415Agency

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Our organization offers white-label concierge services and loyalty solutions for major global financial institutions. Banks often outsource concierge services, so the hotlines they place on payment cards and so on are actually the phone numbers of agencies like us. 

My position is group content manager. I'm in charge of our content globally, including content development and strategy. I work very closely with our digital team on our website and apps, and we also develop content with various partners. We produce client content and curated editorial that we use for our backend teams and our digital products.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with 415Agency?

We didn't have a large in-house design team, so we were trying to bring in a vendor that we could work with on an ongoing basis for several issues.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

415Agency is our go-to vendor for various design work. We initially had the team redesign the UI of basic digital products we use to service our clients. We had really positive interactions with them, so we started working with them on a more ongoing basis for various projects. Their deliverables include UI/UX design, marketing materials, presentations, and web design and development.

The team now helps us develop new websites or apps by creating all of the page designs, which we then share with our in-house development team. It’s an iterative process, and they do various revisions based on our feedback. 

They also prepare presentation materials, mockups, and marketing materials for our clients. We have our own branding, but since we’re a B2B2C company, the team also needs to address our clients’ branding guidelines for each project. We work with them in personalizing deliverables per client or even per client program — they make sure that if they’re creating material for different clients, each of them reflects the client’s branding accurately. They also provide briefs and creative ideas for various projects.

What is the team composition?

We considered at least 10–12 vendors, and we had initially hired two of them, but we ended up working exclusively with 415Agency. 

How did you come to work with 415Agency?

We work directly with Yegor (Co-Founder), who is our primary contact, and then there’s a designer we work with on a regular basis. They pull in additional resources, but we've primarily been managing the engagement with those two contacts. 

How much have you invested with them?

We have invested over $100,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working in July 2018, and we are still engaged with them.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We pretty much only have positive feedback when it comes to 415Agency’s deliverables. Our internal team is pleased with their output, and our clients have praised their marketing pieces and site designs as well. They’re great at fulfilling all of our design needs; we get a lot of creative value from the relationship.

How did 415Agency perform from a project management standpoint?

Their project management is excellent. We primarily use Trello to manage all of our different projects with them, but larger projects have their own boards. The team has met all of the deadlines we set within those projects, and they've been great about giving us time estimates. 

The best positive about managing the projects with them is that they're highly responsive. We have a point of contact on our side who syncs up with their team, and the team’s response time is usually within an hour, no matter what time we reach out. We have a lot of different clients coming in with various requests. We often have last-minute minor tasks that need to get done within a week, a day, or sometimes within the same day — they’ve been really agile in dealing with our ever-changing needs and priorities. It's been a good working relationship in that sense.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I’m impressed by their almost instantaneous response time; it’s conducive to our business model. The turnaround time has also been very impressive. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

Sometimes they give creative opinions that we didn’t necessarily request. When we have a particular need with a very specific brief, they bring a lot of creativity to the table, but they'll sometimes provide a bit more than we need.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

My advice is to provide detailed creative briefs if you have a specific need — the more detail they have, the more they’ll give you precisely what you need.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the manager of software activities and architecture at Wave Neuroscience. We focus on data generation for cranial magnetic stimulation therapy.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with 415Agency?

We had an old clinical application that we wanted to revamp and move to the cloud. We hired 415Agency to redesign the platform.  

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They designed the entire application. With our target audience in mind, they created a high-end software application.   

What is the team composition?

I interacted directly with Yegor (Co-Founder). I believe there was another person working on the designs, but I never had any interaction with them.

How did you come to work with 415Agency?

Our developers recommended them. Additionally, we checked other brands, but the pricing at 415Agency was more competitive and their portfolio was great.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent $80,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

The engagement started around July and they completed the project in November 2020.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Overall, their deliverables were excellent. Right now, we’re in the middle of testing and the team is really excited. It amazes us how modern the application looks and how easy it is to navigate.

How did 415Agency perform from a project management standpoint?

I was constantly in communication with Yegor. At the beginning of the project, we had a lot of conference calls. Then, towards the end of the project, we communicated over email to finalize their work. They were committed to meeting our aggressive timeline.

They were also very flexible. For example, in the middle of the project, the developers asked us to simplify the UI because it was too complex for them to develop in our timeframe. Yegor and his team didn’t hesitate to redesign the UI. I appreciated that they didn’t charge us for a change in the scope either.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They listened to what I wanted and made it happen. They methodically dug into what we needed by asking questions. They understood our business and that was reflected in the workflows that they designed.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I would have liked for our developers to have more direct engagement with the 415Agency team. I was serving as the liaison between the two teams, and that may have caused some delays here and there because when they had questions, they had to wait for the information to be passed along.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

New clients don’t need to have a solution in mind when they begin their engagement with 415Agency. Part of their process requires them to get to know the user workflows. Using that information, they come up with a suitable design. So clients shouldn’t impose their own ideas on them.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Co-founder and Chief of Strategy @ iCracked Inc. Responsible for formalizing company strategy and overseeing critical projects through implementation.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire 415Agency?

We've worked with 415Agency on a number of critical projects. Our business is primarily focused on B2B and 415Agency has helped us build service platforms for various retail partners. Work includes Point of Sale systems, Mobile Applications, and various Websites.

What were your goals for this project?

We have worked with 415Agency on a number of projects, the goal is always centered around how we can help support our partners in implementing their own 'Geek Squad' by providing scalable technology and a nationwide technical network. 415 Agency has been critical in making sure our technology is able to support our partners in their services aspirations.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

I found Yegor and his team to be absolutely fantastic to work with. We started on smaller projects, where I was able to see their quality of work, and they quickly became a critical part of our technology team.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

They designed, developed, integrated, and implemented services platforms with our partners.

What was the team composition?

We had a project manager as our main POC. We would work through the vision and would help crystalize everything is a concise product document. The project manager would build out a timeline and break everything down into a series of sprints, executed by their technical team. We were able to scale up/down the technical team based on the project and timelines.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any information that demonstrates the impact that this project has had on your business?

We won a lot of new business due to the fast support 415Agency was able to provide.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

They utilize all the regular best practices and platforms that allow for fast project management collaboration amongst their team and ours.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

They are an absolutely fantastic team of smart and eager individuals. They were not only able to execute, but were also able to serve as a thought leader; Quickly being able to take an idea and make it better.

Are there any areas for improvement?

There is very little they can improve. I think they will continue to adopt best practices and new ways to collaborate with our team.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder of Growth Marketing Conference, and we're an organizer of marketing events and conferences. Our main event is based in San Francisco, but we hold conferences around the globe.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with 415Agency?

We needed someone to design our website under a tight deadline. We were seeking good UX and conversion-optimization.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

415Agency designed a website focusing on optimizing UX. They also designed landing pages and banners for our social media. They worked on conversion-focused design; analyzing data from heat maps, they implemented web design to maximize the number of newsletters and update signups.

What is the team composition?

Our primary point of contact was our account manager, but we know that a team of 3­–4 people was assigned to our project.

How did you come to work with 415Agency?

I’d met the founder a long time ago, at one of the conferences. I’d worked with them at my previous company. They used to offer development services on top of design. This time, I reached out directly to the founder when I needed their services.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent somewhere between $50,000–$100,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working with then in 2016, and the work concluded in December 2017. We switched to another agency since they only provide design services. We required development support, and we wanted to have both development and design services under one roof.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They were able to deliver a high-quality product under our very tight deadline. With our new web design, we’ve been able to attract a higher quality of sponsors. Their designs were professional, and the promotional materials very sleek. The banners they designed increased the efficacy of our Facebook advertising. We’ve also seen our conversion rates go up significantly.

How did 415Agency perform from a project management standpoint?

It was great having someone in our time zone. Our project manager was available online consistently. We used Basecamp for project management, and I think their team collaborated on Slack. All revisions saw a very quick turnaround time.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their strict compliance with our stringent timeline was something we haven’t seen with other agencies. We would’ve liked to continue working with them if they had continued to provide development services like they used to.

Are there any areas they could improve?

To be honest, nothing really comes to mind. I just wish they still provided web development services.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I’d recommend you to set a deadline and clarify your requirements.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of ZenSupplies.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with 415Agency?

We wanted to build a platform.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

415Agency built the whole backend of our platform. Basically, the platform allows our clients—dental practices—to log in and have multiple user accounts. Using the product, clients can set up budgets, have their own products for order, and managed inventory. The platform automates the ordering process so businesses don’t have to go through individual distributors, vendors or suppliers. 

Their team used PHP and launched the product on Heroku. They created a preliminary design, then mockups, and then provided a prototype. Once it was all approved by us, their team built the first version of the platform. After that, we did one more revision, which they developed.  

What is the team composition?

We worked with three individuals: a designer, a product manager, and a higher-up. Primarily, the project manager oversaw the engagement to deliver the product on time, working with the development and QA teams directly. I communicated with the project manager to ensure the project ran smoothly. 

How did you come to work with 415Agency?

Colleagues recommended 415Agency. Their team had experience with UI/UX, which was important to us. They seemed to be a lot more organized as far as deliverables and getting tasks done on time. That was the major driving force behind deciding to work with them.

How much have you invested with them?

The project cost between $25,000–$50,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We collaborated between November 2016–June 2017

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our goal was to have an agency build the initial platform and then create our own team. 415Agency allowed us to do that, which was awesome. They had a good idea and knowledge about how to create a proper UX. To this day, we have the same UI/UX and use the majority of their work. It allowed us to hire our own team and keep running with the project.

How did 415Agency perform from a project management standpoint?

On a scale of 1–10, I’d say 9. We had weekly calls every Monday and had daily check-ins for 5–10 minutes. Our teams used a tool, normal phone calls, and Skype to communicate.

What did you find most impressive about them?

415Agency had a really good design team.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don’t know because it has been years since I’ve worked with 415Agency.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Have a discussion about how they would approach the project and what software they’d use to share the project with you. The agency is great but talk to the individual designers who would be involved in the project too.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder and CEO of Panda Planner, a daily planner that is designed to make users more productive and happy.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with 415Agency?

Panda Planner is a physical product, but we’re trying to expand into a digital app, so we hired 415Agency to help with the UI.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

415Agency worked with us to create mockups through InVision. They created a workable prototype for the iOS mobile app. Their team designed the wireframes as well as the UI, so each button brought users to a different screen and displayed a realistic prototype. 

What is the team composition?

I had one main point of contact on the 415Agency team, who served as a project manager. 

How did you come to work with 415Agency?

We followed a referral and used word of mouth to find them. 

How much have you invested with them?

We spent somewhere between $50,000–$75,000 on that project. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from August 2017–February 2018. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Their work was solid. From an end-user standpoint, 415Agency did a great job. The design work is strong and lends itself a good experience for the user, which is what we wanted. 

How did 415Agency perform from a project management standpoint?

They moved the project along efficiently. We never had any issues around what their feedback was. Everything went very positively between our teams. We used InVision and shared screens to work through feedback. Whenever we gave them verbal feedback, their team made changes and returned with the new version. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

The high quality of their work for the reasonable price they offered was outstanding. A higher cost doesn’t always guarantee better work, as I’ve experienced in the past. Additionally, they were great about feedback, which made it easier to receive a final product that matched our vision. They produced a high-quality, intuitive, product. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

I personally like live calls to work through feedback and changes, and that wasn’t an option with their team. Something like that to avoid the back and forth, which I did enjoy, would be something I’d want more of. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Come to the project with a good idea of what you want. If you bring examples of what you’re looking for, they’ll be able to work more efficiently with you. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the chief business officer at RARE Analytics. We’re a physical therapy database software provider. Our goal is to provide support tools for physical therapists to more accurately evaluate most metrics. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with 415Agency?

We were looking for someone to help design our UI for our main customer-facing application. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

In their UI/UX design work, they focused most of their energy on visuals for the software program. They developed everything from scratch, working with a team of therapists and clinicians. We provided a rough mockup and storyboard that detailed how we wanted the platform to look and function. The team took our minimalistic inputs and developed based on that. 

We’re currently in the development phase of the project, the platform is still being beta tested. It hasn’t gone to the commercial level, but 415Agency completed the required work.

What is the team composition?

Yegor (Co-Founder, 415Agency) was our direct point of contact throughout the project.

How did you come to work with 415Agency?

I’d worked with Yegor in the past, and I know he’s done very high-quality work. He’d shown me that he can take small amounts of direction and rudimentary ideas and bring them to life in similar UI/UX design projects. 

How much have you invested with them?

They took a percentage of equity in our company in order to accomplish the project. That amounted to about $30,000–$40,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project lasted from early to late 2017.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Customers appreciate the thought put into the project and the intuitive product it yielded. It was clean and easy to use, which was impressive given the complexity of the project. They conveyed our ideas into a very usable interface that clinicians can use while they’re working.  

How did 415Agency perform from a project management standpoint?

They were very responsive. Yegor was reliable and focused. We set up weekly calls and used InVision to review and provide design feedback. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

They can translate user requirements into a final working product with seamlessness and ease. There’s always a big jump between imagining your end product and realizing it, but they’re really good at capturing your imagination and the product’s direction. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don’t think so. We’ve felt so positive about their performance.  

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

We spent some time putting together our project plan that we thoroughly thought through. I would encourage you to think through your storyboard to get everyone on the same page.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the president of Promenade Software. We create software for medical devices.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with 415Agency?

We needed to create UI solutions that satisfy the needs of our end-users.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They work with our clients to build UI/UX designs and solutions that meet their needs or specifications. The team also provides all assets necessary for us to implement the UI into our software. Whenever we have a project that seems like a good fit, we call them up. 

What is the team composition?

I have one main point of contact, but I’m sure there are others contributing in the background.

How did you come to work with 415Agency?

Initially, a client of ours found them and recommended them to us. From there, they became our go-to UX partners for client projects.

How much have you invested with them?

Our projects typically cost about $20,000–$30,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in 2016, and our collaborations are ongoing. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They do beautiful work that my team and I feel positively about. It’s consistently professional and elegant, especially from a consumer-facing end. They provide a great, attractive UX. 

How did 415Agency perform from a project management standpoint?

We discuss our client’s needs, getting them directly involved with them. Together, we outline requirements for the projects, which indicate what our users are looking for and how we can create something that’s user-friendly. Sometimes, we run into challenges and work around them together.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They produce beautiful, attractive outputs.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Not really, they always give us the detail we need. Sometimes, it’s difficult to implement because they deliver designs outside of our clients’ budgets. However, that’s not a negative. They deliver very attractive work.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Get the designers and those implementing in the project in contact with each other. That way, they won’t design something that’ll be out of budget.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of Pillo Health, we are a robotics company, and we are building the first healthcare assistant for home. It’s called Pillo, a little device engineered to be someone rather than something. Think of it like Amazon’s Alexa, but it dispenses medication.

To give the healthcare experience, we need to know who is front of us, so we have a frontal camera with facial recognition. We also have a screen because most of the communication we do is also visual, that’s how we are different from Alexa. In a nutshell, that’s who we are.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with 415Agency?

We were designing our mobile application, both iOS, and Android. We needed someone that could help us think through the application and primarily design it.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We didn’t have a mobile application, so 415Agency helped us create the app from the ground up. I had submitted some ideas, and they turned them into images. We went through iterations, and 415Agency designed the whole app. We started with conceptualizing the application. We provided a lot of input because we knew what the app needed to look and feel like. The second step was to put the concept into wireframes. Then we moved to the actual design and finally perfected the design. These were the 4 phases 415Agency participated in.

Our application is a companion mobile application that connects you to our hardware device, the Pillo. The primary feature is recording medication and pills. The application reminds the user when it’s time to take their medication, and they can then go to the app to mark the pills as “taken.”

415Agency is now designing the actual UI [user interface] for the Pillo device. They are helping us putting together presentation materials for the presentations we have. 415Agency is awesome at it, so they are now helping us with the animations on the screen of the Pillo device.

415Agency also helped us design and build our investors deck.

How did you come to work with 415Agency?

I did online research to look for the best agencies. We started to look for agencies from the New York area where we are based, but none of them had the bandwidth. I kept looking at other agencies online and started doing interviews. My choice was based on the quality I saw online. I chose 415Agency, and I’m glad I did.

How much have you invested with 415Agency?

Altogether we have spent between $40,000–$55,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started in May 2016, and the mobile app was completed in early July.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement?

Honestly, we haven’t launched yet. We are building something that is unique, and its hardware and software processes are long. We did a beta test of the application, and the people loved it.

How did 415Agency perform from a project management standpoint?

415Agency did really well. I was happy with Yegor; he was exceptional. He was very hands on, and I hope he’s going to be the same with anyone, but he was great. The price and quality were great too. They were on time, and the management was well structured. We are very happy we worked with them. We had video calls, phone calls, and lots of Skype and e-mails.

What did you find most impressive about 415Agency?

They are flexible, inventive and always come up with good ideas. They don’t mind when you tell them to change things. It’s a good, collaborative experience.

Are there any areas 415Agency could improve?

Honestly, I don’t have anything to say. We got exactly what we wanted from 415Agency. I don’t have anything negative to say.