October 2017 on the revised wireframe designs. The first line of code was created in May 2018. It's an ongoing project. The MVP is very close to being complete and we’re now looking to add additional features.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

While it's not ready for release yet, it's been an amazing process to have something I designed actually become a real product. Goji Labs had a major role in getting my product to the final stages. I've presented a first look to several people and the response has been that it's unique, which is really wonderful to hear. It's a good feeling to go on these demos and blow everybody away.

How did Goji Labs perform from a project management standpoint? 

Their team is quite good. They write really solid code that is modular. That ensures that I could hand it off to another developer if I was to hire an in-house team. They leave lots of comments to help anybody who's coming in behind them. If there's ever an issue, David and I address it and then the team knocks it out. We have a weekly standup to check on progress. I can also call, text, or email David and he'll get back to me within a day. 

Development has taken a bit longer than we anticipated. On my end, I need to secure funding. On their end, the data modeling was a more difficult than they’d initially expected. That's completely understandable considering the amount of information the platform needs to handle. So it's been a really good experience even if we had to make changes to the road map along the way. 

What did you find most impressive about them? 

Their transparency stands out. They really want to understand the products that you're trying to build. I could have made a functional prototype for a lot less money. However, I still would need to hire a tech team to make the product. Goji Labs suggested we skip the prototype and go directly for the product. Making something that I can use in a demo—and to get some revenue—was really huge for me. 

Are there any areas they could improve? 

I haven't used their design services so I can't speak to that. From what I did use, no, I don't have anything that needs to change. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Goji Labs is willing to work with you at almost any stage. It's okay if you only have an idea that you would like to make, or if you already have a design.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am a co-founder and the CEO of Core Innovate. We are an education software company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Goji Labs?

According to new national standards, all teachers regardless of discipline must teach literacy and writing skills, but we’ve learned through our research that most teachers don’t have the training to do that effectively. We worked with Goji Labs to create a resource that would make the teaching process easier for teachers and the learning process easier for children.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We developed and tested an MVP with a different development firm. Instead of using that same company, we relied on Goji Labs to produce the market-ready version of our SaaS product. Our MVP needed a lot of technological enhancements and bug fixes. Goji Labs’ most significant endeavor involved building a Ruby-based admin panel for us to have a greater understanding of user activity and user errors.

What is the team composition?

Initially, I worked with Adam (CTO, Goji Labs) and David (CEO, Gojo Labs), who both served as engineers. As the project progressed, David became our main point of contact as the project manager.

How did you come to work with Goji Labs?

We interviewed several firms that our neighbors in our co-working facility in Los Angeles recommended to us. One company recommended Goji Labs, which also happened to be working out of the same shared workspace. We interviewed them and gave them a few small projects to test their competency. They performed well, so we moved forward with our larger tasks.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent between $100,000–$200,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our engagement lasted from 2015–2017.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We sell our product to school districts and schools, and our users are quite taken with the product. It’s been efficient and easy to use, and it helps improve instruction in K–12 education. We already see improved writing skills and test results from the collected data.

How did Goji Labs perform from a project management standpoint?

We held weekly stand-ups and communicated through Slack whenever necessary. They were always very responsive.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I’m no technical expert, but they always made me feel comfortable when discussing those aspects of our product. They have an innate ability to listen to my ideas and articulate them in a way that furthered our development.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, nothing specific comes to mind.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Goji Labs does very well with face-to-face collaboration, so I would schedule in-person meetings as regularly as possible.