Ampersand + Ampersand

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m an entrepreneur with a healthcare platform.

What challenge were you trying to address with Ampersand + Ampersand?

I needed a group of engineers with knowledge of the healthcare space to develop a mobile app.

What was the scope of their involvement?

I told them how I wanted the app to look and they came to our first meeting with ideas on how to make it work. They were able to help me translate my concept into a business that would work within the healthcare ecosystem and regulations.

They developed our mobile app for both iOS and Android platforms. There’s also a website with a microservices architecture. 

The crux of the business is that we’re integrating with many APIs, and understanding APIs and how to plug them in is something that they’re very good at. Beyond managing the project and engaging low-cost developers, they’ve also introduced us to potential partners.

What is the team composition?

I have a strong relationship with the founder and CEO, who I deal with on a daily basis. Their heads of quality control, product management, and development are all easy to reach as well.

How did you come to work with Ampersand + Ampersand?

Their reputation preceded them. They were introduced to me through another project that I invested in. They only take jobs they’re passionate about and believe in, which makes it hard to scale, but leads to exemplary work.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in May 2017. The project is still under development and I plan to deepen my relationship with them.

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

People like the app so far. Ampersand takes their work very seriously.

How did Ampersand + Ampersand perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re very proactive. We use Slack and all the latest development tools.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They're a small company whose staff is passionate and focused on high quality, which maintains their boutique feel. Furthermore, Ampersand is the best health-tech agency operating in the U.K. I believe they’ve done eight or nine major projects for the National Health Service already, which gives them huge domain knowledge as well as several relationships within the ecosystem that they can reach out to, which allows them to expedite things far more efficiently for us. If Ampersand takes your project, they’ll deliver.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Know what you want and be very clear when articulating your brief. Once you agree on the scope, and they’ll deliver.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

My company is platform for healthcare professionals and medical industry people where we aggregate a number of different data streams and information systems sources to create a single point of access to medical information to support clinical decision-making.

I am the founder and CEO.

What challenge were you trying to address with Ampersand + Ampersand?

We had a couple of core challenges. We had a product that we had developed previously that no longer fit the purpose. We wanted to incorporate a number of new ideas. We had some relatively complex backend algorithms that we had to develop with Ampersand to allow us to use the data that we had better.

More importantly, we had to create a very engaging front-end for our platform on iOS and Android that was used by medical professionals. We had a creative challenge as well as a back-end infrastructure problem.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Their work included creative QA and they also provided development on front-end for the mobile apps. They also gave us backend development for PHP development and our platform.

I first engaged with them right before Christmas 2016. I was impressed with their team and our discussion. We were fundraising at the time to allow that work to go forward. Once we got funding, we started the work with an initial discovery piece in February.

In April, we started the main engagement portion. In terms of the backend, we needed two key things. We need a creation of Microservices architecture that allowed flexibility with many different features. We knew we had many data sets and requirements.

We started with a very unclear specification. Ampersand worked with us well to create a flexible solution for now and what's needed over the next eighteen to twenty-four months. They have a good selection of back-end developers. We had a relatively complex front-end requirement for user experience on the Android and iOS portion.

Ampersand was particularly good at managing the creative experience and customer journey. They incorporated that into the product and did QA and kept the timeline. 

How did you come to work with Ampersand + Ampersand?

I can't quite remember but I was introduced through a third party. I can't remember who introduced us. One of our executive directors knew them from a previous company that worked with Ampersand.

I was aware of them in the healthcare space and their reputation was strong. Their name kept coming up during conversations.

How much have you invested with Ampersand + Ampersand?

It was about 140,000 pounds.

What is the status of this engagement?

I started working with them in January 2017.

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

It is difficult to say because we still haven't scaled our platform. It's not really their fault. In terms of absolute metrics, it's too difficult to give something. In terms of delivering on time and on budget, it was great. It was high quality and responsive work. Ampersand has a genuine interest to stay involved in the project and offer additional support to us as clients. They have introduced us to an investor that has invested in us and became heavily involved in the business as a member of the team. All of these benefits are positive.

How did Ampersand + Ampersand perform from a project management standpoint?

They were generally very good. One of the challenges was that we didn't have a clear specification document. It was difficult for them to roadmap every aspect of our development as we went through the standard development process.

My CTO had standup meetings with them once or twice a week. He would visit them in their London office to see how the project was developing. We had a very close relationship, which worked very well.

What did you find most impressive about Ampersand + Ampersand?

We worked very closely with their project manager and QA lead. We had access to Jira to monitor and respond to questions in real-time. This was a key differentiator that made Ampersand stand out compared to other agencies I've worked with. We were very much a part of the in-house team. Our team and myself were working with them every day on a minute-by-minute basis.

Are there any areas Ampersand + Ampersand could improve?

We had an in-house debrief and there was nothing specific that was noted. We were trying to maintain an updated specification document to keep all parties were aware of everything. Documentation was helpful to keep us all on the same page but can continue to be improved upon. I told them that directly also.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

TruckTel is an industrial real estate group developing commercial cargo ports that secure the movement of high-value freight. This includes anything from pharmaceuticals to luxury goods, electronics, tobacco, fast-moving consumer goods, and so on. I’m the CEO of the company.

What challenge were you trying to address with Ampersand + Ampersand?

I don’t operate well in front of a computer, so the thought of building a website was rather intimidating. 

What was the scope of their involvement?

Ampersand + Ampersand put together a clear and concise website for our company. They also helped us explore another part of the market in which we had interest, namely a building reservation platform, the ability to book capacity for ports prior to use.

We didn’t have a huge amount of time to spend on putting together a website, so we spent no more than two hours with Ampersand + Ampersand’s team in London, giving them a brief outline of what we were looking for. We gave them the thinking cap, and the team turned it around quickly.

There’s an informational aspect of the website, introducing people to what our company is, but there’s also a function that allows users to book themselves for a demonstration of our new port in Amsterdam. There is an interactive aspect which has been functioning well.

I initially met Ampersand + Ampersand’s CEO, who has become a good friend. It all went from there. I gave them raw data in terms of what I wanted to have on the site, but when it came to the actual design, it was their brain child.

The world of industrial real estate and ports isn’t exactly the most colorful place when it comes to design. One of the values Ampersand + Ampersand added to our company was putting together a sort of mood board, giving us a presentation on why we should be using a certain type of styling and how it would be suggestive of what we were doing. They did this by themselves, but it proved to be very useful. The theme ended up being integrated into a lot of our corporate material and presentations. Ampersand + Ampersand also designed our brochures.

They also handled online marketing for the site. A big picture of my face turns up when googling TruckTel, and they’ve helped improve our SEO. Ampersand + Ampersand used SurveyMonkey during the launch of our pilot.

How did you come to work with Ampersand + Ampersand?

I came across Nader, their CEO, online. Ampersand + Ampersand was well-reviewed among related companies, so I sent them an email. I did look at other providers as well, but I found Ampersand + Ampersand’s team to be an exceptional bunch. We’ve made many friends in their company as a result of the work we did together. In terms of professionalism and client management, Ampersand + Ampersand was very transparent.

How much have you invested with Ampersand + Ampersand?

We’ve invested around £30,000–£35,000 [$38,000–$45,000] so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Ampersand + Ampersand around one year ago, in April of 2016. The timeline was less than one month. We have an ongoing relationship. 

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

I’m no expert when it comes to websites, but ours was well put together, looked clean, and needed almost no amendments. We continue to use the site today and haven’t made many changes to it.

When we first started working with Ampersand + Ampersand, we were ranking very low on search engines, but we’ve become the top result. This happened quickly, in the space of around three months. We’ve started getting notes from Brazil, Mexico, China, and other countries, so we’ve managed to spread the word quickly.

Because of this and the interactive function for our demonstration, we received a very good response rate, which resulted in many people attending our event and some good business for our company. Our access to customers was definitely enhanced by Ampersand + Ampersand’s efforts.

How did Ampersand + Ampersand perform from a project management standpoint?

We were given constant updates, and Ampersand + Ampersand managed to turn things around in a short period of time. They were clear about costs and explained any possible hiccups. They’re a transparent group of people, good at communicating with the customer.

We’ve had two project managers on Ampersand + Ampersand’s side over the course of our relationship. The quality of the management has been very high, and I think that they came to know more about our website than we did. I was kept up-to-date consistently, and Ampersand + Ampersand put together some well-structured documents that outlined the process and milestones to which we could hold their team. The quality and speed of the turnaround have prevented any subsequent costs on our part, so I’m very happy.

What did you find most impressive about Ampersand + Ampersand?

They have a great ability to take basic, high-level information, digest it, and translate it into the needs of the customer. We gave Ampersand + Ampersand basic information with somewhat clear guidelines in terms of what was required, and they quickly put together what we wanted.

Their accessibility was also impressive. I could pick the phone up and speak to Nader on the spot, without any delays or hanging around. If we needed to change the wording or other elements on the website, we could reach Ampersand + Ampersand anytime. While launching the site, we noticed an issue with a signup page at one o’clock in the morning. It was changed by five o’clock, so Ampersand + Ampersand has the ability to turn things around quickly. Access to the team at any level is definitely beneficial.

Aside from their coding skills, Ampersand + Ampersand’s creativity definitely earned them more business from us. I only wish they were closer to our office.

Are there any areas Ampersand + Ampersand could improve?

The quality of the coffee… 

What tips or recommendations could you share that might increase the likelihood of success with Ampersand + Ampersand?

One of the huge qualities that Ampersand + Ampersand brought was the well-structured process in terms of who was around the table. We always had access to a chief design director, the chief coder, and the project manager. For 95% of the time, Nader also came in to make sure things were okay. If we did end up having to invest three hours of time in order to get the task done, those three hours would be time well-spent. Allocation of internal resources was one of Ampersand + Ampersand’s best attributes, so anyone looking to work with them should make sure that as many people as necessary are called upon. They will be allocated and make the best use of the client’s time. 

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I work for an NHS foundation trust in London, and I’m the head of HR and business partnering.

What challenge were you trying to address with Ampersand?

You can imagine that we have different staff members working around the clock here in the hospital, from doctors to nurses to support staff. In the HR and other back office functions, we work 9-5, so there’s only so much support we can give them in terms of having difficult conversations, training, and development.

At the same time, there was a national survey of all hospitals in the UK which found that quite a few of our clinicians don’t log on to computers. They only do very basic updating of patient information on computers. We realized that quite a few of the things we try to communicate via technology aren’t always available to them, or they don’t really access it. We wanted to improve that. In essence, we engaged Ampersand to develop an app to make it as easy as possible for our staff to access HR support and guidance so they have more time to prioritize patient care.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Basically, we came up with the idea of creating an app so all our staff can access important HR information within seconds right from their phones. It could take as long as three minutes to log into our old system, so one core feature was really just decreasing the amount of time it takes to access information.

We created the content for the app, but we didn’t have the skills to create it. That’s where Ampersand came in. We gave them an overview of what we were looking for, and they digested that and came back with a proposal. We changed a few things and agreed on a very tight turnaround time, and we were able to launch the app quite soon. The product was delivered in a matter of weeks, and they actually exceeded our expectations in quite a few ways.

How did you come to work with Ampersand?

We do have a procurement process, but Ampersand was recommended to me by someone who’s used them before. I tried to do some research myself, but I’m not an expert in creating apps, so it wasn’t easy to find somebody I knew I could trust. The recommendation that came in was quite good, and it was important for us to see that they had worked with similar clients. From their website, it was easy for me to pitch them to the decision makers in my organization.

How much have you invested with Ampersand?

Sorry, this is confidential.

What is the status of this engagement?

I gave them the brief in December 2016, and we agreed on a January 2017 turnaround, so it was a very rapid partnership. I wanted to make quite a few changes, even though they delivered a really good project, and they were accommodating.

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

We were looking for kind of a basic app, but what they came back with was a lot more advanced, and it looked a lot better than we expected. We have various ways of gathering feedback, and the feedback has been positive. One was hitting deadlines, and they actually beat them for both phases of the project.  Another thing was making sure the app was user-friendly. Because of our budget, we did expect quite a basic app, but what they delivered was a lot better than that, and it looks good.

How did Ampersand perform from a project management standpoint?

When we discussed the initial project with them, they came back with a project plan that included timeframes, what they’d do at different stages, and the overall look-and-feel of the app. What they came up with is very much in line with our vision and our brand in terms of the visual aspects of it, not just the content. In terms of project timeline, we had different project milestones, and they achieved each of them.

What did you find most impressive about Ampersand?

They’re very quick at coming back to us. I had quite a few changes I wanted to make to the app, and they made them quickly. But the most impressive thing has been their pace of work: I didn’t expect them to have a finished project in a matter of three weeks, which they did.

Are there any areas Ampersand could improve?

Honestly, I can’t think of any. That’s not to say they’re perfect – everybody has their pros and cons – but nothing stands out at the moment.

What tips or recommendations could you share that might increase the likelihood of success with Ampersand?

If you have a clear plan and if you’re very open about that from the early stages, they’ll happily work with you to achieve it. I haven’t always been able to meet my commitments to them in terms of giving them the content to put in the app, and they’ve been very flexible. So, the more organized you are, the more organized they’ll be.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We are a tech startup developing a platform which matchmakes services and service providers, with the twist of having smart teams put together by a system and assigned to particular tasks. We focus on both the B2C and B2B markets, with services like maintenance and other manual jobs. Our system tracks data around how personalities and teams match, creating an algorithmic HR solution.

I am the founder of the company.

What challenge were you trying to address with Ampersand + Ampersand?

I had an initial concept for a mobile software which would record work being done and provide billing. The main business challenge was to create a scalable product and one which was better than what was already on the market.

What was the scope of their involvement?

After a couple of meetings with Ampersand + Ampersand’s team, we put a couple of ideas together and I saw how much larger the platform could be. Ampersand also performed market research on my behalf, coming up with a utopian vision, defining the MVP [minimum viable product], and creating a tech timeframe.

We needed to solve the issue of looking at a service provider as an individual working on-site. As a side note, a recent case in the UK found that Uber was actually an employer. We had anticipated that this would materialize, and any similar startup business would be in serious trouble. The solution was to discuss how we could create a marketplace where independent contractors could set their own prices and be matched to clients willing to pay those sums. Not setting a fixed price was a bit of a challenge, both technically and business-wise. Ampersand came up with many good solutions in regard to the technologies we should use for minimizing the cost of the MVP.

How did you come to work with Ampersand + Ampersand?

I had an idea and wanted to get the work started quickly, so I looked for development agencies online and spoke to friends. Ampersand's founder had experience as an entrepreneur, which meant that he wouldn't provide the typical factory experience for the project. He took interest in delivering what a startup wants, namely a solution which reflects the concept and business goal, not just a functioning prototype.

I tended to find that other companies only had dollar signs in their eyes, and were not very flexible. Ampersand's members actually love what they do, so they kept in constant touch with me and thought of solutions for my project.

How much have you invested with Ampersand + Ampersand?

The cost of Ampersand's work was around $200,000. Outside of this, including my legal costs, the total investment has been around $350,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

The initial meeting with Ampersand was in December 2015. The work itself started in January 2016, and the product was delivered at the end of April.

The MVP was quite detailed, and because we started to interact with the market in the pilot stage, looking at how people were reacting to it, we recognized additional opportunities. It's an ongoing process, but Ampersand + Ampersand delivered a product which I could bring to the market.

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

Even though I could set a delivery date, there are things which fall outside of the metrics. I had additional ideas along the way, including a more detailed rating system. Ampersand + Ampersand factored this into our sprints, always keeping the time and budget in mind. The costs were increased, but I was given the ability to restructure various parts of the project, as it was ongoing.

How did Ampersand + Ampersand perform from a project management standpoint?

Ampersand performed well in this regard.

What did you find most impressive about Ampersand + Ampersand?

Ampersand cared about my startup and made an effort to understand it. Many agencies work with large corporate entities, paying a lot of money, so they don't require a very high level of innovation; they can simply knock out a website or an app. Ampersand seemed to understand the business logic of the startup world, solving various problems from our first meetings. Had I chosen another company, I would have received a basic MVP which didn't reflect my goals.

Are there any areas Ampersand + Ampersand could improve?

We changed much of the work based on feedback. Our user interface/user experience was aligned for a marketplace with a single contractor and client, instead of a team, so we've had to change some of the designs and branding.

What tips or recommendations could you share that might increase the likelihood of success with Ampersand + Ampersand?

If the client is a startup, they need to consider that even though they are paying a bit of a premium on Ampersand's services, it's worth it. They'll have access to some very experienced people who have been founders themselves on other businesses, and who understand the process. Ampersand's team takes into account that a solution might fail, but they'll work to minimize the risk. They're great people to work and communicate with, and I'm considering putting Ampersand's founder on our board of advisors, given the amount of value he's provided. Other people in the industry tend to be a little jaded, which can demotivate a client, especially when they're outsourcing the work.

I would also recommend Ampersand + Ampersand to corporations, but startups can benefit the most from their services.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

The Royal London Hospital, Barts Health Trust is a large teaching hospital in the UK.

I am a consultant gastroenterologist seeing adult patients, and I have a specialist interest in an area called inflammatory bowel disease. I have been in practice as a consultant for 3 years. My activity is clinical as well as research-related.

What challenge were you trying to address with Ampersand?

We wanted to find an app that could support patients with inflammatory bowel disease. We knew that there were a few on the market. I reviewed them, trying to see if we could encourage patients to use one for support on organizing their lives and communicating with us as a service.

Unfortunately, we found solutions that were too general and only allowed patients to form a diary of their symptoms, offering no communication functionalities with the hospital, or were highly specific to one hospital. For example, a child in Toronto under the care of the local hospital could have access to an excellent app that was very usable and did many of the things that we wanted, but it was specific to that hospital.

Our goal was to make an app for the UK. I met up with a colleague who was designing one aimed at only his hospital. My part of the process was to suggest making an app for the whole of the UK, which is where Ampersand came in.

What was the scope of their involvement?

We had to come up with a detailed map of how the app should look. Ampersand's work involved coming up with a way of communicating between us and the patient in a secure manner. Ampersand designed a backend that could be used by different hospitals through a login system specific to just their patients. The patients could select the hospital that would provide care for them, and as soon as that happened, a user from the trust would have an overview of the patients. We also asked for push notifications, going beyond email and phone consultations. This allows each hospital trust to communicate directly with all patients, either on an individual or group basis.

How did you come to work with Ampersand?

Ampersand had done work for a rheumatology department, and I met them through a colleague. We were able to attract a lot more funding, and have created a nationally-available app through Ampersand's help.

How much have you invested with Ampersand?

The total cost of our project with Ampersand was between $150,000 and $180,000 [100,000 and 150,000 GBP].

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Ampersand in November 2015. The app hasn't yet launched on the Android and iOS app stores. Ampersand will maintain both apps, and we plan to continue working with them for the foreseeable future.

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

We haven't launched the app, so it's a bit hard to provide specific metrics. Our users are split between patients and the trusts that they're interacting with. Feedback from both of these camps will be very important for us, but we're not there yet.

How did Ampersand perform from a project management standpoint?

For us as doctors, the process was different than normal. Ampersand typically develops applications over short periods of time, but this couldn't fit in with a project that we were working on in our spare time. Someone building a car in their garage would do it over a period of 1-2 years, as opposed to a factory which has 20 people working on it. I failed to appreciate that Ampersand needed absolutely everything in advance and that the development would be done incredibly intensively. We almost needed to program in a whole series of times when we could take part in the query process. As a doctor, I don't have the time for even weekly meetings, and I would have needed a minimum of 2-months' notice for doing this.

What did you find most impressive about Ampersand?

Ampersand has a very personable, friendly, and open team. They were able to innovate in many areas and steered us around bad ideas. Ampersand has a lot of experience in the app space, and they were very good at focusing us on what users would be thinking.

Are there any areas Ampersand could improve?

None that I can think of now.

What tips or recommendations could you share that might increase the likelihood of success with Ampersand?

If I were to ever take on this type of work again, I would discuss with the developer about what would be needed from us during the build period and make sure that I knew what I wanted. The developer offers an enormous amount of resources for short bursts, and we need to get the most out of them.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I work for King's College Hospital NHS [National Health Service] foundation trust which is a large secondary care NHS provider.

I am a consultant rheumatologist. We look after a variety of conditions that affect the musculoskeletal system, like rheumatoid arthritis for example. It is a disease that has a predilection for the hands, and as a result, it impacts people's ability to carry out daily tasks, including writing and performing fine manual tasks.

What challenge were you were trying to address with Ampersand & Ampersand?

We wanted to develop an app because one of the challenges we have in our clinical service is getting information to and from the patients. It became apparent through some focus group work with patients that touch screen technology was easier than traditional paper based questionnaires for people with arthritis.

What was the scope of their involvement?

The aim of the app to be developed by Ampersand & Ampersand was to be three-fold: (1) provide information about our services, (2) provide links to information about rheumatic diseases, and (3) enable patients to send back information about the state of their disease.

How did you come to work with Ampersand & Ampersand?

At the outset of the project, we had a goal to develop the app but did not have a specific provider in mind. We undertook a scoping exercise to look at the market, and contacted four different app developers in the London region. Originally, our aim had been to identify a developer in our local borough as the funding source was a local charity, and we were keen to reinvest locally. However, there were none available. We identified Ampersand as a suitable provider based in part upon their prior work with the NHS and also a very effective presentation they delivered when I went to meet them.

How much have you invested with Ampersand & Ampersand?

We had a budget of up to £20,000 [US$ 26,400] to work with, which included the cost of patient involvement for development of the app as well as IT costs. 

What is the status of this engagement?

It took 12 months to deliver the project.

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

In terms of success, now nearly a quarter of our patients have downloaded the app. It has become a standard tool in clinic to signpost patients to clinical services. The app contains a map of the hospital and a calendar function, which are very helpful for the patients. In addition, the links to educational resources for patients are invaluable as they include links to websites that patients know are trusted and contain reliable health information.

Are there any areas Ampersand & Ampersand could improve?

The major limitation of the app is that it cannot link into the central hospital record. In an ideal world, I would like the app to enable patients to view and change appointments, but due to the NHS firewall, the integration and development costs are prohibitive. However, this is something we are working on for the future.