Swovo

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the CEO of a startup that is currently in stealth mode.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Flatirons Development, and what were your goals?

We hired Flatirons Development to bring our SaaS startup in the sales space to market. We didn't have all of the internal resources to bring our idea to fruition and their team has been very helpful in making that a reality.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

We chose to Flatirons Development as a vendor because they seem to have a lot of experience in SaaS, Stripe, and two-sided marketplaces. All of these characteristics fit our company so it seemed like a good fit.

Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and technologies used.

Our project goal has been to bring our MVP to market. The project started with the Flatirons team putting together a Jira roadmap. We are working in two week sprints so we have goals for every sprint and epic.

How many people from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

Four. Project management, design, development.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables?

Our product is pre-market so I don't have any numbers around our success yet, but I feel very good about the product and am excited to release it soon. In my opinion Flatirons is very talented at design and the product matches the design so far.

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timeliness.

We use Slack and Jira to communicate. There's a standup every day and we meet once a week to review design and progress. The project is on time so far.

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

I feel the Flatirons team has really taken ownership of what we are building, and I can tell that they care about the quality of our product, which means a lot to me.

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

None right now.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

We are a shipping logistics company in the furniture space. We are aiming to utilize empty space in existing moving trucks to solve the last mile problem for furniture companies. I am the founder.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Flatirons Development, and what were your goals?

I am building the MVP for my company and I hired Flatirons to build our web platform to automate bidding and connections between drivers and shippers within our industry. My goal has been to get something to market that I can start generating revenue on.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

We found Flatirons through Cltuch. I liked Flatirons because they have a startup mindset and I felt that they were more invested in my success than most of the agencies I talked to. They have been very helpful in determing what should and should not be included in our MVP.

Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and technologies used.

We have only been working on one milestone which is to release our MVP. Based on my requirements for the MVP, the Flatirons team broke everything out into Jira with a roadmap that I watch all the time. From there, we had weekly meetings and talked on Slack. I know they had daily standups which they invited me to but I only took advantage of the weekly meetings (which was enough for me). The application is built in Ruby on Rails and React. 

How many people from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

The team is one project manager, two, developers, a designer, and a quality assurance tester. The majority of the Flatirons team is based in Latin America. I didn't have any issues with communication, everyone speaks English well.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables?

Flatirons has been great at turning designs into a functioning product. I have worked with a lot of software teams and I know that design pieces are often lost when translated to development. Flatirons really paid attention to detail. I feel very happy about the product we are releasing.

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timeliness.

They had a Jira roadmap that they always showed me and talked about. We communicated over slack. There were deadlines broken up over the course of the project and each week the project manager discussed where we were in terms of meeting the next deadline.

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

Flatirons was very good at digesting the nuances of an old and antiquated industry and they put a lot of care into our product. The most impressive part of the project has been design. The design team is really talented, and the developers did a really good job of paying attention to detail when building the designs into the product.

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

None that I can think of right now, I enjoy working with them.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the medical director of Posterity Health, a digital health company focused on male fertility.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Flatirons Development?

We wanted to bring the clinical experience of getting treatment for male fertility through an online dashboard, offering an interactive experience for patients.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Flatirons Development is the development group that’s helping us create our product. Together, we’re taking the clinical patient experience that currently exists over telehealth and in-person consulting and making it a digital experience. Initially, they took the time to understand what I did as a physician and how I took care of my patients to figure out how to bring that into a digital platform. Additionally, they took the time to understand our patient population.

During this initial process, I also provided Flatirons Development with a PowerPoint presentation on how I wanted this platform to flow, along with some rough wireframes. Taking our input, they told me which things were feasible and which ones were challenging but achievable before starting the design and development process.

As for the design process, we already had a branding set for our website, but we wanted to make this product a little different. Thus, Flatirons Development helped us pick color schemes, buttons, shapes, and more visual assets. Additionally, they worked with our marketing agency to bring that experience across both our marketing site and the platform we were creating.

One of our biggest hurdles has been making the platform HIPAA-compliant because it involves a lot of security layers and legal requirements for dealing with patient data. However, Flatirons Development has custom-coded the platform from scratch, integrating third-party technologies.

As for the platform’s content, I’m in charge of creating patient education video modules, so Flatirons Development has also helped me choose and integrate a video player into it. For this part of the project, they took the time to do their due diligence and provided us with several video player options in the market, explaining their pros and cons and offering their suggestions.

What is the team composition?

We’ve worked with about 10 people from Flatirons Development, two of which are in Denver, Colorado, and the rest are in South America. Their design team includes Andrés (Senior Product Designer).

How did you come to work with Flatirons Development?

We interviewed several design and development firms, and we really liked the nature of the work that Flatirons Development had done in the past. Additionally, they seemed to be very invested in our project, so we decided to hire them for the first phase of our project.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in May 2022, and our engagement is ongoing. We worked together so well during the initial engagement that we decided to continue working with them on the second phase of the project. Now, I foresee working with them a lot going forward.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Flatirons Development has done a good job at understanding both the medical side of our product and the patient population it targets to create its design. We had a very rough brand guide. However, their team has done a great job at bringing that forward and making it more fun and engaging for this platform.

Thanks to their involvement, we’ve also had a very seamless and successful product launch, with very minor fixes and changes going into the second phase of the project. Overall, we’re very happy with their work.

How did Flatirons Development perform from a project management standpoint?

During our first engagement, Flatirons Development stayed within our budget and timeline. We had an extensive QA and testing period during which the technical person on our side was able to submit tickets for the issues they found. Their team worked very diligently around the clock to address those issues to make it to the launch’s deadline, which was impressive.

Overall, our engagement has been very seamless. We have regular check-ins, allowing us to work on this project remotely. They’ve given me access to the roadmap they’re following and to Figma, where they do their designs, which has been very helpful. Whenever we need to make adjustments, they’re very upfront about how those changes would affect the budget and timeline.

As for communication, we use Slack and have a weekly Google Meet meeting to assess progress and make clarifications. Flatirons Development’s team is very good at explaining things to me. In the same way that I explain very complex medical things to patients, Flatirons Development has been able to explain pretty complex development things to me, which is really important. Additionally, Andrés is very thoughtful, and he always has a reason for his design choices.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Our product is unique. However, Flatirons Development has been able to help us pick the right tools for our project, which has been very important because this product is the base on which we’re building our entire platform.

Are there any areas they could improve?

It would be great if they were able to get the budget and timeline set before going into the projects. Sometimes, we’ve gone into projects without having those estimates finalized. However, that’s the nature of our business.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Work with them! They’re very invested in projects and take a lot of pride in their work, which ultimately shows in the results.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder and CEO of Jombine. We’re a recruiting marketplace platform.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Flatirons Development?

We needed help to build our application.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We have a recruiting platform that evaluates a candidate through different steps and pieces. Flatirons Development has built a platform from scratch to house our candidate evaluation program and all of its pieces, including extensive profiles and video interview capabilities. We use a third-party provider for assessments; we send the platform with the assessment provider and reference where the candidate can reach out to have them fill out the survey. It’s all done through the application.

Secondly, our recruiters tap into a crowdsourced network of candidates to claim who they want to work with. Also, they can see the full sourcing of candidates that have gone through the program for particular positions. For our company, we must have several recruiters that specialize in sales positions.

We’ve worked together on the platform’s color scheme, fonts, and overall design. It’s been a fluid, back-and-forth process. Flatirons Development has also helped us with our WordPress landing pages.

What is the team composition?

We’ve worked with around six people in total, including Michael (CEO & Co-Founder) and Rosina (Chief Creative Officer & Co-Founder). The development team has a senior software engineer, a project manager, and a designer. 

How did you come to work with Flatirons Development?

We interviewed about five companies that we found through Clutch.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent over $100,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in February 2022 and are just finishing the final product. We plan to engage them in the future as we continue on our path.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We haven’t set specific metrics or KPIs for our expectations, but we meet weekly to understand what’s needed and make changes accordingly.

How did Flatirons Development perform from a project management standpoint?

We have weekly stand-ups and use Figma for all the design and notes back and forth. We’ve been over budget and timeline, but we don’t knock them for it — there have been circumstances we couldn’t control. It’s just part of the process.

Additionally, they use Jira, but we’re not tapped into that. We also use Slack for communication and Google Docs for certain things.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their organization is outstanding. They ensure they pass everything out from the onset and continue with transparency throughout the process. They show us before building anything, which has been key. Overall, they’re authentic, honest, and transparent in coming alongside our goals. If there’s a project scope that’ll cost too much money or take too much time, they bring it up and come to the table with solutions.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There are disadvantages to every pricing model; either the client or the developer will take a hit. In this case, we’ve taken the hit because it has cost us more money than we wanted to spend. However, we’re pleased with the money we’ve spent because we’ve gotten the value out of it.

In general, it has been a daunting process for us from a budget standpoint. We would’ve appreciated it if they’d worked with us through that piece a bit more.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

If you want to work with Flatirons Development, you must understand that it’s a process. It’ll potentially yield better results if you trust them and allow them to follow it. If you want to build assets and products quickly, they can do it, but I’m not sure that’s their strong suit. In our case, having a team that acts like a true partner and helps us build the product has been wonderful.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the director of product management and UX at a business management startup, and my responsibilities revolve around our software development efforts.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Flatirons Development?

We wanted to paint a visual picture of what our organization would look like in the next 5–24 months in terms of where we could take our product. We needed help in visualization to illustrate our roadmap moving forward.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Flatirons provided us with a senior designer that had the experience to think strategically. We had quick and open-ended conversations about our team's ideas. From there, they worked to discover the solutions and visualizations for our workflows.

We had daily, 15-minute check-ins involving myself and the senior designer. We never interacted outside of those calls, which was all we needed to work towards our goal. They used Figma to create designs, and we collaborated through Slack.  

What is the team composition?

We initially consulted with Rosina (Co-Founder & CCO), and then I worked directly with Jose (Senior Product Designer).

How did you come to work with Flatirons Development?

I previously worked with Rosina at a different company, so I chose Flatirons when I came into my current position and needed this work done. I had seen Rosina's leadership and experience before, and I could only imagine how that translated to her current team. 

How much have you invested with them?

We spent between $12,000–$20,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from October–November 2021. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The project was unique because our output couldn't be tracked with any metrics or use numbers. Flatirons' work was meant to be an internal guide to our team to get people fired up about our vision for the company. 

However, I could say that Flatirons' work was already coming to fruition. There were elements from their visualization that had been immediately put into development to launch into our customers very soon. 

Flatirons successfully told the story about our company's future to our designers, developers, marketers, and the rest of our team. Their work got everyone on the same page, and it inspired action among our people.

How did Flatirons Development perform from a project management standpoint?

I was thrilled with Flatirons' project management. Jose and I only spent 15 minutes together, which we preferred. Nonetheless, they handled everything, including our communication, scheduling, and questions. The project went really well, and I couldn't have asked for a better experience. We communicated through Slack and Google Meet.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Flatirons' professionalism and talent were outstanding. They had an amazing leadership group, but I was also impressed with their team's ability to own our projects and come out with high-quality work. They didn't just finish for the sake of completion, but they put a lot of thought into what they were doing.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can't think of anything. The project went well, and I was hoping to start a new contract with them in the future. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be clear about your needs and goals. As long as you give clear instructions, then Flatirons' team can take and do it. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder of a software company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Flatirons Development?

We were looking for a company to build out an MVP for us.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Flatirons did the development of an MVP for our software. They were involved in the UX/UI of the desktop application as well.

How did you come to work with Flatirons Development?

I believe I originally connected with them via LinkedIn. 

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent approximately $50,000-$60,000 so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been working together since December 2019.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Flatirons is very responsible and accessible. Even with COVID, we’re still engaged frequently and they’ve been very responsive to address any issues that have come up.

How did Flatirons Development perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re good. Flatirons is very transparent, and we had a good, clear schedule. The team has met every deadline and every budget that we’ve initiated. We’ve used a few different tools, including Trello and Slack. We also have weekly calls.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The blend of UX/UI design, as well as having a technical team, was great. We didn’t have to go to one company for the design and another to implement it. Flatirons’ multifaceted team is excellent.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, we’re very happy with them. That’s why we’re still working with them.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Give them the whole scope of the project and create a roadmap for what you want them to do from there.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m CTO of a pre-construction platform that helps contractors and subcontractors do estimates for construction projects. We also help them purchase and deliver materials to construction sites.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Flatirons Development?

When I started with the company a year ago, we didn’t have any formal UX design. Our entire web application was cobbled together by developers. We wanted to make our system more usable, especially for people who don’t use technology every day.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We’ve outsourced our UI/UX design to Flatirons. They do customer interviews, design, and user experience for our application. We work 2–4 weeks ahead of our developers and we do revisions as needed.

What is the team composition?

I work with two people from their team. There could be more behind the scenes.

How did you come to work with Flatirons Development?

I found one of their principals through LinkedIn, we met in person, and decided to work together from there.

How much have you invested with them?

I’m guessing we’ve spent $100,000–$150,000, based on the hours.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in December 2019, and our work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The application was a disaster from a UI perspective when we first started and now it’s better. The team also allowed us to develop faster now since they can focus solely on the development and not the UX.

How did Flatirons Development perform from a project management standpoint?

We manage them through our team. They perform well under the circumstances we provide them but they aren’t managing the project themselves. We use Clubhouse for project management and they have an account through us.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their consistency has been really helpful. I’ve worked with outside firms in the past where we’ve lost 1–2 key people on a project and we’ve needed to get new people up to speed. It’s great working with another small company that’s owned by the people I’m talking to, so I know they won’t abandon the project.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They’re a small business, which comes with its own staffing challenges. That being said, every time I ask them to do something in a rush, they get it done. They always give me advance notice when they’ll be out and are great at communication.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

My advice is to provide as many examples as possible of what you’re trying to accomplish, visually.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO and founder of a sales training and job placement platform for entry-level professionals. We bring in a pool of applicants who apply for our sales boot camp and then match them with different employment opportunities.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Flatirons Development?

Our company is growing, and as we started looking to scale, we wanted a more efficient business model. We hired Flatirons Development to build a platform that would help connect talent with the right company.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They built our web app and designed the frontend of the platform. The app has a candidate and employer side and uses an algorithm to match their profiles. Every week, the platform triggers an automatic email to employers with a list of the 5 candidates who are most qualified for the position. We also have several filters that allow employers to search for candidates with ease.

Since the web app launched, they’ve fixed bugs and helped us add on additional features.

What is the team composition?

Mike (Founder, Flatirons Development) is our project manager, and then we have a developer and designer working on the project.

How did you come to work with Flatirons Development?

One of our employees recommended them.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent about $50,000 on the MVP  and between $15,000–$20,000 for maintenance, totaling around $70,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project started in March 2019 and the app launched in June 2019, but they’re providing ongoing support.  

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our platform has several thousand views every month, and we’ve seen an uptick in the matching algorithm.

On our student side, we’ve received a lot of positive feedback. Generally, they think the design is simple and easy to use. We expected a decrease in profile creation and our conversion rate, but it has stayed steady, which is indicative of the fact that candidates are finding it easy to complete the form.

We’re also happy with the employer's side, but we get more constructive feedback from employers. To be fair, this is only the first phase in a five-step build-out. We need to improve our algorithm and eliminate gaps in our service and tech. However, we’re optimistic because we’re figuring out how to scale the platform.

How did Flatirons Development perform from a project management standpoint?

We’re really satisfied with their service. They’re awesome communicators and always respond quickly. We’ve had a few bugs, but they started working on a fix immediately. We generally get in touch with them via Slack, though we also use Trello and a panel to check analytics.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re very hands-on, and the speed and quality of their work is top-notch. On top of it all, they offer a fair price. I’ve been happy with our partnership, which is why we continue to work together.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Nothing comes to mind.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Think more about your long-term goals and metrics. They did a great job guiding us through the process and helping us determine the project’s success using analytics. We only gave them information for the first part of our build, but we could have helped them more by telling them exactly where we wanted to go with the project.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the founder and CEO of dtour.life, a divorce management platform.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Flatirons Development?

We were looking for someone to help us with our UX design. It’s a very robust software and we needed to be able to guide different types of users through it.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Flatirons Development was responsible for the UX design for our cloud-based application. They ensured that the system was intuitive for both individuals going through a divorce as well as the professional audience that manages divorce cases. The ensured that our different audiences could enter information, upload data, run reports and more. 

Their team also conducted A/B testing of the application. We have stakeholders around the testing so we held video calls with demos and Q&A sessions. 

What is the team composition?

We worked directly with Rosina (Chief Creative Officer, Flatirons Development).

How did you come to work with Flatirons Development?

I was looking for a talented UX designer and I came across Flatirons Development’s portfolio online so I emailed them. At first, we hired them on a contract basis. 

How much have you invested with them?

We have invested about $100,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our ongoing engagement with Flatirons Development began in August 2018.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We get a lot of feedback that we have a great look and feel. Clients have been continuously impressed by our UX. After our review with our stakeholders, there was general excitement about how we’ve solved the problem of walking users through our site. 

How did Flatirons Development perform from a project management standpoint?

Their project management is beyond excellent. It’s flawless. I can’t imagine having a better relationship with a vendor. Frankly, in today’s world, the responsibility involved in a project like this is so valuable. I truly cannot say enough about how responsible and professional they are about communication and deadlines. Our teams use Slack to communicate and InVision to review prototypes. We also have Google video calls every day.

What did you find most impressive about them?

While it’s important to have an aesthetically pleasing design, they’ve created a design that is also smart. I couldn’t believe how they were able to take the complicated ideas I articulated to them and create something so beautiful and effective. They deconstructed our idea and provided it back to us in an incredibly smart and accessible manner. Flatirons Development is constantly solving problems in both a visually stunning and intelligent way.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, and I’m not just heaping praise on them because it’s easy. I’ve worked with many vendors, but I would hire Flatirons Development again and again.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Try to provide the best input possible because you can’t expect a quality product without it. Your commitment in hiring anybody is to provide them with direction. That included clarity of expectations, timing, and priorities. One of the reasons we’ve been successful with Flatirons Development is because it’s a two-way partnership.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of product for Osmosis, an educational technology product for students and healthcare. We try to enhance the education and medical learning experiences.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Flatirons Development?

We were seeking a designer to help us improve our product’s video-viewing and learning experience.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Rosina (Chief Creative Officer, Flatirons Development) developed the UX/UI of our video-based dashboard and tested our video playlist feature. We proposed a broad strategy, and she consulted with our users about the product for their feedback before conducting usability testing.

Using Figma Software, she reworked our site from the ground up, focusing on our dashboard and log-in flow. She validated our playlist feature and also fine-tuned the learning experience associated with the videos.

What is the team composition?

I just worked with Rosina, who was my main point of contact.  

How did you come to work with Flatirons Development?

Flatirons Development had experience in the educational market, and Rosina had the specific skillset we were looking for. She had almost 15 years of experience in both research and design, so we knew we’d be able to hit the ground running with them.

How much have you invested with them?

I’d like to keep that confidential.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project lasted from March to August 2019.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’ve yet to implement all of the work that Rosina’s been doing, so we’ll have exact metrics in the coming months. So far, she’s delivered amazing functions and optimized our site flow. We now have a wider understanding of which features and functions are the most crucial.

How did Flatirons Development perform from a project management standpoint?

Rosina was super organized and had amazing communication skills. She’s an incredible listener, inquisitive, and made sure to document all of her notes from user research meetings. We really appreciated that she tries to get a complete picture of the business goals behind a project.

We used Trello and Slack to communicate. We’d also sit down for one-on-one Google Hangout sessions for user research.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Rosina is exceptionally skilled at extracting information out of users and is able to integrate that information into the next steps. Her keen ability to empathize with the user is very impressive.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I would keep Flatirons Development involved in all of the strategic conversations because they’re truly able to provide solutions for your problems.