Ars Futura

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the deputy secretary-general of a nonprofit organization based in Geneva, Switzerland. 

What challenge were you trying to address with Ars Futura?

We used to have face-to-face meetings with our partners, but we also wanted to support those who preferred an online experience.

We wanted to develop an online learning environment for our capacity-building programs. The process was something entirely new to us, so we needed someone to help us.

What was the scope of their involvement?

We first spent a few weeks mapping out our vision, and Ars Futura built a mockup based on our ideas. We worked with them to define the MVP, crucial requirements, and specifications.

Then, we started working with them step-by-step to improve the product. The platform can host various courses, resources, and materials. Partners can then access these materials and interact with their peers.

This is a massive project for us, and we continue to work with Ars Futura on it. We're currently in the testing stage, and the team has built a staging website. We're creating the content ourselves, and there's still a lot of work to do. 

We have unique specifications and budgets for each of our efforts with Ars Futura. Since we're a nonprofit, so we first raise the necessary funds before starting. 

What is the team composition?

We work with one product manager, one designer, and two engineers. The number of teammates working on the project varies between 3–5 people.

How did you come to work with Ars Futura?

We sent an RFP to various agencies. We selected Ars Futura based on their creativity and vision, even though they'd never worked with a nonprofit or an e-learning organization. 

How much have you invested with them?

We've spent around 80,000 Swiss francs (approximately $88,000 USD) so far. 

What is the status of this engagement?

The project started in January 2021, and it's ongoing. The discovery phase lasted until February 2021, and we launched the MVP in May 2021.

We plan to continue working with Ars Futura in the next 2–3 years.  

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

We're now collecting user feedback, and we're working closely with Ars Futura on analytics. So far, we have around 200 users on the platform, which is higher than our goal of 150 users this year.

Although we're still in the testing and piloting stage, we've gotten excellent feedback on the clean look and feel of the platform and how engaging it is.

How did Ars Futura perform from a project management standpoint?

We always have ongoing communication primarily through Slack, and we have short meetings before starting each development phase.

In addition, they share all their notes about the product through Figma. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

We enjoy working with Ars Futura because they genuinely care about the product. They have a strong vision and are very detailed. It's clear that they've made the website with love.

Additionally, they're a true partner. We collaborate a lot on the work. We don't have much experience on this, but their vision and agility help.

Additionally, we appreciate their working methods, some of which we've implemented into our organization.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, there's nothing they can do better.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

Be very clear about the different parts of the product you want to develop. In addition, be ready to make some adjustments and remain agile and responsive. Try to forge a true partnership with Ars Futura. 

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the CEO and founder of a company that develops fintech solutions. 

What challenge were you trying to address with Ars Futura?

We needed help in software development.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Ars Futura is helping us develop an app that does tasks normally performed by tax lawyers.  Initially, they provided wireframing and prototyping through InVision. They’ve then performed design, DevOps, and front- and backend development.

What is the team composition?

I work with a designer, a DevOps specialist, two developers, and their CEO. 

How did you come to work with Ars Futura?

A mutual contact recommended Ars Futura to me. We had a couple of meetings where they discussed how they would approach the project. Based on our conversations, it seemed clear that they knew what they were doing, and they had a pragmatic approach. They weren't just trying to get the project and sell hours; they were trying to deliver a very good solution.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent $60,000–$70,000. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in July 2020, and it's ongoing. 

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

Ars Futura has helped me expedite the development of our software. They are able to grasp our problem. The software is finance-specific, and even though it's outside of their expertise, they've been able to understand our requirements and implement my ideas quickly.

Because of that, I’ve been able to sell our product ahead of schedule. 

How did Ars Futura perform from a project management standpoint?

Ars Futura is exceptional at project management. We use Trello, Slack, Figma, Sketch, and Invision to collaborate. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Ars Futura hires high-quality resources. They don't just recruit people to put into projects and make money; they take a lot of pride in what they do. 

Additionally, Ars Futura works very well together within their team. They put an extra effort and go above and beyond to deliver a good service. I've been very impressed with them. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can't think of anything. I've been very happy with their work; they exceed my expectations. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Go ahead and partner with them. You'll have a good experience working with their team. 

Introduce your business and what you do there.
I’m the VP of engineering at Wise Systems. We’re a software service provider that provides shipping logistics to the delivery industry.
 

What challenge were you trying to address with Ars Futura?
We brought them on to build our software — both a web app and mobile app. 
 

What was the scope of their involvement?
Ars Futura has been instrumental in helping us build the UI and business logic that our users utilize to run their businesses on a daily basis. We usually have small teams of 3–4 people working on these projects for 3–4 months at a time. They’ve been key members of those small teams implementing all the different pieces of our product.

What is the team composition?
We normally have about four people. That includes senior frontend engineers, senior mobile engineers for both Android and iOS, and a junior mobile engineer.

How did you come to work with Ars Futura?
I was introduced to them and went through an extensive interview process. We checked out some other companies, and Ars Futura was the best company that I talked to at that point for my client company. We brought them on to do a test project, and they did great. 

How much have you invested with them?
We invest about $8,000 a month.

What is the status of this engagement?
Our ongoing engagement started around July 2020.
 

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement? 
Ars Futura has been excellent at being on time and writing code that’s very defect-free. The metrics we use are around code deliverables and meeting project deadlines. We look to see if the projects are delivered on time and look for the number of defects we find in the software quality.

How did Ars Futura perform from a project management standpoint?
Communication has been excellent. Their team is great at meeting deadlines. We treat them as members of our team so we have daily communication with them. 

What did you find most impressive about them?
They’ve been an excellent partner that’s able to scale when they need more resources. Their team gets tasks done on time and has been great to work with. Their level of technical knowledge is very high.

Are there any areas they could improve?
No, I can’t think of anything.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?
Treat Ars Futura as you’d treat your own employees. Include them in your planning and design. If you work closely with them, you’ll have the best engagement. Communicate with them multiple times a week.
 

This review was originally left on September 16, 2019. The original star ratings were: Overall – 5.0, Quality – 5.0, Schedule – 5.0, NPS – 5.0. Here is the former content:

BACKGROUND
Please describe your company and your position there.

The Harvard Innovation Lab is a resource at Harvard University for student based teams to explore and develop their ideas into ongoing enterprises. It's an incubator within Harvard. I manage technical projects for the staff, and also act as a Product Manager.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE
For what projects/services did your company hire Ars Futura?

They were tasked with building a database and software that the staff would use to run the business.

This included collection and centralization of data from internal sources and third party applications. User interface implementation, backend design and data schema. Also integration with 3rd party data sources, generation of metrics, and automating website updates automatically from within our system.

SOLUTION
How did you select this vendor?

I had worked with this vendor previously on 2 projects and they had done an excellent job, so the choice was easy.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

They developed and tested (and sometimes help design) the data schema and application for the business. They implemented the frontend user interface and the backend services that were needed.

They integrated with a number of internal and external data sources. They put together a system that automated the flow of data into and through the system, and included moving the data to other applications and data sources that we use.

What was the team composition?

The team is made up of 2 full time developers, and a more senior developer who oversees some of their work and helps on the most difficult problems. It also includes a part time QA resource.

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

The software has been in production for about a year and we continue to make major advances. The staff has continued to comment about how much easier it is to work with this central data and how easy the product is to use.

There has been no loss of data since this went into production, which was not the case previously. We now have data on all the teams that have been through here and it's highly available to whoever needs it. None of this was true previously.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

Much of the project management was handled by myself, with daily interactions with the Ars Futura team. The implementation design is always left up to the developers. They acted as my day-to-day team but were also very independent in the way they did their jobs.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The quality of the work is excellent, and they are super productive, often delivering their work ahead of our aggressive schedules. The communication skills are excellent as well.

Their ability to work with us and our sometimes changing requirements. They always have had a great attitude about the work and have been great to work with. And above all the quality of their work is excellent.

Are there any areas for improvement?

No. These guys are just the best to work with.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I work at a company that’s in the process of launching gaming centers around the country. We also do a lot in the e-sports space. I’m the VP of product, running product and design for the organization.

What challenge were you trying to address with Ars Futura?

I’ve worked with them on multiple projects now with different companies. We brought them on to do our design work.

What was the scope of their involvement?

On our side, they work through the UX design. Along with following our requirements, they do homework on their side through competitive analysis. After completing wireframes, their team moves into high-fidelity designs to hand over to our engineering team.  

What is the team composition?

Right now, we’re working with four people.

How did you come to work with Ars Futura?

I started working with them originally based on a recommendation. Based on our first experience, it’s been a no-brainer to continue working with them. They do a great job.

How much have you invested with them?

I’ve spent close to $1.5 million over the years.  

What is the status of this engagement?

I started working with them in January 2014. For this project, we started in January of this year.

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

I enjoy working with Ars Futura. Their team is great at talking with us regarding the project and our requirements. They want to have a deep level of understanding.

We look at customer and internal feedback, which has both been positive. I also look at how well they work with the engineering team. They’ve worked well with each team.

How did Ars Futura perform from a project management standpoint?

They are always very good at meeting deadlines.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Ars Futura does well with design, but also works all the way to the finish line to make sure they’re implemented properly.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, they’re pretty inexpensive compared to their competitors. I’m very happy with them.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Collaborate with them. It’s much better to meet with them frequently. Stay close on the project, and don’t just disappear.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the digital technology product manager at Blizzard Entertainment. We make games for fans globally. I currently work on the Call of Duty League.

What challenge were you trying to address with Ars Futura?

I’ve worked with Ars Futura for about four and a half years. Originally, they were building apps and websites, specifically for the media network to distribute content for another organization. When I took this job to handle web and mobile for the Call of Duty League, they came along with us.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Ars Futura helped us build out the foundational aspects of launching that league through initial landing pages. They helped develop components that we use on our universal web and mobile platforms that work on the league and team sites. The main projects they’ve been helping us with are around viewership incentives. 

The team designed components that track users’ progress, display video, and show rewards that they can earn from hitting viewership milestones. They designed the components that went inside of the Call of Duty companion app in React Native. 

What is the team composition?

I work primarily with Ivan (CEO & Founder) and Luka (COO/Design Team Lead).

How did you come to work with Ars Futura?

They were brought on before I started.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent about $80,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We launched the league in October 2019, but the work had been going on for six months prior. The majority of their work was finished in December 2019. We picked up again in March 2020 for all of our viewership components.

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

The viewership incentive milestones were a huge success. For our championship event, we gave away beta codes for Call of Duty Cold War to 10,000 lucky viewers, and Ivan and Luka drove that design process from problem to solution. 

Ars Futura is very much a part of the process. They were there when we went through the initial problem of what we wanted to achieve and when we went through the review process with our stakeholders. 

They were there to address concerns and to make sure that all of our stakeholders’ feedback was addressed if possible. Our stakeholders trust the team, which is important to us.

How did Ars Futura perform from a project management standpoint?

We communicate with them almost on a daily basis. Since they're based in Croatia, it works with our timezone because we can send over requests the evening prior, and we can review them the following morning. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Our league moves at the speed of light. A lot of things change in real-time, especially given the world we live in.

What’s unique about Ars Futura is that they’ve always been there to help us with whatever needs we have, whether it’s designing promotional components for us or developing components for the website that are on a universal scale.

The team has helped us with almost every problem on the design side. Whatever we need and whenever we need it, they’ve always been there for us. They take the time to understand the users they’re addressing.

Because they’ve been working in this space for a long time, the team has also developed a good understanding of what e-sports users are looking for and of what we’re looking for as an organization in terms of our designs and components.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There's room for improvement in the area of handing off to engineering in terms of providing some additional UX documentation to make the engineering process concrete. It’s something that I’ve already communicated to them and that we’ve already begun to address.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Take the time at the beginning of the relationship to walk them through and be part of the education process of who the users are and what they’re looking for. That foundation made our relationship strong.

We’ve specifically brought them along with us for the three different organizations that we’ve been in and they’ve delivered every time. 

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of a community engagement platform.

What challenge were you trying to address with Ars Futura?

We wanted product development and design support.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Ars Futura created design screens to help us optimize the UX flow. Additionally, they helped us with onboarding and features for our iOS and Android mobile app. When it comes to the design side, we provide them with a broad goal or purpose, and they go from there.

They’ve mostly done frontend work, but are now also taking on some backend development work. The team also assists us with DevOps in terms of helping us create a good process for launching updates to our mobile app. Ars Futura has built everything in ReactNative using JavaScript, and our backend is in Salesforce.

What is the team composition?

We work with two full-time teammates: one engineer and one designer. There are also other teammates who are occasionally involved. Our main point of contact has been Ivan (CEO & Founder), and we’ve worked with Ana (UI/UX Designer) and Boris (QA Engineer).

How did you come to work with Ars Futura?

We found them through one of our business advisors who has worked with Ars Futura before. We decided they were a good fit after speaking with other companies that they were working with and gaining a lot of confidence in the team’s ability to execute and communicate well.

How much have you invested with them?

So far, we’ve spent about $100,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our engagement began in April 2019, and it’s ongoing.

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

Ars Futura brings the level of ideation and collaboration that we were looking for. They’re very concerned about their customers and end-users. We’ve shipped mission-critical features to our app and we’ve completely overhauled the entire platform itself.

We released a brand new version of our app, and the team was critical in the process of getting it out there. Now, we rely on them as our lead engineering firepower and we plan to grow with them.

How did Ars Futura perform from a project management standpoint?

They are so communicative and easy to work with. Ars Futura tells us very clearly when they can or cannot get something done. We set timelines and by and large they’ve hit almost every single one. We use Jira for our roadmaps and stories. Additionally, on the design side, they use Zeplin.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They clearly care about our product. It’s been great to see Ivan lean in quite a bit into the work. His ability to provide that personal touch has been great. Additionally, we brought Ana in to visit our office about a year ago, so there’s been a great integration between our two teams. We see Ars Futura as a part of our team.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Being six hours apart is always a challenge, especially in terms of communication. For example, there was a time when we didn’t communicate certain expectations around timelines and coordinating hand-offs between internal teammates very well.

Broadly, it’s been a great experience and those are just challenges that come with any partnership.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Ivan and his team care about their clients. They have great values as a business and are willing to go above and beyond to provide useful service and partnership, which is critical for a project. If you’re looking for a random development shop to churn out some features, I’m sure Ars Futura would be good at it.

But if you’re looking for a partner to really help you think about how your technology and product are being built and how you can accelerate that and improve on it, they’re definitely the right people to interact with. They have the right level of expertise on the team to make it happen.

Please describe your company and your position there.

Studentski.hr is one of the largest online communities for students in Croatia. Web platform is complex and delivers news (media), services such as job offers, market place, literature etc. I'm co-founder and project manager for the latest upgrade and redesign.

For what projects/services did your company hire Ars Futura?

ArsFutura is our technology partner since 2013. when they took over back-end and front-end development from our previous development partner. From that point on we started to deliver reliable service to our end-users and kept doing so till today. In 2019. we hired Arsfutura for technology upgrade on our custom CMS and backend services, and for redesing of entire Web.

What were your goals for this project?

Goal was:

• reevaluate our services and decide which one to keep and do we need to develop new ones
• do the technology upgrade to the latest software versions which will have an impact on our performance, security and other.
• a redesign that will have an impact on our existing end-user and attract new ones
• introduce several new marketing partners (native networks, advertising networks, banner distribution service and etc)

How did you select this vendor?

ArsFutura is our partner for 7 years and we didn't consider option to hire another partner.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

Our first milestone was the evaluation of the current platform and the preparation of the project. ArsFutura provided consultancy services for all areas: services from a user point of view, technology, and design. During that period we prepared technical specifications, branding and new design, and project plan.

After that ArsFutura was responsible for development (reengineering) of our custom made CMS and back-end services, development of new features, integration with third-party solutions, and front-end development based on prepared design. In the final phase they supported our functional testing and provided security and performance testing, migrated old data and deployed platform live.

What was the team composition?

The team was composed of 6 people, 2 PM-s from our side (coordinators), and 4 key persons form Arsfutura: PM, business analyst, designer and lead developer. Other people from both sides were involved partially and when needed. Due to the nature of the project, there was a need to coordinate and involve different other partners (eg. infrastructure provider, advertising networks and etc.)

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

The project was delivered on time and according to our expectations. We are "live" for 3 months and didn't have any issues with the platform. We asked our end-users about their satisfaction with the redesign and 90% rated our platform with a score of 4,5/5 or higher. We increased day visits by 15%, increased our registered users that use our services by 10%, and have better results on marks such as pages per visit.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

Project was managed according to our expectations with very good communication among team members. We had regular checkpoints in Arsfutura HQ and managed project using Slack. Results was on-time delivery according to the project plan with all targets achieved.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

ArsFutura provided a creative team with a strong technical background and that brings great energy to the project. Their leadership is committed to delivering high-quality services which provided high level of trust between partners. At the end project was a success and we as a client got additional value from our investment.

Are there any areas for improvement?

They should get better coffee machine in HQ :) When we put jokes on the side, there are always those few situations when feedback or some small segment of delivery is not as expected but the team has great communication and commitment to make it right.

Please describe your company and your position there.

We are an online video game competition platform. Our company provides a path to professional gaming for amateur and aspiring pro players through ranking systems, Tournaments, Ladders & Leagues.

For what projects/services did your company hire Ars Futura?

Our Web platform was badly outdated but we did not have the resources to rebuild it at the time. We decided the best path forward was to invest in mobile apps as a companion experience to a new integration we were working on with Call of Duty. We hired Ars Futura to design the UI/UX of the mobile apps on iOS & Android. This opened up a new audience for us to reach we were unable to at the time.

What were your goals for this project?

We were trying to drive traffic to our platform that was previously unavailable to us through our Mobile app & a direct integration with Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare. We needed a quick and simple way for users on a console to interact with our platform without having to be near a computer at the time. This app was meant to be the top of the funnel into the rest of our business.

How did you select this vendor?

I was not involved in the selection of Ars Futura at the time. My boss, VP of product, found and selected them.

Describe the project in detail.

The project included all core functionality of our web product as well as some new features and improvements. Account creation, discovery of services, joining of competitions (Tournaments, Ladders & Leagues) & user profiles. It was also to be built on a new API that would eventually power both the mobile apps & web products.

I was the Product Manager leading the development of the apps. Ars Futura and I would have daily meetings where we dove into the product so they could understand the ins and outs of every aspect of our platform. They would come back each day having done more independent research and provide new ideas they had for how features could work and many new features we ended up implementing. It was the most collaborative experiences I've had to date.

When designs & ideas were presented, we were able to discuss them and accept or reject ideas with no issues on either side. Ars Futura was responsible for the UX/UI of our mobile apps in addition to development of the Android app. They provided wireframes, site flows & final UI in stages of each aspect of the app.

What was the team composition?

Ars Futura had a team of 2 Designers and one Android Engineer for the duration of this project. When new work slowed down, we did have no have new work for them and we went down to part time designer for intermittent projects in the last year.

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

We saw an extremely increase in registrations and and fast adoption of the mobile apps. Within 1 year of launching the mobile apps, they were 50% of our overall traffic and resulted in an increase in paid user conversion.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Ars Futura are extremely easy to work with. They are located in Croatia and we're in the United States and they were always willing to work later hours to accommodate our schedules. We had a very close line of communication at all times and very rarely were expectations or deadlines not met or exceeded. We used Zeplin to manage designs & Jira to assign work and track projects. Eventually we switched from Zeplin to Abstract for all designs.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

I'm most impressed at how quickly they are able to digest a product or idea and bring it to life. Our products had been poorly designed originally so they inherited a very disjointed platform that was extremely unfriendly to new users and quickly figured it out and started making adjustments based on the data we were seeing.

They really have a talent for taking a complicated product and user flow and understanding it's pain points and how to improve things for the user and business.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Much of the desktop site work was done web first instead of mobile web first. This was done because Mobile Web was not a priority but this made it difficult to then adapt some of the designs to mobile web once we started down that path. Thinking ahead, I would have preferred taking a mobile web first approach to our desktop site. Once we identified this as a problem, they did adjust and start mobile web first from that point forward.

Please describe your company and your position there.

My company delivers trusted data and business insight software for healthcare. I run operations.

For what projects/services did your company hire Ars Futura?

We hired Ars Furtura for design and frontend website development. We needed a trusted partner to work as an extension of our development team.

What were your goals for this project?

Responsive design, developed in Javascript and tested across a variety of browsers.

How did you select this vendor?

We looks are three potential partners. The development and operations team lead the selection process. Key considerations included development capabilities, price and referrals.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

They designed and developed a new front-end website that connected to an existing company Platform. We provided detailed specifications and had bi-weekly scrum meetings with ArsFutura. We communicated frequently and very effectively via Slack and video calls.

What was the team composition?

The ArsFutura team included one project lead, one designer and two developers. All were very competent and great to work with.

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

The project came in on time, in scope and on budget.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

Project Management was successfully provided by both the internal Team and the Ars Futura team. We communicated frequently and very effectively via Slack and video calls.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The ArsFutura team is so easy to work with. They are extremely capable from a technical standpoint. They are efficient and effective in communication and work.

Are there any areas for improvement?

None. We were very pleased.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of MITURF, a sports and recreation booking system for scheduling payments. It allows people to discover and submit booking requests for reservations for sporting facilities like soccer fields, basketball courts, and tennis courts. It also handles payment processing, scheduling, and organization for a venue or space provider to streamline their operation.

What challenge were you trying to address with Ars Futura?

We needed help with discovery, design, and development for our booking system.

What was the scope of their involvement?

They spearheaded the project from the very beginning, understanding what the core problems we were trying to address were, as well as possible solutions. After providing guidance to help us sketch out the wireframes, they had me go to the customers and get feedback on what their pain points were and iterate on them. They also helped conceptualize the ins and outs of the product and the lifecycle of the customer journey map. Further, they navigate me through the ways of building a proper product. They were part consultancy, design, and development.

They’re really good at challenging the current MVP and iterations of that MVP. They also were there to identify the brand and what we represented. They did the building, the development, the design, and the deploying of a responsive website, but also an iOS app. We worked in React Native and Ruby on Rails based on their recommendation, which focused on how people would find it easy to use.

What is the team composition?

I worked with the CEO and the CTO. I also dealt with some other junior people that knew what they were doing. There were marketing UX/UI designers, front- and backend developers, and an iOS developer.

How did you come to work with Ars Futura?

I sent out an RFP to a lot of firms across the world because I wanted to get different perspectives and inputs. They all were a little too expensive for what needed to get done and overly complex for the process. I also didn’t like a lot of the products they had done for previous clients.

Ars Futura was really good at presenting their approach. I hired them because of their knowledge and expertise in building similar marketplace platforms. They really knew what they were talking about in terms of the MVP and working with me along the way. They didn’t put a lot of stress on the financials because they really wanted to understand what I was trying to achieve.

They blew me away by focusing first on the problem, the goal, trying to educate me on the scope, and adding more scope. They showed me what areas in the product were going to require more design, development, and testing, which allowed me to reassess and prioritize the scope in a way that made the most sense. They were a full end-to-end company. Another main reason I went with them was because of how clear their communication was.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent $100,000 Canadian ($76,000 USD). 

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from May 2015 until September 2018.

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

When we were in development and testing, they really got it. They got the defects and bugs through three different testing phases before going live. We collected feedback from end customers if the website and app are intuitive or if there are any problems, and it’s been favorable. It was fair to measure them on how easy it was to use, the feedback from customers and end-users, and the quality of the product.

How did Ars Futura perform from a project management standpoint?

It was one of the cleanest projects that I’ve worked on. I’ve partnered with many companies that use everything from PowerPoint and spreadsheets just so many tools, but Ars Futura was really good with project managing in an agile approach using Asana, Trello, and Kanban Boards. They did a really good job of defining the road map.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They knew that this was going to be really impactful for me. Instead of focusing just on the product, they were helping me achieve certain marketing goals. They were great at offering free services like creating landing pages, marketing materials, and creating a little bit of hype. They were able to get me to do some promotional work while the product was being built like teaser images. They went above and beyond their contract.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They could help me tap into and identify how to use government credits, whether that was an affiliate in Canada or Ontario. There’s a lot of government credits that go toward entrepreneurs building businesses and products. They could have helped me figure out what the most economical way would have been to get into this engagement without me having to pay for everything on my own. They could also create a division where they’d have business analysts apply for grants to help me accomplish these goals.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Don’t underestimate their capabilities and trust their knowledge and expertise. Be ready to come up with discussion points to help them. Don’t come with a solution, but come with a problem.