Boldheart

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am a manager at Valora

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Valora is a Swiss retail and food service holding company, operating 2700 stores in five European countries. The brand portfolio spans 14 leading brands - including avec, BackWerk, Brezelkönig, k kiosks, and Press & Books - generating a total of CHF 2.23 billion in 2021.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Boldheart to accomplish?

• Design, develop, and scale a software ecosystem consisting of four interconnected web and mobile applications
• Work out a go-to-market strategy

SOLUTION

How did you find Boldheart?

Referral

Why did you select Boldheart over others?

• Great culture fit
• Referred to me
• Company values aligned
• Expertise

How many teammates from Boldheart were assigned to this project?

6-10 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

To venture into a new digital store format, we teamed up with Boldheart to conceptualize, develop, launch, and scale a new grocery delivery service end-to-end. 

• We started out the project by creating quick commerce strategy for us. Boldheart identified and dissected the most critical success factors of quick commerce models in a series of workshops together with our team at Valora Digital. The format nicely leveraged the synergy of our market experience and their digital product/venture building expertise. 
• Following the strategy phase, their product team planned the implementation of a software ecosystem consisting of a customer-facing mobile application as well as internal applications for stock management, order processing and delivery. 

To meet the challenging deadline of 3 months, they structured the individual work packages into eight overlapping 2-week sprints and subsequently designed, developed, and tested the solutions at record speed. In the months after the launch, Boldheart continued to support us by iterating the product based on user feedback and implementing new features accordingly.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

• Through the collaboration with Boldheart, we managed to build up extensive knowledge in the quick commerce field and launch a grocery delivery service in two major Swiss cities as one of the first players in the market. The traction was good, reaching our order and revenue targets - due to corporate policies, numbers can't be disclosed.

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

• Overall, their project management was efficient and intelligent. A product manager plus a tech lead were our main points of contact. We greatly appreciated that they were not just implementing, but that they thought along, challenged us, and proposed alternative solutions. The communication was direct, transparent and uncomplicated. 

They encouraged us to give honest, critical feedback and did so vice versa. We had weekly alignment meetings, bi-weekly sprint plannings and reviews as well as longer retrospective meetings after reaching every bigger milestone. For daily asyncronous communication, we had a shared Slack channel - the response time was always super fast. If there was something urgent, we just jumped on an ad-hoc call and could be sure that they will take care of it asap.

What was your primary form of communication with Boldheart?

Virtual Meeting

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

Boldheart's approach and execution stand out due to their adept combination of executive-level tech expertise with a strategic mindset. This distinctive blend allows them not only to develop technical solutions but also to align these innovations with their broader business goals. This approach showcases their forward-thinking nature and ability to stay competitive while ensuring that each technological advancement serves their overall strategic success.

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

During the initial stages of the mobile app implementation, there was dissatisfaction with the freelance developer chosen for the project. Upon bringing up the concern, the matter was swiftly addressed, and a suitable replacement was identified within a week.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Co-Founder & CPO of Purpose GmbH.

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Purpose is a social network that helps users connect more deeply with their close circle.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Boldheart to accomplish?

• Scoping and development of the first MVP
• Pivoting the product
• Establishing continuous product discovery

SOLUTION

How did you find Boldheart?

Referral

Why did you select Boldheart over others?

• Great culture fit
• Referred to me
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from Boldheart were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

The scope of work encompassed a comprehensive collaboration, with Boldheart engaging right from the ideation phase as a venture studio. They took on various responsibilities, such as scoping and the development of the first MVP. They adeptly employed user feedback from extensive interviews to guide strategic pivots in product development. They exhibited a seamless transition from development to the successful launch of the new product. 

As part of this, they also defined relevant product KPIs, which they extensively reviewed with us on a weekly basis. This dynamic collaboration also entailed the creation of a targeted go-to-market strategy, which involved identifying and defining the initial niche. Throughout the project's lifecycle, Boldheart remained committed to continuous product discovery, ensuring adaptability and innovation as core principles. On top, they helped us in the recruitment of early engineering team members.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

With the launch of our first MVP, we managed to grow to over 10,000 users within a couple of weeks. This achievement was underscored by remarkably low user acquisition costs, amounting to just 0.29€ per user. Additionally, we achieved a substantial presence across diverse media outlets, and the team secured speaking opportunities at various conferences, further enhancing our visibility and credibility.

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

Boldheart's project management approach was akin to having co-founders deeply vested in the success of our company. From the inception of the idea, their dedication was palpable, and they exceeded expectations. They are strong advocates and experts in ClickUp, which serves as their backbone for their project management. Everything is well-organized and super advanced. You just have to smile when you see how they set things up in this tool. It led to remarkable efficiency, significantly saving valuable time.

What was your primary form of communication with Boldheart?

Virtual Meeting

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

Their exceptional proficiency in continuous product discovery stood out. Their adeptness in this regard was evident through the implementation of a robust product discovery framework. I wish every product/innovation team that they could get their hands on it. It's super powerful - working with it has been a true game-changer for us!

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

The social focus of our product was both for us and Boldheart a new challenge. This meant all sides were discovering this new field together. At the same time, Boldheart's strong user research strategies sped up both our and their learning tremendously so that we could gain expansive experience within a short amount of time.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm managing director and co-founder of a management consultancy specialising in the procurement of funding and the creation of financing concepts for sustainable large-scale projects.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

An important part of our business model is the intelligent structuring and storage of data and knowledge. Our goal was to develop software that enables efficient knowledge management as well as clear and intuitive processing of our projects.

SOLUTION

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

As Julian is a friend of one of my co-founders we knew of hatch's special abilites and got into contact with him easily to discuss the project.

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

The first stage of the development consisted of a joint analysis of our ideas and the technical possibilities of realisation, then the first UI/UX proposals were worked out and agreed upon, while the back-end development took place in parallel. The desired functionalities and sections of the software were then completed step by step and finalised with our feedback.

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

Three (CEO, front-end dev and back-end dev)

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The finished software facilitates our daily work enormously. The value of a single source of truth in the company alone is inestimable. However, the software is still being further developed on a weekly basis, as its full potential is far from being exhausted.

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

Julian as well as his devs have a very quick grasp of the problems of our everyday work. This helped a lot to quickly define the goals and functionalities of the development. As we progressed, the ClickUp app provided a clear and simple communication channel for feedback.

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

The quick and efficient project analysis and goal definition was outstanding.

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

While the speed of completion was impressive, we would have liked to see a more thorough internal testing phase at some points before the software was live for us to test. There were a few avoidable inadvertent mistakes, which, however, were always quickly corrected.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

We are a global community of 500+ impact-driven entrepreneurs in their early 20s who have collectively raised over $1bn. I am part of the steering committee and an executive board member.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire hatch?

We hired Hatch to build our new website after we rebranded.

SOLUTION

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

Julian, the founder, is a member of our community, with whom we've built a close relationship over the past few years. He has always been quite proactive and offered his services upon learning that we needed a new website for our new brand.

Describe the project in detail and walk through the stages of the project.

With a completely new brand identity, we wanted to come up with a website that reflected this shift to our new brand and conveyed the values that we had selected. Julian from hatch helped us go through the whole process, from wireframing to the final design and set-up on Wordpress. We met on a regular basis to discuss design iterations and he took on feedback to then further improve the website. Feedback was always implemented quickly.

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

Julian, the founder, was our main point of contact.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

With this new website, we started receiving more inbound requests for our Fellowship, our volunteering positions, and partnerships. We also started receiving more subscriptions to our newsletter directly via the website.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The workflow was quite effective as we only had one point of contact, so communication was streamlined and feedback was always implemented quickly.

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

I found the availability, flexibility and speed of hatch most impressive. Julian was available most of the time and ready to respond and take feedback quickly. Furthermore, I could tell that Julian really cared about the outcome as he is also a member of our society - we valued his creative inputs which helped us get to the desired outcome.

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

Overall, we were very satisfied with our collaboration. The only thing that could've been improved is a bit more attention to detail.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the Founder & CEO of HealthMe. HealthMe is adigital grocery shopping assistant. With our app, users can scan food products to check for additives, allergies, and intolerances.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire hatch?

Our HealthMe app had to be expanded for collaboration with another company. To design these new features, we were looking for UX/UI experts and found the ideal partner in hatch

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We had open calls with selected agencies that can not only implement our ideas but also give us their own input to help us get the best out of the requirements.

Describe the project in detail and walk through the stages of the project.

In the first phase, hatch developed a deep understanding of our current solution as well as the requirements and goal of the project. Based on this, they created different proposals and approaches for us on how they could implement our requirements. After that, there were several meetings where we discussed and reviewed individual parts of the project. The team at hatch then implemented our comments directly and we were able to quickly and reliably finish the UX/UI design of the new app version.

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

We worked with a UX/UI designer and one of the founders of hatch who managed the project for us.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our cooperation partners and the rest of the team, who were not involved in the development, are very enthusiastic about the solution we have developed together with hatch. We can't wait to roll out these new features as they will have a great impact on the user experience.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

It was great. We had a relatively short project timeline that we managed to use optimally. The hatch team worked quickly and efficiently to keep us on schedule.

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

The cooperation was fast and uncomplicated and they were so reliable in the meetings. We had a thoroughly positive experience!

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

No, we are completely satisfied with the result. hatch has convinced us all along the line. We look forward to furthering joint projects in the future.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am Samuel Lenz, an award-winning magician and mentalist. I started early in my career with smaller shows and developed into an international stage personality performing in front of audiences with thousands of spectators. In addition, I plan and create unforgettable events.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

I started working with hatch to create my logo, personal brand guide as well as a matching website and promotional materials.

SOLUTION

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

I got to know one of the founding partners personally at an award ceremony and we had a wonderful conversation about different topics. At that time I was looking for the right design/product studio to implement my project which I found in hatch.

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

hatch started our project with some workshops in which they guided me through different frameworks, like a brand pyramid, to work out a strong foundation and principles for my personal brand and digital presence. Based on this they created 3 different initial concepts for the brand. They walked me through each of them and explained in detail how they came up with them. We eventually decided to go with a combined version of 2 concepts.

In the biggest part of the project, we defined the requirements for the website together and they designed and developed it in line with the final brand guide. During this phase we had several review meetings. In follow up projects, hatch also conceptualized and implemented a SEO strategy and created promotional materials.

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

I was working directly with one of the founding partner back then, a designer and web developer.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Yes, after launching my personal brand and new website, our customer requests have increased and our digital presence and reach has gotten bigger and bigger!

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

The workflow was great — their team knew how to implement projects like this successfully.

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

Easy communication, paired with awesome results and very friendly people!

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

In some situations, even faster responses in the communication would have been good, aside from that, everything was wonderful!

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the Founder and CEO of Smatched. Smatched offers a platform that enables user to share and monetize their data.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire hatch?

We needed a good appealing design and a functioning website. Hatch helped us to execute these tasks in a great way! With hatch we were able to go our first steps, raise further capital, hire high performers, and get initial traction.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We have looked for several vendors on platforms such as upwork etc. but could not find the right fit. I met the founder of hatch Julian on a Start-Up Event were we connected and found a common working base.

Describe the project in detail and walk through the stages of the project.

The team around hatch gathered intensive research about similiar apps and what they liked about the different design elements as well as analyzed the performance of these apps based on certain features. They then took these features and presented them to us suggesting what would work well and what we shall maybe not use out of our own ideas. They then kicked off the design process and delivered first lo-fi designs that then turned into hi-fi designs and were then executed by a split between our in-house developers and their own developer team.

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

We had various people supporting us from front end developers working on the website to designers going for the ui/ux of the app and website.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The delivered UI/UX parts serve as the current basis for our product enabling us to receive the first traction and grow accordingly. Furthermore we were able to show a first working product and not just an MVP anymore giving us the opportunity to gather first relevant unit economics for our business model.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The project manager was easy to communicate with and was available at any given time when we needed him. He was also always able to pull up some great ideas in case we would ask him for help and idea giving on certain new features that we planned to implement.

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

They have a great overview of the competitive landscape as well as the whole start-up landscape enabling them to play with the newest and most innovative tools and approaches to keep the project up to date and deliver a state-of-the-art product.

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

Often times we got so many inputs that it was hard for us to decide on. I personally think that sometimes hatch could have just executed something they solely believed in as this ususally turned out very well.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm an independent musician, songwriter, producer and artist. Therefore a fitting website for presenting my work, merchandise and tour information is essential for me.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire hatch?

I hadn't really had a website up until the point I reached out to hatch; so they started building a website from ground up that would represent me and my work in the best way possible.

SOLUTION

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

I was looking for a young and innovative Team in Berlin that was interested and capable to bring my visual and musical vision to the web world. A deciding factor for me was Hatch's clear interest in working on an artist related project.

Describe the project in detail and walk through the stages of the project.

Throughout a couple of discovery online meetings we talked a lot about what we all love about good websites - what the key factors and unique points are and how we could bring all these things in line with my designs and the designs of my at the time ongoing campaign. The Team at Hatch really gave me the feeling of being open minded to my own creative ideas and visual vision, implementing them the best they could whilst still adding fresh and interesting ideas to what I had in mind.

After mapping out a rough version of the website and fixing all the important points we wanted to have in it the Team at Hatch started doing the main work of programming the site. After this phase I was almost (apart from the shop) immediately ready to go with my brand new website.

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

I mostly worked with the CEO of Hatch, Julian. He then took all of my ideas to his programming team that started working on the site.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

With the website I was, for the first time in my career, able to sell my Vinyl Records and Merchandise Items on web. With the web design by Hatch my web shop is easily accessible and customers are able to find and buy items quickly.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

It was very easy to work with the Hatch Team, communication was great and even after the main work of creating the site was done, they were pretty flexible in terms of any emergencies or updates that had to be fixed or changed quickly at the website.

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

I really liked the mindset and visual taste that Hatch has as a company. They have understood my needs and connected with my creative vision instantly. You can tell that this is a young and super creative team that's open to feedback and input, really doing their best to constantly improve their company and therefore their customer experience.

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

I think in terms of websites and integrated shops I could have used a bit more specific practical information on how to use and maintain my online shop. Jumping into the web world can be really complicated for some people so a proper tutorial will be needed in some cases.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the CEO of a software development company based in Heidelberg. Our company focus on web- and mobile app development. What we do not provide is good quality designing.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

About a potential project creating a social media platform. Quickly we connected on a level were we agreed to work together. Hatch was helping us out in UI/UX, sameway as for the design part.

SOLUTION

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

After having heard from a friend about hatch and their UI/UX + design services, we got in contact with Julian.

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

The project was done in an agile behaviour, as the customer was not clear from the begining what he really wants. Multiple itereations on the design lead to the perfect product over time. We updated each other in 1 week intervals.

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

There was a process designer and a manager involved.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The project was a full success and the feedback was great.

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

Project management was comepletely done by hatch internally, they even did the project management for the customer.

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

The high-quality design was breathtaking and the delivery was always on time.

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

Not that I can think of.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the Founder and Managing Director of a consumer goods company. Our mission is to bring more sustainability into the everyday life of all gardening enthusiasts. For this purpose, we clarify outdated knowledge and develop sustainable and effective products for many areas in the home and garden.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

Hatch was involved in our brand update as well as webshop redesign project and in particular, took care of the product design.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

I got to know one of their Founding Partners at a business club in Berlin. We talked about our company and current projects. He was curious and asked me challenging questions about them which I liked. We stayed in touch and he provided me with a super valuable informal consultation for free. After that, I knew we had to work with them!

Describe the scope of their work in detail, including any steps and the final deliverables.

Having an existing user base and product offering, we wanted to update our brand appearance and redesign our webshop to better reflect what we stand for: innovation and sustainability in the home and gardening niche.

In the beginning, hatch defined with us a clear scope and timeline of the project. They also requested a comprehensive briefing of our position and offering as well as related existing guides and materials. Based on this hatch then started with the design and we jumped into the first review meetings already after a week.

They implemented the feedback fast and delivered the final version after another iteration. This process looked similar for two more of our offerings we asked them to work on.

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

We worked with a Project Manager and a Senior Designer which was, in my opinion, the ideal lean setup for this project.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

With the launch of our new webshop and offerings, we were not only able to increase conversions and grow our customer base but also make our products more understandable and accessible in a way that perfectly suits our brand.

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

I mainly talked to the PM, who was always professional and had everything well under control. He replied always on time. The fact that there was no communicational overhead and no misalignments put stress off my shoulders and let me focus on my tasks. The project was finished before the promised deadline, which is very unusual in this space with other agencies or freelancers. I was very surprised.

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

Their execution speed was next level. In the past, we have been working with other agencies and freelancers. One thing that always annoyed me in the creative process was that it often took them a long time to deliver and eventually didn't meet promised deadlines.

When we started working with hatch, I immediately noticed that those guys work differently. We had first review meetings very early on, and they usually delivered revisions, based on our feedback, right the next or even the same day. So if you're looking for a reliable partner who delivers at record speed on a high-quality level, I couldn't think of any better company than hatch.

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

Honestly, I can't think of any at the moment. Overall, we are more than happy with their work!