Calibrate Software

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of a hospice and palliative care provider. 

What challenge were you trying to address with Calibrate Software?

We hired them for website development services.

What was the scope of their involvement?

At the time, we had a very outdated website. Calibrate Software developed a new website for us from scratch. This included web design and content strategy. 

What is the team composition?

I worked with two people, but Kevin (Principal) was my main point of contact. 

How did you come to work with Calibrate Software?

Kevin’s mother is a business acquaintance of mine because she also works in healthcare. She mentioned that her son did web development, so I decided to contact them. 

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent around $10,000–$25,000. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together at the beginning of 2020, and our work is ongoing. 

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

We have a lot of people visiting the site. They guided us in order to maximize our engagement. 

How did Calibrate Software perform from a project management standpoint?

Their communication is exceptional. They’re very proficient in what our company does because they took the time to do some background research. They met every deadline. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re very innovative and keep up with the latest trends and technologies. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I can’t think of any area that needs improvement. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be prepared to engage with them. You’re not going to get the quality you want if you don’t work collaboratively with them. 

Introduce your business and what you do there. 

We’re a residential design build firm. Mostly, our work is done in the North Shore-area of Chicago. I’m the founder and president.  

What challenge were you trying to address with Calibrate Software?  

We needed to create a new website that was more responsive than our existing website.  

What was the scope of their involvement? 

They provided both development and design work, as well as new features. One such feature was video integration onto the home screen and in other areas. This will help with our findability and SEO. They also developed a more intuitive way for the users to access our online portfolio.  

What is the team composition? 

I worked with two people: Kevin (Co-Founder & CEO) and Sean. Sean handled the hands-on website design and coding, and Kevin managed the business development side.  

How did you come to work with Calibrate Software? 

I’ve known Kevin from other businesses. He’s a very professional and conscientious person and had always spoken highly of Sean and their abilities. It seemed like a good fit.  

How much have you invested with them? 

We spent between $7,000–$10,000 with them.  

What is the status of this engagement? 

We worked with them from November 2019 until April 2020.  

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

We don’t have metrics yet, as the site hasn’t launched but that’s not their fault. In terms of working with them, we probably ran them around a little bit. We’re in a visual business, and they were very good at taking the vision we communicated and finding a way to make it work. They’re very creative and resourceful in that way.  

How did Calibrate Software perform from a project management standpoint? 

They did a good job with this. The management was very professional, with them providing status reports after meetings or at key dates that revolved around decision making. Kevin kept everyone on track.  

For communication, we used a combination of emails and in-person meetings; this was pre-COVID. They would also send a link to a test site so we’d be able to see things at the very end.  

What did you find most impressive about them? 

Their knowledge of different platforms they can work on stands out. There’s a lot of add-ins and sub-programs–different ways to create effects within a website—and their knowledge of those was very strong. The ability to allow our website to be unique to what we wanted was great. They didn’t give us a template to fill in.  

Are there any areas they could improve? 

Like in the building industry, sometimes things take two months when you thought they were going to take one month. It’s difficult to manage expectations, as they don’t know what I’m going to ask for, but if there’s an area to improve in, it’s communication and managing expectations of delivery dates. That’s the same for any company.  

Do you have any advice for potential customers? 

Have as clear of an idea as you can, at the beginning, of what your goals are and what you want. For web design projects, you can lower the costs and shorten the experience by having as much of your homework done before you launch. Otherwise, make sure they’re asking the right questions to draw out those things they need to move efficiently.  

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder of a parent-child journaling app that helps parents capture key moments with their children in a secure place. 

What challenge were you trying to address with Calibrate Software?

I had to fire the initial tech team that built my app because we were running into all kinds of technical challenges. So, I approached Calibrate Software to take over development and complete the project. 

What was the scope of their involvement? 

Calibrate Software is getting my project back on track. The solution originally consisted of web and mobile versions. But, after maintaining the web app for some time, we realized that the management was too complex for our small startup and decided to bench it. 

Their team is now developing our product for iOS and Android. They’ve provided a bunch of design work for us, coming up with some great creative ideas.

What is the team composition? 

I work directly with Kevin (CEO) and Sean (Designer). 

How did you come to work with Calibrate Software?

A peer of mine had used Calibrate Software for a small project and was happy with the results. Out of all of the teams that I interviewed, their responsiveness and attentiveness stood out the most. I was also drawn to some of their past projects as well as their principals’ backgrounds.

How much have you invested with them?

To date, it’s been under $200,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

I started working with them in November 2019, and we’re still working today.

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

I measure their success by looking at the work that they put out. If it functions as intended and we’re getting good user feedback, then I’m satisfied.

How did Calibrate Software perform from a project management standpoint?

Calibrate Software is always on top of my needs and constantly communicate. Compared to the first development team I worked with, they’re much more responsive. That means a lot to me, especially when a project ends up taking longer than expected. 

We use a shared Trello board to see where we are in our sprints. I get notifications when a task moves from one stage to the next, which lets me and my team to jump in and test what’s happening.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Not to go back to this ad nauseam, but their responsiveness is a big part of why I like working with them. I might send a text message or an email and get responses soon after. They’ll even respond on weekends sometimes if I’ve got a technical issue with my program. 

Besides that, they’re creative in thinking through ideas. The team iterates through future versions of what we could do or include, coming up with different ways to improve our app. In that sense, they’re more like a team member than a contractor.

Are there any areas they could improve?

As the founder of a startup, I always wish that things were moving faster than they are.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Looking back at my own journey, I’ve found that it’s really important to map out the way your programs and processes are supposed to work. That includes the analytics. What data are you tracking and how are you going to track it? 

You’ll want that data reported upfront so that you’re not trying to tie your product back into it later. Understanding the data behind our user journey has been an ongoing challenge for us.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CFO of Pikazo, an art app that I invented. It does AI art merging of images, taking a style and subject and merging them together using our algorithm.

What challenge were you trying to address with Calibrate Software?

We were moving from a previous service provider, so we hired them to enhance our app and create an e-commerce site for us.

What was the scope of their involvement?

They integrated the original code and created a new interface and UX for the mobile app. They also created the e-commerce site from scratch for us. 

What is the team composition?

We work with three people from their team, including the CFO, and CTO.

How did you come to work with Calibrate Software?

I followed a referral from my lawyer to use Calibrate Software. I interviewed a couple of people, but their team checked off a lot of the boxes for me. 

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent roughly $25,000–$30,000. They’ve been very cooperative with a rolling fee based on performance. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We starting consulting with them in January 2017 and our engagement is ongoing because they continue to maintain and manage the work. 

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

Their work meets my expectations. They hit every timeline. 

How did Calibrate Software perform from a project management standpoint?

They were great to work with. They interface with their other programmers and when we need changes, we discuss it. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their team goes above and beyond and their honesty stands out. They put forth the proper effort and are honest about their work. Technology is a tricky thing and there can be a domino effect, and they’ve been very diligent about working through any problems and anticipating them. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

We can all do better and take more responsibility for doing things better, but nothing stands out and I get what I pay for. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Just be clear about the quote and break it up clearly for them. 

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of a technology company called Innovation X-Treme LLC. Our product is a mobile app called GIFgram.

What challenge were you trying to address with Calibrate Software?

I needed a partner that could develop GIFgram for IOS and Android.

What was the scope of their involvement? 

Calibrate Software built GIFgram, which is a mobile app that allows individuals to connect and communicate with other users. During our alpha phase, I decided to expand the engagement to develop a landing page.

What is the team composition? 

I’ve worked with about four individuals: 1–2 direct contacts, and the remaining helped out during development and beta testing.

How did you come to work with Calibrate Software?

One of my vendors used Calibrate Software to develop his app and gave me their information. After I reached out, they kept following up again and again. I thought if they were that persistent, I should at least talk with them. 

I met two of their reps for a conversation and really enjoyed how they said they would proceed with my app. Then it all went from there. 

How much have you invested with them?

I’ve spent between $50,000–$100,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started in July 2019 and completed the project in about eight months. Now, they provide maintenance to my app and site.

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

The overall product performed well, and I’m pleased with the job. Because I’m not tech-savvy from a development standpoint, I leaned on them to guide me throughout our discussions. It meant a lot that I could trust them. In the end, they did what they said they would — that’s why I’m still working with them.

How did Calibrate Software perform from a project management standpoint?

The team is extremely engaging. We have regular communication through email, and I appreciate that they work with my schedule. I have a day job, so I had to do a lot of work for GIFgram at night. By accommodating that, they’ve made the process easy for me.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I could tell that they were genuinely in pursuit of excellence. When we first sat down, I only had a general concept in mind with a few specifics. Calibrate Software helped me craft my idea into a doable project and quickly flesh out any blind spots. Ultimately, this led to a solid product. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, they’ve actually been the ones to teach me. We still have discussions where I learn a lot from them.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

One of the things I’ve struggled with as an individual has been giving up control so that I could accept the opinions of others. Calibrate Software had some good ideas, and we ended up going with many of those. They were able to get me to see things differently to shine some light on my blind spots.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

My business partner and I founded a company that’s centered around a tech platform that digitizes mandated teaching standards revolving around team building and experiential education. Our dream was to make their activities easy to discover and organize within an app. 

I have a background in wilderness-related leadership teaching and team building and my partner was more experienced working with public schools. We met in grad school and decided to collaborate on this app.  

What challenge were you trying to address with Calibrate Software?

We engaged them after collaborating with another group in Chile on an MVP. After we took the MVP to a conference, we received support from a large-scale nonprofit organization that had the same goals that we did for underfunded schools and educators. By then, our development partner could no longer keep up with our deadlines, so we hired their team to build the app based on the MVP.

What was the scope of their involvement?

They conducted an initial code audit to check up on the current state of the MVP. Following that, we began negotiations surrounding how we could create a fully-fledged application from the existing MVP. Once they developed the scope of work, they recreated our app using the backend infrastructure created by our previous MVP partner. They redid the frontend as well. We’ve been working with them on the app for about a year and a half. 

What is the team composition?

I collaborate with Kevin (Co-Founder) and Sean (Digital Strategy Director). We don’t interface directly with the developers. 

How did you come to work with Calibrate Software?

My business partner had a connection with one of their founders. 

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent about $48,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began collaborating in the summer of 2019, and our relationship is ongoing. The project will be complete in September 2020.

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

We were very happy with their thorough code audit. They spent time with us to point out areas for improvement without taking a negative outlook on our situation. He maintained confidence in our situation and got a solution to us at an affordable price. They believed in our mission and provided us with a beautiful app in a cost-effective manner.  

How did Calibrate Software perform from a project management standpoint?

We used Trello for project management. It took us a little while to get into a groove with our communication. Being able to track development and testing through project management boards was very helpful. We don’t have a ton of in-house tech experience and needed a bit of handholding. They found a way to make that work. Deadlines were missed when we weren’t able to clearly articulate our needs or expectations.  

What did you find most impressive about them?

Our app is gorgeous, professional, smooth, and fast. It makes me happy every time I open it. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

There could have been more communication surrounding timelines. Sometimes, we thought we were asking for something simple when it was actually very complicated. At the beginning of our collaboration, this happened a few times. By the end of the engagement, we figured out how to best communicate. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

It’s worth investing time in clarifying your vision and expectations. They were always agreeable and excited about the project. Take some time to make sure everyone is on the same page about your vision.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the general manager of an LLC with CBRE and a restaurant group as the members, CBRE on the real estate side and the restaurant on the food service side. We manage the concession program for the Chicago park district.

What challenge were you trying to address with Calibrate Software?

We had an old, really terrible website that I had inherited, and its primary purpose was to distribute an application for the concession program. I realized that we needed more modern ways of doing things, including the website.

What was the scope of their involvement?

They dove in from the beginning on a bunch of different improvements to the site that we needed, including improving site speed and page organization, as well as optimization for mobile devices. From there, we completely revamped the online application process to make it automated and simple, as well as colorful and attractive to help reduce people’s hesitations about the process.

What is the team composition?

We worked with three members of their team on the project, including Kevin (Co-Founder & CEO) and two of his principal developers.

How did you come to work with Calibrate Software?

I met the folks from Calibrate software by chance when Kevin was looking for information on the concession program. When I heard about what they could do it sounded like the perfect solution to my problem. They put together a scope of work that was competitive, and in the process, we established a great rapport, so I decided to move forward with them.

How much have you invested with them?

The total cost of the work has been close to $20,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We first started talking in late 2018, but the project officially began around March 2019 and is currently ongoing.

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

There are still a lot of features I would like to add to the site, but they have been absolutely instrumental to all of the progress that we have made on the site so far. They’ve added live weather monitoring to the site, as well as the backend infrastructure necessary to add the kinds of webcam or reservation features that I would like to have in the future.

Since the new form launched, we’ve been getting a lot of new applications to the program, which makes me think that the process we implemented really improved the overall accessibility of that form. We’ve also seen an increase in visitors, but I would like to continue that trend and also improve our tracking capabilities so that we can see those numbers more accurately and find out where they’re going and how much time they spend on the pages as well.

How did Calibrate Software perform from a project management standpoint?

They do a really good job managing our communication and timelines throughout the work. Their team would send me notes after every call, including any outstanding items on both their and my side so that it was very clear what the next steps were for everyone involved.

Progress was always tracked very accurately, and they followed through on all of their projected deadlines for every task that we assigned to them. Most of our communication occurred over email and telephone, as well as video calls and screen sharing when we communicated about specific features or designs.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I really appreciated the work they put in to understand our business. We don’t sell from our website, and the individual concessions handle their own marketing and everything. Their ability to look at that and not just take a cookie-cutter approach that wouldn’t have fit our needs as well as what they came up with in the end was something I really appreciated.

Are there any areas they could improve?

For this project, I don’t have anything I wish had gone differently. They gave me exactly what I asked for and delivered it on budget, on time, and with excellent response time to any requests I ever had.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Understand that you are not the expert but take the time to communicate your needs so that they can then clarify your vision into a tangible product that accomplishes your goals.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am a co-founder of 420 Trivia and MJ.com.

What challenge were you trying to address with Calibrate?

My co-founders and I wanted to introduce an advertising platform for the cannabis space because the industry is so heavily regulated on social media and in other traditional forms of advertising. We engaged Calibrate to develop our application—called 420 Trivia.

What was the scope of their involvement?

When we first met with Calibrate, we only had the initial concept, so we relied on their team to fill in the technical gaps. Calibrate made all of the UI/UX designs from scratch. They came up with three different versions, and we tweaked our favorite until we arrived at our final design. Once the design was in place, Calibrate developed Android and iOS versions.

Our application offers several games that allow users to win money and prizes. Calibrate was instrumental in determining how we could create interactive, live games and non-live games. Similarly, they configured the application so that it did not kick users out or experience lag time when many users are on the app at once—a problem that has plagued other trivia and game apps.

One feature we are particularly excited about is a VIP game room where users can pay to play in games hosted by celebrities. In those cases, we cap the number of winners at anywhere from 3–10 depending on the number of entries. Unlike other trivia games that have thousands of winners earn small amounts of money, for example, we wanted to ensure that our winners received much larger sums. We leaned on Calibrate’s experience to determine how we could do that, not only from a legal standpoint but also from a payment transaction perspective. To facilitate payments through the app, Calibrate included integrations with PayPal and other methods.

What is the team composition?

I had two primary points of contact.

How did you come to work with Calibrate?

I learned of Calibrate through a recommendation from another member of the Young Entrepreneur Council I participate in. I arranged a meeting with Calibrate’s team and was impressed by how quickly they could come up with solutions.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent between $80,000–$95,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our engagement spanned September 2018–March 2019. The project is complete, but we haven’t launched yet because we have recently introduced MJ.com. We want a one- or two-month focus on the website before we launch the application.

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

We’ve received feedback from executives in various industries that our product will have value and relevance among musical artists and cannabis brands.  

How did Calibrate perform from a project management standpoint?

Their team was available at all hours. In fact, because they have been so responsive, we've asked them to maintain our servers. During the development process, we received weekly reports that updated every line item of the project and predicted times to complete each task.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We didn’t have to go back and forth on the app’s design because they nailed it on the first try. They delivered exactly what we envisioned and discussed. That was pretty impressive because I’ve known the design process to sometimes take 6–8 weeks.

Are there any areas they could improve?

As their team grows, I’m hopeful that they can add more resources to their staff. There were times when we hoped to expedite certain pieces of the program, but they didn’t have enough available people to do so. That said, Calibrate still met all of the deadlines we agreed to.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I’m well aware that there are less expensive vendors, but, in my experience, those companies end up costing more in the long run because of all the changes that will need to be made. Calibrate is not only worth the money, but the price they quote you at is the price you’re going to pay for the whole project to be completed the way you want it.