BlueLabel

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the CEO of Hoppin LLC, a carpooling transportation business for college students.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We reached out to Blue Label Labs to create an innovative design for the frontend of our mobile app. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Blue Label Labs designed our mobile app for iOS and Android, which is in the process of being developed by another vendor. They provided iterations for our review throughout the process, using InVision. 

What is the team composition? 

We worked with four people, including a lead designer, a UX designer, and a UI designer.

How did you come to work with Blue Label Labs?

We found them on Clutch and decided to work with them based on their positive reviews.

How much have you invested with them?

We invested about $38,000 in total.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from February–April 2019.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Blue Label Labs created innovative, user-friendly designs. It was clear by the quality of their work that they cared about the project and our success. They offered new, creative ideas that were a significant improvement on the original rough sketches we provided. Everything they delivered looks great. 

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

They were easy to work with and very responsive overall. We mostly communicated through Zoom.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their designers are top-notch and ahead of the curve; they have a lot of experience and training. Investing in their services was worth every penny. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can't think of anything. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Don't be intimidated by the investment, because the end products they're capable of delivering are well worth it. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m one of the co-founders and CIO of Frictionless Enterprises, a startup that, through the Hyer app, streamlines the deployment of an on-demand labor force.  Our platform seeks to connect individuals with business opportunities.  By partnering with both large and small companies, we can help fulfill seasonal resource gaps, while also supporting the local communities.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We hired Blue Label Labs to develop our platform, starting with the mobile apps and expanding into a web portal.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement? 

Our solution consists of multiple components, including a native iOS and Android app, as well as a web portal. Initially, we worked with Blue Label Labs during the early stages to gather our requirements and outline blueprints for the iOS app.

Blue Label Labs then helped us to develop and implement the app into a pilot phase within five months. We’re currently working on a mobile responsive web portal, which will allow our business customers to log in and centrally manage an on-demand labor pool. The tech stack includes a React Native framework and features about 10 third-party integrations (e.g., Stripe, Mandrill, Checkr, Twilio, MailChimp, Google Maps).

What is the team composition? 

We currently work with three core resources from a day-to-day perspective: a project manager, a senior project manager, and a UX/UI resource. In addition, there are several offshore team members, all overseen by an extremely knowledgeable lead engineer and architect.

How did you come to work with Blue Label Labs?

Coming from a technical background, I knew what I wanted in a development partner. We used reviews from Clutch and other resources to compile a list of criteria, most of which boiled down to having detail-oriented project management, strong technical know-how, great communication skills, and overall resource availability.

We were looking for a company that could partner with us to problem-solve rather than simply take orders. Our partner needed to grasp what we were trying to accomplish, understand the overall problem, and translate that into a viable solution.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent about $790,000 so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We kicked off the engagement in June 2018 and launched our iOS app in December 2018. Our work with Blue Label Labs is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm a digital marketing manager at a chocolate production company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We do a lot of B2B marketing, so we wanted to have a brand awareness tool that our distributors could use whenever they needed more information about us.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Blue Label Labs designed and developed a mobile app for us. We have four different types of users, so the app offers four types of experiences. For example, people can use the app to create a recipe with our chocolate or they can use a fluidity chart or a pairing tool, which allows them to compare chocolate based on flavors. This is an iOS app and Blue Label Labs handled both front- and backend development.

In addition, they built a custom CRM for our backend (we use Foursquare to get people to create an account on our website).

What is the team composition?

They had the most talented team compared to the other agencies we reviewed. Also, they had a lot of engineers on staff, which was one of the decisive factors for us.

How did you come to work with Blue Label Labs?

We work with Danny (Creative Director, Blue Label Labs), Darell (Program manager, Blue Label Labs), and Bobby (Co-Founder and CTO, Blue Label Labs).

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in July 2018 and the relationship is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The app was very well received by our internal team. We've done a few tests with our users and chefs and the feedback has been positive.

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

They're very responsive and solve any problem as quickly as possible.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their project management skills are fantastic. Sometimes, they had to deal with our headquarters and they've handled everything very well.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Not at the moment.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Have a clear idea of what you want to accomplish and they can take care everything else.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO at Hailify, a ridesharing app. We created a platform that allows you to automate the entire process of being able to drive for more than one company seamlessly and automatically without having to touch your phone.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

I had an idea for the app and needed help developing it, specifically regarding how to address the problem I saw, what we can do about it, and how to build it.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We worked together all the way from conceptualization to design, development, implementation, and alpha and beta testing. This also included market validation, understanding the product/market fit, and competitive market analysis. They even helped us through the product launch as well.

The Android mobile application was developed from scratch. Blue Label Labs helped build our initial UI/UX, the first design mockups, and the entire feel of the app after the onboarding process.

If I ever need help, I’ll contact them with questions, and we keep in touch since we’ve developed a great relationship. We’ve transitioned to our own internal development team now which Blue Label Labs helped me put together. They really understand what tech companies and startups need.

What is the team composition?

I worked with several different people based on the project’s needs. There were people that were consistently assigned to the project, such as a project manager and a developer. I also worked with their creative director and even got to know their founders very well, who would help me out as needed. They’d be on calls with me late at night or would walk me through certain things just to help us get things done. I also interacted with their head of business development and the head of UI/UX.

How did you come to work with Blue Label Labs?

I did a lot of market research on software development companies in the area and met with quite a few. I was looking at pricing, the solution they could offer, and the feel I got when I met them. It was important to me to feel comfortable with who I worked with.

Blue Label Labs satisfied all those requirements. They had the best solution and I really liked the team. At our first meeting, we sat in their conference room and met a bunch of their members. They introduced me to who would be working with whom and what each person does, so I felt that comradery from the get-go.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent over $100,000 on this project.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in September 2017 until November 2018.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I’d bring the app to friends or family and ask what they thought about it. I judged how good Blue Label Labs performed by that and whether they were meeting deadlines. They performed exceptionally well.

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

They were great in this regard. I really liked the weekly meetings with their project manager during which we’d talk about what has and hasn’t been done and if deadlines were being met. We’d also address any questions or concerns I had. Additionally, their availability was great. I was able to call them and get my questions addressed as needed. Even if they didn’t have the answer, they’d go figure it out and get back with me in a very timely manner.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Blue Label Labs’ ability to understand startup needs and their willingness and ability to work with clients to get the desired product is remarkable. They really worked with me, and they love that excitement of creating something new.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There was a bit of a lag to actually get development going after the conceptualization phase. Though it would’ve been better if that transition were immediate, deadlines were still met once the development started, so it may just be something normal.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be open about the project’s needs and the company’s situation. Don’t go in there seeking a bargain or trying to negotiate things; it doesn’t lead to a great relationship. Clients should want to have a good relationship with Blue Label Labs. They’re great people who help out a lot, and the more open a client is, the more open they’ll be as well.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the CEO of an on-demand delivery service based in Syracuse, New York.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We engaged Blue Label Labs to help us design and develop a web and mobile app.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Blue Label Labs designed and developed our web and mobile app (iOS and Android) from scratch, which included creating wireframes and requirements. They even assisted with some additional business management on our end.

Features of the app allow users to connect with on-demand drivers in the area and accept deliveries directly through the logistics dashboard. Our team is able to monitor user activity from the web-based platform they built as well.

What is the team composition?

We've worked with eight or nine people, including both of the owners, a project manager, a software engineer, and a designer.

How did you come to work with Blue Label Labs?

I found them online and decided to work with them because they seemed small enough to be able to give us the kind of personal attention I wanted out of all the vendors I considered.

How much have you invested with them?

We've invested about $180,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

They completed the bulk of the work from around October 2017 to July 2018, but they continue to provide ongoing maintenance.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We haven't launched the app yet, but I'm very happy with the final product. Blue Label Labs created a high-quality, user-friendly app that I'm excited to show potential customers.

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

I talk with our designated project manager three to four time a week; he's always available when I need to reach him. We track most project tasks through Trello, so I can see exactly what the software engineers and designers are working on.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Due to their size, they're able to give their customers a lot of personal attention. Outside of just building software, they've also helped us on the business development side of things, including some key aspects of our company—I never expected to get that from a software development company.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the owner and operator of GATBE, LLC. We’re a mobile app development firm that builds and launches mobile games for Android and iOS.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

I had the idea and all the marketing for the business concept mapped out, but was new to the development space. I was looking for a partner to develop our app and bring it to market.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

I engaged Blue Label with the idea and we worked together to refine and evolve the concept. Once it was ready for production, we contracted them to manage all aspects of development. This included several APIs and integrations to third-party services including social media platforms and PlayFab as a leaderboard portal. We used Amazon Web Services (AWS) for cloud support.

They initially built the app for iOS with further development on the Unity engine. We eventually went on to build it for Android. Both apps are live.

What is the team composition?

I primarily worked with a project leader and two ideation specialists during the planning process. Once the project was scoped out, we brought on a developer as one of the ideation partners scaled back. There was also a designer that helped plan the layout of the app early on, and a marketing specialist that’s just joining the team.

How did you come to work with Blue Label Labs?

I was researching several companies and found Blue Label Labs on Clutch. They quickly rose to the top of my shortlist.

How much have you invested with them?

We invested over $200,000 on the project.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in April 2017, and they’ve provided ongoing maintenance since the apps launched earlier this year. We’re just starting the marketing process now.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Without any marketing apart from social media connectivity, we’re already at 1,000 downloads. We’ve seen over 50% retention so far, which is a great start as we prepare to scale up promotional efforts. The apps have received a great deal of positive customer feedback on the App Store and Google Play store, which primarily focus on the consistency and functionality. There have been no significant bugs, which is an impressive accomplishment for a project of this scope.

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

We started with a project management tool that I hadn’t used before, but eventually moved to Trello due to the nature of the project. I needed something that was clean and easy to interact with. It was always clear where things stood and what was being developed. We had weekly calls to discuss project status and consider new ideas along the way. The project took about two months longer than the initial schedule, but they provided feedback along the way to help me understand the delays. The final product exceeded all expectations.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Blue Label made clear that they were invested in this idea. Throughout the project, they brought on and consulted a variety of resources that added tremendous value. Our project manager has been very successful in bringing new resources up to speed, and there’s been an element of continuity across the various aspects of the project. I’ve really appreciated their holistic approach to the project. Other companies I was considering didn’t offer the full-service package that Blue Label does. Their breadth of expertise makes them a unique and valuable partner.

Are there any areas they could improve?

At times, they did not keep me updated as thoroughly as I had hoped. I was working on a variety of other projects at the time and requested that they keep me as thoroughly updated as possible throughout the process, and there were times that they did not deliver on that. This wasn’t a frequent occurrence, and they adjusted their processes immediately upon my highlighting the issue.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I run a mobile gaming company that puts out apps for iOS and Android. I do a lot of the design work and engineering.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

My background is engineering, but since I run the business, I’m responsible for a lot of other things. I wanted to bring in somebody else with solid expertise to handle the backend services.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We originally had design plans for a number of game features that we wanted to do through Google’s Firebase, which offers functionality like databases, analytics, push notifications, and cloud syncing. My team fleshed out an initial plan for how these features would work so that we understood what the backend should look like. We then passed those specs off to the project manager at Blue Label Labs.

After some discussion about what our needs were, they assigned the project to someone on their side, and we’ve spent the past year going back and forth on the development. Some of the features are time-sensitive and require quick deadlines, but other features are experimental and we can take more time to build those.

What is the team composition?

I’ve worked primarily with three people: a lead engineer, our project manager, and then the engineer who’s assigned specifically to our project. At one point, they also brought in an additional engineer for short-term help.

How did you come to work with Blue Label Labs?

I received a recommendation from a friend who’d worked with them before. Blue Label had a wide range of expertise that made them attractive for a long-term partnership.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent $20,000–$30,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in February 2017 and we’re still working together.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We look at success in terms of features being completed for our apps. Now that we’ve worked with them for a full year, we’ve been able to see their process on several projects and they’ve made it successfully through the full cycle of implementation, deployment, and bug-fixing multiple times.

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

I frequently served as a project manager on our end, so I interfaced with their project manager to keep track of everything. In some cases, they’ve offered us the option to sidestep a project manager and just work directly with their engineers, which has also worked well because the schedules synced nicely. We use Slack and email to keep in touch, so there’s pretty immediate feedback. We also have our own internal ticketing system that their engineers use, which has been nice as far as integrating them with our team.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We needed talented people who we could trust with sensitive data and access to our projects. Blue Label Labs has lived up to both of those expectations and earned the recommendation I received.

Are there any areas they could improve?

We could work on communicating better when it comes to scheduling and setting priorities. I’m not sure if the issue is the tools we’re using or something else, but I feel like we could improve that process.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I work in the product development department of a radio station, overseeing several mobile apps and websites.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We were looking for a vendor to develop an Android and iOS app for one of our news talk radio shows. Our previous app was about five years old and in need of a redesign.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Blue Label Labs designed and built native iOS and Android apps, including frontend design and the implementation of existing backend APIs. Features included editorial rich content, audio, video, and pay gated content for subscribers.

We worked in pretty agile environments, including two-week sprints and a couple of day-long development sprints towards the end.

What is the team composition?

We worked with one designer, two project managers, and about eight developers.

How did you come to work with Blue Label Labs?

Our radio show host and his team canvassed for a vendor and recommended Blue Label Labs to us.

How much have you invested with them?

We invested just under $200,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in September 2017 and launched the app in January 2018, followed by a 60-day maintenance period. We're in the process of working with them on a second project to incorporate more features into the app.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The app Blue Label built peaked at No. 2 for news apps in iTunes during the first week of its launch. Previously, it ranked around No. 134. We've increased usage by a consistent rate of eight times our previous average. Their team has also been very quick to fix any bugs as needed following the launch.

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

We communicate mostly through phone, email, Slack, and Trello. Their team is always quick to respond, getting back to us usually within 30 minutes during working hours.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They truly understand the needs of their clients and proactively push the envelope to achieve those needs. Their willingness to extend discovery sessions to help us build the best product was invaluable.

Their developers are also extremely talented. Despite the fact that they're located in India, their work rivals that of many US-based vendors I've seen.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They could have done a better job notifying us on the pacing of the project against their original estimate both in terms of cost and timeline. As we begin the second project, we now routinely check in to ensure pacing is moving along as expected to avoid any headaches.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Make sure your team is meeting regularly with Blue Label's team to go over budgeting and pacing as the project progresses.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the IT manager for a nonprofit organization that helps women back into the workforce. We have multiple programs, including suiting and professional women's groups. I oversee all aspects of IT: servers, emails, desktops, etc.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We wanted to create a mobile app for our digital platform that provides women the ability to access our programs online.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Blue Label Labs did a pre-evaluation and gave us a budget and overall scope for the work that was required. We wanted the app to be a one-to-one replicate of the website, and they captured all that, even though we were still developing the site while they were developing the app.

They built the app in a hybrid environment; it’s single-code based on both iOS and Android. They did all the mobile app development, from start to finish. It serves as a digital platform for clients to learn about our programs, and there’s also a quiz at the end that we’re able to track. We were extending our learning platform digitally, and the app serves as a way to transcribe that into the digital world.

What is the team composition?

My main points of contact were their head of development and project manager, and there were a few people in the beginning who did the mockup. Other than that, we also had one main developer.

How did you come to work with Blue Label Labs?

I found them on Clutch. I looked at a lot of companies because it was a large project. What I liked most about Blue Label Labs was that they’re local and they’d worked with nonprofits before, so they knew how to fit in our budget.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent around $60,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in April 2017, and the app was delivered in December.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We haven't fully launched the app out to our clients, so we don’t have any qualitative data. The app is working as intended, though, and we’ve fixed all the outside bugs. Our executives like the layout and how well it portrays the website.

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

They were satisfactory. Sometimes communication was a little messy because information wasn't relayed properly. Usually, the developer would tell the project manager who would tell me, and that system sometimes caused issues.

We mainly used Trello to track what the developers were doing, where we were at, and any bugs. We also communicated via email, and we had weekly conference calls.

We didn’t finish the app on the estimated deadline, but that’s because of a bug that cropped up late in development.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their whole team was attentive to detail.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, not right now.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

Have a proper scope laid out prior to reaching out for development.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the founder of a social media app for brand builders. Our customers are small business owners, online influencers, bloggers, social media celebrities, etc., and they create partnerships among themselves.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

I needed a firm to build our initial iOS app.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

I had preliminary high-level wireframes, but Blue Label Labs predominately started from the beginning. They did everything from requirements gathering to the app design, and we used Envision so I could track what the app, user flow, and UI looked like.

Beyond that, they also developed the frontend and backend of the 1.0 version. As of now, we’re just planning on the iOS version. Some of the features include group chat to create partnerships, direct messaging, and Stripe integration for payment.

I’ve also talked to their marketing department to work on Facebook ads.

What is the team composition?

I had a project manager, designer, and a few development team members. Bobby, their CTO, was also on my project.

How did you come to work with Blue Label Labs?

I did a lot of online research and saw some good reviews for them. I reached out to them and met with Zack [Head of Business Development, Blue Label Labs]. The conversation went well, so I met with a few team members and thought we could work well together, so I hired them.

How much have you invested with them?

I spent about $100,000. I wasn’t expecting to spend that much, but the scope changed a bit, and the quote increased.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in January 2017, and the app launched near the end of May.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

This is our first version, so it’s hard to tell. It’s a good start, and the look and feel of the app are clean. I provided a lot of guidance, and they gave me exactly what I wanted, and the app’s attracted the right audience so far.

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

We had a few problems with project management, but things eventually got better. We communicated through email and tracked progress in Trello. I’m glad we had a tool to keep track of the priorities. They have a team that's offshore, so there was a time delay, but whenever I raised an issue, they were pretty quick to adjust things.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their business development side is great. When I needed help, Zack was always there, and Bobby was attentive during the whole project. Stewart [Business Development, Blue Label Labs] provided all the tools and connections I needed to get the best app possible.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Communication could have been better, but it may have just been my project manager.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

Set expectations up front and don't be afraid to ask questions. Make sure that communication flows well and it's your style of communication.