Red Foundry

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the Vice President of Product at Runzheimer, overseeing all our mobile platform experience, including apps as well as all of our partner integration initiatives. We are an enterprise mobility company focused on fair and accurate mileage reimbursement for business use of personal vehicles.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Red Foundry?

We wanted to create a platform from which we could distribute mileage capture to anyone who needed it as part of their business routine, be it consumer oriented or business-to-business. The aim of our overall system is to provide IRS compliant mileage logging and reimbursement all within mobile apps. Although we have had mobile apps themselves for about ten years, we needed the expertise of Red Foundry to build a software development kit (SDK) from our existing versions because our in-house team did not have that skillset.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The apps themselves are built on Xamarin, which is a C# base code, and we brought in Red Foundry to build the SDK in C# so that it would be distributable to any mobile platform. Once we had the SDK, the plan was to sell that product to third parties who wanted to embed our mileage capture functionality within their own native app experiences. The customer would then able to capture and classify the miles they drive, including using the mobile device’s GPS to allow accurate data collection and reimbursement within the app.

Red Foundry provided us with both iOS and Android developers, and they built and designed the SDK from the ground up while modeling it after our existing platform. Our services group also had to be intimately involved because they had to build the backend with which the final system would operate. There were a variety of things that we needed to be able to track through the final SDK, including authentication, reporting, and diagnostics. Having all of those features would allow us to report and bill accurately based on the usage of the platform.

What is the team composition?

At the peak of the project’s development phase, we had about five people from Red Foundry working with our team. However, the collaboration began with three main team members. Rob Brandt (Partner, Red Foundry) filled the equivalent of my role on their side, helping us from a product and overall business standpoint. Then Ron Franczyk (Partner & CTO, Red Foundry) took charge of our iOS architecture, and we had a third person working on Android. Once the project ramped up to speed, they added one more developer for each platform.

How did you come to work with Red Foundry?

I had worked with Rob at a previous company and we had kept in touch over the years. When he took over as the CEO of Red Foundry, the opportunity presented itself to have them be in contention for this role. We took them through a hiring process, including interviewing multiple other companies, but it was clear when I talked to Rob and after we reviewed their credentials that they were the right fit for our needs.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked with them from December of 2016 through May of 2017. Although the SDK has not been released due to extenuating circumstances unrelated to Red Foundry, the engagement has concluded.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Unfortunately, due to other in-company factors, we have not yet installed the SDK in a production environment. We have been able to get the SDK approved in the app stores, although it is not currently being made available to third party developers. The long-term plan is still to roll it out, but there is no specific timeline on that yet. As such, we do not have any user or marketplace feedback or metrics about the impact of their work, other than that we have been very satisfied internally with what they have delivered. Building a mileage capture experience is tricky, particularly because working with GPS on either iOS and Android comes with a certain set of pitfalls, but they did a great job.

How did Red Foundry perform from a project management standpoint?

Rob is a great leader and a smart product guy, and Ron is awesome. They did a fantastic job of raising risk with us when it happened, and having them be an Agile shop just like our team was very welcome. Rob did an excellent job of leading the daily stand-up and doing the longer-term planning. There was a lot of collaboration inherent to this project, which added another layer of complexity to the work. In addition to their team, we had developers on our side working on fleshing out the SDK, as well as the services group who built the backend. Their project manager was top notch and they did a good job of coordinating across the fence.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The scope of their estimation in regards to deadlines was incredibly accurate, and as someone who has over 25 years of experience in development, I know that is no simple task. They did what they said they would in the time that they predicted, and they completed it at the cost for which they quoted us in the initial statement of work. This was greatly appreciated from a partner perspective because it created a lot of credibility and trust on both sides. They were also good at understanding the problem that we were trying to solve with the SDK, and are simply great developers.

Red Foundry is made up of smart and honest people who were upfront if and when they ran into problems, rather than hide behind smoke and mirrors. We would have a discussion, make a decision regarding a solution, and then move on. They also brought a lot of great thought leadership to the project, which was exactly what we wanted in a partner. We initially had plans to continue to use them, but because of outside factors, that did not work out. I have a lot of respect for what they do and the work they deliver, and they built a great product for us.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I needed to push them a little on providing a weekly status on how we were running against their financial spend, but eventually they got into the habit of doing so. We did need to have some tougher conversations towards the end regarding sticking to the promised deadlines, and they took responsibility right away. To make up for a bit of friction in that area, they added a couple of features for us pro bono.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I work for a global company specializing in healing wounds. We have a range of products from pressure wound therapy to advanced wound dressings.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Red Foundry?

We wanted to build an app that clinicians could use within hospitals. Based on a survey we ran, we found that they were having problems with how to apply dress wounds and what dressings or solutions they needed to use. We found that an app would be a good tool that could serve as a reminder for the clinicians.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Red Foundry built our app from scratch. We’re quite particular when it comes to how menus and other elements need to look. They came up with the overall design of the app based on our brand guidelines and basic wireframes. The app has a section for selecting dressings, which they designed and implemented.

The project initially started for a localized market that used Android heavily. We received interest from another region and needed to build an iOS version as well. Red Foundry used their proprietary Fusion Studio technology for the development of the app. Once a template was built on it, we could edit sections of it using a CMS.

One problem we were facing was accessing the apps offline. Hospitals have a lot of restrictions on Internet use so our users needed to have the freedom to use the tool even without wireless access. Red Foundry came up with the solution of having a download system for internal packages.

What is the team composition?

They assigned a dedicated account manager and a developer to our project.

How did you come to work with Red Foundry?

We have to go through a rigorous process for selecting the agencies we deal with. I started with 20 companies and whittled them down to five. Red Foundry fit the bill, and they knew what they were talking about. They provided a reasonable price.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Red Foundry in January 2013 and have an ongoing partnership. Since then, we’ve entered seven market locations and are preparing to launch to an additional two.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The app is heavily used in our main markets. Because it’s proven to be such a valuable solution for us, we’re revamping and updating some of its content.

How did Red Foundry perform from a project management standpoint?

We have initial meetings where I provide full briefs of what I need, but we haven’t used any project management software as preference. Red Foundry has been flexible and helpful in this sense.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Red Foundry proved to be technically minded. They knew exactly what to do in order to provide a solution. This is the best part about them and it’s why I’ve kept the relationship going. Red Foundry provides very good value.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No. We have a good working relationship.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the director of digital solutions for a pharmaceutical advertising and marketing company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Red Foundry?

We had an idea for a mobile application and were looking for a vendor to build it for us.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The app is primarily geared toward those treating patients. Its features include a shopping cart, the ability to find a nearby healthcare provider, and general information about how to diagnose and treat a specific disease. It also allows the user to tag how many times they screened for or diagnosed the disease.

We did all the creative work—assets, storyboard, and design—in house. They advised us on how to build the app, tips and tricks on how to code it correctly, and some functions that we hadn’t considered.

Red Foundry did all of the coding. They used Swift for the iOS app and Java for the Android version. Because there were some significant budget constraints near the end of the project, we tested the app internally.

What is the team composition?  

There were 4–5 people working on the app.

How did you come to work with Red Foundry?

This was a bidding process. We compared portfolios of several companies, but they had the lowest bid.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent around $120,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in December of 2016 and the work was completed in December of 2017.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’re just getting the app out there and building awareness right now so it's tough to talk numbers. The code is very good. There’s been very few bugs and we haven't had to re-release the app. So in theory that's a good predictor of future performance.

How did Red Foundry perform from a project management standpoint?

It was pretty lackluster due to not having a dedicated project manager. I don't know how the project management portion was determined, however, so it could have been partially our idea to keep the cost down.

They did pretty well in terms of meeting deadlines and communication. At times other clients' work took precedence but they were still responsive and able to get back to us within a couple of days.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The Red Foundry team was very friendly and easy to work with. They are extremely knowledgeable about coding and app platforms.

Are there any areas they could improve?

We felt that the work they delivered was pretty close to the initial scope, but they billed us at nearly double the initial estimate. That felt like a bit of a bait and switch tactic.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the CEO of Fautus, a company that has developed a mobile application targeting photography.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Red Foundry?

We had an idea for a mobile app, but I don't have any background in app development (I'm a lawyer). We started looking for a company to develop this app from scratch for us. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They took their time to explain the whole process of developing a mobile application – unlike other developers, who wanted to give me only a few minutes of their time. Many people don't realize how much is required to develop an app from scratch, so we went through all the steps – from the first stages to developing and coding. They developed all the wireframes and then built the app that allows users to request a photographer on demand. Users can open the application, look at the map, and find photographers within a one mile radius. Then they request a photographer on demand.

We currently have about 300 photographers in Chicago and one of them will arrive in an instant to your location if you're within one mile. If you're in downtown Chicago, for example, you have plenty of photographers to choose from. The photographers use their own DSLR cameras and give you high-quality pictures a few seconds after they take them – photos appear instantly in the user's own mobile phone. Since users have immediate access to the photos, they can post them on social media.

They developed iOS and Android native apps, and we launched both of them at the same time.

What is the team composition?

We worked with 7–8 people, including designers and developers.

How did you come to work with them?

I interviewed many mobile developers in Chicago, and Red Foundry appeared to be the most knowledgeable and friendly towards our idea.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent about $180,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked with them in September 2016–July 2017.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We launched the app in July 2017 to test the market and see how the market will react to on-demand photography and how many photographers are available to register and be on demand for users. The application is working, but we're still testing it – it's our MVP [Minimal Viable Product]. We're getting more funding and launching version 2, which will include the feedback from our users. Overall, at this point we got about 95% of what we were expecting.

How did they perform from a project management standpoint? 

They were very organized and worked overtime. They made the process easy to understand, so I can focus on managing the company and not the IT part. We used Bug Tower as a collaboration tool. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

I appreciated their willingness to explain how things work.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, everything went very smoothly.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

We are an HR consulting firm and we provide consulting services to Fortune 500 companies and various other businesses in the field of employee communications.

What is your position?

I’m the Director of Communication Practice. The practice that I work in includes technology industry people and communicators, so we bring the latest and greatest engagement solutions to our clients and their employees. As part of that, mobile applications are obviously needed.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with Red Foundry?

We were seeing a need in the marketplace for mobile communications in the workplace. Some clients approached us to help them reach either a dispersed workforce or bring some of the HR processes to a mobile device. That was one trend that we saw. We were actually very proactive and wanted to get ahead of the game.

SOLUTION

How did you come to work with Red Foundry?

We selected Red Foundry after an intensive review of vendors to work with us on those applications. Red Foundry had a great background. Some of the founders obviously have been in the industry, whether it's in healthcare, or specifically IT. As part of the review, we did a huge secure review. We're part of a larger company so there are a lot of things that some of our vendors and partners have to fulfill.

Red Foundry’s expertise and their ability to step up, either with resources or just to resolve things quickly, was a key item for us to enter a long-term partnership with Red Foundry.

Right now, some of the client implementations have proven to be a great success factor. We're nimble enough to deliver changes to a client or overall meet their timelines. We're obviously a project-based business so we have to get things done pretty quickly. At the same time, they are agile and very price-effective, especially compared to some of the larger development firms that are out there.

Another important factor was that we were specifically looking for onshore resources which is essential for us in translating some of the specific business needs or issues that we're having. We can get on a call quickly during business hours in the US. That was another reason for us to select Red Foundry. A lot of the firms these days bring all the development offshore or most of it anyway, and it's just not very efficient and that doesn't work for us.

Could you provide a sense of the size of this initiative in financial terms?

It’s a $250,000 to $1 million partnership at this point, but I think it's growing. Over time it'll just continue to grow as we continue to deliver our projects to clients. It seems like this year [2015] was really an important year because many of our clients have finally made the decision to go mobile. Up until this year, there were a lot of companies who didn't want to be in the bleeding edge, if you will, and so the rise of mobile is finally coming to the workplace.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our partnership with Red Foundry is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What makes Red Foundry a great partner?

There are many things but one is just being able to connect on a personal level. When you approach them with a specific client need, Red Foundry listens really well. They come back to us fairly quickly with some alternative solutions that we can put in front of the client. They've always delivered on time, if not earlier to be honest. From a budget standpoint, they always stayed right where we discussed. If there are things that go out of scope, we know this in advance and can manage that.

Red Foundry has the ability to turn some of the ideas that our clients have, and that we have into a practical solution, all on time and on budget. Our partnership has been really, really great so far.

Is there anything Red Foundry could have improved or done differently?

At this point nothing to be honest; we're a perfectly happy client.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company. What is your role and responsibilities?

I’m the president and founder of a company that provides an interactive RSS feed for hashtags from Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. We pull multiple hashtags from all three of those and allow users to post out easily. Our goal is to enable people at large events like music festivals or conventions to see everything that’s happening around them more easily.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What was your goal for working with Red Foundry?

We were trying to build a minimum viable product to test the hypothesis.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their work.

We needed a partner to help us develop an app that would cover the basic idea of what we would finally want to implement.

What was your process for selecting Red Foundry with which to work?

We started with another firm before we found Red Foundry, and we did not have a positive experience with that initial company. After that, we tested the waters a fair amount. We really liked the level of communication we got from Red Foundry, which is the reason we settled on them.

Can you provide a ballpark dollar figure for the size of the work that they’ve done for you?

Our partnership with Red Foundry is ongoing and, at this point, falls in the $50,000 to $100,000 bucket.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Is there anything unique about them that really makes them stand out, compared to other companies?

Neither my partner nor I have a technical background. We’ve picked up quite a bit through the process, but neither of us have formal training. Red Foundry has been great about not using jargon. They’re great about explaining things to us because we don’t have a technical background.

Looking back on the work so far, is there any area that you think they could improve upon or something that you might do differently?

I’ve been happy with Red Foundry’s work so far. This is my first project like this, so I don’t have a ton of things to compare them to. From what I know, and what I’ve heard from everyone, this has been a positive experience.

What advice would you give a future client of theirs?

I would tell everyone to make sure to have a clearly defined scope before you go in. I feel that our previous partnership didn’t work out well because we didn’t have a clear scope of work, and it just didn’t go well.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company. What is your role and responsibilities?

We are a property and casualty insurance company. I am an IT [information technology] manager of one of our development groups.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What was your goal for working with Red Foundry?

We wanted to make a move into the mobile app arena; however, we didn’t have the experience in-house to develop the iOS or Android app.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their work.

Red Foundry provided mobile app development for Android and iOS.

What was your process for selecting Red Foundry with which to work?

Our VP of IT had heard of Red Foundry and other work they completed. Once we narrowed our pool, we had a conference call with Red Foundry to discuss what they could do for us and how it would work. What interested us in Red Foundry is the idea of one codebase for both Android and iOS.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Is there anything unique about them that really makes them stand out, compared to other companies?

Red Foundry is easy to work with. I’ve had direct access to the developers working on the project, which is a benefit on my side of things. This business relationship has worked pretty well.

Looking back on the work so far, is there any area that you think they could improve upon or something that you might do differently?

Nothing I can really think of. We were able to agree on requirements and what exactly was going to happen. We didn’t have any issues there. I don’t really have complaints, or examples of anything that didn’t go the way it should have.

What advice would you give a future client of theirs?

I think the key is to get your requirements down and make sure everybody is on the same page, which I would say for any software project you’re going to be working on. Utilize Red Foundry; they have a lot of good ideas and information to provide.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company. What is your role and responsibilities?

We are co-founders of JACKSTIN. My brother and I build websites, and we’ve been doing it for almost 15 years between the two of us. We mainly build WordPress sites.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What was your goal for working with Red Foundry?

The business challenge was on the research and development side. We needed help understanding the ability of what WordPress can do to serve dynamic content. We had read about how you can make WordPress into an open API [application programming interface]. Working with them turned out to be a great learning experience for us.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their work.

Red Foundry provided app development for one of our WordPress website. We managed and built the website, and we designed the app, but they engineered the app. We used Photoshop to lay out the different designs, and what we thought would be best for our client. Then, we handed it to them, and they developed the app.

What was your process for selecting Red Foundry with which to work?

After Googling and researching a number of companies, we found Red Foundry. We are excited about where Red Foundry is going, how they create RFML [reactional-functional markup language], and how they extend it into an Android app, let alone an iOS app. You develop it in one place, and then you can push it out to Android and iOS. They tied all of our desired feeds into the back of their RFML, and the deployed and managed the app inside of their app platform.

Is this an ongoing partnership, or was there a certain end and start date?

It’s ongoing. I think with any type of technology you put in place, you’re always going to want to keep a business relationship with the people who know how to best work on it, which is Red Foundry, the company that developed our app. If something breaks, we can call them, and they can instantly service the app.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Is there anything unique about them that really makes them stand out, compared to other companies?

I think as far as customer service, Red Foundry is awesome. They went over and beyond for us, outside of what we proposed. They tackled and accomplished everything to exceed our expectations. I think that speaks volumes about the type of company they are. I think it’s extraordinary to work remotely with a team to deliver an app to this standard. It’s cool, and they were pleasant to work with. They achieved all the goals that we had set.

Looking back on the work so far, is there any area that you think they could improve upon or something that you might do differently?

Red Foundry had initially proposed a task management board, where we could have up-to-date statuses, but it wasn’t the most intuitive. We ended up generally just talking with them directly on the phone to hash things out. I think a lot of it would have been done easier in a task management software. So, the one suggestion may be to have a better system for timeline management and customer relationship management. I think they’re working to develop that internally now.

The project took longer than anticipated, but I think that was partly because it was a learning experience for them and for us. Toward the end of the project, it seemed they were stretched a little thin, but we also realize maybe we weren’t being very clear as to the requirements we were looking for. 

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company. What is your role and responsibilities?

I am the founder and CEO of Utrip. Utrip is a trip-planning app. We use a combination of human expertise and artificial intelligence in trip planning.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What was your goal for working with Red Foundry?

Our users plan their trips on the Web and then execute their trips using a mobile application. We brought in Red Foundry to build our initial mobile application for Android and iOS.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their work.

The scope of the work provided by Red Foundry was largely mobile app development and strategy.

What was your process for selecting Red Foundry with which to work?

We looked through a fair number of mobile development companies and smaller mobile development shops. We looked for a company that could match speed, quality, and price. Being a young tech startup, obviously price was a big consideration, but just as important as price was the initial speed to launch. We looked at a bunch of firms, and ended up with three finalists, Red Foundry being one of them. We then had a series of conversations, looked at a few apps they had done before. Red Foundry had experience in the travel space, so that’s something we really liked since we’re a travel company. Ultimately, we chose them because they had the best overall bid combining price, expertise in the area, and speed of completion.

Can you provide a ballpark dollar figure for the size of the work that they’ve done for you?

It was in the $10,000 - $50,000 range, but on the high end of that bucket.

Is this an ongoing project?

The initial app development was a one-time project, but we are in the process now of building an ongoing relationship.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Is there anything unique about them that really makes them stand out, compared to other companies?

Red Foundry is great to work with, and they’re good in terms of ideation. I think with all tech products, especially for young companies, you go into it thinking you’ve figured almost everything out. Then, when you start working, you realize there’s a whole bunch of stuff you haven’t figured out. Red Foundry was helpful in giving advice, helping us identify areas that needed more thought, as well as bringing in best practices and conventions so consumers don’t have to relearn a user interface. It’s important to have partners who can help you think a little more holistically, beyond just the scope of the project you’re working on with them. That was very true and very helpful with Red Foundry.

Looking back on the work so far, is there any area that you think they could improve upon or something that you might do differently?

Overall – not really. Anytime that something got behind schedule or wasn’t exactly how we imagined it, they were always really great about scheduling a call, jumping on the phone, talking through it, and getting it fixed quickly. So, from that perspective, it was great. There’s nothing I can think of directly.

What advice would you give a future client of theirs?

Ultimately, I would recommend that prospective clients of Red Foundry, or anyone else, to look for a partner that’s going to be open to an iterative approach with app development, which Red Foundry did a really good job with.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization. What is your role and responsibilities?

I’m the director of operations at FanAngel. FanAngel is a crowdfunding for performance platform that allows fans to be able to pay their favorite athletes and teams for performance. We’re especially focusing on the college realm, incentivizing college athletes for better performance, helping them stay in school longer, and helping connect fans, teams, and players in a new way. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What was your goal for working with Red Foundry?

We approached Red Foundry when we were beginning to build a mobile application for our platform. 

SOLUTION

What was your process for selecting Red Foundry with which to work?

We talked to a couple other developers to get bids and looked through their repository of apps that they’ve helped develop. We decided to go with Red Foundry to help us launch our Android and iOS mobile apps. One of our mobile advisors was connected with the Red Foundry executive team. They’d had experience with them in the past. We also liked Red Foundry because of how they were using their own technology, their own team, and their own abilities as well as the rate at which they worked. They put forth some aggressive timelines, but they also spelled out how it would happen. They helped us understand our responsibilities and things that we would need to do to be able to help meet those goals. Their price point was also good. It was very competitive. 

Can you give a sense of the size of the initiative in dollar terms or a personnel work-hour figure?

Our project with Red Foundry falls in the $50,000 to $200,000 bucket.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Is there anything unique or special about Red Foundry that really makes them stand out compared to other business partners?

The thing we really enjoyed was that, yes, they were specialists in building the application but, during the process, they helped us actually gain some insight into UI/UX [user interface/user experience] design. In addition, they were able to offer additional advice on other aspects of our website and our platform that users, investors, and advertisers would want to be able to see. Red Foundry actually helped us shape how our actual platform rolled out when it came to the website version as well. They had the technical advice we needed.

Looking back on the work so far, is there any area that you think they could improve upon or that you might do differently?

The only thing would be a way to scale their delivery up even more so they could have more great people on their team. We’d love to do more projects with them and still have them done on the same time scale.