Blue Label Labs

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

We are very pleased with the quality of the work they’ve completed for us. Our project took Blue Label Labs out of their depth a little bit in terms of engaging and dealing with an industry that they weren’t really familiar with on the day-to-day business end. That said, their teams handled the situation very well and were still able to build exactly what we need.

Their design team was really fantastic as well. The interface has gotten great initial feedback from users who say that it’s very clean, very easy to use, and generally savvy-looking, which I think is a big plus. Despite the project taking 6-8 months longer than expected, they worked to keep costs in line with our expectations so that our investment didn’t bubble out of control.

How did Blue Label Labs perform from a project management standpoint?

From a personal standpoint, they are a fantastic team to work with. They are very strong communicators, they establish great objectives and roadmaps, and they always incorporate feedback into their work. Despite being in a completely different time zone, they always got back to us within 24 hours on any questions or issues we had.

The project was delayed, but only because of some nuances with the API that we were trying to connect that weren’t as standard as we had hoped. The important thing was that they helped us work through that and get through it. They see the value of what we’re bringing to the consumer, and that has really made our relationship a great one.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They have an excellent portfolio of companies and make apps that are very clean and easy to use. In my opinion, their design team probably doesn’t get as much credit as they should.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, at every obstacle we’ve faced they have been open to working through it together, so I don’t hold anything against them.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I would recommend that anyone try to deal with as much as possible upfront, in terms of cost, project timeline, individual roles and such. It will help avoid unnecessary obstacles down the line. Their team is very happy to work through a lot of that in advance as opposed to putting unnecessary delays on the project themselves.

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

The initial prototype we produced was key in securing our first investment, which prompted us to go back to them for full-scale development. They've been excellent in strategizing our business changes. From a UX/UI perspective, the product they’ve created is top-notch, and working with them has been amazing. 

How did Blue Label perform from a project management standpoint?

They're great. Initially, we had a project manager—no longer at Blue Label Labs—who just had a different working process or methodology from what we needed. That could’ve been a pain point, but the company recognized this and offered an alternative solution even before we asked. Blue Label Labs has been very on the ball about those things. They are excellent on the communication front. I collaborate with them in person and on Slack.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They were extremely nimble in adapting to our changing needs, which was very impressive. While a lot of service providers emphasize that they’re going to be partners and not just contractors, that's often not the case.

Blue Label Labs has held to their word. It's never felt like a vendor relationship: more like we have 20 additional employees who are fully devoted to our mission. Bobby would even travel with us to meetings with university executives to ensure the successful communication of our technical strategy and approach. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, we were really impressed with their services. The CTO physically traveling with us to ensure our success just speaks volumes of how good of an agency they really are.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

It’s hard to say because we were so inexperienced. I do wish we had taken fuller ownership of certain things to deter the associated cost of working with such an esteemed firm. They didn’t take advantage of us by any means, but, in hindsight, there may have been aspects of the project that we could’ve executed ourselves.

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

What makes Blue Label Labs a great company to partner with, is their use of the agile methodology, which enables them to deliver quickly. Within five months, we had a fully functioning iOS app that was leveraged by a major florist in the Detroit market, and we are now in pilot with one of the largest privately-owned grocery chains in the United States.

The quality of their output is outstanding. Our company engaged a third-party cybersecurity provider to scan for security risks. They ran vulnerability assessments, as well as a manual penetration test. When the results were returned, there were only low priority issues that were quickly remediated by Blue Label Labs. 

How did Blue Label Labs perform from a project management standpoint?

Their project managers are some of the best I’ve worked with.  They are detail-oriented, quick to adapt to changing priorities, and an overall pleasure to work with.

At this point in our project, we have daily stand-up calls and hour-long planning calls twice a week. If we’re planning out a new phase, we’ll have in-person meetings, as needed. They use slack and email for written communication, and are quick to respond during weekends and off-hours, when needed.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re outstanding. Not only do they understand who we are as a company, but they’re willing to challenge our ideas. We have many years of IT experience within our own team, so we are probably not the easiest customer to deal with, since we really have an in-depth grasp of the development lifecycle.

Often, we come into a situation with something already designed and ask them to implement.  However, Blue Label Labs will take the time to understand the problem to solve, push back as needed, and propose new ways of thinking about a problem. We then collaboratively come up with the optimal end solution.

Are there any areas they could improve?

The only thing I can think of is that, at times, there has been a bit of an underestimation of the complexity of what we were trying to accomplish.  This has resulted in estimates that needed to be revised after we got into the details of the situation. 

In that sense, it would benefit them to be more mindful about their estimates, from a time, cost, and bandwidth perspective.

During those cases, we discussed the concerns with their senior leadership and worked through the details to find the best solution. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

If something isn’t working, speak up and have a conversation with the senior leadership team. They are always happy to make things right.