Sidekick Interactive

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I was the head of digital marketing and products at a private network of education institutions.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Sidekick Interactive?

We wanted to build an app to help staff and students with stress levels and any problems they may encounter due to the switch to remote education and work.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Sidekick Interactive helped us through the ideation and early design phases of building our app. We did three ideation sessions with a broad group of stakeholders within the business. Based on those sessions, we established what we thought would be the best path to an MVP. Then, I had a number of meetings with the Sidekick team to look at mockup creation and review.
  
Sidekick built an initial feature roadmap and a series of mid–high-fidelity design prototypes. The team came up with a plan on cost and deadlines to actually code the app and make it happen.

I just left the company, but we were almost at the point of presenting to executives how much the development would cost and what the roadmap would be. The plan was to build the app for iOS first and then Android.

My understanding is that my former company will continue working with Sidekick. I don’t know what the future of the project will look like. 

What is the team composition?

My main point of contact was Greg (Co-Founder & President). 

How did you come to work with Sidekick Interactive?

An acquaintance of our CEO had worked with Sidekick in the past and referred them. I put them through the RFP process with a couple of other companies.

There were a few reasons why we contacted them, one of which was that they had experience building apps related to stress management and help requests. They had done work with another higher education institution, so they had relevant experience. They were also a bit more of a smaller, boutique company. Finally, I had a good personal contact with Greg. We got along well early on, and I liked his approach and how pragmatic he was about things.

How much have you invested with them?

The total mandate was $30,000. I believe about $20,000¬–$25,000 was built.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our work together began in June or July 2020. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I really enjoyed how straightforward and unassuming the process was. I have done a lot of these design-thinking workshops, and Sidekick Interactive was very good at stimulating discussion and getting ideas from people without making them feel like they didn’t know anything. A lot of people in education aren’t very tech-savvy.

The process was very collaborative and pragmatic in all of the right ways; it focused on what needed to be done. They made it very easy for people to interact and participate, even though we were remote. 

How did Sidekick Interactive perform from a project management standpoint?

Sidekick delivered everything on time. They were very diligent and respected their deadlines well. The deliverables were also very high-quality. When I got user-testing reports, the feedback was concise, precise, and well-documented. All in all, I was satisfied with them.

We mostly communicated through email, which was my preferred method. We also used a virtual whiteboard tool, and that was well-suited to what we were doing.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I liked their simple, pragmatic approach. Sidekick interacted well with our teams, even when we didn’t make their lives easy. Also, the deliverables — from the prototypes to the interview summaries — were very high-quality and good for us.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I knew that they were a small agency. Resourcing was not an issue for us, since we were just in the ideation phase, but it may have become an issue when we got to development. My understanding is that their developers are very busy. Overall, though, I was very satisfied.

Any advice for potential customers?

If you want to work with a hands-on agency and be able to build a relationship with one of their founders, go for it. If you’re looking to work with a big company, keep in mind that Sidekick is smaller, which has its advantages and disadvantages. 

Because they’re smaller, they require a higher degree of client involvement. I didn’t mind being involved. If you want a partner with whom you can collaborate very closely and have a relationship of equals, then I’d highly recommend Sidekick.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the president of Allevio Clinic, a healthcare clinic that deals with chronic pain management.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Sidekick Interactive?

We needed someone to develop our mobile app and the middleware that helps to run it.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They’re developing our iOS mobile app, which will facilitate interaction with our patients. The first iteration of the app is focused on appointment management, a very hands-on function that currently requires a lot of our organization’s time and resources. The app will allow patients to more easily manage their appointments.

The first phase of the project is wrapped up; we just need to do testing and bug fixes before it goes live. We have additional phases of the project planned. 

What is the team composition?

We work with 5–6 people directly. Our main points of contact are Liam and Greg (Co-Founders). Liam is more involved with design and part of the development team. Greg does project management and manages the whole development team.

How did you come to work with Sidekick Interactive?

I wasn’t involved in the initial contact with them. Our CEO was introduced to them about a year ago.

How much have you invested with them?

My company has spent $115,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in April 2020, and it’s ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

There were five distinct sprints to complete phase one of the project, and they were all completed on time. The deliverables came through as promised.

How did Sidekick Interactive perform from a project management standpoint?

They were very clear as to what they were going to do, and they stuck with it. We meet almost weekly as a whole a team to get feedback via Microsoft Teams.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They delivered what they said they would on time. There was no slippage in the process.

Are there any areas they could improve?

It wasn’t an ongoing issue, but at the beginning, we didn’t have an understanding of some of the key barriers that might delay components of the project. That was quickly ironed out, and the communication gap was fixed.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Communication is always the key. Give them as much information as you can to make the process clearer.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

We are a research team affiliated to a university and a public health network. We investigate how early adversity and victimization increase risks for mental health and behavioural problems and how to best support youth facing these experiences by using new technologies.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Sidekick Interactive?

We wanted to freshen up an already existing application developed to support teenagers who are victims of bullying through strategies and information provided within the application.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted to improve the engagement, user experience and overall professional appearance of the application for the intended user group, i.e. teenagers ranging between 12 to 16 years of age. Existing features were streamlined and complementary ones were envisioned, such as the introduction of a gamification component to the app. New designs were included.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

As per public regulations, we have issued a call for tenders. Sidekick Interactive was selected for their competitive rates and sheer interest in our project.

Describe the project in detail.

The contract included the renewal of three existing apps by Sidekick Interactive, including +Fort. All three apps were intended to provide information and support in the face of adversities, as well as to promote well-being.

The project implied the assessment of the existing apps in their original forms, reconstruction of their architecture/UI, improvement of general UX and the addition and removal of a number of features, including elements of gamification. Quality control was carried out both internally and by members of our team.

What was the team composition?

Florian (Project Manager) was our main point of contact. Front and backend developers were associated with the project, along with a very gifted and generous graphic designer.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The application was published in the midst of unforeseen circumstances (COVID-19). More information regarding engagement will have to wait for the return to school and most likely a new academic year, as well as the formal unveilings of the app.

Colleagues from all around the world are however unanimous about the attractiveness and fluidity of the application, and more importantly, its great potential to help bullying victims.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

A bridge had to be crossed between the tech industry and the academic world. Throughout this process, the team, with Florian at its head, proved to be open-minded and willing to adapt to our realities and pace. Our team was dedicated to testing every iteration, which was facilitated by the use of an agile-inspired framework.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Their dedication and creativity. The whole team took our project to their own hearts, and went well above and beyond to satisfy our requests. They provided us with an attractive and efficient app we are happy to offer to our users. We’ve enjoyed working with the PM, Florian, and the developers, who at all times have proven to be friendly, courteous and professional team players.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Communication is key to every collaborative project, and throughout our partnership, we found some efficient tools to avoid loopholes and misunderstandings. Suggestions were already made on both parts to improve those tools for future collaborations.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Our company specializes in Product Lifecycle Management. We operate in 12 different industries, such as transport mobility and aerospace. I am the product manager in our Montreal office.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Sidekick Interactive?

We were deploying tools for a project in Montreal, where they were building a new kind of railway going 66 kilometers across Canada to help combat congestion. Our company was providing the tools to perform 3D-modeling and document management but needed a solution to allow those products to be used in the field without being connected to a specific network.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Sidekick Interactive developed code that created the ability for users to fill out forms that would later sync onto the platform once they were in range of a network. They tailored the solution to be used on mobile devices and to use a smaller amount of data in order to operate in areas without a significant amount of bandwidth.

What is the team composition?

We worked with Florian (Project Manager, Sidekick Interactive) and with 2–3 of the company’s founders in terms of setting up and starting the project. Two other people were more on the technical side of things and helped us translate business requirements into technical ones for their developers.

How did you come to work with Sidekick Interactive?

We got to know them through another company that we worked with who vouched for their abilities.

How much have you invested with them?

The contracted was established with our client who has acted as an intermediary between us and Sidekick. Even though the scope of the project increased over time, the total budget has remained at CAN $295,000 (approximately $222,000 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Sidekick Interactive in September 2018 and have mostly wrapped up our engagement but still have some ongoing involvement from time to time.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We were very satisfied with the work that was performed, and­—even though it was developed for a specific purpose—we believe we’ve found a way in which it could be used for other purposes. Their solution has proved to be versatile in both hardcoded forms or through templates in our own tools. Their application has the potential for reuse with other projects, which is why we’ve kept interacting with Sidekick Interactive.

How did Sidekick Interactive perform from a project management standpoint?

They were very willing to work closely with us to get things done, coming to our office once a week for half- or full-day workshops, which allowed us to tighten the loop between testing and bug fixing. Our developers were able to work hand in hand with them to really expedite the development.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Though the schedule was extremely tight and the specific project requirements kept changing, Sidekick Interactive was responsive in delivering an intermediate solution that satisfied our client and helped us get closer to a final product.

It was really refreshing to see how fast a company can respond to changing requirements. Their agility and willingness to work with just a rough outline of where we wanted to go was extremely beneficial to the project and helped us to make sure we were always progressing, even as we had to adapt our approach.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Most of the problems were from our side of the project, so there’s not much I can say in terms of concrete things they could have done differently.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Anyone who wants to work with them should look at the projects they’ve worked on and talk to them personally to see if they’d be a good match because if they are a good fit, things are going to go very well.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the CEO of an embedded financial solutions company 

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

We're an AR management and Embedded financing solution that gives B2B technology vendors the power to offer flexible payment terms to customers while securing up front payment. With us, finance leaders can leverage a combination of actionable insights and capital to optimize day-to-day cash flows, accelerate deal flows, and execute long-term strategic vision with ease.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Sidekick Interactive to accomplish?

• We needed to develop a stable mobile app.

SOLUTION

How did you find Sidekick Interactive?

• Online Search
• Clutch Site

Why did you select Sidekick Interactive over others?

• Pricing fit our budget
• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost

How many teammates from Sidekick Interactive were assigned to this project?

6-10 Employees

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

Sidekick Interactive creates custom software. Initially, we contacted them and had a call with them. We explained the concept to them and provided some documents we created. They provided us with a quote, and we went ahead.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The App has improved by 40%–50% in the last six months; Sidekick Interactive has made it more efficient.

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

The project is a standard development, and the quality of their service is acceptable. They deliver on time, and we can see the progress. We also communicate through emails, Zoom calls, and Slack.

What was your primary form of communication with Sidekick Interactive?

Email or Messaging App

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

They’re very quick with changes.

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

No, we don’t have any complaints.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the CEO of a healthcare group purchasing organization.

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

We are a healthcare group purchasing organization (GPO) that helps physician practices, specialty clinics, and surgery centers reduce costs and improve operational efficiency through strategic purchasing solutions and practice enhancement services.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Sidekick Interactive to accomplish?

• We needed a mobile solution that was not only intuitive for end users but also met strict healthcare compliance and data security standards. The goal was to modernize how our network participants accessed and exchanged patient information in real time.

SOLUTION

How did you find Sidekick Interactive?

• Online Search
• Clutch Site

Why did you select Sidekick Interactive over others?

• High ratings
• Pricing fit our budget
• Good value for cost

How many teammates from Sidekick Interactive were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

The engagement started with a thorough UX/UI design phase where they mapped out user flows for both payer and provider-side users before writing a single line of code.They also built notification systems to alert users to pending data requests and updates. The QA team ran extensive testing across device types and use cases before we moved to launch, and Sidekick provided documentation and post-launch support to ensure a smooth transition for our internal team.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Since launching the application, our network participants have reported a significant reduction in the time it takes to access and share patient information compared to our previous process.

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

Their project management was one of the strongest parts of the engagement.They were proactive about flagging potential issues before they became blockers, which made the whole process feel collaborative rather than transactional.

What was your primary form of communication with Sidekick Interactive?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

What stood out most was how seriously they took the healthcare context of the project.

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

Honestly, the experience was smooth from start to finish.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Director Sales & Marketing of Peabody Energy

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Coal Production

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Sidekick Interactive to accomplish?

• Build a middleware layer between our legacy custom ERP and our internal web portal to eliminate manual data handling between systems.
• Design and implement a reliable API architecture on Azure that our internal team could maintain and extend going forward.
• Deliver a solution our own team couldn't build, we needed deep Azure and API expertise that we didn't have in-house and couldn't replicate with AI tooling.

SOLUTION

How did you find Sidekick Interactive?

Online Search

Why did you select Sidekick Interactive over others?

• Pricing fit our budget
• Good value for cost
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from Sidekick Interactive were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

Our company had been running a custom-built ERP for over a decade. Over time, we had layered several internal web portals and operational tools on top of it, but none of them communicated cleanly with the core system. Data had to be manually re-entered across platforms, which introduced errors and created bottlenecks across departments.

We hired Sidekick Interactive to design and build a middleware integration layer that would sit between our ERP and our internal portal, allowing data to flow automatically and reliably between systems. Key deliverables included a RESTful API architecture managed through Azure API Management, an Azure SQL data layer to normalize and route information between systems, and an updated internal web portal that consumed the new APIs cleanly. Sidekick also documented the full architecture so our internal team could own it post-handoff.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The most immediate impact was a significant reduction in data entry errors, those essentially disappeared after go-live. We also saw a meaningful improvement in how quickly teams could access accurate operational data; reporting that previously required manual consolidation now happens in real time. The internal portal went from being a pain point to a tool people actually trust and use daily.

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

Project management was structured and dependable. Sidekick established clear milestones at the outset and held to them throughout. We had regular demos that kept our stakeholders informed without requiring us to chase updates. When we surfaced new requirements or edge cases mid-project they absorbed the changes without derailing the timeline. Communication was direct and technically fluent, which mattered a lot given the complexity of what we were integrating.

What was your primary form of communication with Sidekick Interactive?

Virtual Meeting

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

What stood out most was their ability to bridge deep technical expertise with practical business judgment. A lot of development shops can write code, fewer can look at a legacy system architecture, understand the operational constraints around it, and design a solution that's both technically sound and actually adoptable by an internal team. Sidekick did both. Their Azure and API expertise was exactly what we needed and couldn't source internally, and they brought it without overcomplicating the solution or over-engineering the scope.

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

Nothing significant.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Vice President of Quality

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Our platform integrates biology, computation, and engineering to develop impactful antibody-based medicines.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Sidekick Interactive to accomplish?

• Build a focused iOS and Android mobile app to solve a single critical bottleneck in our client workflow — the approval step that requires sign-off from the Chief Data Officer or equivalent senior stakeholder.
• Use biometric authentication and push notifications to drastically reduce the time and friction involved in getting that approval, so our customers' end-to-end data validation process actually gets completed.
• Strengthen the stickiness of our platform by embedding senior decision-makers into the daily workflow through a mobile experience they would adopt and rely on.

SOLUTION

How did you find Sidekick Interactive?

• Online Search
• Referral

Why did you select Sidekick Interactive over others?

• Close to my geographic location
• Referred to me
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from Sidekick Interactive were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

Our SaaS platform enables pharmaceutical companies to manage data collection and validation workflows that require final approval from a senior data executive, typically a Chief Data Officer (CDO) or Vice President of Data. However, this final approval stage often became a major bottleneck. These stakeholders are frequently in meetings, seldom work from a desktop, and often forget the login credentials for a platform they access only occasionally. As a result, workflows could be delayed for days while waiting for a simple approval that takes only a few seconds. To address this challenge, we partnered with Sidekick Interactive to create a targeted mobile solution rather than rebuilding our entire SaaS platform as a mobile application, which would have been costly and unnecessary. They helped us design a streamlined mobile experience focused exclusively on the critical approval workflow. Built with Flutter for both iOS and Android, the app allows senior approvers to receive push notifications, authenticate instantly using Face ID or Touch ID, review pending requests, and approve them within seconds. This single capability removes a key bottleneck and enables the rest of the team to continue working seamlessly within the web platform. The project deliverables included the development of a cross-platform Flutter mobile application for iOS and Android, a secure authentication and push notification framework, and an integration layer that connects the mobile app to our existing SaaS backend.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The project ran very cleanly. Sidekick set out clear milestones at the start, demonstrated progress regularly, and delivered on schedule. What I appreciated most was their discipline around scope. As a founder, it is tempting to expand a project once you see what is possible, and they consistently helped us stay focused on the one workflow that justified the investment. Communication was direct, responsive, and grounded in the realities of healthcare and pharmaceutical workflows, which mattered to us.

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

Most development partners would have happily quoted us a much larger project to rebuild the SaaS in mobile form. Sidekick did the opposite — they pushed us toward the smallest, sharpest possible build that would solve the actual problem. That kind of advice is rare and reflects a real understanding of product and business strategy, not just engineering. They also understood the regulatory and process sensitivities of working in a pharmaceutical context without us having to over-explain.

What was your primary form of communication with Sidekick Interactive?

Virtual Meeting

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

Their strategic thinking stood out.

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

Honestly, nothing meaningful. This was a tightly scoped engagement and they executed it well. If anything, I wish we had engaged them earlier — we spent too long trying to solve this problem with web-based workarounds before recognizing that mobile was the right answer.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Co-Founder of a full stack software development company.

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

We are a full-stack software development company, and needed help with a native mobile app build for a client.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Sidekick Interactive to accomplish?

• Needed native iOS app developers to help with a client project

SOLUTION

How did you find Sidekick Interactive?

Referral

Why did you select Sidekick Interactive over others?

• Close to my geographic location
• Referred to me
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from Sidekick Interactive were assigned to this project?

1 Employee

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

Needed help with native app development, integrating custom IoT functionality. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Successfully integrated the IoT features we needed for a client. 

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

They we're great to work with and we will be collaborating more in the future. 

What was your primary form of communication with Sidekick Interactive?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

Sidekick Interactive was super easy to work with and had expertise in areas in which we did not.

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

Nothing I can think of. 

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Principal and Founder of North River Company

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

We are a FinTech SaaS company that provides real-time payment processing and financial analytics tools for small and mid-sized businesses.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Sidekick Interactive to accomplish?

• Evaluate our existing backend and web application architecture for scalability issues
• Redesign key components to support higher transaction volumes
• Improve the performance and responsiveness of our customer-facing dashboard

SOLUTION

How did you find Sidekick Interactive?

Referral

Why did you select Sidekick Interactive over others?

• High ratings
• Pricing fit our budget
• Good value for cost

How many teammates from Sidekick Interactive were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

Our platform had grown quickly over the years, and we started noticing performance bottlenecks as transaction volumes increased. While the system was functional, it wasn’t optimized for scale, and making changes was becoming more complex for our internal team. Sidekick Interactive was engaged to assess our system and implement targeted improvements. They reviewed our backend services, database structure, and web application performance. 
Based on their findings, they restructured parts of our API layer, optimized database queries, and improved how data was handled on the frontend to reduce load times. They also delivered a set of technical recommendations and documentation that our internal team could continue building on after the engagement.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

After the improvements, we saw faster load times across our dashboard and better system stability during peak usage periods. Transaction processing became more consistent, and our engineering team found it easier to work with the updated structure. Internally, we now have a clearer path for scaling the platform as our customer base grows.

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

The engagement was well-managed and straightforward. They worked within the agreed timeline and kept communication clear throughout the process. We received regular updates on progress, and they were responsive whenever we had questions or needed clarification on technical decisions.

What was your primary form of communication with Sidekick Interactive?

Virtual Meeting

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

Their ability to quickly understand a complex FinTech system and identify practical improvements stood out. They didn’t overcomplicate things — their recommendations were realistic, actionable, and aligned with our business goals.

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

For this type of engagement, everything met our expectations. If anything, a slightly more detailed breakdown of long-term scaling scenarios could have added extra value, but overall the experience was very positive.