heartbeat

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Managing Director of Zapo

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

We provide an automated lead-generation service that help tradespeople and other small businesses generate, manage and convert sales leads.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire heartbeat to accomplish?

• Create a more professional and scalable brand identity
• Improve how we communicated a complex product
• Design a new B2B marketing website
• Create a unified design system
• Redesign our SaaS application

SOLUTION

How did you find heartbeat?

Online Search

Why did you select heartbeat over others?

• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost
• Portfolio of work

How many teammates from heartbeat were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

Heartbeat’s scope has expanded considerably over the course of our five-year relationship. What began as a brand identity and B2B marketing website project developed into a long-term partnership covering branding, consumer and business websites, and the UX/UI design of our core SaaS application. 

The principal areas of work and key deliverables included: 

Brand strategy and visual identities
- Heartbeat created two complete visual identities for our businesses. 

This included:
* Brand concepts and creative direction 
* Primary and secondary logos 
* Product-specific brand marks 
* Colour palettes and typography 
* Iconography and illustration styles 
* Supporting graphic elements and patterns 
* Brand guidelines 
* Social media and presentation assets 
* Letterhead, business cards, email signatures and other supporting materials 

The identities were designed to work across websites, software products, digital advertising and printed communications, while remaining scalable enough to support additional products and markets. 

B2B marketing website
- Heartbeat designed a comprehensive B2B website to explain our lead-generation and software products to small-business customers. 

Key deliverables included: 
* Homepage design 
* Product category and individual product pages 
* Pricing pages 
* About and company pages 
* Customer stories and case-study templates 
* Blog category and article templates 
* Contact and registration pages 
* Responsive desktop and mobile designs 
* Custom product illustrations 
* Reusable page sections and components 
* A consistent visual system for future pages 

The website needed to explain a technically complex service in a simple, commercially effective way while remaining consistent with the wider brand and software experience. 

Consumer publishing website 
- Heartbeat also designed a separate consumer-facing website for Clearwise, our UK information publishing business. 

The work included: 
* Overall website UX and visual direction 
* Homepage and editorial landing pages 
* Article and content templates 
* Category and navigation structures 
* Responsive desktop and mobile layouts 
* Custom icons and supporting visual assets 
* A modular design system capable of supporting a large volume of editorial content 

Customer sign-up and onboarding 
- Heartbeat redesigned the complete journey through which prospective customers purchase and begin using our service. 

This included: 
* Account registration 
* Company information capture 
* Service and accreditation selection 
* Location and availability selection 
* Subscription and pricing selection 
* Payment and identity-verification screens 
* Customer onboarding questionnaires 
* Image and logo uploads 
* Landing-page review and approval 
* Launch-date selection 
* Progress, confirmation and notification states 

These journeys needed to make a relatively detailed process feel simple and manageable for users with little or no technical or marketing experience. 

SaaS application UX and UI design 
- Heartbeat designed a substantial web application used by customers to receive, manage and convert their leads. 

The key product areas included: 
* Lead and contact management 
* Individual lead records 
* Call recordings and form enquiries 
* Notes, activities and communication histories 
* Prospect management 
* Sales pipelines and deal management 
* List and board views 
* Tasks and reminders 
* Events and calendar management 
* Reporting and performance dashboards 
* Marketing spend and return-on-investment tracking 
* Subscription management 
* Account, user and notification settings 
* Usage and billing screens 
* Desktop and mobile interfaces 

The application contains a large number of interconnected workflows. Heartbeat helped us organise these into a consistent, intuitive interface rather than simply designing individual screens in isolation. 

Design system and component library 
- A central deliverable was a scalable design system capable of supporting the brand, websites and software application. 

This included: 
* Reusable UI components 
* Form fields and controls 
* Navigation systems 
* Tables, cards and data displays 
* Buttons and status indicators 
* Responsive layout rules 
* Typography and spacing standards 
* Icon and illustration libraries 
* Interaction and component states 
* Organised Figma libraries and source files 

This system gives our developers and internal team a reliable source of truth when building new features or expanding existing products. 

Development support and ongoing product design 
- Heartbeat remained involved after the original designs were handed over. 

Their continued support included: 
* Responding to developer questions 
* Reviewing implemented screens 
* Resolving differences between Figma and the developed application 
* Designing missing workflows discovered during development 
* Creating new features and interface states 
* Improving mobile layouts 
* Reviewing usability and suggesting enhancements 
* Reorganising and updating Figma files to reflect the live product 
* Producing App Store and Google Play presentation assets 
* Providing ongoing icons, illustrations and supporting design work 

Daniella has played a particularly important role in this stage. She developed a deep understanding of the application, reviewed the developed product directly and helped ensure that new functionality remained consistent with the wider design system. 

Overall, Heartbeat delivered much more than a collection of branding and interface files. They helped us create a unified design foundation spanning our identities, websites, customer journeys and core SaaS platform. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We do not currently have a single conversion-rate or revenue figure that can be attributed exclusively to Heartbeat’s work. The platform and rebrand have been implemented in stages, alongside wider changes to our technology, products and business strategy. However, the volume of completed work, the successful progression of the designs into developed products, and our decision to continue expanding the engagement over more than five years provide clear evidence of its success.

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

For defined pieces of work, Heartbeat generally delivered within the agreed timescales. Some parts of the wider engagement took longer than originally anticipated, but these were long-running and evolving projects in which our own requirements, development plans and priorities changed considerably. The delays were not simply a case of Heartbeat missing fixed deadlines. In many instances, the scope expanded, new functionality was identified during development, or previously designed areas needed to be revisited to reflect changes in the product.

They were flexible whenever our priorities changed. If we identified an urgent screen, missing workflow or development issue, they would review it, clarify the requirements and work it into the schedule. They also brought in additional designers or specialists when more capacity or a particular skill was required.

Dima managed the commercial relationship, project scope and resourcing. He communicated openly about availability, timescales and costs, and he was always willing to discuss any concerns directly. Where a different project structure or working arrangement made more sense, he was prepared to adapt the engagement rather than rigidly follow the original plan. 

Daniella handled much of the day-to-day product-design work. She regularly left questions and comments in Figma, tagged us when input was required and explained the reasoning behind her recommendations. She was highly responsive to feedback and often identified issues or opportunities that we had not raised ourselves. 

Their response to feedback was one of the strongest aspects of the engagement. There were occasions when an early concept or design direction was not right for us. Rather than becoming defensive, the team listened carefully, asked the right questions and revised the work until we reached a direction we were genuinely happy with.

Overall, Heartbeat’s project management was transparent, flexible and collaborative. We always knew who was responsible for the work, where to provide feedback and how to raise an urgent request. Most importantly, they responded to our changing needs as a long-term product partner rather than treating every change as an inconvenience or simply delivering against a fixed list of screens.

What was your primary form of communication with heartbeat?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

What impressed us most was Heartbeat’s ability to combine high-quality creative work with a genuine understanding of complex digital products. 

They did not approach the engagement as a series of isolated design tasks. They took the time to understand our business model, customer journey, internal processes and long-term product strategy. This allowed them to create work that was not only visually strong, but also practical, scalable and commercially relevant.

Dima has always treated the relationship as a partnership rather than a standard agency engagement. He is honest, approachable and commercially aware, and he has consistently made himself available when we needed advice or an external perspective. 

Daniella has also been exceptional. Over several years, she has developed a very deep understanding of our SaaS application and has taken real ownership of the product. She does not simply wait for instructions or design exactly what is requested. She questions unclear requirements, identifies usability issues, suggests improvements and thinks carefully about how each feature will work in practice. 

What makes this particularly unique is that Daniella cares about the product beyond the Figma files. She has reviewed the developed application, helped resolve inconsistencies between the designs and the live product, suggested future improvements and shown a genuine interest in how customers will use the platform after launch. 

It is rare for an outsourced team to become so embedded in a product and to care about its long-term success to that extent. Heartbeat has consistently felt like an extension of our internal team rather than an external supplier.

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

There are no major areas of concern, particularly given the length and complexity of the relationship.

A clearer process for regularly archiving superseded designs, documenting final decisions and maintaining a single approved version of each screen would have made the later stages more efficient. Heartbeat has since helped us address this by reorganising the files and mapping the developed application into a cleaner, up-to-date design source.

These are relatively minor improvements and are largely the result of a project developing far beyond its original scope. Heartbeat was always willing to adapt, resolve issues and improve the working process when needed.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the VP of Product at an education company that sells e-books to universities.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Heartbeat Agency?

We needed our landing pages redesigned. The pages weren’t clearly portraying our company’s current processes.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We began our engagement with Heartbeat Agency redesigning our brand and marketing materials. After those were finished, they took on the landing pages. We gave them a blank canvas, and their team tackled everything from UX to the page design itself. They had broad creative freedom, but we selected between the different ideas they showed our team.

What is the team composition?

Dima (Product Manager & Co-Owner, Heartbeat Agency) and Leonid (DesignOps, Heartbeat Agency) are our main points of contact. We’ve worked with four or five people at different aspects of the engagement.

How did you come to work with Heartbeat Agency?

We found them on Dribbble. Initially, we chose Heartbeat Agency for their designs. We wanted a product in a similar style. After speaking with them, their approach to design stood out to me. They spend time thinking about the branding look and UX, not just the interface’s look. 

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent between $15,000–$20,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Heartbeat Agency in January 2019, and the work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The designs are almost finished, so our team will soon start building the pages. We’ve shown the designs internally, and everyone’s pretty happy with them. Some of our customers have seen them as well and have had nothing but positive things to say. The designs Heartbeat Agency created are giving our business a modernized look.

How did Heartbeat Agency perform from a project management standpoint?

Heartbeat Agency delivers high-quality work on time. Our central communication is through Slack, but their team is always available over the phone.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They work quickly, producing quality work. We’ve appreciated Heartbeat Agency’s experience in UX and design. As we went along, their team supplied helpful suggestions and recommendations. It felt like we were a team throughout the engagement.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Nothing major. The start of the project was a little slow as their team was learning about our company. We’ve debated whether waiting was worth it or if we should’ve jumped right in.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

We’ve been delighted with Heartbeat Agency. There are plans for follow-up work with them once everything is complete. We recommend them.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CMO of Finiata, a technology startup in Germany. We lend credit to small businesses across Europe.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Heartbeat Agency?

After having lackluster experiences with other companies, we needed a skilled team to redesign the UI/UX for our landing pages and for the web-based app as a whole.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The project began with a free kickoff meeting to understand the scope of what we were trying to solve, who our target customers were, and what our end goals were; it was an extensive session. From there, our team and their’s began designing the app in Figma, a web-based design tool. We then had three revision sessions together, and they redesigned the app and landing pages based on our discussions.

What is the team composition?

They provided a business developer, project manager, designer, and creative director. I worked directly with those four people but there were more members working on it.

How did you come to work with Heartbeat Agency?

I searched for companies online, using Behance and Awwwards. After looking through the high-ranked agencies, we sent 10 agencies an RFP. Heartbeat Agency impressed us most in this process.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent around $40,000 for the project.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working in May and finished a few months later in September 2018.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We haven’t launched the site yet, but we’ve received positive feedback from employees and friends. We are very pleased with how it looks.

How did Heartbeat Agency perform from a project management standpoint?

We communicated primarily over Slack and Figma. Their communication was extremely effective and responsive.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They had a strong work ethic that stood out to us. We got everything we wanted and more; they were excellent on all fronts.

Any advice for potential customers?

It’s worth investing time in preparation for your meetings. If you can tell their team exactly what you want, they’ll be able to do a better job. It is also important to give them the creative freedom they need once the scope is laid out.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO and co-founder of Similar.ai. We do product understanding for retailers and technology product companies that work with retailers.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Heartbeat Agency?

We started with a really simple website but realized we needed to upgrade after we changed our product. We needed to build a new website with a new design, and explain what had changed and what we’re now doing. We needed an agency to help us.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We asked them to define a new visual identity and a better way of developing inbound prospects. They built our brand, logo, and visual language and identity, as well as a new website with a lot of detailed pages.

We asked them to keep it as simple as possible to make it load faster. After they did the initial build, they updated some things to speed up the loading times. It’s very simple and easy to understand so that we can update the content if we want to.

We've finished the website and now we’re starting to ramp up more outbound and inbound marketing.

What is the team composition?

Dima (Product Manager & Co-Owner, Heartbeat Agency) worked at structuring. Stan (Director, Heartbeat Agency) was the designer and implementer of most aspects. Somebody else worked on the brand, visual identity, and language.

How did you come to work with Heartbeat Agency?

I found several companies on Upwork that I was interested in working with. I went through all the portfolios and narrowed it down to two or three options. Heartbeat Agency was number one on my list. I told them I wanted to do everything from scratch and we took it from there.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in 2017 and the work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

When we went live, we were inundated with compliments from both people we knew and people we didn’t. That included investors, customers, and partners. I was asked who did the work more times than I ever have in the past. I've recommended them to friends and colleagues as it’s been an amazing experience for us.

We’ve had a number of inbound leads from people who want to work with us. They come to the website and understand what we’re doing. Previously, I found it hard to articulate. We’re getting 20–30 inbound leads, which can be worth a lot. The website was also nominated for a design award which also led to a lot of traffic. The overall site traffic has gone up a lot.

How did Heartbeat Agency perform from a project management standpoint?

They gave us a very clear idea of what to expect and then executed it. We were very pleased with how quickly that all went. We had a lot of intense iterations and got a lot done in a very short amount of time. We used Slack, Google Docs, and a tool to mark corrections or improvements we wanted. It worked really well.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I’ve worked with about 10 agencies in the past and I can’t recommend Heartbeat Agency enough. When we first started working with them, we went through a highly intensive process. It wasn’t uncommon to do five iterations per page until we were fully satisfied with it. They understood what we were looking for. They loved the product and what we were doing. We loved how they worked—they’re extremely capable and competent. The people we worked with were the best; very professional.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Most reviews I do, I have several areas of improvement, but Heartbeat is the exception. On national holidays, they need to make sure there’s a contact available. We had an emergency on our side where the site went down. We pinged them, then they went above and beyond to help. They were always available and helped very quickly. We were spoiled by working directly with Dima. When he’s not working, we could reach out to the other members of the team, but they’re better at their own jobs than being project managers. They could focus on how project management is scaled.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Go to Heartbeat for development and design work rather than splitting it between two agencies. They were able to do it all so well. If you’re doing a larger project, they have the right specialists to bring it all together.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the co-founder and CIO of an education startup. We combine offline and online teaching methods to help students in Germany and Austria pass their exams.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Heartbeat Agency?

We needed a partner to help us fix various problems with our website’s design and performance.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Initially, we scheduled discussion calls that allowed Heartbeat to develop an understanding of our business model and the problems with our website, then we planned the scope of the project. After determining the more profitable customer base to target, the team redesigned our website.

Heartbeat helped us accomplish the four major goals we set for the new site. First, they created a clean and corporate identity for our company and implemented it across our online and offline communication channels. Second, the team helped us build a style guide for our future outreach efforts. Third, Heartbeat designed better UX strategies for our interface to increase conversion rates. Finally, they helped launch all of these projects quickly and gather user feedback on the changes we made. We are currently still in contact to discuss user responses and find areas for improvement.

What is the team composition?

We worked with a team of three representatives from Heartbeat. There was a project manager, a design operations manager, and a designer.

How did you come to work with Heartbeat Agency?

I was searching for a company in Germany, but I was having some difficulty. I started looking on Dribbble and Behance, which is where I found Heartbeat’s artwork. After talking to them, I felt that they would be a good fit for our project.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent between $15,000–$20,000 on this project.

What is the status of this engagement?

The official project lasted from October 2017–March 2018, but we are still in contact to make additional improvements.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We implemented all of the visual strategies and style guides that they produced, but we have no hard business statistics at this point. We sent out a satisfaction survey to some of our customers to gauge their response to the redesign and over 75% agree that our brand looks better than it did before partnering with Heartbeat.

How did Heartbeat Agency perform from a project management standpoint?

We scheduled weekly calls to address problems and exchange important information, with additional interactions about three or four times a week. Besides calls, most of our communication was done via Slack channels, where they were very prompt in their responses. Heartbeat was consistently time-oriented, they never missed a deadline. They were very good at prioritizing and organizing their workflow.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I appreciate the set of tools and solutions they introduced in our company. We continue to use some of these to improve our internal processes.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I think they performed well from a design perspective. They have their own strong opinions about projects, but you are free to discuss this with them.

Any advice for potential customers?

It’s important that clients provide Heartbeat with as much information as possible in every aspect of the project. The more you give, the more you get.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We’re a startup with a CRM-based platform for venues to reach their customers directly.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Heartbeat Agency?

We wanted to create a unique UX using state-of-the-art technology. We also wanted the design to stand out from other apps in the market. My in-house team is amazing with development, but they aren’t as professional with designs. Once I had all the wireframing for the project, I need to hire a design agency.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We gave them the project scope and wireframes; they designed the app.

What is the team composition?

My main point of contact was Leonid (DesignOps, Heartbeat Agency). He took care of the Russian-speaking clients. Another person took care of the English-speaking clients.

How did you come to work with Heartbeat Agency?

I did an online search for companies with different design approaches. I found Heartbeat Agency through Dribbble and Behance and contacted them. Heartbeat Agency gave me a good discount because the project’s unique aspects interested them.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent $20,000–$25,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from February–June 2018. I’ve since bought a fixed-hour support service to help us refine and adjust the project.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We have a project that is currently trending with several views and likes. Some people are even trying to copy our design, we consider imitation a good indicator of the project’s quality.

How did Heartbeat Agency perform from a project management standpoint?

Occasionally, my team had problems with Heartbeat Agency because their style and approach were different than ours. The team did things last-minute when we need quick adjustments, and while I’ve never had a problem with them, my developers communicated to me some [issues].

In addition, their workflow—discovery to various processes before they started designing—has lacked flexibility, which is important in the IT space. For example, for design support, I provide the project scope, improvements, and changes. Then, I calculate the number of hours and Heartbeat Agency then sends a monthly invoice. After that, they complete the project based on feedback and revisions. It’s been a little frustrating for my development team. Although they have the right way of doing things, it would nice to have more flexibility in the process.

We used Telegram or Slack to communicate, and Teampaper to track design work. Teampaper is Heartbeat Agency’s internal tool. Recently, they started using another tool called Figma.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They always pushed limits to provide the best solution for the client. The team also leveraged trends for design and collaboration tools. Furthermore, Heartbeat Agency maintained the app’s clean and minimalist look while completing tweaks. Their design approach successfully preserved its style and UX.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They were perfect from a design perspective. While there were some issues, it’s hard to say if the team needs to improve response time; their workflow is part of their company culture.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Make sure the initial scope contains every deal. We had to include extra things during the project, which increased costs. The monthly design support cost more money than I spent on the project itself, but that was my fault because I didn’t put it in at the beginning. Sometimes we forgot about screens or certain functions, specifically design compatibility for iPhone 5. Again, that was my mistake because I didn’t list out everything from the very beginning.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the managing director of First Table, an online restaurant marketing company and booking service.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Heartbeat Agency?

We needed a new design for the website. We had been using the same design for three years and there were a few usability and design issues with it.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Heartbeat was thorough from the start, working out exactly what did and didn’t work on our current website. They figured out what our needs were before we even formally engaged them.

Our website was built on SilverStripe. We have our own developers, so Heartbeat only handled web design. They were quite good at giving us technical advice, which shows that they’re technically-capable, so we’re looking at possibly engaging them for frontend development as well.

What is the team composition?

My main contact was their product manager.

How did you come to work with Heartbeat Agency?

I found them on either Behance or Dribbble while browsing for designs I liked. I contacted a few groups, out of which Heartbeat was available.

How much have you invested with them?

I believe we’ve spent $9,000 on their services.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our first contact was in September 2017, and the collaboration is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The work they’ve done for us isn’t live, so it’s hard to attribute anything to it yet. Heartbeat supplied everything we needed; now we just have to finish building it. Internally, everyone is happy with their work.

How did Heartbeat Agency perform from a project management standpoint?

They’ve been much more professional than any other company we could’ve found in our own country. We use email, Skype, and Slack for communication, with Slack being the main tool. They also use Figma for design, which allowed us to see designs in real-time and comment on everything being done. We could raise issues and questions through that tool as well.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I appreciated their thoroughness. They conducted multiple interviews in order to really figure out our needs and identify which parts of the website were working well and which ones weren’t. The process was quite exhaustive, which I greatly appreciated.

Are there any areas they could improve?

The biggest challenge for us—which would be difficult for them to improve on—was the time zone difference. We’re in New Zealand, so we’re on an opposite end relative to their team. We’ve had some late-night phone calls, which made the process more difficult, but it’s something we’ve experienced with many other partners since we’re in the middle of nowhere.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the founder of a local cleaning company in Singapore. I oversee our day-to-day operations and expansion strategy.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Heartbeat Agency?

We were very small in 2014, without a real online presence. We wanted to expand and felt our best option was through a good website and strong digital options.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

At the beginning of the process, we didn’t know much about our options for a website. Our understanding of the digital world was fairly primitive, but they walked us through what it meant to provide our customers with a client-centric experience on our site. We had an earlier design, but they converted that into more modern UI [user interface] design language.

They really expanded the scope of what we thought we wanted. They ran a user envisioning and study exercise, where we mapped the user journey for a variety of customer personas. They helped us explore what our prospective customers might be looking for, and then built a wireframe that could deliver those client needs. After showing us a few mockups, they built the site from the ground up on an Agile platform in WordPress, which includes an in-app calculator that allows customers to choose the services they want and receive a customized quote.

We had conversations about search engine optimization and marketing strategies, and they have advised us on which campaigns might have the highest impact. They helped us build a brand story and narrative to support our internal marketing efforts. They also optimized our site’s interface, making contact information more visible to increase our conversion rate and the usability of our messaging services.

What is the team composition?

Dmitry is our project manager, and Stan is the lead designer. There were up to two other team members, depending on the stage we were in, so our team was usually between two and four people. I spoke mostly with Dimtry, especially regarding business strategy and vision, and Stan did the heavy lifting for the design.

How did you come to work with Heartbeat Agency?

We looked for companies through Upwork. We didn’t have great success with our previous choices, who all just wanted to deliver quickly without getting to know our needs. The sites we were getting were unfinished, unsuited to our business, or just plain bad. It was pure luck that Dmitry contacted us. He talked about how a website would fit our company, both from a design perspective and in terms of user experience. We felt we could trust him for complex projects.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent $15,000 for the initial build, and are discussing the second wave of website building for an additional $15,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

They started building the website in April 2015. We had two weeks to set user requirements, two weeks of design, and two weeks of development. The whole site was built by June 2015. We pay a retainer for occasional updates, edits, or help with branding, so our ongoing relationship is currently low-maintenance.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’ve seen tremendous growth in both our company itself and our customer base. We went from 5 employees to 160, and from about 15 customers to over 450. Those new customers include big international brands and government ministries who would not have found us without our web presence, which ranks third in our industry in Singapore.

How did Heartbeat Agency perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re very responsive. Even though they’re in a different time zone, I get responses back within a day if ever I need something. They invited me to use Asana, which I only used occasionally to check on the progress of a sprint. Mostly we spoke on Skype or emailed each other.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They really understood our business. They could have recommended a digital payment plan, but that wouldn’t be idiomatic in our industry; most of our customers still prefer to pay by check. They crafted solutions that made the most sense for us, even if they weren’t the most glitzy or glamorous. They’re the only company we’ve worked with that took that extra step.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Get on the phone with Dmitry. You’ll find out from a conversation with him just how smart he is. He’ll prove to you how well he understands combining digital with whatever you hope to achieve. Even if you don’t use their services, you’re certain to learn something from them.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the COO of an ad tracking and attribution company.

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Ads tracking and attribution

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire heartbeat to accomplish?

• UI
• Rebranding
• Website design

SOLUTION

How did you find heartbeat?

Online Search

Why did you select heartbeat over others?

• High ratings
• Great culture fit
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from heartbeat were assigned to this project?

6-10 Employees

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

Website and plugin design

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Site speed and user experience increased greatly

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

Always deliver on time, respond to all our needs and come up with alternate and in most cases - better options

What was your primary form of communication with heartbeat?

Email or Messaging App

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

Spirit. Independence, you don't need to babysit them.

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

Nothing I could thinks of