Startup-friendly app development.
We help startups increase their chances of success with scalable, high-quality apps, transparent pricing and a startup-friendly process.
Focus
Portfolio
Point Up Inc. - https://point.app Expo - https://expo.io New Story Charity - https://newstorycharity.org AVA Grows - https://avagrows.com JiveWorld - https://jiveworld.com
Point Banking
Point is a neo-bank, a bank that is optimized for the world of today: mobile. The team at Point knew they would have to pivot a lot between YC Demo Day, Investors Meeting and official release. Because of that, they wanted to work with us to maximize their chances of success with their new venture.
Since we began work on Point, we refactored and pivoted more than three times! We know how important it is for startups to be nimble and produce quality software, quickly. Since then, Point had a very successful YC Demo Day and is on track to release its first version by the end of July.
AVA Grows
AVA Grows is building an automated indoor garden, naturally, powered by the AVA Byte Smart Garden. When they reached out to App & Flow, they had the idea and the technology, but they needed a team that could help them overcome the many challenges of building an IoT device. They chose App & Flow because we could handle the whole stack: the mobile application, the backend, the admin panel and the Google Home/Alexa integrations.
Because of our expertise in React Native and JavaScript, we were able to quickly build out a whole range of products that powers the entire software suite behind the AVA Byte. The device and its companion application have been demoed successfully at trade shows like CES 2019 and multiple Best Buy stores.
JiveWorld
Jiveworld is a language self-study system that trains your ear to understand foreign languages as they are truly spoken. The app itself is very technically challenging, and the team needed help in order to reach their goals and deadlines.
The founders reached out to Expo and asked if they could recommend any teams with React Native expertise. Expo referred them to App & Flow, and we quickly hit it off. Over a period of 4 months, we helped the Jiveworld team build out the features and polish the entire application in time for their upcoming beta release in summer 2019.
Expo.io
Since the very beginning of React Native, Expo has been building an entire toolchain around it, aiming to facilitate and accelerate the development of mobile applications and beyond. React Native developers were rare when the technology was first was open-sourced, and Expo needed a team that could match their internal expertise. They reached out to App & Flow to help them to accelerate the development of their toolchain.
Because we were one of the first teams to specialize in React Native, we were able to quickly jump in Expo’s codebase and start contributing. From building native modules to developer tools and bug fixing, we have been active contributors on Expo since 2017.
New Story Charity
New Story is a YC backed non profit that aims to end global homelessness through innovative processes and management. The company operates in remote regions, which posed some unique challenges: they needed a proper way of managing the worksites, as well as a way to quantify the impact that a home has on the families that receive it… and they needed to do it without an Internet connection! They chose App & Flow to help them build.
We built New story two applications that work properly even without a reliable Internet connection: a survey app, and an operation app. Both apps have been used successfully on the field and helped New Story grow into the breakthrough company they are today.
Mule
Mule connects shippers with travelers to deliver items anywhere within hours. When they reached out to App & Flow, the team at Mule was understandably hesitant – they’d already had a less than stellar experience with another studio. The code base was a mess and the end product was nothing like what was intended, so they wanted to be very careful this time around.
Our transparent process, constant communication and technical expertise helped us quickly gain the trust of the team. We built a first version that made them feel confident and equipped with an application that would allow them to finally go to market.
Crumbs Cryptocurrency
Crumbs is the textbook definition of a successful bootstrapped startup. The team started with a limited amount of capital, built a product people loved and were later acquired by Metal. Over the course of this journey, however, their mobile codebase accumulated a lot of technical debt.
After the acquisition, the founders of Crumbs reached out to App & Flow to build the second version of Crumbs - from scratch. They needed a team that knew React Native and Expo like the back of their hand. We worked with Crumbs to build a reliable and extremely performant codebase, setting them up to scale and grow for years to come.
Fixit Financial
Fixit offers a fast and easy way to book and finance car repairs by leveraging the value of your vehicle. Because users interface with exclusively Fixit through their mobile devices, the company’s success depended on building a performant, reliable and user-friendly mobile app. This involved a lot of complex relations between banks, car make/models API, loaning institutions and liens creations that needed to appear seamless to the user.
Over the course of 8 months, we built an extremely smooth application which allowed the team at Fixit to reach its loan maximum capacity and have hundreds of garages sign up to become Fixit Certified in the following months! Fixit is now raising its series A.
Reviews
the project
App Dev for Smart Garden Company
“Their communication and transparency were stellar.”
the reviewer
the review
A Clutch analyst personally interviewed this client over the phone. Below is an edited transcript.
Introduce your business and what you do there.
I’m the CTO of Ava Technologies, and we make smart indoor gardens. I’m responsible for the hardware and software of the technology.
What challenge were you trying to address with App & Flow Development?
We needed someone to create out Android and iOS smart app which would be connected to our IoT device.
What was the scope of their involvement?
We provided them with wireframes that were developed by another provider. App & Flow replicated those designs and created the backend around them. They utilized React Native, Node.js, and Expo as the scaffolding typescript. The backend server is hosted by AWS.
They developed the app from scratch and created a connection between the app and the garden device.
What is the team composition?
Charles (Founder, App & Flow Development) was my main point of contact. He relayed my requirements to his team of developers.
How did you come to work with App & Flow Development?
Charles reached out to us after seeing a job posting. We had originally been looking to hire someone in-house, but Charles demonstrated that his team could complete the work for us.
How much have you invested with them?
We’re on a monthly retainer with them; the total figure over the course of the engagement would be somewhere around $200,000.
What is the status of this engagement?
We started working together around June 2018, and the partnership is still ongoing. We’ve launched our Android app and are about to launch the iOS version as well.
What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?
They’ve successfully created a viable product. Their work has enabled us to be the first smart app on the Google Home and Alexa stores, which is a big deal. The app is an integral component of our IoT products, so they delivered valuable work.
While the product is still in Beta, the functionality and reliability seem satisfactory. Out of all the various development teams that I’ve worked with over the years, they’ve been the best.
How did App & Flow Development perform from a project management standpoint?
Since we had them on a monthly retainer, there were no financial surprises. We were also happy with their timeline. They’re pretty communicative and hit most of the deadlines. Charles was available all throughout the workweek, and we communicated on GitHub.
What did you find most impressive about them?
Their communication and transparency were stellar. They were also quick learners; even though they’d never created a smart app before, they were prompt in understanding the requirements and adapting to change.
Are there any areas they could improve?
I would appreciate it if I could communicate directly with their developers. Right now, I can only communicate with them through GitHub, which is a bit messy. I typically have the information relayed to them through Charles, but it’d be nice if I had access to the dev team on Slack or another medium.
Do you have any advice for potential customers?
Be clear with your objectives, and communicate what tech stack you envision using for your project.
the project
Mobile App Development for Online Banking Company
“They take constructive criticism well and implement meaningful solutions in a really valuable way.”
the reviewer
the review
A Clutch analyst personally interviewed this client over the phone. Below is an edited transcript.
Introduce your business and what you do there.
We are a financial institution called Point Up Inc, and I am the co-founder of the company. We are a branchless bank, which means that we are completely online in order to provide a more streamlined operation and better customer experience to our users.
What challenge were you trying to address with App & Flow Development?
Being online-only, it was critical for us to have a really great app that would serve all of our customers’ needs, and we worked with App & Flow Development to build the entire customer-facing side of the app and all of its features from scratch on both iOS and Android.
What was the scope of their involvement?
As a one-stop-shop for our customers, we needed the app to be feature-rich while also being very simple and easy to use for things like money transfers, payments, account signups, and anything else you could do with a normal bank.
We provided wireframes and documentation, and they developed the frontend on React Native so that we could deploy to both iOS and Android at the same time. From there, they integrated all of the features into the backend, and we are now testing and tweaking the early beta application.
What is the team composition?
Over the course of the last year, we’ve worked with four people at different points in time. There are two people actively coding right now, and then we have a project manager and one other point of contact on their team.
How did you come to work with App & Flow Development?
One of my co-founders had worked with their team on a different application, and I first came into contact with App & Flow Development through him. We talked through our idea and requirements with them and decided that they would be a good fit.
How much have you invested with them?
We’ve spent somewhere around $100,000 in total.
What is the status of this engagement?
We started the project in April 2019 and our work with them is ongoing.
What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?
On the surface level, obviously, having the frontend of our application in place is very important. The fact that we were able to get it up and running fairly quickly and to a good standard of quality was really positive. Their team is extremely responsive to any issues that come up and does a good job of proactively addressing those.
The app has received a lot of good feedback so far, so we are very happy with the quality of work that they’ve provided. People seem to be very passionate about what features they use and what they want to see as we continue to develop and roll out the application.
How did App & Flow Development perform from a project management standpoint?
We’ve established a really good workflow at this stage between testing, getting feedback, and making improvements. Their project management has been good overall because of the efforts on communication from both sides. As with any young company, we’ve had growing pains in establishing feedback flows and structure, but we’ve made good progress.
We rely on Slack a lot for our daily back and forth, and then we have phone calls and twice-weekly check-ins to make sure everybody is on the same page. We try to keep things simple, so we generally limit meetings to an hour to set and evaluate priorities and then move on.
What did you find most impressive about them?
The thing I’ve been most impressed by is their willingness to take on feedback and address it. They take constructive criticism well and implement meaningful solutions in a really valuable way. That willingness to communicate goes a long way.
Are there any areas they could improve?
Some of the initial difficulties that we had with communication did cause project delays that we would have hoped to avoid. I’d rather be told a longer and more accurate timeline to begin with than have to readjust the schedule if things don’t go perfectly the first time. They’ve already done work to improve on this, which I appreciate.
Do you have any advice for potential customers?
They’re great to work with. Just be very specific in your direction — the more detail you can provide, the more smoothly things will go.
the project
iOS & Android Dev for Car Loan App
"I felt integrated as a part of the team."
the reviewer
the review
A Clutch analyst personally interviewed this client over the phone. Below is an edited transcript.
Introduce your business and what you do there.
I’m the co-founder and CTO of Fixit Financial, an app where users obtain car repair loans electronically. They go through electronic identification, VIN validation, and an origination process before being uploaded into a loan management system. It’s a web-based interfaced with a few portals for users and administrators.
What challenge were you trying to address with App & Flow Development?
I built the MVP myself and coded it to demonstrate to investors and interested folks. After I’d locked down funding and needed to get production done, I hired his team of engineers to refine the product and get it ready for the market.
What was the scope of their involvement?
I gave them access to a repository of code I built, as well as wireframes and flow diagrams and I created and envisioned. Then, they produced a cross-platform mobile app in React Native using an Expo framework. Once they understood the flow of the solution, they refactored quite a bit of the code and API maps I’d done to make them more scalable and professional. They have excellent coders that are solid on best practices and giving tutorials.
What is the team composition?
We worked with 2–3 developers.
How did you come to work with App & Flow Development?
They were a reference from a traditional web design firm we spoke to. After they said they would need an astronomical fee to use my original code, they recommended Charles. I talked to him and decided to move forward.
How much have you invested with them?
I spent $100,000 CAD ($75,600 USD).
What is the status of this engagement?
We worked together from January until December 2018. The app launched in July 2018, and the rest of the time they were on a support and maintenance contract.
What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?
Their work was indispensable to a successful launch. When I built the MVP, I had some idea of stringing APIs together, but they added an element of professionalism and troubleshooting I couldn’t do myself. The challenges went above and beyond my technical expertise. They were absolutely necessary to getting the project launched.
There was lots of troubleshooting (issues with cross-platform development always require unique tweaks), and on the day of the launch, Google’s servers went down. This was beyond their control, but they were very responsive. They were accessible at all times too, even though they had other projects going on.
How did App & Flow Development perform from a project management standpoint?
I underestimated the work involved, but it was no fault of Charles and his team. There were issues with the API and the integration with them and our partners, but no delays were due to App & Flow.
I very much enjoyed the process. We had Slack for communication, and they seemed like they lived there—days, nights, weekends, and holidays. We also had a Trello-like interface where we could see tasks that were being worked on. I felt integrated as a part of the team.
What did you find most impressive about them?
There’s a factor of being in the same city and time zone. I went to their office a few times to work together. It was much more pleasant than working with the overseas folks I’ve outsourced to in past.
Are there any areas they could improve?
It’s hard for me to pinpoint anything exactly because they provided a weekly report. I don’t have much criticism. If I had any issues or didn’t understand something, Chris would explain it. The main engineer was accessible and responsive as well.
Do you have any advice for potential customers?
They’re open to explaining how things work, but it helped that I had a technical background. I felt I learned a lot from observing and participating in their process. Soak up as much knowledge as possible and set up a communication channel.
the project
React Native Development for Business Platform
“They’re flexible, know our expectations, and deliver high-quality work.”
the reviewer
the review
A Clutch analyst personally interviewed this client over the phone. Below is an edited transcript.
Introduce your business and what you do there.
I am the founder/CEO of a mobile app for consumers and businesses.
What challenge were you trying to address with App & Flow?
We needed help with frontend development. We worked on the interface with another company that was underperforming. We wanted a new agency to take over development and design.
What was the scope of their involvement?
They built a frontend in React Native for both Android and iOS. We gave them ideas of what we wanted to achieve and they made refinements. The app itself has some cool features. Everything is very detailed and fully transparent for users.
They also set up data analytics to give us insight on user preferences and put is in contact with third-party vendors that offer additional services.
What is the team composition?
We work with two people directly, and a third team member is involved behind the scenes. Our project manager and developer share responsibilities and their roles overlap somewhat.
How did you come to work with App & Flow?
Our first interaction was on Facebook. They’re clear communicators and were transparent from the very beginning.
What is the status of this engagement?
We started working together in November 2017. They will provide ongoing development work for at least a few more months.
What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?
We’re still in development, so there are no clear KPIs yet. We're extremely pleased with the quality of the work, their speed, and their communicativeness. They’re super reactive and push to eliminate bugs early. They make changes based on our feedback.
How did App & Flow perform from a project management standpoint?
The CEO/project manager is an incredible communicator. He understands our issues and is good at problem solving. We communicate by phone, email, or in person and they address our questions quickly via GitHub. They’re very easy to do business with.
They aligned with our schedule and we meet every other week. They’re flexible, know our expectations, and deliver high-quality work.
What did you find most impressive about them?
Communication and ownership of the product have been strong since the beginning. They provide great recommendations and feedback and are willing to lead parts of the project. They can interact with the designer and give directions without our intervention and are extremely professional.
Are there any areas they could improve?
We’ve had a really good experience and there’s very little we’d improve. As they grow, their capacity becomes more flexible, but we would still like more bandwidth to accelerate some of the components of the product.
Do you have any advice for potential customers?
Take advantage of their communication style and their openness. Share your expectations and ask questions. They’re very good at understanding your perspective and handling your issues. They will provide a clear agenda and make you feel comfortable.
Through their transparency and technical expertise, App & Flow Development outshone other providers that the client has worked with. Despite not having extensive experience with developing smart-functionality apps, they were quick learners that adapted seamlessly to changing demands.