BLKDG

Please describe your company and your position there.

Director of Marketing for an destination ski resort

For what projects/services did your company hire BLKDG, and what were your goals?

We hired BLKDG to embody the essence and excitement of a $200M capital investment project through a new website. Our goals are to inspire guests to visit our resort in the long term and to build excitement for the future of our resort in the short term.

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

We had worked with BLKDG on a previous project and were excited to see what they could do on a new, non-e-commerce project.

Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and technologies used.

Design, code, develop, and launch a new website on existing URL using a Wordpress CMS.

How many people from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

3-4 including the Principal, client services manager, and a few developers.

Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables?

With only 4 days of the site being live, we don't have any measurable outcomes yet, but we are thrilled with the look and feel of the site. The functionality is spot on and it fully represents the project as a whole in a professional, exciting way.

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timeliness.

They built out an original contract and scope which we negotiated with, and then worked according to that set of expectations. We did see some delays in delivery of the project and did not receive much communication about the delays. We also met a few people once that we then didn't hear back from again.

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

They could design a brilliant digital interface in a fairly short timeframe with a somewhat limited budget.

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

More consistent project management and communication. One clear point of contact with clear project timelines and checkins would be great.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of marketing and e-commerce at a company that sells high-end, vacuum-insulated stainless steel growlers and beverageware. We mainly operate in the craft beer industry, but we also sell directly to consumers on our website and Amazon.

What challenge were you trying to address with BLKDG?

Our website was built on WordPress and used WooCommerce for e-commerce transactions. It was like a Frankenstein website containing a bunch of plugins. In other words, it didn’t work for us, and our consumers’ shopping experience was poor. As a result, we decided to move over to the Shopify platform, and we hired BLKDG to help us. 

What was the scope of their involvement?

In the beginning, we gave BLKDG plenty of direction. We shared a number of documents with them to keep the project on track. They worked to keep things organized around what we needed to integrate and what new content we needed to add.

Our new website required a more straightforward and easier checkout process with fewer clicks. Given that, BLKDG found additional apps for the Shopify site to integrate customization on our products. To keep our budget low, we used an existing theme from Shopify. In other words, the new website wasn’t custom-coded by BLKDG, though they coded specific things about the theme that we wanted to change. 

Moreover, we’ve found an app that automatically upsells products to customers based on what they put in their cart. The app suggests a variety of things that customers might want to buy, and BLKDG has helped us integrate this app with the new website. 

At present, the website is live, but we’re still trying to figure out how to sell bundled products to our customers. Currently, we’re having issues with the way some apps integrate with Shopify and our ERP system. BLKDG is helping us solve this. 

What is the team composition?

Aside from EJ and Jonathan (Co-Founders), we mainly work with around five people from BLKDG. Andy (Scrum Master & Senior IT Project Manager) has been our main point of contact. Another person has worked on design tasks, too. 

How did you come to work with BLKDG?

I knew EJ through a friend of mine and met him many years ago. As a result, when we wanted to hire a web developer, I was already familiar with BLKDG. Since I knew EJ pretty well, I was confident in the work they’d do. This made me eager to hire them. 

Nonetheless, we compared their quote to other companies and vetted multiple web developers. In the end, they had the best package in terms of what we’d get for what we’d pay, and that ultimately led us to our decision of hiring them. 

How much have you invested with them?

For the website, we’ve spent just under $15,000. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We kicked off the project in early April 2021, and the partnership is ongoing. We’re in the process of starting a second project with them for phase two of the website. 

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

The website has been launched only about a month ago, so we don’t have plenty of data to measure how it performs versus the old website. However, the BLKDG team has delivered on time, which is important for us. Many other developers have delays. By contrast, BLKDG has finished the project in under eight weeks — we’re happy with that. 

How did BLKDG perform from a project management standpoint?

Their project management is good overall. We mostly communicate via email, and we have weekly standup meetings for about 30 minutes to make sure our projects are on track. We give them both sides of the equation and the next steps that everybody needs to keep in mind. This has worked out pretty well. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

The quality of BLKDG’s work distinguishes them from other providers. On top of that, many of their staff come from backgrounds that include marketing and brand development. As a result, as long as we give them the right directions, they’ll be truly on brand. They’re not only going to build your site; they’re also going to build something that feels true to your brand. 

Further, it’s been delightful working with them. Sometimes, developers lack social skills, but we don’t have that problem with BLKDG. They’re easy to talk to and communicate with; we always feel like we’re on the same page. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

They should have a clearer delineation of roles and communicate that to us. That way, we’ll know who to touch base with and contact for updates. 

For context, we communicated much more with Jonathan in the beginning. Then, it seemed that Andy stepped up into the project management role. We didn’t know what was happening to them internally. In fact, we had some difficulties getting a hold of Jonathan, which was a bit frustrating. As a result, we had some lingering questions after the site launched. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Make sure that you’re on the same page around your brand, and have a clear direction and scope of work — this is super helpful for BLKDG. Lead with that, and have regular communication with them.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of communications for Bent Water Brewing, which is a craft beer company.

What challenge were you trying to address with BLKDG?

We needed a company that could help us revamp our website. We were looking to change platforms and add a lot of content.

What was the scope of their involvement? 

BLKDG rebuilt our website on WordPress, walking us through the design process from brainstorming to the overall layout. Initially, we wanted to pull the look and feel from our old site, but we ended up going for a whole new look, instead. Their team took the time to get to know who we were so that they could make sure our new site would represent our brand. They also guided us on the content creation and launched the final product.

What is the team composition? 

I primarily worked with three people, including a project manager, designer, and developer. I’m sure that had more on their team working in the background. 

How did you come to work with BLKDG?

Someone within Bent Water recommended that we speak with BLKDG, so we talked to them along with two other candidates. Because they’d worked with craft breweries in the past, they were already coming in with industry knowledge. That meant that the team had a good idea as to what other breweries had done, which was really important for us. They knew how to showcase multiple beers to the audiences that we were reaching. In the end, the way that they’d set up the whole process really went well with our needs, budget, and timeline, so we chose them.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent about $15,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project lasted from April 2020–January 2021.

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

So far, the website has been received really well by our distributors. It’s been helpful from a business standpoint because it gives our distributors a clear picture of our company and product offerings.

How did BLKDG perform from a project management standpoint?

The team was phenomenal — just very organized and time-sensitive. They made sure that they were clear about the deliverable deadlines as well as when the ball was in our court or theirs. In terms of communication, they were responsive through email and phone. Even though we faced a time difference, they stayed prompt in their outreach.

What did you find most impressive about them?

BLKDG exceeded my expectations. Their creative director was a leader for the team and really set the tone for the collaboration. It was an easy, seamless working environment because they understood that we were coming to the table with our past creative and brought their own design ideas to incorporate.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I’d suggest setting expectations for the number of rounds a client might go through to produce the creative. There are always changes, so you never know, but it might have been helpful if they told us that it typically took 3–5 rounds to settle on a piece.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

BLKDG is so easy to engage with, and their communication is wonderful. You should go in trusting what their experts will bring to the table.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CMO of a community hospital. We’re a network of care with multiple locations, clinics, and services that care for communities in Colorado. We’ve been in operation since 1891 and have a long legacy of care for our community. 

What challenge were you trying to address with BLKDG?

We engaged them to help us develop our website.

What was the scope of their involvement?

They started from scratch because our existing website wasn’t living up to the expectations of our users and wasn’t as flexible as we needed it to be to accomplish our goals. There were a lot of boxes we needed to check with our new WordPress site. We hired them for planning and discovery, information architecture, design, development, and production. They provided a full scope of services as we rethought, redesigned, and redeployed our site.   

We requested they create the platform in WordPress because it would provide our team flexibility with the site while offering a safe and secure experience. It’s a very robust CMS that could be easily updated by our internal staff. It was important that our internal staff felt empowered to update the site on their own following the project without having to manipulate too much code on their own.

Starting from scratch, we had the opportunity to rethink our UX. They helped us reevaluate how a user would navigate through our site and find the information they’re looking for in the least amount of clicks possible. One of the unique features of our new site is a quick search that directly accomplished our goal of getting customer information quickly. On our homepage, people can search by location, physician, and service. The search is dynamic and allows for cross-referencing to keep our customers from having to wade through long lists of providers.   

What is the team composition?

We worked with different people in different phases of the project. Jonathan (Cofounder) was our main point of contact through the discovery, information architecture, and design phases. Once we entered the production stages of the project, we were in closer contact with Andy (Scrum Master/Senior IT Project Manager), who was coordinating the team and interfacing with our staff on a regular basis. 

How did you come to work with BLKDG?

It was important for us to go through an RFP process, despite the fact that I’ve worked with their team in the past in another position. Our provider needed to understand the local community and user base. Their team has roots here and has worked with other companies situated in our region. Because of that, I believed that they would understand our culture and community in their design of the site. 

They also brought a fresh perspective because they don’t solely work on healthcare sites. We wanted our agency to have some background in healthcare site design and also apply success in other consumer-based industries to our site.  

How much have you invested with them?

Our budget was $80,000, and they met that perfectly. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We kicked off our project in December 2019 but got a little derailed on our end in March 2020 due to COVID-19. It wasn’t until July 2020 that we were able to regroup and persevere, both at the hospital and with BLKDG, to finish the site and launch by December 2020.

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

We measured success in several ways. We wanted a smooth web development process, a site delivered on time and on budget, clear communication, regular status reports, reachable contacts, and quick solutions to our concerns once communicated. Each of those metrics was absolutely met.

For the launch of the site, we wanted the platform to capture our brand, improved web traffic after launch, better user engagement, positive impacts to our SEO, improved patient appointment generation, better event participation, and more donor contributions. In less than three months, we’ve seen increases in user engagement with the site. All metrics are moving in the right direction, including bounce rate. The bounce rate had decreased by over 33%. More people are coming to the site and our content is more relevant to them. Some of our long-term results such as SEO, appointment generation, and donor contributions remain to be seen. If it’s anything like we’ve seen so far, we know we’re headed in the right direction.   

How did BLKDG perform from a project management standpoint?

Their team was just the right size to be responsive, nimble, and informed. There was always someone we could call to get a quick answer. They completed the site on time and were accommodating in COVID-related delays on our end. During the pandemic, we added Zoom standup calls to our normal schedule of phone calls and emails. All of the production was managed through Trello, which was extremely helpful in tracking the progress being made on each page of our new website.    

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re approachable and knowledgeable, which meant everything to a smaller organization like ours. We knew we could rely on their technical expertise, work with them in a collaborative way, and achieve our lofty goals. We were able to do all of that while keeping the process light, without layers of communication. We always had direct contact with them and could count on their expertise to be at an extremely high level. 

All the solutions we were receiving were the best they could be. In fact, they delivered some of our wishlist items in the initial launch. In that sense, they were able to overdeliver on features that we weren’t anticipating receiving so quickly. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can’t think of anything. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

In any project, be very clear with your RFP. Build some time into the process for their team to respond to the RFP and get to know their capabilities. Having a back and forth allowed them to show their attention to detail very early in the project. Especially for those with robust, complex sites, properly vetting your agency is key.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the marketing director at a professional services firm. We specialize in audit, tax, consulting, and technology solutions for several industries, including financial and real estate.

What challenge were you trying to address with BLKDG?

We had a terrible website before BLKDG came into our lives. I inherited it from the exiting marketing director. We had always been with WordPress, and our CMO said that we needed to get off the platform. We were just working with a poorly implemented site that was a nightmare to update.

I’m experienced in WordPress, but a lot of things were locked down from the backend. We weren’t able to update our site to reflect our services, and it wasn't nice for our customers to use. We knew that we needed to rip everything out and get it all done.

What was the scope of their involvement?

The team designed, developed, and deployed our website. From our end, we’re creating all of the content. They’ve assisted us on an ongoing basis with updates and maintenance support.

What is the team composition?

Jonathan (Partner) is the lead on the project, but we’ve worked with other people in their company. We’ve interfaced with their content team and designers.

How did you come to work with BLKDG?

We looked at a bunch of different local companies in the Denver area. We searched online and found BLKDG’s portfolio. We ended up doing scoping calls with five different firms, and BLKDG was clearly the best. Compared to all of those companies, they were the most responsive and seemed to provide the best service.

Their price was also very reasonable. They weren’t the cheapest, but we thought that what they were charging for their expertise level was super fair.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent over $27,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We signed with them in October 2019, and the official site launched in May 2020.

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

Their fresh take on our industry was exactly what we were looking for. A lot of people think accounting and finance is boring, but a lot of clients comment on how refreshing the design is. It’s easy to use.

They listened to our feedback in that stage, giving us something that we were looking for. Unlike other agencies, they seem to push the envelope.

Their ability to explain the technical side also works well for me. I’ve been an analyst before, and I’m very familiar with WordPress. They weren’t condescending to me like other firms, and they did a good job of bridging the gap. They’re a modern firm.

How did BLKDG perform from a project management standpoint?

If we need updates, we just email Jonathan, and he takes us to whoever we need. Right before we implemented, there was a very technical aspect where their team was talking to our IT team. We were grateful to them for that.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their design expertise sets them apart. Their ability to make things easier in the backend also separates them.

Are there any areas they could improve?

When we had multiple changes we needed, occasionally, they wouldn’t make them all at once, and we had to remind them. We ended up using a Google sheet to keep track, but it was ineffective. At the end of the day, they got it done, but we had to remember on our end what was missing.

They could organize that process a little better to make sure they’re executing all of the points instead of just half. Their team also didn’t know our industry that well, which wasn’t a deal breaker. But the changes we wanted had to deal with were industry-specific.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

For future clients, have most of your content ready because they ended up working a little faster than we expected. I would also say to leverage their expertise when it comes to organizing your site. Our business's nature makes it so that if our site isn’t organized well, it makes it hard to tell what we do. They had a lot of helpful suggestions for that.

If you leverage that expertise early in the engagement, it will make things go smoother. Keep an open mind.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the director of marketing for CareerWise. We're building a youth apprenticeship system, working as an intermediary between the school system and industry. CareerWise started in Colorado, but quickly expanded to New York, DC and Indiana and are continuing to add additional communities.

For what projects/services did your company hire BLKDG, and what were your goals?

BLKDG created our website on WordPress. We had a number of custom elements that we requested--and continue to request. We started with a single site in Colorado, but have scaled it to be a network of sites with complex content sharing requirements.

How did you select BLKDG and what were the deciding factors?

BLKDG came recommended from another agency, in fact. Once we connected with them, the decision to work with them was an. easy one. They're good people.

Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and technologies used.

BLKDG created our website on WordPress. We had a number of custom elements that we requested--and continue to request. We started with a single site in Colorado, but have scaled it to be a network of sites with complex content sharing requirements.

How many people from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

We have a project manager that expertly handles most of our daily interactions, but pretty regularly work with the partner/founder/boss, too.

Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables?

Our measure of success on the website isn't necessarily quantifiable; but I can tell you that BLKDG enables us to be responsive to our affiliate communities' needs. BLKDG is responsive, smart and consultative in addition to doing beautiful work.

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timelines.

BLKDG is nimble--they're always there to take our call and respond to emails extremely quickly.

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

BLKDG is passionate about doing good work. I can see it in the product, but I can also hear it each time we have a meeting. They come with great ideas and are fantastic partners in making those ideas a reality.

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

I'm sure there's room for improvement somewhere (we all can. get better, right?), but from where I sit I don't know where that is. Everything is smooth, everything is quality.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

CMAC Partners is a commercial financing firm. We work primarily with independent medical practices that own their real estate. The physicians have ownership in their properties and we act as a consultant with them to optimize their real estate investment. We help them when they need to refinance or need new financing. 

For example, for construction, we can go and create an RFP for many different banks and get the best terms and rates for them. In short, we help them with their investment strategy. I’m the marketing manager and our company is just slowly growing and hiring more people.

What challenge were you trying to address with BLKDG?

We had a website that was old and outdated. It was built before I came to the company. I edited it but we just really needed to rebuild our platform as the base of all of our digital strategy moving forward. Furthermore, we wanted to amplify it and learn to use that tool to our advantage with the help of BLKDG.

Before, we relied a lot upon travel and we have a sales team who travel for about three days a week. We really find value in being face to face with our clients and potential customers. However, when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, we stopped traveling for quite some time, so we also wanted it to be a conversion tool until our sales team can start traveling again. 

What was the scope of their involvement?

My managing partner had a specific message that he wanted to get across so we gave specific guidelines and terms with what we wanted to see in our platform. We wanted to present ourselves as an expert and a professional firm while being approachable. Moreover, we also had a lot of content that we wanted to better organize.

The site was built on WordPress and BLKDG took care of the whole creative process by showing us different designs at the start of the engagement. From there, we were able to pick and choose. After that, we just told them how the content should be organized.

We had multiple things built, like 2–3 different contact forms in order for people to schedule meetings such as a pop-up widget. That way, we would be able to read our client's information better and see how many people are going to be filling up those forms.

We wanted to know how many people wanted to schedule a meeting with us and where and what page they on when they did that. To sum it up, the website would serve as a tool to portray our message and what we do for the time being. 

What is the team composition?

In total, we worked with four people from BLKDG. Jonathan (Partner) had been our main contact during initial talks and presentations. After that, he assigned different people to lead in certain areas such as designing, email campaigns, and more. 

How did you come to work with BLKDG?

BLKDG was actually recommended to us by one of our partners. We talked to them and decided they would do our website. 

How much have you invested with them?

Altogether, it’s $28000 for the site, SEO, and e-mail campaign.

What is the status of this engagement?

We engaged BLKDG from May–October 2020.

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

We had a great response from our immediate team and they were able to do the launch for us quickly. The one they built was such a great tool. They helped us iterate all of the solutions that we offer. They made up 10 different solutions while making sure our content was supported well.

I have no specific statistics right now but BLKDG was able to show what’s beneficial and relevant to our clients. We were able to use it as a team with a few clients already and we know it will be very helpful moving forward. We’re looking forward to seeing more results once many people start using it. Lastly, we’re going to continue working with them for phase two since we’ve still got a few more edits and ideas to apply.

How did BLKDG perform from a project management standpoint?

They were really great in helping us by checking in with us frequently. With our multiple meetings, we were able to give our feedback on what we liked better. They laid out what the whole process would be by breaking it into different steps. Additionally, the timeline was also communicated. They also stated what they expected from me firsthand. 

When we staged the website a couple of weeks ago, I showed it to the sales team since they were always out in the field and they had significant feedback about the platform. We wanted to apply many changes but BLKDG reminded us what our original objectives were. Thanks to them, we got to focus on our launch and they also shared that they can continue making changes on our platform in the future. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

They were able to assure us of our biggest worry and that was what we liked about them. They said that before we part ways, they were going to make sure that we know how to manage the platform by ourselves. They promised that we would learn the tools so we could do the edit ourselves and continue building on the website. Their statements made me feel very confident about the direction of our partnership. 

I’ve never done anything like this before so it was a little overwhelming for me at first. However, they showed that they were experts and they were just able to give us valuable feedback when we needed it. They kept us on track and they were firm with us while being capable of implementing a million different changes we requested. Their project management really helped us since we had a lot of content and changes. In the end, they suggested the best way to organize it. 

After we ended our engagement with BLKDG, we don’t plan to stop and just be at a stagnant place. Overall, they were really helpful and great for what we needed.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don’t think I have any constructive feedback. 

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the digital marketing specialist for a nationwide craft brewery. We were founded in 2009 with the focus on making good beer through canning Florida. Our owner was born and raised in the state and what’s to make beers that represent Florida and Tempa culture. We’re distributed in 45 states and 15 countries.

What challenge were you trying to address with BLKDG?

We had an outdated website that was created when the company was still very small. Essentially, it was an outdated WordPress site that wasn’t able to update without crashing. We constantly had issues with its slow speeds and regular crashes, so we wanted to bring our site into the 21st century with them.

What was the scope of their involvement?

After looking at the old site, they determined that we should start from scratch for the new one. They sat down with us to ask for requirements and key functionalities of the site. From there, they build out a complete front- and backend product for us. 

One of the main site features is a beer finder that allows users to locate our products by inputting their location. We have a shipment database that shows where beer is available in a certain city or zip code. They build out a custom interactive map that was much more powerful than what we had before. Using WordPress, they faced the challenge of creating a custom solution while working with our current system. 

What is the team composition?

I had two primary points of contact, one was a senior team member and the other was our account manager. He would relay all of our comments and requirements to the development team. There were a few other people that we interacted with when one of our main contacts wasn’t available.

How did you come to work with BLKDG?

Our parent company is based out of Colorado, which is also where BLKDG is based. Because they were local, our parent company had already hired them to overhaul another site. The partnership was successful, so they suggested that we work with them as well. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We first started in December 2018, and our initial launch was in March 2019. Our team still calls on them for maintenance and updates.

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

In my job, I interact with our users frequently and would avoid directing them to our website before our engagement with BLKDG. After this redevelopment, our website is a home for all content related to our company, and I can direct people there with confidence that they’ll be able to find what they’re looking for. It’s organized and houses all the necessary information. The backend is also easy to manage. 

How did BLKDG perform from a project management standpoint?

Even though we had one designated account representative, other team members would hop on our questions over email if he was ever unavailable. There was never a time that I went more than a day without hearing from them. Even if they didn’t have a solution right away, they assured me that they were researching answers to our questions. Overall, communication was great. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Even now that we’re working on maintenance only, I can still count on them to quickly answer and implement responses to my questions. They’re always responsive and helpful for anything that we need. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can’t think of anything. They do a good job and are fun to work with.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

To kick off the project, we jumped on a large conference call to get to know each other before moving into business. That made our communication great because we developed a personable relationship.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder of Pursuit LLC. We offer a sporting license management system.

What challenge were you trying to address with BLKDG?

We were going through some rebranding and needed a full website update. We needed to create something that’d work for our company from a visual and strategic level, incorporating SEO tactics as well.

What was the scope of their involvement?

BLKDG built the creative assets. They designed the look and visual feel as well as the user experience. After that came the full design and implementation. Their team also made sure we’re doing the right things for SEO and that our Google search rankings were correct.

BLKDG did all the rebrand as well, including the creative design and visual components. 

What is the team composition?

My main point of contact throughout the project has been Brian (Digital Marketer). However, Jonathan and E.J. (Co-Founders) would often be part of the process, just not the day-to-day.

How did you come to work with BLKDG?

I’ve known Jonathan for a long time and had used him on past projects. We had that established relationship. 

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent about $20,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project started in Q2 2019 and is ongoing. We’re still working through bits and pieces and some fine-tuning.

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

The website launched a year ago. Since then, we’ve seen organic traffic growth. Our project is all about downloads and getting people to sign up for services. We saw a bigger impact just with a redesign and rebrand; our fresher look is enticing for our consumers to come and download our platform. 

How did BLKDG perform from a project management standpoint?

BLKDG is super streamlined and very efficient. We never suffer from a lack of communication or late deliveries. Everything gets taken care of super fast, whether it’s our edit rounds or presentations, was spot on. We’ve used screen shares to communicate and InVision for the initial presentation of BLKDG’s ideas. Since then, we’ve emailed every day and have a weekly phone check-in to see where we’re at with the project. Brian is an amazing project manager.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their customer service stands out to me. BLKDG is very in tune with their clients. They deploy proactive thinking using research and data to present why our brand or website should look and feel a certain way. I appreciate the vision and strategy behind each design; it shows intentionality and attention to detail.

Also, as a smaller shop, they’re nimbler and give us greater access to resources despite is being a small project. We have access to our project manager as well as a direct line to BLKDG’s founders, which is a better situation for our company. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

I would love to see more of a maintenance program. I’ve only run into one shop that has a true maintenance program, but that’s something I always look for: a program where I can pay a monthly retainer for someone to make quick adjustments. 

Any advice for potential customers?

Utilize all of their expertise. I regret using someone else to create content. BLKDG is so turnkey and knows exactly what they need; you can do the whole process with them instead of piecemealing it out to other companies.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We’re a startup for people looking for sports betting and daily fantasy insights. We’re also serving people who like to watch the biggest games and interact with them through social media. The business is entirely online. I’m the owner and CEO.

What challenge were you trying to address with BLKDG?

I needed help with marketing, and it was really all-encompassing. I wasn’t looking to have them do just a small piece. I needed to find someone who could understand my entire vision, brand, and goals. That way, they could encapsulate those characteristics into a website.

What was the scope of their involvement?

We had a couple of initial meetings to map out a timeline, scope of services, and budget. From there, we went into the information-gathering or discovery process. 

They looked to understand my vision and goals, and, from there, they built a powerful website with integrated software.

Features include my daily fantasy picks, sports betting picks, and a portal where users can answer questions in real-time during games. Users can also follow along to see how they’re doing in relation to other users. 

The third component was a contest where people could follow along and answer questions while watching the biggest sporting event of the day in an attempt to win money. 

BLKDG created a feature so that when someone gets a question right, it turns green in real-time, and it turns red if they didn’t. We use Stripe as a credit card merchant and AWS for hosting.

What is the team composition?

I know of a team of six people, but I’m sure there were others involved. I started with Jonathan (Co-Founder, BLKDG) and E.J. (Co-Founder, BLKDG). They assigned Andy (Project Manager, BLKDG) to me, who was my point person throughout the process. Justin (Senior UI/UX Designer, BLKDG) was the head of design, Tyler (Web Developer, BLKDG) was the head of development, and there were some insular people here and there.

How did you come to work with BLKDG?

I was looking for a local company in Colorado that would be capable of transforming my vision, goals, thought process, and design ideas into a good experience for future customers.

I was doing some Google searches for web developers in the local area. I went through a portfolio of companies they’d worked with and websites they’d done. 

There were a bunch of notable names, but one that stood out to me was for a brewery and restaurant in our area. I knew the owners of that place, and I talked to them about their experience with BLKDG. 

They had built an app or a mobile website with functionality that showed users the closest restaurants, grocery stores, and liqueur stores that sold the company’s products.

Even though it was in an entirely different field, it showed that BLKDG could create aesthetically pleasing sites with serious functionalities. Also, the owner I talked to spoke really highly of BLKDG.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve invested between $25,000 and $50,000 with BLKDG.

What is the status of this engagement?

I started working with BLKDG in August of 2019. The website launched in January of 2020, but I have an ongoing relationship with BLKDG for tweaking campaigns. I’m looking into phase two, which would include building some more things into the website.