Rocksauce

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of a K–12 software and e-commerce company. We support over 13,000 nonprofit organizations in and around the K–12 education system.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Rocksauce?

We’re in the process of developing a mobile fundraising app and needed assistance with UI/UX designs and prototyping for a proof of concept and MVP.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

This project has three phases. In the first phase, they conducted a UI/UX sprint designed to flesh out the concept and get an initial 12–15 screen prototypes in development and a clickable manner to do user testing and feedback.

Then, the second phase was the UI/UX iteration sprint. They took the feedback from the users who participated in phase one. Rocksauce incorporated that feedback and made changes before going back to more user testing.

The third and final phase is development. They’re taking the components that were created from the sprint and putting them into a library in which our development team can begin to build.

What is the team composition?

About 4–6 team members are participating. We have four that were highly involved and two who focus on management logistics.

How did you come to work with Rocksauce?

We were informed about their work through another one of our partners in the ecosystem that highly recommended Rocksauce. We then proactively reached out through their website and got some information to see if it’d be a good fit. Our teams negotiated a proposal and signed a document.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our ongoing engagement started in January 2021. We’re currently wrapping up a 3–4-week engagement and are in the process of negotiating a potential extension of that engagement for more services.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We had 5–10 individuals who went through some user testing and provided us with feedback. We got great results from that. In general, we’ve been very impressed with their professionalism, quality insights and work, and ability to stay on time, task, and budget.

Rocksauce produces high-fidelity prototypes with very talented designers who understand UI/UX and how that should come together. I’ve been extremely pleased about the entire project to date.

How did Rocksauce perform from a project management standpoint?

Project management has been exceptional. We’ve had a number of different environmental challenges due to power outages and the weather. Our team and their team have collaborated remotely to stay on deadlines and deliverables even through some challenging timing.

Throughout it all, their communication and project management has been stellar. We utilize Miro, which is an integrated design tool that’s helped us with communication, prototyping, and those types of things. We also use Google Meet for communication and collaboration. Communication is also mainly through email.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I’m most impressed with their professionalism. They’re very deadline-driven and deliver high-quality work. Rocksauce’s insights, analytics, and tools have been excellent. The quality and output of their work have been exceptional.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I don’t have anything.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Make sure you clearly outline and articulate what you’re looking to accomplish. Describe your vision of an MVP and how many screens you need. Once you engage, be readily available to their team to ensure there are no gaps in communications as timelines naturally change.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

My company manufactures goods in the consumer space, from toiletries and paper towels. I’m the consumer engagement product lead, working to expand our brands and formats into more digital spaces.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Rocksauce?

We were looking for the right partner to help us develop an app. We don’t have those technical capabilities in-house, so Rocksauce was a great resource on that front.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement? 

Rocksauce built an iOS app that would allow us to expand our consumer solutions. At the time, we already had the wireframes from a different firm that developed the designs in Figma, Zeplin, and InVision. Rocksauce’s team was responsible for bringing those creative assets to life using AWS as the platform.

What is the team composition? 

I communicated with Lawrence (Technical Project Manager) who was part of a four-person team. But, there were about three other individuals around the globe working on our project. 

Besides them, Olivier (Head of Development) led the full team in Austin, Texas. Working with him was fabulous because he was always there to answer questions. He’d help us think through critical decisions to find the right solutions and was highly engaged with us.

How did you come to work with Rocksauce?

Our corporate team handled the digital scouting, going through an extensive FRP process across multiple service providers. In the end, we believed that Rocksauce would deliver the best value.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent about $500,000 with them.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project lasted from October 2019–August 2020.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We created a 16-week program with the app to test with our consumers, and people are actually seeing results in as little as six weeks. So, we know that what we built is going to be effective.

How did Rocksauce perform from a project management standpoint?

I liked how client-focused they were — it just felt like a true partnership. There was never a time when they delivered something below our expectations. 

Each week, we would have a status meeting where they would take us through their deliverables from the previous roadmap before getting us aligned on a roadmap for next week’s items. That’s when we would go through our Jira tickets, ensure that everyone was on track, and communicate needs. It was a really efficient use of time. 

In some cases, we needed to reprioritize the deliverables, so they helped us understand what trade-offs we would have to make internally. That sort of client management was really collaborative.

What did you find most impressive about them?

What stood out the most about them was how incredibly solution-oriented they were when it came to our budget. There were times when we faced cost issues because our budget didn’t align with our aspirations. Rocksauce would tell us how much something would set us back and then helped us understand what a compromise would look like without impacting the end user’s experience.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I think we could have benefited from a more in-depth kick-off meeting to go over the initial designs. That would’ve been helpful for someone like me who hadn’t done an app development project before to better understand how the images translated to a final product.

There were a couple of surprises along the way about the app’s features because each side had its own assumptions. However, once Rocksauce explained to us their intent based on how the design files were set up, it made a lot of sense.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Depending on your team’s maturity level in product development, I would encourage doing a deeper exploration phase upfront so that your team knows what to do. That’s a great time to align on expectations and get clarity.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the Founder and President of Reimagine Selling

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Rocksauce?

To refresh the UX/UI of our app and website

What were your goals for this project?

To launch and disrupt the in the thought processes homebuilding and Real Estate Industries.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

I met wan old friend that had seen their work and intruded me. After multiple conversations, We decided the could take us to the next level in form and function.

Describe the project in detail.

I had been in Beta Testing for about 4 to 5 years. We we making tweaks here and there with the results blowing our mind. It was the right time to

What was the team composition?

I have been assigned a project manager ... UX developer ... UI developer ... Code Expert .. and met at various times with some or all of these people. The Founder/President always sits in on these meetings.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We're still 2 to 3 months from launch . but they have come up with a few ideas that will take us from "Class of the Industry" to "World Class".

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

In a word ... Seamless.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

How well the listened and immersed themselves in my business. They took the time to understand what I was trying to achieve ... and actually asked the questions to spark new and exciting "add-ons".

Are there any areas for improvement?

Having explained the process so many time in the past ... I knew how hard it was to grasp the difference between High-Ticket and Low-Ticket Selling. Whereby everyone says "I get it" ... I had to slow Rocksauce down and review things a second time. It only took a minute or two for them to understand.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the founder and CEO of CooMo Travel, a platform where users can streamline the entire planning and booking process while allowing other people to give suggestions for their trip. Users are able to plan a trip on the platform and meet up with other travelers.

The primary cause of death for veterans and servicemen is suicide, and one of the leading causes is the constant relocation from one place to another. The platform I’ve created is targeted for this demographic, and it ultimately helps users integrate more comfortably into society by meeting people in their new locations.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Rocksauce Studios?

We wanted help with web development.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Rocksauce’s role was to help with the UI and UX. They were supposed to design and create the fully-functional website based off what we created during initial phases, but they didn’t deliver. We did 2 different SOWs [statements of work].

I spent more time on the UI and UX beforehand because it’s a lot cheaper than having to implement changes to a fully-developed product. We finished this phase within 2–3 months, then started development. Rocksauce started in August 2016, and told me they would be finished in 26–32 weeks.

I would constantly send emails on a biweekly basis to check on project status and the timeline. The platform was supposed to launch by mid-January–March, but when that time came, it still wasn’t ready. I asked them every other weekday if we were going to launch on time, and they kept pushing the date further. I got more involved, but I assumed they were a professional company, so I let them handle it.

At the end of July 2017, I sat down with Q [CEO, Rocksauce] and Peter [COO, Rocksauce] and inquired about the delay. I asked why they had doubled the timeline and asked for more money. I’m not a technical person, so I went into this project depending on their expertise. All of the functionality of my platform was pre-existent on different sites, so I had told Rocksauce to use as much open-source code as possible in order to lower the cost and speed up production. They told me they understood.

They chose to use Go as their programming language, and I’m having difficulties finding developers who use it because it’s so new. Rocksauce chose a platform that a lot of senior developers don’t recommend or use because it’s both too new and expensive. Even though I’d asked Rocksauce to use as much open-source code as possible, they used none. The entire platform is built with custom code.

Rocksauce used my money and time to learn and create the platform from scratch, which is not what I asked them to do. They also removed 20% of the functionality from the platform because they said it would cost even more money, and also take more time. I asked Q what he could do to better the situation, and he said, “If you’re looking for free work, you’re not going to get it.”

I sent the code out to 3 different companies and asked how much it would cost to finish the product. They all told me Rocksauce had only completed roughly 50% of the development.

What is the team dynamic?

I was always on call throughout the process. I would communicate with their project managers if there were any problems. I like to discuss things in person rather than through email, because it’s a lot easier to solve problems that way. We’re both in Austin, so it made it much easier for me to interact with their team in the hopes that my end product would equate to my vision.

How did you come to work with Rocksauce Studios?

I was introduced to Rocksauce at a local pitch event in Austin, and they had a sales rep there who talked to me. I had just exited a bad engagement with a previous developer, so I entertained the idea of working with Rocksauce. I interviewed them among many other companies.

How much have you invested with them?

The total amount spent on Rocksauce was approximately $320,000. The first statement of work was approximately $55,000 and the second statement of work was approximately $265,000.

They said they needed $50,000 more to get the product to 80% completion. My business colleague and mentors advised me that Rocksauce hadn’t actually finished what they said they had already, so giving them U.S. $50,000 more would’ve been a gamble.

What is the status of this engagement?

I started working with them in May 2016. After the engagement with Rocksauce, the 2 founders, Q and Peter, were not willing to help remedy the situation. They said the best they could do was give me a discount on the hourly wage. I left knowing they weren’t going to help me any further.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Describe the impact this engagement has had on your business.

I left the military 2 years ago as a disabled veteran to create a platform that’s useful for everyone, but especially those with military backgrounds. I sold 3 of my personal houses to self-fund this platform, and Rocksauce just took my money to build a product that they never finished.

I created a demand letter with my mentor, laid out all of the facts and damages, and stated that they needed to respond within 3 weeks. They failed to respond within that time, and the legal process of trying to sue them has cost me an exponential amount of money.

I searched for a law firm for 2 weeks to take the case, which was very difficult. Through making all of these calls, however, I found two other individuals who are also suing Rocksauce, and we were able to come together.

I also discovered that Rocksauce is starting a new company in Austin, and they’re looking for funding, which made matters even worse. They’re unrightfully using their clients’ money to create a new business.

How was project management handled?

When we were actually communicating, it was mostly through calls and email. I prefer to communicate in-person because things get done more quickly. I haven’t communicated with them at all since I sent the demand letter, and my attorney is now taking care of that for me.

Company Responses

The vendor responded on October 28, 2020.

3 years have passed since Rocksauce’s involvement with CooMo, and the product is still not available to the public. CooMo engaged us after a failure with another agency. After Rocksauce, CooMo has worked with an unknown number of other companies.

Rocksauce builds custom software to client specifications. To save budget, CooMo chose to move certain features to future versions of the product. Multiple times per month, CooMo was shown their features list and estimates.

We proposed either a flat-rate or time & materials project. CooMo chose time & materials, to make changes as they saw fit. Rocksauce even agreed to an equity-stake in exchange for over $43k in provided discounts.

CooMo continued to change features back & forth, sometimes from week to week, requiring rework throughout the project. Each time the labor estimates would increase, we would inform the customer, as well as review what features were part of that estimate.

As we neared completion of the product, CooMo demanded we include features that had been backlogged since the beginning of the project. CooMo demanded we do all remaining work without a charge to them.

To get the product released, Rocksauce offered to do the remaining work “at-cost.” We paused our work, continually reaching out to the customer for agreement.

CooMo rejected our offer, threatened us with, and eventually left, inaccurate & negative reviews. Our equity agreement has not been honored.

Rocksauce remains proud to have built CooMo a well-documented, forward-thinking product on modern-stacks.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

CEO/ Founder

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Rocksauce?

UX/UI Design

What were your goals for this project?

Create the user flow and screen designs

SOLUTION

How did you select Rocksauce?

I evaluated several agencies. Ultimately it came down to the team, there interest in my projects success and their exceptional artistic capabilities

Describe the project in detail.

Culineer is a mobile platform for saving saving, sharing and shopping recipes.

What was the team composition?

Project manager, UX designer and artist. It’s my understanding that others contributes as well

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We got a great product which completed the first phase of the software

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

It was pretty good. RockSauce established a list of schedule of deliverables, and they met those expectations. They provide options for deign direction at key milestones and presented them in an organized, professional manner

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The way they went over and above to help me not just with UX/UI design but even to help me with strategic decisions. I felt they were very invested in the project not just a hired gun

Are there any areas for improvement?

There were a few times when my prioject stalled because they were overbooked but it wasn’t a huge problem