Culture Foundry

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am a Director of NYRA Bets

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

NYRA Bets is an online horse betting site with betting on over 300 tracks and available in 39 states.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Culture Foundry to accomplish?

• Modernizing the look/layout of our marketing pages on desktop and mobile.
• Implementing a new CMS to give us more flexibility and creativity in creating marketing pages.
• Creating areas to display content effectively on desktop and mobile (and making it mobile-friendly).

SOLUTION

How did you find Culture Foundry?

Culture Foundry won an RFP bid over 8 years ago, and my company has been working with them since.

Why did you select Culture Foundry over others?

• Company values aligned
• They had experience within our industry and we've had great success with them on past projects.

How many teammates from Culture Foundry were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

The NYRA Bets website and app was built with an iframe within an iframe (there were two different site not talking ot each other) and was also not mobile-friendly. Culture Foundry scraped our old CMS, and brought in a new one. With this change we accomplished:

• A mobile-friendly site for our growing mobile/app business
• A more modern asthetic based of our brand guide
• A much more fuild customer journey from traveling from marketing pages to our bet pad (which is developed and maintained by a seperate company)
• Custom modules in our CMS to fit our unique content needs (posting expert horse racing picks)
• A better performing calander/promos area not only for the customer, but for the NYRA Bets team to work more effectively
• A much improved site look an unique and stylish ways to include graphics within a page to break up text and provide seemless looking call to actions

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Horse racing is a business that is very resistant to change. I was worried that even though the new site was better, our customers would be resistant just because it was new. And it was the total opposite effect! We had no major customer complaints about the site.

In fact, a whitelabel partner of ours saw the new site and instantly wanted it for their sister site. We've been able to publish so much content that can now be easily viewed on mobile. With the update to our landing pages, we saw an uptick of 28% in new registrations during our KY Derby campaign, which garners the most registrations of the year.

The time the team has saved from the ease of the new CMS would also be considered a great success. 

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

The project management was great. They were always receptive to our feedback and ideas, and quick to respond to emails. We had a very strict deadline as to not interfear with Kentucky Derby season and those goals were met. 

What was your primary form of communication with Culture Foundry?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

The team is very creative and about more than delivering a cookie cutter option. NYRA Bets has unique challenges, and Culture Foundry always comes up with an idea of how to suit our needs. Every concern is met and we're never told "we can't do that." 

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

The NYRA Bets project was on a tight deadline, so I wish we had jumped on to the Slack channel earlier and perhaps involved our bet pad company on it as well. It's difficult coordinating three companies (one that is not in the US) to jump on calls.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the VP of Strategic Planning & Marketing of Virginia Equine Alliance

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

The Virginia Equine Alliance is a 501 C 3 that represents and promotes the horse industry in Virginia , with a primary focus on racing and breeding. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Culture Foundry to accomplish?

• Update and give a fresh look to our website
• Make our website user friendly and easy to navigate, and easy to load content
• Give our website the capability to handle large vide content

SOLUTION

How did you find Culture Foundry?

• Online Search
• Referral

Why did you select Culture Foundry over others?

• High ratings
• Pricing fit our budget
• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost
• Referred to me
• Company values aligned
• understanding of our business

How many teammates from Culture Foundry were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

The project was to re-design and update the exisiting website and consolodate the other related sites to easy to navigate links off of the main site. This included a complete new pages design for the virginia horse racing pages, including a new logo, color scheme, updated navigationn, increased video and conten hosting and displaying capabilities, staff training and complete site launching. All deliverables were met on time and successfully.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

A modern and fresh page design and logo with an easy navigation and hosting of all content and forms.

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

Culutre Foundry's project management was exemplary and complete. Their team was responsive, helpful in suggesting design implementations to work well for our various needs, their creativity of design was outstanding and in line with our vision . They immediately assisted with any questions we had and did a phenomenal job of educating our team in the entire process, making it easy for us to be able to manage our site.

What was your primary form of communication with Culture Foundry?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

Culture Foundry has an outstanding creative design talent that understands a company's vision and brings it to light with a strong passion for doing so. The professionalism of every member of their team from design to technical implementation to account management is second to no other company I have worked with on any type of project .

They are a very high level company who have worked on major projects , but I always felt as though I was their number one client and that they understood my expecations for this project and helped me visualize that.

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

I can find no areas where Culture Foundry needs improvement, they were perfect in every detail of our project from start to finish....it exceeded all expecations.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Chief of Staff of ImageSource, Inc.

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Enterprise process automation software and services

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Culture Foundry to accomplish?

• Ongoing website enhancements
• Design, build, and host new corporate website
• Host and manage product training and documentation sites

SOLUTION

How did you find Culture Foundry?

Referral

Why did you select Culture Foundry over others?

• Close to my geographic location
• Pricing fit our budget
• Great culture fit
• Referred to me

How many teammates from Culture Foundry were assigned to this project?

6-10 Employees

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

We hired Culture Foundry to design and build our new corporate website, www.imagesourceinc.com. We needed the new site to go live in a few months and had just rebranded the company. The work included content strategy, site map, functional specifications, design concepts, web design and development, and working through review and revisions until launch. As part of the project, hosting and ongoing maintenance of our site was moved over to Culture Foundry from our in-house team. 

Since launching the new corporate website, we have launched serveral enhancements in the proceeding two years. In addition, we have turned over the hosting of two other sites we maintain, an online learning site (ILINX University) and product documentation site (ILINX Help Center).

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I came from 25 years as the head of creative at a digital agency, so I knew the standard we wanted for our new ImageSource website. Culture Foundry's design concepts and website execution needed to meet high standards. 

Our Marketing team measured success by the accolades from leadership when the  site launched, praise from customers, the ease of updating the site via the WordPress CMS, and the ongoing partnership Culture Foundry has shown to evolve the site and improve communication across our teams.

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

Culture Foundry has been attentive to details and outstanding in their ability to meet agreed-upon deadlines and deliverables.

What was your primary form of communication with Culture Foundry?

• In-Person Meeting
• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

I was impressed with the continual improvement in design aesthetics and technical expertise from Culture Foundry. This is a digital agency on the rise and it feels that way from the client side. They are not resting on their laurels or coasting, they are driven to get better and it shows.

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

There are always challenges with any project, including changing priorities, personnel transitions, and dealing with time/resource realities. Close communication is key to working through all of these things, Culture Foundry has accepted this challenge and gotten better and better in this area through the course of our partnership.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Deputy Director, Public Programs Office of American Library Association

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

The mission of the American Library Association is to provide leadership for the development, promotion, and improvement of library and information services and the profession of librarianship in order to enhance learning and ensure access to information for all.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Culture Foundry to accomplish?

• Redesign ALA's website, ProgrammingLibrarian.org

SOLUTION

How did you find Culture Foundry?

Referral

Why did you select Culture Foundry over others?

• Pricing fit our budget
• Great culture fit
• Referred to me
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from Culture Foundry were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

The American Library Association (ALA) embarked on an upgrade of the programminglibrarian.org website from Drupal 7 to Drupal 9. Along with this upgrade, we took the opportunity to collect stakeholder input, increase engagement, evolve the website's content structure, and modernize its design. Culture Foundry's deliverables included a creative brief, a set of wireframes, visual designs, and a design kit.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The most notable measurable outcome from this project is the creation of our beautiful new website design! We launched the much-improved Programming Librarian in early 2024, to widespread praise from our readers and stakeholders.

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

Culture Foundry absolutely delivered items on time, and their work was of the highest quality. ALA staff required the project to be delayed (due to an unplanned family leave by the client's project director) but Culture Foundry was ready to pick up again as soon as we were. They were organized, clear in their delivery of materials, and excellent communicators.

What was your primary form of communication with Culture Foundry?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

Probably their communication. Jory was an absolutely delight to work with -- clear, straightforward, always giving great advice. And of course Trevor's web designs were excellent.

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

None that I can think of. Culture Foundry was a joy to work with, and I'd highly recommend them to others.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the VP - Data Management of Wine Business Monthly, Winejobs, Wine Business Analytics

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Wine Business is the leading producer of information and events for the wine industry.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Culture Foundry to accomplish?

• Visual corporate identity to unify our multiple lines of business
• Website redesign (Wine Business)
• Design and create subscriber-only, high-end monthly digital Analytics Report

SOLUTION

How did you find Culture Foundry?

Referral

Why did you select Culture Foundry over others?

• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost
• Other

What was the size of Culture Foundry’s team?

2-5 Employees

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

We have worked with Culture Foundry across 4 projects over past few years. Most recently, we asked them to develop a visual identity to unify our lines of business. CF delivered beautiful results, gave us many options and really listened to our goals for the new look. CF also redesigned winebusiness.com, achieved all of our goals there. Prior to that, CF built our Wine Analytics Report, the functionality and design.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

• Senior management thrilled with new design. Beautiful and easy to navigate website. Highly functional digital publication platform with dynamic charting, very easy for our editors to publish with.

What was your primary form of communication with Culture Foundry?

Virtual Meeting

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

Very timely, very responsive. Always very clear in communications, setting expectations and timely follow through.

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

Direct and personal communications with each contributor on our projects.

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

No changes needed. Everything from initial discussions to delivery was spot-on and professional. We have returned for 3 more projects since initial engagement.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the President and CTO at a national non-profit dedicated to increasing the meaningful and influential participation of women and girls across all intersecting identities in computing fields and careers.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

Our Aspirations in Computing award portal was built on Drupal 7, which was going end of life, and needed to be entirely rebuilt and relaunched.

SOLUTION

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

Culture Foundry had worked with us on a prior project with outstanding results. We did an initial engagement with them to scope the new portal, and were impressed by the selected architecture and plan.

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

This was a large scale custom web application development project that included scoping, many rounds of requirement gathering, wireframe and information architecture reviews, and functional approvals. This included a transition to a single sign on provider and a completely redesigned headless CMS system.

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

We worked with a project manager, and relationship manager, the CTO, and several engineers.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our portal was launched on-time, and our thousands of applicants were able to successfully submit award applicants. The system operated smoothly and with limited errors.

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

We had weekly meetings with the team to discuss progress. We also had a shared document to track user stories, testing status, priorities etc.

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

Culture Foundry's commitment to their customers is unique. I have worked with many technology vendors through the years, and they demonstrated a commitment to completing the project on time that I have not seen with any other tech vendor I have used.

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

The project went well!

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

The New York Racing Association operates three Thoroughbred horse racing tracks in NY state - Saratoga, Belmont Park and Aqueduct - as well as a national ADW platform called NYRA Bets. I oversee digital strategy for the company, which includes website, social media, email marketing, streaming and app strategy.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

Our website network was completely outdated and went offline frequently. We hired Culture Foundry to completely revamp our site structure, design, and backend setup.

SOLUTION

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

Culture Foundry was selected through a detailed RFP bid process. They demonstrated strong knowledge in technical elements, were very willing to educate us along the way, and made us feel that they truly understood our unique business.

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

We had a kick off meeting to discuss objectives and our business goals, which was followed by wireframes and edits until we launched. We now do regular audits so that we can keep improving the customer experience on the front end of the sites and protect secure information on the backend of the sites.

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

We always work directly with a project manager, have regular contact with web developers and the CEO is also available and involved in everything.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Culture Foundry’s work has helped us take our business from NY based to National in terms of reach and customer acquisition. We went from having zero control over our Google rankings and SEO to having all our top-performing pages pull up on the first page of common searches.

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

Their PM style is great, I always know what is being worked on and am able to easily report updates to my leadership group. We have biweekly calls (more frequently if we’re in the final stages of a launch) and regularly communicate over slack and email. They also use Jira.

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

I really feel that Culture Foundry's team members are committed to working together to help achieve our business goals. That’s very rare to find in a vendor relationship.

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

Nope, I really enjoy working with them on every level!

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of a national membership-based organization. We work with grassroots immigrant and refugee rights organizations across the country to help with advocacy, education, organizing, and capacity-building.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Culture Foundry?

Our website was very outdated. It used the Drupal platform, which made it difficult to update without having an extensive tech background. We wanted a site that would better meet our needs and represent our organization.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We started the engagement by identifying the issues with the existing site, our goals for the new site, and what the best methods were to achieve those goals. They recommended a WordPress platform for the site, with plug-ins and content implemented on top of that. After that, we entered into the design process. They got to know us, our inspirations, and some of the graphic design elements that surround our work. Our previous site was pretty drab, so we wanted them to use a bolder color palette for the new site. Their team ended up using the artwork of an artist we collaborate with regularly as the inspiration for the site. We met regularly with them to discuss their process and troubleshoot any issues together.

What is the team composition?

I worked directly with Laura (Digital Project Manager). She helped us through the entire project. We also worked with Zach (Junior Software Engineer), Collin (Software Engineer), Scott (Developer), and Hans (CEO & Founder) at different points in the project.

How did you come to work with Culture Foundry?

We connected with Zach. He knew of our work and felt we’d be a good match for them.

How much have you invested with them?

This was a pro-bono project for them. They selected us out of several nonprofit social justice organizations as a way to give back to the community.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked with them on the site development project from September 2020–April 2021. They’re still providing us with hosting services, though.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The site is gorgeous and really unique. I had a colleague describe it to me as being almost like a stained-glass window. People within our sphere have been impressed with the aesthetics of the site as well as how well it represents our mission. Having this strong online presence is really important to us. We needed a site that provided information of interest to both our members and people not involved with the organization. With our new site, visitors have definitely been engaged.

They set up the new site so that it would be very easy for me to implement any changes. They got me up-to-speed on how to use and modify the site several weeks before our launch. Laura put together a series of training videos that they provided to us so that we can train others as well. I’m confident that everything they put into this engagement will elevate our work in a way that we desperately needed.

How did Culture Foundry perform from a project management standpoint?

Laura is an amazing project manager. They responded well to all our requirements and took the time to understand our needs. Communicating with them was fun. We collaborated with each other via Google Docs.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They delivered a product that’s incredibly unique and really speaks to who we are as an organization. It’s our favorite website, and they built it for free. They went the extra mile to make sure we were satisfied. Their team met all our requirements, even those that other vendors seemed unwilling to consider.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can’t think of anything. They did everything we asked for and more.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Going into the engagement, be clear about exactly what you need from them. Make sure you articulate your vision to them.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of business and marketing at Pride Mountain Vineyards.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Culture Foundry?

We hired Culture Foundry to develop our website.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The website acts as a portal to our business for the public. It describes our property, history, each of our wines, and our guest experience. People can also purchase wines. We also offer a lot of wines exclusively to our mailing list. Those members have a special log-in to find these wines that Culture Foundry integrated within the site.

Over the years, they’ve updated our site and integrated it with our POS and CRM systems.

What is the team composition?

I’ve worked with Trevor (Creative Director & Founder), Josh (Designer & Frontend Web Developer), and Colin (Senior Designer & Director). Jory (Director of Accounts) is our main point of contact.

How did you come to work with Culture Foundry?

I’ve worked with Trevor before he founded Culture Foundry. I always thought that he did an outstanding job at delivering our company's vision through a website presentation. It was logical that we would continue on with Culture Foundry.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent $175,000 over the years.  

What is the status of this engagement?

Our ongoing engagement started in January 2010.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’re a small company, so we receive a lot of feedback from our customers and mailing list subscribers. We’ve been told that the site is intuitive, visually-appealing, and easy to use. Users can order our wines online without any issue.

How did Culture Foundry perform from a project management standpoint?

Jory keeps everything organized. She relays everything clearly to the developers while keeping me updated on the timeline and project. If there is a question best answered by a developer, we will have a video call to clear everything up.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Whenever we have an issue, they’re responsive. If something needs to be addressed critically, I can make it known, and they’ll respond quickly.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There’s nothing that I’ve been unhappy with. They really do a great job.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Giving clear direction while being timely in your own communication. It makes the best use of everyone’s time. If something needs to be addressed, I’m always clear about changes, and they’ve been receptive.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the former VP for content programming and media for 24 Hour Fitness and the editor-in-chief for 24 Life magazine.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Culture Foundry?

We had many different projects with them, but our core project was the development of the editorial site and lifestyle brand, as well as the digital magazine.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The team participated in a full website launch, including coming up with a content and digital strategy and a direct-to-consumer strategy. They worked on the design, SEO, PPC, and supported us in creating both the WordPress website and the other websites that we built from the ground up. They’d build a digital magazine for us every month, too. 

What is the team composition?

The number of people working on the project flexed over the years, but we had a core team of 4–5 people depending on what we were doing at that point in time. If we needed to launch or build something new, they’d pull in others as needed. 

How did you come to work with Culture Foundry?

I believe we found them through a referral. Their skillset and their work speak for themselves in the marketplace. The team and their ability to adapt our vision and bring solutions to the table made us decide they’d be the best fit. 

What is the status of this engagement?

The project began around December 2014. Though I’m no longer at the company, I believe the project is still ongoing, but maybe not at the same scale since COVID-19 happened. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We launched a site and we wouldn’t have been able to do it without their help. We won a digital magazine award for interactive media, which had an impact. We grew a lifestyle brand from zero and saw at least a 60% increase in traffic for the company, too. 

The cool thing about working with Culture Foundry was that we could bring a vision to the table, come up with ideas, and then they did deep research on best practices and new solutions that took the market to the next level. They then brought that research to take our project to a higher level of execution.

Another amazing aspect of their team is they had designers, not just web developers. They were able to look at the interactive experience for the content and readers, so they know what works, what drives conversions, and what gives the experience we want for our brand, which is especially important now. 

How did Culture Foundry perform from a project management standpoint?

They had direct access to our site and we used a combination of Google and project management tools. Their team was very flexible with what we had. We used a lot of emails and direct communication, including weekly meetings and quarterly in-person meetings for brainstorming. 

We were very much partners, not just a vendor relationship. We had direct access to them. There were some late nights and weekends when we had to get something out the door and they were responsive, which is so incredible in this market. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

The team is full of high-caliber professionals at the top of their game. They are also really good humans, so we knew they were good people to work with — that makes or breaks a work experience. We could have transparent conversations that were both professional and human. 

Their ability to come forward with this level of design execution, and not just a traditional template that’s been used 9,000 times in the marketplace, is impressive. They knew how to bring forward something that was visually appealing, competitive, and distinct. We’ve worked with many other web developers, but none have had the leading edge eye for design like Culture Foundry. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can’t think of anything — they were one of my favorite partners to work with. If we needed something changed, they did it for us. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

If you have the luxury to do a launch meeting, do it because that was super valuable for us. It helps establish the relationship right out of the gate. We did work with many teammates and that was really helpful. The weekly meetings are also great.

The more specific you can get with your vision and feedback, the better they’ll adapt and learn what you’re trying to build. Then you’ll have a co-creation of a language that helps you with your site.