Cheesecake Labs

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of execution of a privately held mortgage company. We have a couple of main offices in Omaha, Nebraska; San Diego, California; and Lombard, Illinois.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Cheesecake Labs?

We were looking to create a mortgage application that would get into home search and combine some pieces into one.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We engaged with Cheesecake Labs and laid out what we were looking to accomplish. They picked up our concepts quickly and gave us an extensive overview and presentation of their plan to ensure we’d meet our goals. We wanted to do some fine pieces that we hadn’t seen in the industry, and they created them.

One of those pieces was a rewards program. They took the idea and ran with it, helping us to look at other companies to find ideas we could incorporate into the app. Initially, we provided some basic questions to help them create our mortgage flow and what the app should look like. Additionally, we suggested applications we liked, although they weren’t mimicked. They did some research and looked at the apps we suggested to incorporate those references and create our own version.

They did a proof of concept of our point of sale with the system that we’d plug into the application; they only did the design. However, Cheesecake Labs tested all the APIs to ensure everything was working. They also integrated other ideas and did the wireframes from scratch.

What is the team composition?

Four people participated consistently in our weekly meetings. We also met the company’s president and had a client engagement manager, a project manager, a chief product officer, and a UX/UI designer. They were the team members we worked the closest with. Beyond that, a bigger team would sit in with us every once in a while.

How did you come to work with Cheesecake Labs?

They were a referral, but we also did our due diligence. They designed and developed another home search for a company we’d worked with, and we liked their work. However, we looked around to see if they would fit us best.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent $75,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in December 2021, and they completed the project in April 2022.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We have the Figma files of everything they created for us. Moreover, they were willing to present to the larger organization in our place several times, which wasn’t part of our contract. They did it out of the goodness of their heart. Overall, they were fantastic to work with, and their communication was outstanding. They listened to our ideas and made them a reality. 

How did Cheesecake Labs perform from a project management standpoint?

We paid what they quoted us initially. We had weekly meetings, sometimes even more than once a week if we wanted to get something done. In general, the team was on point and pushed the project along. They always seemed to accomplish more than we thought was possible. Moreover, it felt like a collaboration; they didn’t force any ideas on us.

They gave us access to their Slack account so we could see the daily progress. Also, we used Google Meetings and back-and-forth emails for communication.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their communication skills, speed of development, and cost were incredible. They were a great company. Seeing them taking our ideas and making them a reality was amazing.

Are there any areas they could improve?

The only bummer was that we couldn’t use them for development due to some of our internal regulations. They were located in Brazil, and our company doesn’t allow us to work with vendors in that country. We would’ve loved the opportunity to build the application with them. It was on our company, not on them.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Use Cheesecake Labs. They’re fantastic. On your part, you just have to make sure that you complete the tasks they ask you.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of e-commerce at ACG Brands Inc., a consumer products company that creates a lot of different types of consumer products.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Cheesecake Labs?

We’re creating a brand new product category: Bluetooth-enabled, smart heating devices. The goal was to develop a mobile application to connect and control those Bluetooth devices.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Cheesecake Labs is doing mobile app development for us. We started with a discovery phase and came up with the scope of work and service agreement. They then developed and launched our mobile app for iOS and Android using Bluetooth and Flutter technologies.

What is the team composition?

We've worked with a project manager, a tech lead, a product manager, a QA manager, and a designer.

How did you come to work with Cheesecake Labs?

We found them on Clutch.

How much have you invested with them?

We've spent $360,000 with them so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in November 2020, and the engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The app works; we've tested it, and the feedback has all been positive. Also, they work rapidly to fix any bugs we find.

How did Cheesecake Labs perform from a project management standpoint?

Our project manager has been phenomenal and very communicative. Throughout the project, we've had weekly meetings to ensure the project is successful and to keep everything on track and within budget. Regarding tools, we use Jira, email, and Microsoft Teams.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their biggest strength is their ability to be flexible; their team meets us where we were at and adapts to the tools we use. In addition, they're excellent at teaching us about certain things and best practices since we're new to app development.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They're doing a great job, and the only potential constructive feedback would be that the project manager was a bit disorganized initially. Nonetheless, they fixed that very quickly, got a new project manager, and turned it around.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be open to their suggestions and expertise; they're professional at app development.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the head of product management for an aging wellness company in New York City. We have a studio location where we perform medical services, including cosmetic dermatology, hormone replacement, and more. We have a website that allows our customers to experience telehealth visits with clinical staff within the same category.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Cheesecake Labs?

We had a specific project around an assessment for our customers.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Cheesecake Labs built a particular part of our website; it was an assessment that our customers will go through. They worked with us on frontend and backend development and project management. They used React for the frontend.

What is the team composition?

We worked with a product manager, two project managers, 3–4 frontend engineers, and two backend engineers.

How did you come to work with Cheesecake Labs?

They came through a recommendation from our CEO.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent between $50,000–$100,000, maybe more.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from February–April 2022.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

It’s not live yet; we’re still working on things that we have to do ourselves. However, from a success perspective, we had a parallel program to give feedback, and our developers were able to read their code. We had issues, but they weren’t more than usual, and Cheesecake Labs hoped to solve them as we reported them. Also, their team did QA to ensure that the fewest number of bugs possible made it to our team.

How did Cheesecake Labs perform from a project management standpoint?

It was a tight project with a quick ramp-up time, and Cheesecake Labs delivered what we needed on time. Also, they were very communicative with us about the project’s progress.

We used Jira and communicated via Google Meet and Slack. We had a shared Slack channel to raise issues and talk asynchronously.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their communication and ability to ramp up quickly on a complicated project were their strongest points. They were able to hit the ground running.

Are there any areas they could improve?

It was challenging to work across time zones, but it was the nature of the development process. Although we had an impact on speed and delays, it was nothing material.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Give detailed specifications of what you’re trying to accomplish so they can run with it.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CTO of Volo and the American Dream TV. We’re a media and tech company in the real estate space. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Cheesecake Labs?

We were building a video-infused real estate search mobile app. Our team developed the concept for the app for about two years. Then, we built our MVP in-house — a software engineer and I collaborated on it. We needed a vendor to help us bring our vision to life much faster, so we hired Cheesecake Labs. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Cheesecake Labs has taken our vision and assembled a team of six people to work directly with us. Other staff members also join at times, but the six-member team executes our backlog and delivers the product to the market. In terms of technology, we use the Flutter and Firebase tech stacks. 

For core app features and functionality, the app serves as a video-infused real estate search platform. When looking at traditional real estate search platforms in the US, they mainly feature homes with photos and descriptions. Meanwhile, we believe that video not only enhances real estate searches; they’re also the best medium for selling and searching for homes.

As a result, the main feature of our app is integrating real estate data with our media technology. We’ve developed searchable index map and video upload features where real estate professionals can add videos to their local marketplace on the app. This platform is currently available on iOS and Android, but we intend to add a desktop element in the future. 

What is the team composition?

We work with two frontend engineers, one backend engineer, a QA specialist, a tech lead, and a project manager. 

How did you come to work with Cheesecake Labs?

I found Cheesecake Labs through Google and hired them after interviewing multiple companies. They were one of the touted companies that had Flutter development as one of their core competencies.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve invested between $300,000–$320,000. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We started in September 2021, and the engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Cheesecake Labs has managed to clear the backlogs we’ve given them before 2022 started. That’s the first milestone they hit. Currently, we work on a sprint schedule, and that’s how we monitor success. We develop the sprints and then prioritize backlogged items before scheduling our releases. Against this process, the team always hits our release deadlines. 

How did Cheesecake Labs perform from a project management standpoint?

Their project management is good. In fact, we’ve had an issue with our project manager and communicated it to them. They’ve been receptive and responsive to the matter. Within three business days, we’ve acquired a new phenomenal project manager. From there, the project management throughout the engagement has been great. 

In terms of tools, we use Jira to manage the project. Our teams also use Slack for daily communications. We do daily standups on Google Meet.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Cheesecake Labs’ talent is impressive. Their resources are all based in Brazil, and working with Brazilian developers has been a new experience for me. Their work ethic has been unmatched. On top of that, they’re highly educated and serve as experts in the field. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

It’s hard to scale down the team that Cheesecake Labs provides. We’re a small company, but we eight get 5–6 developers from them or we get none. Overall, the ability to easily scale up and down the team would be a good improvement in their services. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Voice your concerns. Cheesecake Labs’ leadership is highly involved if you engage them. They’re willing to step in if you have any issues, so be vocal to them — they’ll make things happen. Don’t let your concerns just reside on the project management level. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Our company is Bemis Manufacturing Company, a family-owned and private company. We’ve recently celebrated our 100th year anniversary. Our brand has over 60% share in the toilet seat market — if customers go to Walmart or Target, they’ll most likely find a Bemis toilet seat. I lead all of our organic growth opportunities and manage our partnerships. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Cheesecake Labs?

I led an investment that resulted in the need for a smart device for toilet seats. We then engaged Cheesecake Labs to develop the app for that.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We weren’t familiar with IoT — it wasn’t our sweet spot — but we wanted to take our toilet seats to the next level. As a result, we asked Cheesecake Labs to design an app that allowed users to control their seats better using their smartphones. We initially introduced our company and told them what kind of help we needed.

At present, we’re still developing the app, which will be available on both iOS and Android app stores. The app lets users use various smart toilet features, such as finding information about how long they’ve been on the seat and how many times they’ve used their toilets. 

What is the team composition?

We work with a project manager as our single point of contact.

How did you come to work with Cheesecake Labs?

One member of our team had used Cheesecake Labs before, and that was how we found them. We then used Clutch to search for their reviews, along with other development companies. Then, we interviewed Cheesecake Labs, and they did a fantastic job. It was important for us to find a team that was patient enough to guide us through the development process. Our company eventually decided to engage them.

How much have you invested with them?

Our budget for this project is $220,000, and we’ve already spent around $180,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Cheesecake Labs in June 2021, and the project is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Cheesecake Labs has been a valuable partner to us. They’ve guided us through the journey, and the team has been proactive — this is truly important for a company like ours. As first-timers in the IoT world, we’re glad that they approach the project from our perspective. They consider what we don’t know and our challenges, and then they anticipate issues and find solutions for us.

How did Cheesecake Labs perform from a project management standpoint?

Cheesecake Labs does a great job of keeping us under budget. Every week, we know where we are in terms of our budget. We’re absolutely glad to be working with them because of this. Moreover, their scheduling is truly impressive, and their resources are always on time — we’ve experienced no delays so far, which is great. 

Their communication has also been fantastic. They keep us on task every week. Our teams have weekly calls, and it’s easy to communicate with the project manager. Overall, our communication is great. We mainly use Slack, but we also use Teams for conference calls. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Everything good that I’ve mentioned about them has been impressive. As a client, when we reach out to companies, we need to know who’s more responsive and organized — the Cheesecake Labs team has been extremely proactive and organized even from the beginning. In fact, before giving us a quote, they’ve already spent time understanding our product. Overall, their proactiveness and general communication skills set them apart from competitors. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, there aren’t any. Everything is going well, and we’re quite satisfied with their work.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be clear about what you want, and communicate often. Work with their project manager — this is your go-to person, and this person is amazing.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the CTO of a fast growing US based startup.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

Our project brief was to create a mobile application for users to shop from their phones. We had written a detailed project brief and produced a low-code prototype before contacting Cheesecake. Our mandate for the work was to take the project brief and prototype and deliver a fully functional working application for both iOS and Android within a tight timeframe.

SOLUTION

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

We solicited multiple proposals from multiple agencies, and reviewed costs, timeframe and staffing to make sure that the deliverables would be hit. Then we conducted in depth screeners to asses agencies on multiple points, both technical, design, management and process.

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

As we had done significant up front work in producing a detailed brief and low-code prototype we had a quick start. We had an initial short design phase that included creating new assets for screens that needed revisions. Then we moved directly to the app build, which was specced to 4 different phases.

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

Our main contact was a Project Manager, followed by a Tech Lead. The UX designer had a lot of contact initially and we had 2 meeting per week with the entire team.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Within the timeframe the team was successfully able to deliver against the 4 phases of the project, ultimately releasing the app.

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

We relied heavily on JIRA to track against timelines and the phased project delivery. Once in place this was run well, and we were able to track progress against our timeline.

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

Cheesecake were able to work with us and towards the end of the project we had to prioritize a key change in the user flow of the app. This was accomplished well and with oversight we were able to deliver the changes.

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

Given the tight timeframe we were happy with the work provided and the management of that work. It took a few weeks for the team to run smoothly and work with us and as the project progressed this became much better, so ideally we would have liked that from the start, but given how these engagements go and of the fast start that we asked for we were more than satisfied with the outcome of their work.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of a company that builds lending technology for underserved populations.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Cheesecake Labs?

We had a new website design that we needed help implementing. They were brought on to develop the frontend code.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They worked in React and Gatsby.

What is the team composition?

We worked with 3–4 people, I believe.

How did you come to work with Cheesecake Labs?

We interviewed a number of firms in our process and found them to be a great combination of professionalism and capacity for our given timeline. They were also transparent.

How much have you invested with them?

The total cost was around $50,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from November–December 2021.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We haven’t had a chance to fully integrate the code yet, but our technical team was very pleased with Cheesecake Labs coding practices and frameworks. We’re in a good spot to implement the deliverable later this year.

How did Cheesecake Labs perform from a project management standpoint?

The communication was very strong. They were upfront about specific items that would take longer than expected. They prioritized what we needed and provided extra resources as required.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They were perfectly fine.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

We're a biopharmaceutical and intelligence division of a large company with 130 years of history in inventions that benefit both human and animal health and welfare. I'm currently the Association Director for Institutional Affairs and Market Access.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We ran a Design Sprint in January in which we defined several possible digital products to be offered to our clients. HOwever, we needed someone to help us organize an MVP that could be really impactful and that's why we requested Cheecake Labs support.

SOLUTION

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

Their knowledge in working with agribusiness startups and their customer-centric methodology were key to choose Cheesecake.

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

We hired the Product Definition phase. SuperApp Product Definition. We have not yet started development. Key deliverable is the MVP prototype and usability tests.

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

Chief Product Officer and UX

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We were very happy with the work they performed. They have kept the pace and guaranteed that we are on the right track.

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

All deadlines were met by the team. When deadlines were compromised, it was because of our delay in getting back to decisions.

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

Their experience and knowledge of product management.

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

I feel very comfortable with the results so far and their communication with us.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the CEO of an alternative data platform designed for retail investors.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We hired Cheesecake Labs to design a mobile app for our company. Our objective was to take the functionality of our web platform and replicate it in a clean, easy-to-use mobile app.

SOLUTION

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

We searched online for mobile app developers, and settled on Cheesecake after seeing some of their reviews and having an initial phone call with their CEO

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

We were looking to create a React Native mobile app for both iOS and Android, which tied into our REST API.

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

A project manager was assigned to be our main point of contact, and we worked with around 5 developers and a design lead during the process

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We have not yet launched the app, but have around 6k users on a waitlist.

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

The project manager was very easy to communicate with. We had regularly scheduled (weekly) calls to get updates on their progress, and the entire team was very responsive over email and Slack.

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

Everyone we worked with at Cheesecake was very enjoyable to interact with, and always asked for our input on key design and functionality decisions without being overbearing. Their UI work was very impressive, and they made several great improvements to the functionality that we hadn't even thought to ask for

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

Not that I can think of.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder of Lys Academy, a development and training company. We create and implement courses through WhatsApp for big companies here in Brazil. Last year, we trained more than 80,000 students for people who work outside their office. We also train door-to-door sales people as well as do courses for Uber drivers.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Cheesecake Labs?

We had to officially integrate with WhatsApp. We needed to create all the software that communicates with Twilio, then Twilio communicates with WhatsApp.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Cheesecake Labs built the software for us from scratch. They created all the backend and connections with Twilio. Their team also developed a frontend where we have tutors and teachers who interact with our students. They developed a communication dashboard where our teachers can interact with the students. Their team developed both the front- and backend of our infrastructure as well.

Cheesecake Labs also created all the rules of the platform that configures our courses. We defined the standard, the number that we used for the project course. We created all the flows from each source when it starts and what day of the week we deliver the course. We also write all the courses that we deliver if it’s an image or a text. They did all of it.

What is the team composition?

There were almost five full-time individuals working on it and some part-time senior people who were involved also. There’s front- and backend developers, a UX designer, and a QA person who tests everything.

How did you come to work with Cheesecake Labs?

They were recommended by a friend. We liked their practical approach and understanding of our project.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in February 2020, and the engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our courses are working. In the beta version, we had some errors happening between 3–5% but this is reducing month by month as they correct the code and improve the servers.

How did Cheesecake Labs perform from a project management standpoint?

They utilize Kanban for project management. We mainly interact using Slack.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Cheesecake Labs is very professional. They have a senior, skilled team. Their team is very transparent on billing. It’s a great combination.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I’m very happy working with them.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Have a clear scope of work in order to have a good estimation of costs and time.