AppIt Ventures

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am a co-founder of See Mama Bee. It is a wellness app for mothers to track lifestyle choices and track food allergies in their children.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with AppIt Ventures?

We contracted with AppIt Ventures to help us develop our mobile application.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We are currently working on an iOS version, but we have hopes for an Android version in the future. My husband and I came to the table with an idea and a few graphics, so AppIt Ventures has been instrumental in ushering this application through the development cycle. We offered a color scheme and some thoughts regarding the UX, but AppIt Ventures crafted the logos, developed the screen flows, and handled all technical aspects. The app allows parents—specifically mothers—to record their wellness activities and track their children’s food allergies, which can then be communicated to doctors.

AppIt Ventures has been helpful in other areas, as well. If we have concerns for how we manage our budget, how we run our social media, or how we start our Kickstarter campaign, their staff has somebody that can help us.

What is the team composition?

We’ve worked with a team of seven people, which includes a project manager, graphic designers, developers, some of their marketing staff, and sometimes the CEO.

How did you come to work with AppIt Ventures?

We began this project with a different developer, and we did not receive nearly the support we’ve gotten from AppIt Ventures. That team’s expertise wasn’t quite what we needed, so we re-opened our search and selected AppIt Ventures because we thought that we could be collaborative and hands-on in the development of our app. Because they had staff photos on their website, we felt that we’d be working with people rather than just a company.

How much have you invested with them?

We’re anticipating a final amount between $50,000–$100,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our engagement began in July 2018 and remains ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We have yet to launch, but we can attribute a great deal of our success so far to them. We’ve gotten tremendous feedback on the screenshots and functionality that AppIt Ventures has created. Their mentorship has helped us make our app an early success.

How did AppIt Ventures perform from a project management standpoint?

We’re very comfortable working with them. We receive regular updates, and if the entire team doesn’t attend a meeting on Google Hangouts, it’s still a majority of the team. We feel that we’ve formed a solid relationship with them.

What did you find most impressive about them?

My husband and I are not technical people, but AppIt Ventures has done a wonderful job of interpreting our notes and delivering something better than what we asked for.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, they’re very professional and easy to work with.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the CTO of Lot Spot Inc. We are a parking analytics company that collects parking and transportation data and distributes it to drivers and organizations through an online dashboard and a mobile application.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire AppIt Ventures?

Our company needed an easy-to-use, yet an information-filled mobile application to distribute the parking data to drivers. We wanted to make it pain-free for drivers to find available parking before they arrived at their destination.

What were your goals for this project?

There were three main goals for this project. The first was to appeal to our customers—businesses, cities, and universities—by providing a mobile application to their visitors. The second goal was to increase the value of our core product by directing drivers to lots with open spaces—thereby increasing the efficiency of our customers’ parking lots. The final goal was to increase our name recognition by providing drivers with a useful tool they would use on a regular basis.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

Lot Spot recently won the Rocky Mountain Ventures Business Competition in Denver, Colorado. Upon winning, AppIt Ventures approached us to discuss if we had any need for their services. We knew we needed to build a mobile application, so we included AppIt Ventures in our search for developers in Colorado. We ultimately selected AppIt Ventures because of their experience and price.

Describe the project in detail.

We had a series of meetings where we conducted plans for design, user experience, and execution. During that time, we were in the middle of our pre-seed funding round. We postponed the project for a few months until we had closed our seed round. Re-opening the project was simple and pain-free. AppIt Ventures was able to resume the project within two weeks of confirmation that we would continue work. Within three planning meetings, their team started work on the mobile application. The mobile application was comprised of three main features. The first was the ability to find available parking around a location and nearby facilities. This needed mapping capabilities, custom icons, and a method for searching. The second main feature was the ability to more robustly find parking using a list-style UI with filters and sorting tools. The third feature was the ability to submit alerts regarding parking. This included illegal parking, traffic updates, and inaccurate count alerts.

What was the team composition?

There was never a time where we were unable to talk to the right person. If we needed questions answered regarding tech, we were immediately connected with the lead of tech. If we had feedback regarding UI, we were connected with the head of design. And all other communications were immediately answered by the business team.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

AppIt Ventures did an incredible job helping design and build the Lot Spot mobile application. We have shown it to a few of our current clients, and they could not be happier with the results.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

For the most part, communication was efficient. Communications by email were taken care of within a few hours. There was a time when new tools were introduced halfway through the project, which added some confusion. It would have been better if these tools were introduced prior to the start, but besides that, everything was seamless.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

AppIt Ventures was able to work around our schedule. We had a few contracts closing in September that required the mobile application. Upon discussing this with the AppIt Ventures team during kickoff, they accommodated their schedules and workflow around our needs. They were able to expedite the production of the mobile application on short notice.

Are there any areas for improvement?

The only area of improvement would be scope planning. There were a few instances where something that we believed was an obvious scope item was not added to the app and took some time to sort out. For example, an item on the scope was the ability to register and login with Facebook, but when we received the result of the first mobile app sprint, there was no Facebook registration option. Upon bringing this up with the AppIt Ventures team, they told us that a button on the main registration page was not in the initial scope and adding it would result in additional costs. Perhaps adding more details to the scope would be beneficial to future clients. Besides this, our work with AppIt Ventures was quick and pain-free. I would definitely recommend their services to anyone hoping to build a mobile application.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder of a small nonprofit that deals with cooking education and menu planning for in-need and at-risk individuals and families.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with AppIT Ventures?

We were looking to build a mobile application with a group who could work well with me, provide simple information and steps, and ultimately produce a good end product.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They used InVision to create a clickable, non-functioning app demo. The app is going to be unique in structure and will include recipes and videos. Rather than going through the cost of developing the full app and then changing it as I receive feedback, we decided to do the InVision demo app at a much lower cost. This has allowed us to work through a lot of the issues before showing it to potential clients and investors in order to raise money for full development. The app is for iOS and Android, and also involves building an administrative website for management.

There have been some challenges we’ve faced throughout the process due to the nature of how the app will work and flow. For example, recipes and selection thereof, linking for creating shopping lists, being able to attach things, and popups all need to work in a way that isn’t cumbersome. Originally, the recipes had the nutritional information on them, but AppIT Ventures recommended having an optional pop-up with the same information. There are now pop-ups that are linked to each recipe, as well as video links that contain quick demos for reinforcement.

What is the team composition?

I work with the owner and Brandy [Vice President of U.S. Operations, AppIT Ventures]. She has a team she’s working with, but I’m unsure how many people are on it.

How did you come to work with AppIT Ventures?

I used Clutch to research mobile app developers in the area and interviewed a lot of them. We didn’t want to work with a large company. I needed someone who could help me because I’d never created an app before.

The owner and I met when I went to Denver, and he seemed very clear about the process and associated costs. We also discussed ways in which the cost could fluctuate up or down.

How much have you invested in them?

We will be spending just over $60,000.

The app development is at a set price, which is helpful for me. They’ve stayed true and clear on that, and even though it’s taking a little longer, the price has remained the same. It has helped to develop a very clear budget for me in looking for investors. Everything is well-mapped out and itemized so in the case that I’m not able to get the full amount of money, I can pick and choose what I can afford.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in June of 2017, and the engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I’ve shown it to clients who will be using it and to potential investors. The clickable app allows me to send a link to potential investors to either look at on a computer or phone. I can then call them and walk them through it, and I have a guideline for it which talks about the different components.

At this point, it’s giving me pretty much everything I need for fundraising. I’m also using it to get feedback from people who are either passionate or knowledgeable about this situation so that we can adjust the app going into full development.

How did AppIT Ventures perform from a project management standpoint?

Brandy and my point of contact keep things simple. We’ve met a few times during the development to review and go through the next steps. She’s made sure she has really good notes before we move on. They’ve continued to communicate very well. They’ve met all set deadlines and remained flexible and understanding when I haven’t met my own. We share emails and schedules online for upcoming information and meetings. They’ve also set me up with InVision so that I can stay updated on progress.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The communication and clear understanding of the process for a project my size, considering the amount of attention I need to complete it effectively, is great. I was anticipating people talking in different languages and not being able to obtain that focus, but they’ve been very good with communication and making sure the project is successful.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don’t have any suggestions for improvement.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the director of strategy and evaluation at Florence Crittenton Services, a non-profit organization in Denver. Our mission is to educate and empower teen mothers and their children.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with AppIt Ventures?

We needed to compile all the intake and service data that we collect for the teen moms and children that we’ve served. We wanted to put all that information in one place so that everyone can have access to it.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

AppIt helped us develop a web-based application that utilized our resources with maximum efficiency and effectiveness.

How did you come to work with AppIt Ventures?

AppIt originally gave us a community grant for in-kind work. Beyond that, we’ve invested quite a large sum of money to the project.

How much have you invested in them?

So far, we’ve spent around $40,000 on AppIt’s services. They understand our needs and limitations as a non-profit organization.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in January 2016. It is an ongoing project. We are currently working on the second phase.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’ve just started using the app. It is still early in the process, but we are very excited about the results. AppIt’s work has increased our efficiency and ability to track services and outcomes for the moms that we serve.

In addition to the high-quality work they provided for us, AppIt should be commended for their commitment to giving back to the Denver community. We are fortunate to be the recipients of their first-ever grant opportunity. Their grant allowed us to kick-start this project—without their support, we would not be where we are today.

How did AppIt Ventures perform from a project management standpoint?

They are great. We communicate through email and telephone. We also have in-person meetings. We are pleased with our communication, and they meet all of our deadlines.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We are impressed by their dedication to quality customer service. AppIt’s responsiveness, flexibility, and collaborative approach all led to an excellent product. We would be pleased to recommend AppIt to other organizations interested in their services and tell them about our experience.

We really appreciate their great enthusiasm for our mission. They encourage us to dream big and make a difference in these young moms’ lives through technology. They really want to support us as a non-profit. They come to our events, which speaks to their commitment to be a good community member as well as a business.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Not that I can think of. I think they are really good.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We provide a web and mobile platform which allows celebrities to monetize their social media followings by selling autographed products.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with AppIt Ventures?

Our goal was to develop an e-commerce platform which could provide celebrities with the ability to build out their own boutiques on individual pages of our site.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

AppIt Ventures led the development of our platform. The technologies used were Magento and WordPress.

How did you come to work with AppIt Ventures?

I had done work with AppIt Ventures in the past, not as a client, but by referring other people to them.

How much have you invested with AppIt Ventures?

The cost of AppIt Ventures' work was between $50,000 and $100,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

The collaboration is ongoing, and it was started in early 2016.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We and our clients are very happy with AppIt Ventures' work, as are our clients' own customers.

How did AppIt Ventures perform from a project management standpoint?

AppIt Ventures performed excellently in this regard. We used Teamwork.com for tracking our work.

What did you find most impressive about AppIt Ventures?

I found AppIt Ventures' team to be very responsive to our needs.

Are there any areas AppIt Ventures could improve?

Nothing comes to mind.

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

I just recommend that clients use AppIt Ventures.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Our company is the leading provider of arts education programs and services in Colorado. I am the executive director of the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with AppIt Ventures?

We needed to develop an app which would address accountability through a quantifiable method of assessments for performance artists in schools.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

AppIt Ventures developed our iOS and Android application. There were multiple developers working on our project, but I don't know the exact number.

How did you come to work with AppIt Ventures?

I had read an article about AppIt Ventures' principal, called him up, and checked out the company. After developing other apps with foreign companies, I was interested in working with a local partner. The accessibility, time convenience, and having face-to-face meetings were important to me.

How much have you invested with AppIt Ventures?

The cost of AppIt Ventures' work was around $50,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with AppIt Ventures 4–5 years ago. The development took around 10 weeks to complete. Both apps have been launched on the market and we update them occasionally.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Everyone loves our app. It's working without any issues, and we've had a good collaboration with AppIt Ventures. Their principal is a good communicator, able to understand the scope of our work and translate it to programmers.

How did AppIt Ventures perform from a project management standpoint?

We didn't use any project management tools at the time, although AppIt Ventures has probably implemented something of the sort. I was kept up to date via email and always knew what stage was being worked on.

What did you find most impressive about AppIt Ventures?

For someone just starting a development project, AppIt Ventures is phenomenal in addressing needs and explaining issues.

Are there any areas AppIt Ventures could improve?

All organizations will look at cost, and AppIt Ventures may not have the cheapest offer in the market. They provide a different kind of service, though.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Our company provides landscaping and removal services. I am the president of the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with AppIt Ventures?

We needed to develop a mobile application that would allow field service crews to record their work through mobile devices, giving the management staff instant updates.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

AppIt Ventures developed our iOS and Android application using Objective-C and Java. It communicates via a REST API with a backend cloud platform. AppIt Ventures assigned 2 developers for our project.

How did you come to work with AppIt Ventures?

I found AppIt Ventures on the internet after looking for mobile developers within the Denver area. I interviewed 3 companies, out of which AppIt Ventures seemed to have the best responses to my questions.

How much have you invested with AppIt Ventures?

The cost of AppIt Ventures' services was between $50,000 and $100,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with AppIt Ventures in June 2015. We are working on ongoing enhancements, but the first production version of the app was released a year ago, at the beginning of 2016.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We have a central office which sends crews to remote locations, which can even be 50 miles away. One of my requirements was obtaining real-time information on what those crews were doing, recording their work in order to showcase their involvement to the client. The instant turnaround of information regarding the completed work was a key metric. Another goal was being able to visually present our data to clients. Both goals have been successfully accomplished by AppIt Ventures' application.

How did AppIt Ventures perform from a project management standpoint?

AppIt Ventures is a well-organized group. They provide good documentation, have a good workflow, and there's good communication overall. AppIt Ventures provided useful collaboration tools as well, including Teamwork. The developers and the customer are included in the correspondence around project timelines.

What did you find most impressive about AppIt Ventures?

AppIt Ventures is much more organized than other people I've interviewed. The workflow, from brainstorming to gathering requirements, to design and implementation, is well structured and well thought out. We haven't gotten this from many other agencies.

Are there any areas AppIt Ventures could improve?

Nothing strikes me as needing improvement.

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

I highly recommend AppIt Ventures, but I have no particular advice.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the CEO of a sports company 

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Our company provides athlete monitoring for athletes of all ages, abilities and sports.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire AppIt Ventures to accomplish?

• Build an app

SOLUTION

How did you find AppIt Ventures?

• Referral
• Other

Why did you select AppIt Ventures over others?

the people, and the personal attention

How many teammates from AppIt Ventures were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

AppIt met with us to understand what we wanted to develop as our app.  Lots of phone calls occured between us, the sales team and even Amanda, the owner, which was incredible. Their team produced an itemized list of all aspects of the app that would be required based on our specifications and requested features, along with the estimated cost by item.   After we signed a contract to work with AppIt, we met weekly with a development team to create our MVP from September - February.  Key deliverables included the MVP of the app, as well as user stories.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

When we describe our ideas and necessary features, our project lead can quickly translate our ideas into the app - even without having expertise in our field of work. 

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

The team at AppIt is incredible.  Amanda was accessible frequently and went above and beyond to make us feel supported throughout the process.  We did not expect the CEO to be so involved, but it was a gift and made a scary process less scary.   Laura,  our project lead, is fantastic.   She was incredibly patient with our lack of knowledge about building an app. She set up and led our meetings, helped build certain features, made sure other team members were on their game, and took time to address needs and concerns as they came about.  Everone we have worked with so far at AppIt was been extremely responsive to our needs.

What was your primary form of communication with AppIt Ventures?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

Their personal attention impressed us.  We had numerous phone calls with Amanda, the CEO.  We spoke with TJ many times before we made a committment to work with AppIt   He was patient with our questions, honest, up front, and real with us about our app, what it would cost, and the customer service they could provide.  He is a big reason why we chose to work with AppIt.  And we recieved timely responses to questions via email from everyone we worked with.  

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

It would be helpful if the AppIt team kept us grounded in the big picture so we better understood the timeline of the project, mostly the end.  It could be helpful to have a rough idea of a timeline and/or benchmarks that get addressed at the beginning of the weekly meetings.  This would help us stay grounded in where we are at and when the project lead antipates being done with the phase.  A lot of the time, the weekly meetings required a lot of work in a short amount of time, and we would be so deep into specific items, that often it wasn't clear if we had enough meetings to address a topic or if the next meeting was the last one, etc. 

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the VP of PASCO

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Help families care for their loved ones

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire AppIt Ventures to accomplish?

• Build a respite matching web application

SOLUTION

How did you find AppIt Ventures?

Online Search

Why did you select AppIt Ventures over others?

• Close to my geographic location
• Great culture fit
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from AppIt Ventures were assigned to this project?

6-10 Employees

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

Discovery, design, and development of caregiver and client matching application

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

• User test scoring of 8.5 overall 
• On budget Pride of quality and ease of use of application

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

The VP of AppIt was amazing. She identified our needs before we realized them, made thoughtful and experienced recommendations, and helped guide us to an ever better deliverable than we could have imagined.

What was your primary form of communication with AppIt Ventures?

Virtual Meeting

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

Our initial consultation and the thoroughness of the discovery. The enjoyable team and culture. We were impressed with their amazing collaboration and communication.

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

None

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the co-founder of a company focused on improving the youth sports experience since we recognize coaches have the biggest impact on athletes. Our goal is to help sports associations, organizations, and municipalities deploy more automated tools that coaches can leverage to standardize their practice. Our aim is to help them save time and help recruit better coaches for our kids.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with AppIt Ventures?

We needed to create a cloud-based application for sports associations and a companion mobile app for coaches and parents.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We initially had a discovery process with AppIt Ventures and then moved into an iteration process that lasted a few months. The team has conducted functional iterations of the design mock-ups using Figma. Then, we've moved to the cloud-development phase, and we'll soon move into mobile development. AppIt Ventures develops our software from scratch.

Our cloud app will enable sports associations to assign a level of skill to their teams, and in the backend, the team will develop a sports curriculum in conjunction with subject matter experts. The app delivers automated practice plans based on the skills progression required for each sport along with video and text content.

The app also has a component that allows coaches and parents in their respective apps to provide sentiment feedback on the athletes' performance, and this data is fed back to the sports organization administrators so they can see if there is a correlation or a discrepancy between the parents and coach's sentiment. The app also asks questions at the end of each practice to get sentiment and qualitative feedback.

We've worked with Aspen Insititute, which has a PhD in coaching, and spent a lot of time discussing coaching concepts. The specialists told us each practice can focus on three or four aspects, and coaches can track each practice in the app. Our software aims to provide transparency about what's being coached. Users can check an option to get notified when additional skills sessions are held.

We can aggregate that information, and the association can use it to put out job listings for coaches specialized in specific skills, for instance. 
What is the team composition?

We work with around six teammates from AppIt Ventures, including the owner, developers, a project manager, and an account executive.

How did you come to work with AppIt Ventures?

We found AppIt Ventures through a Google search. We interviewed various companies before selecting this team. AppIt Ventures has teammates, including the owner, who are sports parents or coaches and seemed genuinely interested in our project. The teammate we first engaged with was incredibly responsive and immediately demonstrated a very personal understanding of our project. He also was straightforward about the team's service offer and capabilities. Other companies weren't as responsive. 

How much have you invested with them?

We've spent around $100,000 on this project.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with AppIt Ventures in August 2023, and our engagement is ongoing. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

AppIt Ventures's work quality is outstanding. The team brings a lot of creativity to bear on this project and is highly collaborative and open-minded. AppIt Ventures delivers work we haven't even conceptualized. 

How did AppIt Ventures perform from a project management standpoint?

AppIt Ventures delivers work on time and on budget. We've changed the project's scope once, which required a change of order, but aside from that, the team has met deadlines. AppIt Ventures is very responsive via meetings, phone calls, and email. We also use Trello and Figma to collaborate.

Are there any areas they could improve?

AppIt Ventures can improve managing our expectations regarding design work. We've addressed this with the team already, but seeing older design files on Figma with new designs throws us off. Eventually, the team realized what was happening, which was a minor issue considering the overall engagement. 

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

My general advice is to spend a lot of time defining your project's objectives and budget upfront before engaging with AppIt Ventures since software development isn't cheap.