APG Emerging Tech

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m in charge of client success, development, and strategic initiatives at an invoice processing company. We help small businesses accelerate invoice payments and factor invoices in accelerated revenue. 

What challenge were you trying to address with APG Emerging Tech?

We hired APG for their consulting services. 

What was the scope of their involvement?

We engaged APG in our new initiative; we were fleshing out the details of the project, and they helped us by turning our idea into an actionable business plan and execution strategy. The team walked us through a discovery period, where we had meetings with them to help bring our idea to life. Our teams also determined the resources needed to support the project in the longer run. From there, they presented different ideal target markets, go-to-market strategies, action items, and potential partners moving forward.

We discovered deeper layers to the project than anticipated. Coming from a tech-based platform and moving to a bigger product, we needed greater support and more developers. Given that, APG also helped us think through project management and how it would be different from before. On top of that, they also helped us uncover more opportunities that weren’t a part of our initial business plan. 

Moving forward, we’ll continue working with APG in the second phase of the project, which is the actual product development. We’ll engage the team as we start working with developers to build this new side of our core business. Our team is navigating this setup right now. 

What is the team composition?

We have two main contacts from APG. Luke (Partner) is our main point person, and he serves as our account manager. I work directly with him since I’m the point person on our team. Meanwhile, Justin (Founder & Managing Partner) comes in as the product and technology expert. They’re both involved in our conversations to offer perspectives on what our product needs.

Simply put, Justin is our subject matter expert and Luke keeps us on track and manages key deadlines, benchmarks, and action items. 

How did you come to work with APG Emerging Tech?

APG was a client of ours a few years ago. They tried our invoicing services, and we developed a relationship with them. Our team then learned about their business and connected with them in multiple ways. When this project came up, I reached out to them and gave them a proposal. We needed somebody to help us, and we decided to go with them. 

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent around $50,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in July 2021, and the engagement is ongoing. 

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

We haven’t developed the product, so we don’t have quantitative success metrics yet. Such metrics won’t be defined until we start building the actual product. Anecdotally, APG  has given us great recommendations. They’re consultative in nature, but they let us keep our foot on the gas or take it off the pedal as needed. They don’t tell us what to do next, but they helpfully guide us through the process. Simply put, we’re still in control and in the driver’s seat, but they direct us with more intentionality than when we’re on our own. 

Moreover, our staff loves working with them. Their resources have worked cross-functionally across our team — they’ve met with our head of growth strategy, marketing, developers, and others — and everyone has had a great experience. Every conversation has been intentional and efficient. We’re a small organization, but the engagement doesn’t interrupt us or take our time away. Luke and Justin ensure that meetings are quick and efficient whenever they pull our team members into conversations. 

Overall, APG has exceeded our expectations, and we’ve grown into a great relationship with them. 

How did APG Emerging Tech perform from a project management standpoint?

APG’s project management is phenomenal — they keep me on track better than I do by myself. They push and accelerate things if necessary to fit the timeline. Their resources are also great at communicating with us. In terms of work execution, they hit every benchmark and milestone.

To communicate, we use Zoom, Slack, and phone calls depending on the urgency of our needs. Our regular conversations are held through Zoom, where we can share our screens and talk about things as a group. If we have one-off questions, either of our teams can jump on a call to talk. We also have a Slack channel that has everyone in it. We use it for quick conversations about any updates, priority changes, and action items.

What did you find most impressive about them?

APG offers a tailored and personal connection; there’s a trust factor in the engagement since they know what they’re talking about — the credibility is there. Because of that, our team has a sense of ease and trust in them. 

Moreover, they present themselves well and take the time to ask clarifying questions to understand our business and mission. They also keep everything true to our organization, which is crucial for us. We’re mission-driven in helping small businesses grow; we’re not focused entirely on revenue streams, but we want to do our job well to delight our customers. 

Overall, APG tailors our conversations to fit our mission, and that’s impressive about them. The engagement isn’t simply transactional for them.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Initially, we couldn’t decide on the best way to communicate with each other. However, that’s the only hiccup we’ve had, and that’s just a function of the world we live in right now. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be transparent and upfront. For context, I’ve gone into our relationship telling APG that we’re building a new product and that I don’t know much about technology. This has helped us set the stage for the engagement. They ensure I’m comfortable with our decisions and that I understand where the project is going from a technical perspective — the team is great at making sure everyone is on the same page. 

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the co-chair of the Lake Oconee Showcase of Homes. We’re a group that does fundraising for Greene County Habitat for Humanity in Georgia. We’re typically an annual tour of homes. I was the co-chair for the 2020 showcase, and we transitioned to a virtual event this year.

What challenge were you trying to address with APG Emerging Tech + Just Cause?

We were looking for assistance with marketing, wanting to redo our website, and seeking to focus on our social media.

What was the scope of their involvement?

The website and social media marketing were our primary objectives in the beginning. When we had to shift to a virtual event, the scope of assistance we needed changed. They stepped up to meet those needed pivots. Our first project was the creation of an infographic. We used it in marketing to describe our goals and how our events had contributed to Habitat for Humanity over the last couple of years.

APG Emerging Tech + Just Cause also helped create a consistent social media image. They mainly focused on our Facebook and Instagram. Their team created a template we could use to highlight sponsors and so on. They constructed a website that they could then turn over to us. It is constructed on a platform that we can use so we don’t have to be dependent on them.

We had an email campaign where they created an image for the emails as well as managed the construction and distribution of them. Their team created some of the graphic images we use.

They also worked in partnership with the videography company we use to manage the production and display of the broadcast. There was four days’ worth of videos and APG Emerging Tech + Just Cause helped us get them on our website and made sure they went live when they were supposed to.

To wrap things up, they did a set of analytics focused on statistics from Vimeo, our emails, and our outreach.

What is the team composition?

I worked with two people.

How did you come to work with APG Emerging Tech + Just Cause?

We were introduced to them by a volunteer member of our committee. We sat down and had a nice conversation. We were considering 2–3 other firms and spoke with APG Emerging Tech + Just Cause last. Our team felt that they’d be the best fit because they had the scope of services to address everything we needed.

What is the status of this engagement?

This engagement was from March–September 2020.

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

When we do our in-person tour of homes, we typically sell about a thousand tickets. Obviously, because we were virtual this year, there was no limit to the number of people we could invite. This year, we had close to 10,000 views, which was quite significant. We had viewers from 47 states and 17 countries and it wound up being our largest fundraiser for Greene Country Habitat for Humanity ever. APG Emerging Tech + Just Cause was definitely instrumental in helping us get there.

How did APG Emerging Tech + Just Cause perform from a project management standpoint?

Project management was excellent. We typically communicated through email. They’re very accessible and responsive. Their team was always positive and exemplified great attention to detail. They were great at managing a schedule and keeping us on track. What’s more, they were instrumental in generating ideas and implementing our ideas.

What did you find most impressive about them?

It’s a combination of their focus on addressing our needs coupled with the scope of the services they provide.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I don’t have any suggestions for improvement. We are so thankful for all of the help they gave us.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Stay engaged throughout the engagement. They’re good and efficient communicators so long as you do the same. If you do this, you’ll have a successful relationship.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the senior director of operations at Espyr. We’re a behavioral health company and we provide employee assistance programs. Our services include coaching, counseling, and work-life services to various companies’ employees, managers, and their families.

What challenge were you trying to address with APG Emerging Tech + Just Cause Marketing?

We needed a content sharing application — this would involve concurrent development and creating different phases. Our company wanted an information hub with articles, videos, and other data channels for our clients.

In the past, we already had an application that was part of the CRM, but when we replaced that, we lost access to it. Besides, that platform was outdated and we needed a fresh and simple one for our business. We were looking for a partner that we could work on our roadmap with.

What was the scope of their involvement?

The first step of our engagement was a discovery workshop to help us understand our end users and identify the requirements. After that, the APG team designed the app and shared the prototype with us. We then gave our insights regarding their initial efforts.

Once the prototype and the plans were approved, the team proceeded with the development stages. Our teams would regularly hold bi-weekly meetings, depending on the app’s development state, to share the progress. Finally, we were able to test and launch it to iOS and Android.

During the engagement, we gave them access to our old app and told them that what they see is what we don’t want anymore. Also, APG worked with their sister company for the app’s development. Although in the beginning, we were worried about dealing with two vendors everything went seamlessly.

What is the team composition?

Our team had direct contact with Justin (Founder & Managing Director) and he’d relay the information to their end. We brainstormed with two team members and there were multiple people such as developers who worked on the project.

How did you come to work with APG Emerging Tech + Just Cause Marketing?

We explored six different vendors in and out of the country, and APG Emerging Tech + Just Cause Marketing stood out because of their understanding of our company and project. They knew that we were looking for a partner, not just a vendor. We liked that they were aware of our flexible roadmap and understood that we may adjust the requirements depending on the project’s growth. 

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve invested about $75,000 for the project.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project started in February–August 2020.

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

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, we delayed the app’s launch but to date, we’ve already introduced it to 39 accounts. Out of the almost 500 accounts that we have, we selected the top 60 and selected those who can use it.

So far, our clients have given great reviews on the app. Some clients recommended that we could wide label the app, which is easy to do in the CMS. The majority of our clients liked the platform and said that it looked and felt appropriate. We had more downloads in the new app in just a week compared to several months from the old app.

How did APG Emerging Tech + Just Cause Marketing perform from a project management standpoint?

In terms of project management, APG Emerging Tech + Just Cause Marketing was really efficient when sharing information and scheduling. We communicated through Slack and Clubhouse during the engagement. Whenever we had a hiccup or additional requests, they didn’t hesitate to address them to us via phone calls.

Since they worked with their sister company, we didn’t feel like we were managing two teams because everything went great. The communication flowed easily which helped the project become a success.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their client care stood out for us. We didn’t feel like just a client or another number to their business. They understood every nuance of working with healthcare companies.

They were very sensitive when it came to cybersecurity needs which were great considering that most of our clients are government agencies. We appreciated their technical expertise and ability to speak in our language.

We liked that they understood the fact that we were not as tech-savvy as them and they made an effort to bridge that gap for us — this was really valuable. APG Emerging Tech + Just Cause Marketing was extremely responsive and accommodating — every time there was a concern or issue, there were always there to help us solve it.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Perhaps defining some of the requirements during the initial stages could have been improved — this is quite common during the beginning of projects. But they were able to overcome those shortcomings by asking more questions and embracing the project. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Take advantage of the discovery workshop to get a good hold on the agreement. Make sure that all requirements are being followed and all decision-makers or stakeholders are involved. The workshop is designed to help listen and understand multiple perspectives to help make the whole process more effective and efficient.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am a developer at HandyTrac Systems. We provide key control access systems to multi-family groups.

For what projects/services did your company hire Aligned Partner Group?

Our website was initially designed over 15 years ago and has suffered from both a stagnated design and feature creep that was forced to fit that outdated design. Aligned was hired to rework the design.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted to both rewrite its code base and redesign the look and feel to provide greater utility and access to information for our customers. We didn’t want to make it more difficult to use or to create too much of a learning curve for our customers.

How did you select this vendor?

Our team was referred to Aligned Partner Group through one of their partner developer firms. Between their recommendation and the reasonable pricing, we chose to move forward.

Describe the project in detail.

We started the project by discussing internal and external UX. We wanted to assess how users access the site, the information they're looking for, and core personality traits that could influence how they interact and feel about the site and possible changes. From there, Aligned Partner Group built out initial wireframes, then reviewed them and iterated upon them. This cycle continued at a rapid pace until we had a final design.

What was the team composition?

We worked with a singular point of contact, which allowed us to quickly discuss changes we would like to see made by their team.

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

We used Axure, a prototyping tool, to show a clickable model of the redesign to both internal and external users. We received extremely positive feedback across the board. The site now feels like it has a modern design, which is necessary for a tech company.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

They worked extremely quickly. Our discussions were met with near immediate updates, and they responded promptly to feedback.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

I was impressed by how quickly they produced a modern, clean design based on our input. The speed of response to our comments on the iterations was also impressive.

Are there any areas for improvement?

No, we were very pleased.