NineTwoThree AI Studio

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the co-founder and CEO of a social networking app called Grouped, which is designed to enable leaders to create communities.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with NineTwoThree Digital Ventures?

We needed help with building our prototypes, digital architecture, user stories, and wireframes. Basically, we wanted someone to help us create something concrete with our ideas.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We first shared our designs with the team. NineTwoThree Digital Ventures then delivered all the technical documentation we needed to build our app natively on iOS, Android, and the web.

Then, the team built a prototype, which included over 100 user stories. They used Figma and designed a logo, color scheme, brand identity, and several screens. We regularly provided feedback, which they used to finalize their deliverables.

Finally, NineTwoThree Digital Ventures then helped us conduct customer discovery and research by conducting interviews with potential users.

We then presented their plans to our in-house development team, who used NineTwoThree Digital Ventures’ plans to develop the app. 

We plan on launching it on the App Store in April 2022. The app has a unique chat function and features in-app payments.

What is the team composition?

Our main point of contact was Andrew (CEO), who managed the project. We also worked with Pavel (CTO), Sasha (UI/UX Designer), a teammate who built the user stories, and another person who helped us conduct research.

How did you come to work with NineTwoThree Digital Ventures?

We found them on Clutch when we were searching for development agencies. We interviewed a bunch of vendors, but NineTwoThree Digital Ventures stood out because they were very personable.

On our initial call, both Andrew and Pavel were present. They promised to be heavily involved in the project, which said a lot because they were the owners.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent $250,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project lasted from August–November 2021.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Ultimately, they helped us raise money. Our investors were very impressed with their work.

Furthermore, our in-house developers were thrilled with the documentation the technical documentation they provided. NineTwoThree Digital Ventures freed us from having to conduct research and focus on app development.

How did NineTwoThree Digital Ventures perform from a project management standpoint?

Their excellent project management was the best part of working with them. NineTwoThree Digital Ventures was very quick and kept us involved in every step of the process.

It was a six-week process. We had biweekly Zoom meetings where they presented us with what they had done in their latest sprint. Additionally, we used Monday.com, Slack, and Figma.

What did you find most impressive about them?

NineTwoThree Digital Ventures treated our project like it was their own, which we really appreciated. Their communication skills were also fantastic.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Sometimes they made some feature suggestions that we didn’t necessarily want. However, they were a very passionate team who cared about our product, so that wasn’t really a bad thing. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be very open and honest with the team. I recommend reaching out and laying everything out for the team. They’ll be flexible with you and give you the best experience.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the co-founder of Altar Live, a video conference and livestream platform specifically designed for faith communities to present services and meetings online.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with 923 Digital?

Like a lot of industries, the pandemic rearranged our lives in a significant way. For faith communities, that meant people who gather on a regular basis in person suddenly needed to find a different means of hosting event services and maintaining community and relationships.

We found people were using a cocktail of different platforms to achieve the goals of their community: live streaming on one, video conferencing on another. We wanted to build a platform that could bring everyone and everything together simultaneously.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

923 began with market research. They were on a lot of preliminary calls with us as we were beginning to sketch out what it is that churches are already using, the goal they’re trying to achieve, and the areas they’re lacking. We started exploring in tandem different technology platforms, and ended up landing on what we use now, our WebRTC technology. 

The next stage was design. We spent a few weeks figuring out a preliminary UX, layouts for screens, and the overall flow of the platform. Once that was finished, 923 started writing code to build our first prototype.

What is the team composition?

I’ve worked with a lot of people from 923, but most of my contact was with Andrew (CEO & Co-Founder), Pavel (Co-Founder), Tanya (Recruiter). We also worked with Ana (Junior Project Manager), and Yulia (Project Manager).  

How did you come to work with 923 Digital?

I met Andrew at a work event. We got to talking and I heard more about what 923 does. We stayed in touch, and when the pandemic started to unfold, they immediately came to mind as someone I wanted to work with. 

They’re a really agile team, and they’re entrepreneurs at heart. I could trust them to fiercely chase the problem we were trying to solve on our behalf as well. 

How much have you invested with them?

We’re at about $280,000 right now.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in May 2020 and did our first full release in December. We’re still working together in phase two.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our biggest metric was whether or not they understood what we were trying to solve, and 923 hit a home run with that one. They did a lot of upfront work with us to really get to the bottom of what we wanted to accomplish. Any pivots that we’ve made have made a lot of sense, and they’re very responsive to what we’ve learned along the way.

We were also looking at speed of implementation. Even though we’ve done a few pivots, 923 has been able to turn around a lot.

Thirdly, we’ve been getting constant good updates from their project managers and their team on when we can expect certain features, what we’ve learned from customers, and more. Their product managers have been in very close step with us throughout the whole project, and I’ve been really impressed with the level of detail that they paid attention to. 

In terms of users, we just passed our 100th paying customer today, which is really great for a startup like ours. Moving at the pace we did with them, it’s a huge win. I couldn’t be happier with where we are now.

The platform 923 has built for us is top of the line. It’s really well thought out, the UX is awesome, and it feels like a $1,000,000 product for a nonprofit community like ours. We’re really proud to bring it to our customers.

How did 923 Digital perform from a project management standpoint?

Overall, they’re great. We do weekly meetings, or depending on the sprint, sometimes daily meetings. We get updates from project managers so we stay informed. 

We’re very synergistic. It’s basically like I’ve doubled the size of my own company by having 923 on board. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

923 has a very entrepreneurial spirit. Their company is driven to not just build a product, but to build a product that fulfills our customers’ needs. They’re very involved and have an amazing eye. I feel very confident that the product that I’m giving to my customers is going to make their life better and easier.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can’t think of anything that feels significant to say they need to improve. I feel incredibly satisfied with 923’s services.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Don’t just give them your checklist, but let them in on the design experience as well. Bring them the problem you’re trying to solve and be honest, because they can give insight and help create a better product with you as a result.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of NUU Group, a creative agency and design consultancy. We work with customers to develop their brands by designing and building digital products and experiences.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with 923 Digital?

We were looking for a development partner for some of the projects we’re working on for our customers. We were looking for a team to supplement on the development front for digital projects.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

923 Digital does backend and product management work. They also bring technical expertise to turn the designs that we do into actual working products and applications.

What is the team composition?

Our project manager interfaces with theirs.

How did you come to work with 923 Digital?

They were a word of mouth referral from someone who I know and trust. 

How much have you invested with them?

The current project has a $250,000 budget. It’s ongoing, so that will likely increase. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working with them in January 2020, and our engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Its been a great partnership and experience. The greatest impact has been working with good people and the ability for our team to have full visibility into the status of the development.

How did 923 Digital perform from a project management standpoint?

Depending on the engagement, they facilitate the project management. They are very transparent in their communication. The team is also very flexible, which is important for our current project. 923 Digital takes changes and pivots very quickly, which has impacted our relationship with our client. 

There’s been a clear plan for the phases in the project. Overall, the delivery has been on time, and their response time sands out. When we send them a message, the team gets back to us within minutes. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their open communication and responsiveness have helped to build trust over the past six months. So far, so good.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Because of the fact that we’re merging two different teams together, it’s been hard to figure out how that comes together. Our relationship may be different than what they typically deal with because we’re also an agency

923 Digital tends to default to their processes, which can sometimes be too much. They try to move too quickly, almost preemptively, which often leads to backtracking and letting them know that we need to have a discussion about everything before we can approve the execution. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

The team doesn’t just take a list of requirements and do it; they also provide more strategic planning and advice, which we and our clients have appreciated. 

They are really part of the planning process, so I would advise potential customers to be open to bringing them into that part of the process.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’ve worked with them in several different positions. For this project, in particular, I was the CTO of a commercial laundry group.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with 923 Digital?

We needed a team to bring the system up. We had the general architecture and approach and we wanted to outsource the development.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They built out the front- and backend of our IoT system. We had a bunch of commercial laundry equipment that was out in the field and they built a data ingestion pipe and a counterpart processing system in the cloud using AWS infrastructure. Then they built a pretty powerful frontend that allows our customers, distribution partners, and internal teams to evaluate the system in real-time.

What is the team composition?

We had several points of contact and about 10 people on the team overall.

How did you come to work with 923 Digital?

I’ve worked with them in the past on a different project. They deliver, they’re efficient from a capital perspective, they’re flexible, and they’re easy to work with.

How much have you invested with them?

It was north of $300,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project lasted from July 2015–June 2019.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

It was a clear differentiator for us. It gave us more visibility for our customers. Now they’re able to understand their operations and extract methods in real-time and on a semi-regular basis. It helps us stand out in the market.

At a high level, we track customer utilization of the portal. As we continue to roll out new features, we’ve seen a steady increase in the utilization of the technology for our customer base and from our internal team.

How did 923 Digital perform from a project management standpoint?

They were great; we had no issues at all. We had a regular meeting cadence and we were able to roll out our requirements to them on a regular basis and they delivered. They typically organized their work around two-week sprints. We used conference calls and Trello to communicate.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their ability to understand project requirements. On top of that, they’re really easy to work with. I’ve worked with several third-party providers, and 923 Digital stands out for their flexibility.

Are there any areas they could improve?

As they look to grow, they’ll need to replicate the types of individuals they have running the programs. It’s hard to find, recruit, and develop people so their team continues to grow and work as the core team does now. That’s their challenge.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

They’re able to synthesize requirements and provide alternative ways of thinking about things. They really go through that extra effort to make those suggestions, so you should take advantage of that. Their insights are very valuable and that distinguishes them from other providers.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the Principal System Architect in the Connected Home team at Dorel Juvenile Group. Dorel Juvenile is a juvenile products manufacturer (car seats, strollers, baby gates, etc). We have 6 brands, Safety 1st being one of them. This was the first product designed and built by our company to re-enter the baby monitor market.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire 923 Digital?

923 Digital was brought in to design the UI/UX of our mobile application. They worked with our marketing department to conduct consumer testing to design the correct UI/UX for the app. We then hired them to also build our first App to take to launch. We do not have any software/mobile developers in our company.

What were your goals for this project?

The App was the only interface to our baby monitor (hardware) product. So the App was our product and we needed to stand out from all the competition who either had baby monitors that came with clunky video monitor units or had apps that weren't as slick. In short, we wanted to stand out from our competition.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

923 Digital was referred to by another colleague on the team. They had worked with them before. We had quoted the project out to other larger companies. We ended up selecting primarily because they seemed like a boutique firm (lean and agile) and their price was a lot more competitive than the other vendors.

Describe the project in detail.

The project involved: 1. Consumer research to determine/prioritize features that would be helpful to first time parents. 2. UI/UX design including limited consumer testing to validate design. 3. Develop iOS/Android mobile applications 4. Develop backend using AWS managed services

What was the team composition?

The team comprised of a Technical Project Lead who was local to our office. We primarily dealt with him and he managed all the developer resources. We did have weekly meetings with him and the team (which was offshore). For the first 1.5 years, we had 2 iOS, 2 Android, 2 backend (java) and 2 QA engineers (9 people). They did bring in other resources on occasion to help with certain problems (this was excellent). The team eventually went down to 1 IOS, 1 Android, 1 Backend and 2 QA engineers.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

On iOS we've maintained slightly above 4.0 rating consistently since launch. On Android, we've struggled to stay around 3.0... the problem with android has to do with the diversity of android hardware phones. Our app handles live video streaming and users with under performing phones have poor experience especially when compounded with poor network connectivity speed.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

We worked really well with them. They were very flexible and adapted very easily to our team needs. We used our company's Jira instance to track all our development. We had 2 week sprints that the project manager from 923 Digital led. We used our GitHub account to track all code. We used Slack to tie everything up. The team was always very responsive over Slack even during US hours.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

How agile they are. They are quick to implement features and they seem to always be reachable and responsive to any of our needs. Their team was also very invested in our project. I think if we had gone with one of the bigger companies (who were out of our budget), we would not have gotten a team that really extended our own internal team.

Are there any areas for improvement?

I can't think of anything at the moment. I don't think it's quite fair, but the team was not too familiar with hardware and live video streaming, so there were technical challenges we needed to overcome which took longer than I had hoped. This is a very niche need and we were also not paying accordingly.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

We are an international company working in the industrial space. My position is to mange the IoT implementation from customer site monitoring to cloud based portal.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire 923 Digital?

923 Digital developed the complete cloud based portal that allowed customers to monitor and analyze their equipment.

What were your goals for this project?

The goals were an easy to use and expandable portal that was suitable for several different job roles (customers, technicians, site managers, etc). It needed to be responsive, intuitive, and able to provide data analysis.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We had previous experience with this vendor.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

923 Digital developed the front-end and back-end solution including mocking up the GUI, sophisticated user management, an issue tracking service, and provided devops services.

What was the team composition?

Local program management and user interface gui design. A remote team performed the majority of development and devops functions but they were directly accessible.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our company is a startup and the product developed by 923 Digital increased the perception of our capabilities significantly and was extremely useful in raising funding.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

There was a local project manager and a team lead for the remote team that were both very accessible and responsive. It worked very well.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The openness and responsiveness of both the local and remote teams was excellent. The end product was extremely professional looking and responsive.

Are there any areas for improvement?

No, everything worked very smoothly.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the Co-Founder & Head of Sales at a vineyard software company headquartered in Northern Virginia. Our company has 3 employees and we currently serve vineyard and winery clients in Virginia. I oversee our sales and marketing efforts and our client relationships.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire 923 Digital, LLC?

Our company hired 923 Digital to develop a brand new web and mobile app as well as a new website for us. We did have any in-house engineers, so we needed to outsource the entire design and build.

What were your goals for this project?

After working on Vineteq for about 9 months, we needed to bring our idea to life in app form as well as upgrade from our current website which was very basic and dull. 923 Digital helped us get to this point and had an app ready for us to sell to vineyards for the upcoming growing season. This had a very positive impact on our business because prior to our app being created, we were trying to sell the idea of what we were doing to vineyards and that was a very hard thing to do with not tangible product or app for them to see.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We were referred to 923 Digital by a mutual connection of ours. We originally were going to be working with another company, but they were not able to meet our needs the way 923 Digital was. After the intro to 923 was made, my co-founder and I spoke with the 923 team and confirmed that we wanted to pursue working together.

Describe the project in detail.

Once we started working with 923 Digital, we had a series of discovery meetings to discuss our goals and objectives and the work that the Vineteq team had already done prior to our relationship. Early on, we spent time sharing documentation and processes that we already had in place.

On our side of things, we helped teach the 923 team the industry that we're working in and they were all very quick learners, which impressed our team greatly. Throughout the process of working together, they've thought of things that even us as the "industry experts" have not. 923 has also helped us with strategy, design work, content creation and support in a variety of ways.

Our app is a hybrid app for both Android and iOS use, which also compliments our website. Another service that they have assisted uin is our branding, which has been phenomenal and very much complimented.

What was the team composition?

At any given time we'd usually have 3-7 people from the vendor's side involved in our project. Strategic and technology advisors, a project manager, designer, and front and back-end developers. Over time the team has grown.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

The project is still ongoing, so we don't really have any current metrics or measureables, but we have gotten great a response from those we've shared the app and website with.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Workflow with the 923 Digital team has always been top-notch. All aspects of project management have been done very well and both our side of the project and theirs are very well organized. We use Slack and Google Meet for communication and then Monday for project management aspects. 923 always responds very well to any feedback we have, are available at almost any time we need them, and are quick to get us answers when needed.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Our whole team was impressed by the knowledge that 923 Digital, LLC had about app development, UI/UX, and optimization. This was our team's first experience working with a vendor like this and we've all learned a ton and are so appreciate of the 923 team as a whole. Apart from the work environment, they're all such great people and we've built a lasting, personal relationship with them.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Everything can always be done faster, but we were very satisfied with their work every step of the way. In the end, quality is more important than speed and we ended up with a beautiful product.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m the owner / broker of Full Circle Realty LLC in Boston. We are a residential real estate company that help people buy/sell and invest.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire 923 Digital, LLC?

We hired them to take full control of our website to gain online business via SEO. They completely revamped our website and streamlined incoming leads. They also saved us money by out sourcing some of the project where necessary that moved the process along.

What were your goals for this project?

Gain an online presence and build seo in Boston

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

I talked with a bunch of vendors. 923 Digital was simply the most qualified to handle my project. I was 100% hands off and let them completely take over the website.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

They built my website, created a back end system to flow leads too and are continuing to improve my seo.

What was the team composition?

I had one point of contact (Andrew) which was amazing to whom I directed my goals. Andrew took ownership over the project while delegating to the rest of his team

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

1. They gave us an online presence that helped convert on our current lead source.
2. It opened up an entirely new potential lead source for our business to grow.

SEO takes time but Andrew has shown us the jumps we have made and are extremely hopeful that it will generate new leads and further more be a blue print to create franchises.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

We gave them our goals and let them have 100% control of getting us to our goals. It was extremely effective. We put our trust in them and it was a success.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

They're responsive, honest, and efficient. They are problem solvers and always find a way.

Are there any areas for improvement?

No

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the COO of Marken PPE Restoration, a workwear company. We clean and repair the uniforms that firefighters and first responders wear into a fire. Additionally, we created a proprietary wash technology called X Orbs, a polymer bead we use to gently clean the uniforms. I am responsible for the overall operations of the entire business unit.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with 923 Digital?

In the fire industry, there are a lot of federal regulations for recordkeeping. Platforms that accomplished this existed already, but no one platform had everything we wanted. We decided to build an internal system and needed a development partner.  

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

923 Digital developed a cloud-based web application. The app can be accessed across all of our facilities, even internationally. Naval and fire departments that are customers of ours will be able to access the same information in real time. 

The platform can remind fire departments when their uniforms are due for a cleaning. The dashboards also track the lifespan of the garments and how much money they’ve spent on them. We can also do our invoicing through the system. The web app is mobile responsive on both iOS and Android devices.

The platform is currently in its third iteration. We have an ongoing contract with 923 Digital and always envisioned the platform as one that would change and evolve.

What is the team composition?

We worked with Pavel (Co-founder, 923 Digital) and four members of the 923 Digital team.

How did you come to work with 923 Digital?

They had developed some other programs for our parent company, so when I went to the IT department to seek their advice on partners they directed me to 923 Digital. Since we had an existing relationship and knew they were trustworthy, we decided to work with them.

How much have you invested with them?

We have invested about $50,000–$75,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our ongoing engagement with 923 Digital began in August 2017.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’re currently using the web app internally at four of our locations. Feedback from the staff has been great! We’ve also shown the platform at a couple of trade shows and conventions, including FDIC and Firehouse World. 

The web app is also being used by customers who have given us positive feedback. Our demos of the project have yielded positive results. 923 Digital often suggests changes that we choose to implement. 

How did 923 Digital perform from a project management standpoint?

I can’t say enough about Pavel and his team. They are incredibly responsive, I’ve never had to wait more than 24 hours for them to at least acknowledge a request. The team is always willing to tell us when they need additional time to get us an answer. 923 Digital is quick to make updates and is always able to fix any arising problems.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their customer service has been outstanding. 923 Digital always responds to our inquiries. Additionally, our CTO felt that they provided a great value for the cost. They’re an overall great team to work with and I see why our parent company has stuck with them for so long. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, everything has been great.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Don’t hold back, just throw it all at them. 923 Digital is always able to help. Everything we’ve given them, they’ve been able to pull off, even the things I was doubtful about.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Umbrella Financial Services is a global financial services technology company. I'm Kevin Murphy, Founder, and President.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire 923 Digital, LLC?

Create the perfect client communication hub by combining document storage with secure online client accounts.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

Umbrella has worked with 923 Digital and its staff for many years on several successful projects. They are always professional, innovative and attentive to our needs, which has made for a great long-term relationship.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

To create comprehensive, cloud-based software that lets tax preparers run their tax practice more collaboratively than ever. Its intuitive interface and direct integration with professional tax software, allows your staff to work closely with clients, making it easy to collect and share files securely.

What was the team composition?

We are always provided with the best of services. Both Andrew and Pavel are always involved, but we are also assigned a dedicated project manager.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The project was created successfully. This has been an on-going project.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

The project manager that we were assigned was easy to communicate with and provided us frequent updates. We connected weekly and used Monday.com to communicate.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

I'm always impressed with the knowledge, professionalism, skill, and communication that 923 Digital provides. We appreciate how easy it is to work with the team at 923 Digital.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Everything can always be done faster, but we were very satisfied with their work every step of the way. In the end, quality is more important than speed and we ended up with an amazing product.