Zette

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the CEO of nurri app

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

mobile app for new mothers who are pumping breastmilk

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Zette to accomplish?

• Build mobile app
• Create go to market strategy
• Drive growth

SOLUTION

How did you find Zette?

Referral

Why did you select Zette over others?

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

How many teammates from Zette were assigned to this project?

1 Employee

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

We at nurri, have had the pleasure of working with Zette for the past three years building out our mobile app to launch our business. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

When I first met with Zette, I had a concept and a mock up in figma. Nate was able to help partner with me on the vision of nurri and build out a beta app to user test. Once we validated the concept with beta testers, we partnered to build a fully functioning mobile app with branding that catered to our target market. The app was so compeling we have multiple active users with little to no marketing. 

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

We meet regularly and receive updates on progress the team is making. There is clear transparency into what the team is working on and where they plan to focus next. If there are ever any issues or changes in the plan, Nate is quick to communicate that with us and any relevant members of the team.

What was your primary form of communication with Zette?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

The thing I valued most in working with Zette was the thought partnership. Zette will partner to help us solve business problems and think through strategies for growing our business. Zette understands the challenges small businesses face daily and can help us build a strategy to help promote growth while mitigating expenses and risk. This is well beyond the service we’ve received from other agencies that will blindly execute.

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

No, we actively partner with Zette today and look forward to continue working together for a long time to come. 

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

 I am the VP of Software Engineering of a retail company 

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

The #1 online retailer of pro audio and music instruments in the United States.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Dropsource to accomplish?
Build a Sweetwater.com Mobile App

SOLUTION

How did you find Dropsource?

• Online Search
• Other

Why did you select Dropsource over others?

Company values aligned

How many teammates from Dropsource were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

This partnership aimed to enhance our digital presence and provide our users with an intuitive mobile experience. Key Deliverables: Custom App Design and Development: Dropsource provided end-to-end services from initial concept, through design and development, to the final deployment of the app on both Android and iOS platforms. The deliverable was two polished, user-friendly apps tailored to our brand and business needs. User Experience (UX) and User Interface (UI) Design: They focused heavily on creating an engaging and seamless user experience, coupled with a visually appealing design. Testing and Quality Assurance: Comprehensive testing was conducted across various devices to ensure functionality, usability, and performance standards were met. The key deliverables here included detailed test reports, feedback loops for iterative improvements, and the final, bug-free version of our mobile apps ready for public release.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Following the completion of our project with Dropsource, we observed notable improvements in user engagement and customer satisfaction across our mobile platforms. The feedback from our users became significantly more positive, and our app ratings on both the Google Play and Apple App stores improved. These outcomes demonstrated the effectiveness of the newly developed apps in enhancing our digital presence and user experience.

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

The project management approach of Dropsource was highly efficient and effective. They consistently delivered all milestones on time, demonstrating their commitment to timelines and quality standards. Additionally, their team was responsive and adaptive to our needs, ensuring that all our requirements were met with great attention to detail and professionalism.

What was your primary form of communication with Dropsource?

Email or Messaging App

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

What I found most impressive about Dropsource was their scrappy nature and strong sense of partnership. They approached challenges with a can-do attitude, leveraging innovative solutions and working closely with us to overcome obstacles. Their collaborative approach not only expedited the project's progress, but also fostered a genuine sense of teamwork and mutual success.

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

Nothing specific that I can call out.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the COO of Toolbox Payment LLC

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Our company provides mobile app for contractors to accept payments and schedule,track and log appointments.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Dropsource to accomplish?

• Design and build our vision for a mobile app to serve contractors
• Create a seamless onboarding and acceptance of payments

SOLUTION

How did you find Dropsource?

Referral

Why did you select Dropsource over others?

Company values aligned

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

Dropsource completed deliverables in a timely manner. Key deliverables were to go to market by a certain date and Dropsource was able to deliver on time all modules needed.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Or mobile app is published to the both IOS and Android and is successfully being used by individuals who have downloaded it and anyone need to set up payment are able to do so as long as they qualify. Our portfolio has grown and we are successfully operating to date.

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

Project management was handled with integrity and we met weekly or daily as needed to meet deliverables on time.

What was your primary form of communication with Dropsource?

Virtual Meeting

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

The developers really listened to what we wanted. The key word here is LISTEN. They listened and understood exactly what we needed. We talked about options and alternatives to meet our goal. They were very easy to talk to so down to earth and completely understood our real world examples. I would work with them in a heartbeat.

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

There will always be room for more development in any company or area of expertise however. However Drop source satisfied our needs to the fullest.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the senior product manager at CarePICS, a digital health platform that specializes in managing wound care in vascular disease patients. We have imagery acquisition, virtual consulting between physicians, telehealth video visits, and medical supply ordering on our platform.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Dropsource?

We were trying to migrate our mobile application framework from native iOS and Android into the Flutter software development kit and Dart programming language. We had four unique applications running across two different operating systems, but in reality, we have eight applications. We were trying to migrate them all into a new codebase and framework to integrate all the applications into a single UX. We brought on Dropsource to help us with this project.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Dropsource assisted us with the mobile development, UI/UX design, and quality assurance. We provided them with as much content and research as we had available but they also did a lot of background into what our code had been and what the experience looked like previously. They brought their own expertise into how we should explore the new experience and application development. We definitely brought our industry knowledge of digital health and they brought process and quality development insight to the process, so we met in the middle.

We’ve moved them into a retainer arrangement and work with them for an indefinite amount of hours per week based on what we need. We will be setting up a continuous integration and deployment framework in addition to the automated testing that we’re going to do on the mobile application.

What is the team composition?

We directly interface with Nate (CEO & Co-Founder). He’s a pro’s pro when it comes to development. I can’t speak highly enough of his aptitude and professionalism.

We’ve also interfaced with one of their UI/UX designers during the early part of the process to help get the ball rolling. Once we were in the weeds, we didn’t necessarily need that much direct interaction with the designer. As we work with them on automated mobile testing, they’re going to bring in an automated testing engineer.

How did you come to work with Dropsource?

I was mainly looking for someone who was an expert in Flutter and Dart development as this would allow us to deploy across both Apple and Android devices. This would also reduce the overhead for development as well as streamline all of our work in the mobile application. 

I used Clutch to narrow down the geography of my search since we were focused on hiring a local developer. I looked at a couple of local development firms that did cross-platform application development with Flutter. Dropsource stood out, so I contacted them directly through their website and engaged with their CEO via email, requesting a meeting to discuss the project. 

We had the initial conversation about the general concept of what we were looking for in a development partner. We wanted a shop that could serve us with design, development, project management, and QA. From there, I laid out an RFP and the requirements I assumed we needed for a 12–15 week project. 

Dropsource brought back a budget, what they’d be able to do with it, and an hourly rate based on specific tasks and types of work. We felt it was worth paying a premium to get someone based in the US, in our same time zone, so we began working with them daily. 

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve invested around $150,000–$200,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in July 2020 and we have the team on retainer.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Qualitatively, we’ve received amazing feedback about the actual mobile application experience, the way it looks, and the way it operates. The uptime is at 100%.

The work was always of really high quality. If something wasn’t right, they’d go back and fix it with no questions asked. They’d always try to take what we were doing to the next level with their expertise, which is why we continue to engage their services. 

Dropsource has been very flexible and could scale up and down based on what we need. I’ve never felt we were being overcharged for what we were getting. There was never a question of the deliverables versus the cost. We have a great working relationship with them.

We’ve gone to a lot of agencies, so we know that Nate is definitely a good developer. He has a vision and a mind for product development. He can see past the task in front of him and think critically about any problem. 

How did Dropsource perform from a project management standpoint?

Project management is very good. Our company had been light on the process from a project management standpoint. Dropsource was able to come in and layer in just the right amount of processes to keep us organized and efficient. We run a very lean organization, but with a team of three developers, we’ve been able to put out as much as we would with a team that’s 3–4 times bigger. 

Dropsource made themselves very available to us even when it wasn’t necessary inside of the framework of the RFP. We evolved into something more relationship-based rather than transactional. We’ve kept them on a monthly retainer outside of the original project scope because they did such a great job and went above and beyond to satisfy our needs. 

They did everything in a very professional fashion. We had daily standups and continuous direct communication through Slack. Nate would always answer my phone calls and if he wasn’t able to, he’d get right back to me when he could. They’re very transparent.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re good developers and were very competent right out of the gate. They were very articulate and knowledgeable, and knew exactly what we wanted to do and how to do it.

Dropsource didn’t hide behind other frameworks or try to steer us towards those we didn’t want to use. They fully embraced what we were trying to do and made recommendations at certain stages once they understood the entire breadth of the project. The team didn’t just check in, do their task, and then check out. They were actually very engaged in helping us solve problems. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

They could have encouraged us in the earlier days to adhere to a more traditional project management style. For example, not letting us steer away from documenting requirements for features. They could have helped us help ourselves, in a way. It’s not a slight and it all just happened because we moved so rapidly and were running against a very tight deadline. It’s more on us.

They were able to accommodate us better than anybody could have, so I really don’t have anything negative to say. The relationship has been so good.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Come with a very robust requirements document from the start. It will save you time and money. The one problem we ran into was the requirements we started off with. It had to be changed in the middle of it all because we weren’t necessarily adhering to our senior leadership’s intentions. Make sure you definitely get all your designs and requirements set out before you even start writing a line of code to save yourself and Dropsource time.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the co-founder of Traq365, a technology designed to help salespeople record, transcribe, and use artificial intelligence to mine sales conversations for insights and actionable intelligence.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Dropsource?

We needed a mobile app that would allow our customers to capture in-person conversations using their phones and have access to all the same capabilities that our software provides currently.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

In the first phase of the project, we focused on developing something fairly basic that we could get in place in a 30-day turnaround time. There were things that we ultimately wanted to do that we knew we weren’t ready for, so they helped us to build a simple, easy-to-use mobile app to start with that customers could use to turn their voice into dictation and attach photos to notes.

Phase two, from there, was to synchronize the data collected in this app with our main database, and phase three added the actual capability of sending the conversation directly to our cloud platform to be transcribed, analyzed with AI, and stored in your account. From there, we have been working to meet different challenges the app had faced in its earlier forms, such as interruptions from phone calls and access to the information on your phone as well as the browser.

What is the team composition?

We worked with two members of their team directly, including a project manager and Nate (Lead Developer) who served as our main point of contact.

How did you come to work with Dropsource?

I had tried to do this project before, and the project was completely unsuccessful. This time, I identified about ten developers on Clutch that I thought could meet my needs and then conducted interviews with each of them to see who would be the best fit. Dropsource came in relatively low in the range of quotes I got, and on top of that, they were a lot more flexible, clear in their communication, and vision-oriented than the other companies I talked to.

How much have you invested with them?

So far, the total investment has been about $27,000, but we’re planning to spend another $10,000 with them on our current projects.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in December 2019 and have continued to add to and improve the product since then.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

My approach has always been to document the requirements for each step and turn those over to them, and they come back to us with a statement of work with explicit timeframes and costs. Once we finalize those, they get to work, and we have never had a single issue with them following through on the deliverables or coming in on schedule and budget. There are never any surprises.

They use Flutter for cross-platform development, and that technology has saved us money and proved to be incredibly fast and reliable. Not only is the quality of their work excellent, but they have the ability to see your vision and predict the challenges and requirements that will arise in the process of getting there. They have unique insight and commitment to helping you make your project the best it can be.

How did Dropsource perform from a project management standpoint?

Their project management skills are absolutely dead on. I’ve been doing this for quite a long time, and I’ve never had someone nail timelines as perfectly as these guys do. We have kickoff calls for each part of the project along with smaller calls every Tuesday to check in, and we share a Slack with them so that we’re pretty much always on the same page.

On one recent project, Nate quoted us for 5 hours when I knew he had to have spent more time on the project than that. I came back to him and said that he should charge us more, but he stood by his quote because it was what he had quoted us for, and I really admire that.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their team is made up of clear communicators, which benefits the collaboration a lot. They’re smart and always very clear in what they’re talking or writing about.

On top of that, they have a certain intangible ability to understand the intent of a project and contribute to it in ways that will benefit you down the line. A lot of developers get very literal in their interpretation of your requirements, but their team will never execute something that doesn’t make sense rather than just fixing the issue or talking with you about what to do.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I have absolutely nothing but high regard for their team and the work that they do.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Make sure they understand what you are trying to accomplish, and you document out all of the requirements in advance. It’s easy to have an idea in your mind but skip steps without realizing it, and then the developer can’t deliver what you want because they couldn’t read your mind.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder and CEO of a fairly early stage music tech startup.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Dropsource?

Dropsource helped me to workshop the idea based on Scratch files that I designed to come up with an MVP and prototype of the application.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We basically worked through a lean process of honing down exactly what my application was going to be. I’m not a technical founder, so they really helped me to understand to what degree everything that I envisioned would work in the actual app.

We boiled it down in terms of the core features and what the business challenges I was trying to solve really were. They came up with the MVP entirely on their side from there, with consistent feedback from me.

What is the team composition?

I worked with two people from their team, one developer and one project manager.

How did you come to work with Dropsource?

I came across Dropsource through the recommendation of another contact that I have within the industry.

How much have you invested with them?

I’ve spent around $8,300 in total.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project lasted from May–July 2019.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The evidence of our success was more a part of the work experience than anything quantitative. What we were doing was fairly straightforward, and I was satisfied with the quality of their work.

How did Dropsource perform from a project management standpoint?

They did a really good job managing the project and were able to expedite the overall process. We used email and phone to communicate, but I always felt very up to date on their progress.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I think they have a really unique approach to the industry, which is wanting to develop cross-platform proofs-of-concept before starting development. I think it’s a great approach because it allows them to make sure the idea is really there before they start building things out.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don’t think there’s anything I wish they had done differently.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I would definitely recommend working with them, even if you don’t know exactly how to move forward with your project. They are great consultants as well as developers.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the product manager at Agari. We focus on email inbound and outbound security, including defending business email compromises and phishing attacks.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Dropsource?

We wanted to introduce a mobile app to our suite of products, but we didn’t have the in-house expertise to develop the platform. Our goal is to give our customers a quicker turnaround time through the app.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Dropsource developed the apps from scratch for both Android and iOS devices. We provided their team with our designs and mockups for the frontend, and they implemented it as we wanted. Some of the features they created include push notifications and other actions for users to take when an event occurs. Once the development was complete, they registered our product on the app stores.

What is the team composition?

An engineer and project manager from Dropsource work with us.

How did you come to work with Dropsource?

Dropsource works in the same building as us, so they were a convenient choice. We’re able to sit face to face with them when discussing the project.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent in the $10,000–$50,000 range.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our engagement has been ongoing since January 2019.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Although not quantitative, the app was well-received by our internal team. During development, the main metric we were measuring was their timeliness, and they met our needs. Everything was produced on our tight timeline, so they were successful in that. Going forward, we’re measuring them by their efficiency in handling maintenance issues.

How did Dropsource perform from a project management standpoint?

Their team performs well. We’re always informed on their status, and their estimates for timelines are always accurate. They keep us updated on the total time they spend on a task, which is great.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their knowledge and expertise have been the best parts of working with Dropsource. They know how to develop a great product and widely distribute it. They check off many boxes for us.

Are there any areas they could improve?

As of now, there’s nothing to improve.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

If you want a modern mobile app, they’re the right team to work with.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the CEO and founder of TribeSwapp, a mobile app designed to connect families for childcare services. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Dropsource?

I reached out to Dropsource to help develop my app from scratch. I considered using a build-your-own website option, but ultimately decided I needed more customization and backend development work in order to generate the MVP I envisioned.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Dropsource is in the process of designing and developing our application from scratch. They initially sat down with me to go over our value proposition, goals, and target audience, providing input and guidance in the process. We're now starting the next phase of work and moving into development. 

What is the team composition? 

I initially spoke with Will (VP of Marketing, Dropsource), but I now mostly work directly with Paul (Co-founder and Chief Product Officer, Dropsource) who is handling the design. The next phase of development work will likely be handed off to Nate (Co-founder and CEO, Dropsource).

How did you come to work with Dropsource?

Someone within my community mentioned Dropsource, so I checked out their website and was immediately impressed by their work. After speaking with Will, I felt they'd be a good fit and would be able to add a lot of value to my app versus some of the other options I was considering at the time. 

How much have you invested with them?

I've invested between $10,000–$50,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

I've been working with them since January 2019.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Dropsource helped bridge the gap within my company, providing both development services as well as strategic branding. I appreciate their startup culture and innovative way of approaching projects. They understand how users are going to react to certain apps, so they're able to add a lot of creative input and apply their knowledge to help improve outcomes.

How did Dropsource perform from a project management standpoint?

They manage the project very well, planning each phase in an organized, clear manner. They're also very responsive and keep me updated on project progress while being conscious of my time. I met with them almost every week in the beginning, but we now meet every other week.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their personal touch and customer-centric approach set them apart. They're willing to help take my product to the next level by providing honest feedback and a lot of valuable input. They also break down each step and take the time to help me understand what they're doing in layman's terms. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

Honestly, no. I'm very satisfied with everything they've done so far. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

No, but I definitely recommend working with them since it's been such a great decision for me, rather than attempting to create a platform on my own.