BlueLabel

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of development for a national provider of behavioral healthcare specialized in substance abuse and mental health treatment. We currently have a large network of nation in-patient treatment centers. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Blue Label Labs?

We hired Blue Label for their development services. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Blue Label is developing custom software for a mobile and web app, which we’ll use to provide telehealth therapy to our clients. 

Everything’s done from scratch, and our development stack includes Zoom, Stripe, Azure, and MailChimp. The programming framework is React Native for iOS and Android, while the website is done via WordPress. They’ll handle all of our post-launch support and maintenance needs. 

What is the team composition?

I work directly with seven people, but 20 other people have worked with the team at some point. I interface with Amanda (Technical Program Manager), Ashkan (Director of Client Solutions), and Cecilia (Product Manager) every day. 

How did you come to work with Blue Label Labs?

We did a national RFI and vetted nine development houses. Blue Label beat everybody else in terms of price, time, and scope of work. They weren’t the cheapest, but they weren’t the most expensive team — they were right in the middle. More importantly, they had an honest sales and development expectation process. In other words, they won our business just by being transparent and honest. 

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent around $450,000–$500,000. 

What is the status of this engagement?

Our first contact with Blue Label was in February 2022, and the engagement is ongoing. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The app isn’t live yet, so we measure success based on development milestones. So far, Blue Label has hit every development milestone on time and within budget. We’ve only had to extend our timelines and modify our budget when we have a change request.  

Overall, Blue Label has done a phenomenal job keeping the original scope of work together. They outline anything out of scope and tell us what it will take to achieve it. 

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

They’ve introduced us to various project management tools, including Slack, Asana, and Miro. The team has also used Jira tickets before, but we track everything now via Confluence. Blue Label is extremely well-versed in these platforms, making our communication seamless.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Blue Label’s honesty and people are impressive. When working on a project, other teams’ members aren’t always agreeable; sometimes, they don’t have a good way of communicating or are not always available — a million things can go wrong when working with a contractor. 

By contrast, Blue Label serves not only as our employee but also as our friend. They want to have a long-term relationship with us. Their members care about the project. They invest not only in the contractor-client relationship but also in the personal relationships between our teams. As a result, our collaboration has been a truly pleasant experience. They do a great job of making every feel they’re a part of a bigger team. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

They brought in Confluence a little later in the project, but it would’ve been super helpful if we’d used it since day one. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be available. Blue Label can only work with whatever information they have, so they’re only effective if you’re willing to work with them — they can’t read your mind. If you want to work with them, dedicate yourself to the project to get everything you want out of them. 

You don’t have to dedicate every minute of your time to them. Just be responsive when they have a question. Be proactive and excited about your project; they’ll reciprocate your energy. 

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the VP of Product at a global digital media company. I manage all digital consumer products, and a team of product managers and designers.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Blue Label Labs, and what were your goals?

A new mobile app (iOS initially) - we hired BLL both for design and app development.

SOLUTION

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

We looked at 2-3 mobile app specialty agencies, and chose BLL based on the clarity of their vision, some of their past media company clients (and references).

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

Phase 1: ideation/design/UX: brainstorm sessions, wireframe iteration, design iteration

Phase 2 (development): in-progress now, working closely with product to build out features, components, architecture

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

I believe around 4-5 team members: 2-3 engineers, 1 project manager, 1 designer

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

So far, the designs were delivered on-time and on-time, with a lot of collaboration throughout the process. For development, this is still ongoing, but we have a weekly calendar of targets and so far have been on-track in hitting these.

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

The project manager has been great with weekly check-ins, sharing an agenda, and providing updates via tickets, Confluence, etc. We also have a Slack channel used for some collaboration too.

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

The people were passionate, creative, and informed in the work they're doing.

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

Not sure

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the President of Reproductive Medicine Associates of New York, one of the largest physician owned fertility clinics and Reproport our software company which we have partnered with Blue Label Labs to develop our exclusive Patient Portal, My Reproductive Portal.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Blue Label Labs, and what were your goals?

We hired Blue Label Labs to take an existing product and customize it to create My Reproductive Portal. As a healthcare company, we knew nothing about software development and we needed a strong partner that could work together with us to evolve the software into a clinical support tool for patients and providers.

SOLUTION

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

We bid this project to 3 vendors and it was no question that Blue Label Labs was the right partner for us. The entire team from product design, scope, management and technical services were completely understood our vision and in a short amount of time could clearly communicate how they can help us achieve our goals. The Blue Label Lab teams allowed for customization on how quickly we would develop. They taught us to think in sprints which helped us account for the costs over time.

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

The scope of work included a deep dive understanding of the current product, meeting with key stakeholders to guide us in establishing our wish list for the improved product thru focused conversations and prioritization. Miro boards allowed us to see everything in a clear and organized manner so we could better understand the road map.

The scope of work for our first major development effort was to reskin and launch the new product design while adding technical features like mobile friendly and removing bugs in the existing platform.

The second major engagement was to add a series of functionalities to the existing product like access to lab results, cryopreservation details and patient instructions which was all guided by initial focus groups.

The sprints allowed us to ensure we were achieving the launch dates and that the functionality worked as intended. The Blue Label Labs team worked closely with our EMR team to integrate the product.

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

There were 4 key people in the initial team including our project manager, lead developer, product designer and business development team. The business development team helped to ensure that the scope of work initial discussed matched the product development work. Since launch our core team includes the project manager and lead developer and our same product designer comes in as new features are added.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We were able to launch the product on time and within budget. The BLL team kept us updated all along the way which allowed us to be flexible to add or remove features as our priorities shifted.

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

We use Jira to guide our development work and our project manager in house has open and transparent access to work achieved and can help the team prioritize as needed. We get reports twice per month on if we are tracking on time and on budget and if we aren't we are presented with options so alignment occurs across both their team and ours.

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

We had direct access to the whole team at all times. The BLL team truly makes it feel like we are all a part of one team. The retention and longevity of their team speaks volumes on the culture of the company you work with. Having a dedicated technical developer on our team calls has allowed us to move efficiently and effectively to our goals.

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

No. The team is truly fantastic!

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the co-chair of the addiction services of a clinic, so I work with people with substance use disorders.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Blue Label Labs?

We were looking to develop a mobile application for patients who struggle with substance use to assist with our treatment.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The application is a research-focused app to organize how we digitally interact with our patients. Many features are focused on research — for example, they allow answering survey questions and interacting with other research participants or patients. Its main purpose is to help us develop some research around digital tools.

Initially, we had a design sprint with Blue Label Labs to organize our ideas and thoughts around the project and discuss our needs. We desired to build something patient-facing but also solid with research. As we iterated on some things, we decided to focus on the research side since that would be the bulk of the effort. We’d transition slowly into the patient focus as we felt more ready.

Blue Label Labs has visual aids to help us visualize the design, and the mobile app will be for iOS and Android.

What is the team composition?

We typically work with a core team of 3–4 people, and other people are brought in as needed.

How did you come to work with Blue Label Labs?

A colleague knew about them; he’d done some work with Blue Label Labs, so he recommended them. Then, we did the design sprint — we liked the way they handled it and thought they did an excellent job helping us organize our thoughts and develop ideas collaboratively. In the end, we thought we’d like to work more with their group, but we needed to get the funding in place for the research side. Once we got it, we reached back out to them and moved forward.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent about $100,000–$150,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in October 2021, and our relationship is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They’ve done an excellent job organizing our thoughts and helping us see the big picture. Even though we don’t have the app right now, they’ve been able to show us what it’ll look like, and the team is currently building it.

Overall, we’ve gotten positive feedback from other people within our department and the institution at large. Everyone likes the project's direction, and we feel great about our working relationship. In general, we feel confident about what they can bring to the table and are excited to see what they develop.

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

Project management is really well organized, and they’ve kept us up to date. Blue Label Labs allows us to be as involved as we want to. We mainly communicate through email, and they use a Miro board. We can go in and look at how things are progressing, although we don’t take much advantage of those tools. However, it’s nice to know they’re there if we want to peek.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re really customer-friendly. The team has been pleasant, and we’ve enjoyed working with them. Moreover, they’re patient with us. Since we’re just a section of a large company, there are nuances to the billing and payment structures, so they have to go through the bureaucracy of an extensive program to get everything done. In that sense, Blue Label Labs has been patient and willing to work with us.

Are there any areas they could improve?

We’re in the middle of the project, so I guess we wish it’d move faster. However, the pacing has also been our challenge; it’s not necessarily on their side. Overall, most of the engagement has been excellent.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Look at it as a collaborative experience. Come into it with ideas of what you’d like, but understand that they’re experts. The team has done this before, and they’re here to collaborate with you, help you fulfill your ideas, and develop something unique. If you’re open to the process, you’ll come out with something better than what you initially thought you’d get.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder of EverlyJames, an online lifestyle platform focused on empowering young women starting in their careers to be their best selves.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Blue Label Labs?

We were planning to develop a mobile app mock-up. We needed a company that could provide us with mobile app development consulting services to improve our chances of getting funding for the app’s development.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Our engagement with Blue Label Labs began with a meeting with their account representative, who walked me through their process and fine-tuned what I wanted to get out of the engagement. He then introduced me to two people, an engineer and a design developer, who guided me through a very concise and effective process of discussing the core features of the product that I needed.

What is the team composition?

I worked with an account representative and one other person from Blue Label Labs.

How did you come to work with Blue Label Labs?

Blue Label Labs was recommended to me by one of my previous employers.

How much have you invested with them?

I spent $25,000 on this project.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working on this in November 2021, and the project ended after two weeks.
 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Blue Label Labs met my expectations for this project. We clearly had a common understanding of where we wanted to go, and every day, there were different steps taken to get us in the right direction.

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

Blue Label Labs performed very well in terms of project management. They were excellent at managing our expectations and keeping us on track toward the outcome that we wanted. They regularly checked in with us to make sure that we were always on the same page.

They utilized a project management tool that visualized our communication and made day-long engagements a breeze.

We primarily communicated through Zoom.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Blue Label was flexible, easy to communicate with, and exceptionally friendly. I appreciated how they demonstrated that they were on our team and wanted the best for our company. 

I was most impressed with their ability to connect with us on a more personal level. They really took the time to get to know our company, what we do, and what our vision was.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can’t think of anything that Blue Label Labs could improve — they definitely met my expectations.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Make sure to maintain open communication. They're very friendly — don’t be afraid to ask as many questions as you can and ensure that you’re always on the same page.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder and CEO of a wellness and education platform.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Blue Label Labs?

We hired them to help us with the design and development of our application.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We’ve gone through a design sprint, during which they've helped us with developing functionalities and features for the app.

What is the team composition?

We’ve worked with three people — their head of innovations, a project manager, and someone from their business development team.

How did you come to work with Blue Label Labs?

We researched online for different app developers.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent about $30,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in July 2021, and our engagement is still ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They’re still building the app, but we’ve been pleased with the progress and results so far.

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

They’ve been getting everything done in a timely fashion.

What did you find most impressive about them?

What distinguishes them from other developers is their level of creativity and strong communication skills. In particular, their head of innovations has been exceptional in coming up with highly-delineative features for the app.

Are there any areas they could improve on?

I can’t think of anything that they need to improve on — we’re happy with the results.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be clear with what your needs are and always communicate with them.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder of a business networking platform.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Blue Label Labs?

I needed to develop my mobile app and website, so I hired Blue Label Labs.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Blue Label Labs oversaw the development of the website and the app. The team was also in charge of building the backend for both.

How did you come to work with Blue Label Labs?

Both Zachary (Partner & VP) and Danny (VP of Product) had entrepreneurial backgrounds. Besides their competitive pricing, we liked that they understood the journey and process of founding a startup, so we hired the team. 

How much have you invested with them?

We spent $300,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from March 2019–March 2020.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We never got to show the app to the world because the final product went live 7–8 weeks before COVID-19 hit. However, we were still nominated for a Webby Award, which is something that we’re very proud of. Our investors, members, and partners were very complimentary and excited about the app. It was well received.

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

Project management sometimes ran over a bit more than what we expected, but we allowed them to do so. There were also challenges with the structure of their team. I recognize that having offshore developers presented its advantages, especially in keeping the costs down, but it prolonged communication between us. Feedback took a while to reach the right people.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Danny stood out during the project. He was very talented, passionate, and hardworking. He had a great eye for design and was very patient.

Are there any areas they could improve?

We didn’t immediately realize that things were a bit fragmented across their team. When we went to meet them in person we thought that everyone worked in the same office, but we quickly found out that most of them were working remotely. Though there was communication between them, it would’ve been helpful to have everyone in one place. 

We found that aspect quite frustrating since we were led to believe that it’d be a smoother, more seamless process. We instead experienced a 48-hour turnaround for each round of feedback.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

The New York team was a bit more rigorous about sticking to our roadmap and timeline. However, as we communicated more with the developers from India during development, things were no longer happening at the pace that we had agreed to. My advice is to have a clear agreement with Blue Label Labson in terms of the roadmap, timeline, and expectations.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the director of technology and wholesale for our company. We're a specialty coffee company looking to scale a new drive-thru concept.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Blue Label Labs, and what were your goals?

We hired Blue Label to develop our mobile app, which is the sole method of ordering at our new drive thru concept. We wanted a platform that could simplify the ordering process without requiring interaction with a staff member, and could scale with us as we grow. We also needed an internal facing app so our staff could manage orders.

SOLUTION

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

We worked through discussions with 5 different app development firms. Blue Label provided far and away the best value and insight into the entirety of the development process. They listened to what we wanted to accomplish, and sought to add value to that vision, as opposed to altering our business plan like some of their competitors. They were also incredibly responsive throughout the selection process.

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

Our scope of work included iOS, Android, and Clover marketplace builds. This required integration with a payment gateway for payment processing, inventory management, employee accounts, Firebase for push notifications, and much more.

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

We worked consistently with 5 members of Blue Label's team. Their CEO, VP of Design, Project Manager, Director of Client Solutions, and UX Designer. We did not have consistent interaction with development resources, as that is Blue Label's CEO's area of expertise.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We have exceeded our goals for revenue by nearly 40% since launch, and our app has almost 7k users for just one physical location. We also have exceeded the expected proportion of orders processed in our app by almost 50%. We are delighted with all of the deliverables.

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

Blue Label provided weekly touchpoints, in addition to instant communication via Slack or text with key resources. This is one of their strengths.

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

The willingness to do whatever was needed to meet our goals and make us feel positive about our experience remains unassailable. The team provided one of the best customer service experiences I've ever had.

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

We had one communication oversight over the 5 months of working together that was shared responsibility and quickly resolved. That would be the only area I could even begin to entertain the idea of "improvement", if you could even call it that.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of a mobile app startup. We provide delivery and pickup services for food vendors at live entertainment venues.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Blue Label Labs?

We came to them for design work not long after coming up with the idea for our service. Our team is fairly new to the entrepreneurship realm, so we needed assistance with branding and design.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We worked with them on illustrations, logos, colors, and other design work. They also helped us build a pitch deck, develop a UI/UX framework for our solution, and determine what we needed to develop an MVP. We had multiple meetings each week to discuss their work and give them feedback to incorporate into their deliverables.

What is the team composition?

We worked directly with Ashkan (Client Solutions Director), Danny (Partner & Product VP), and one other person from their team.

How did you come to work with Blue Label Labs?

Over the course of several weeks, we reached out to six companies and had an initial hour-long meeting with each of them. We vetted them based on their budget, their previous body of work, and their understanding of our requirements. Due to price, we were going to go with another company, but Blue Label Labs was willing to bring down their costs to secure our business.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent about $30,000 with them.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from February–May 2020.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our main objective was to obtain an MVP and put together our pitch deck for angel investors and other business partners. Without their critical design work, we wouldn’t have been able to meet these objectives. Thanks to them, we’ve been able to land two investments and two business partners. They helped our startup pick up traction.

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

They did a very good job. We were new to the app development industry, so they gave us great guidance and made sure we stayed on top of everything. Ashkan always had a one-on-one meeting with us to make sure the partnership was running smoothly. Their team was more than willing to redo anything without charging us extra. They communicated effectively as well. We communicated via Slack and used Invision for project management purposes.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re very knowledgeable about design trends. They helped us develop designs that would still look good in several years so that we could focus on the functionality of our solution.

Are there any areas they could improve?

It’s hard to find anything to nitpick. The only reason we’re not working with them now is their price range.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Let them know what your end goals are for the project. They’ve got a wealth of experience that’ll help you realize these goals as long as they’re communicated to them.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We’re a startup in the sports industry that handles video, editing, computer vision, and mobile applications. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Blue Label Labs?

I wanted to build a clickable, scrollable prototype that fell within my budget. We hired them to deliver a prototype complete with wireframes, UX designs, and screens.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

To start, we established the deliverable set for the prototype and defined the timeline and budget. They created all the clickable screens and wireframes for the prototype for iOS. In the long term, the platform will serve both iOS and Android. They created the prototype using InVision.  

What is the team composition?

There were four people: a sales representative, a UI/UX specialist, a creative teammate for iterations, and a project manager.  

How did you come to work with Blue Label Labs?

We looked online to find a partner, focusing on sites like Clutch. Using reviews from Clutch and other websites, I set up 30–40 calls with agencies and dev shops. In the end, I decided to go with the team that best understood our needs and had experience with projects like ours. Their portfolio items were designed in a way where I knew I’d be comfortable if their aesthetic was applied to my vision.   

How much have you invested with them?

Working on a fixed fee basis, we spent about $25,000 on their work. 

What is the status of this engagement?

The project spanned August–November 2020.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

My ongoing acceptance and approval of their work indicated that they were successful in this role. Additionally, I shared their progress with several individuals in my network for feedback while the project was ongoing. They also ran their work through a testing loop and did surveys with 15 people of different nationalities within our target demographic.

The quality of their work was strong. Both the screens and the overall design looked great. They were helpful in executing on fine-point, specific issues that could’ve got in our way. For instance, all of their logo options looked good. They helped us pull the trigger on the look that would be helpful to our company.   

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

We had hour-long meetings on a weekly basis as well as communication through a Slack channel. The project was small enough to not need a project manager, so they didn’t need to do too much project management. At times, however, I found myself a bit limited to our weekly meetings because some of their team members were less responsive on Slack than I would’ve hoped. In the end, it’s remote work, so it was all okay.  

What did you find most impressive about them?

After listening to my needs, they asked the right questions to dig deeper into my ideas. That helped them understand how I wanted the platform to look and perform. In their first iterations of a few screens, we could see their understanding of my vision. They were able to take my ideas and turn them into something physical.  

Are there any areas they could improve?

I didn’t have much contact with the project manager outside of her setting up meetings and recording some of our calls. I think her involvement in the project was unnecessary, and we could’ve saved some money by dropping her out. 

They were generally good communicators. However, there was no follow-through on their part when we would discuss having side conversations and meetings over Slack. That was a bit annoying.

I also wasn’t happy when team members that were staffed on the project missed our meetings. That comes with our project being on the smaller side, but I felt that they should’ve been more involved. Especially when we’re only meeting one hour per week, I’d expect the team members to engage in that meeting. 

Toward the end of the project, they started to renege on one of the deliverables because it wasn’t clearly defined in the initial scope. However, they said delivering it wouldn’t be difficult at all and said they’d follow through on it. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I’d be careful when working with larger agencies because some of the smaller tasks and projects may take a back seat when push comes to shove. However, the end product is great and gives me something to base the platform on. 

Remember that working with a contractor is like buying a pair of shoes: you have to be very specific about what you want. For instance, as a customer, you may assume that your 20-page website would come with a footer that’s consistent across all screens. It’s still important to vocalize small details like that to avoid any corner-cutting. They’re running a business too, so make sure you’re contractually covered on everything that’s important to you and that communication lines are open.