December Labs

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am a freelance software developer. I mainly work with software agencies working on mobile and backend development.

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

We had a mobile app project that needed a scalable backend solution. We brought December Labs in to design and build the backend architecture for the project.

How did you select December Labs and what were the deciding factors?

I knew December Labs from my local co-working space. Since I also work in software development, we had already had several conversations about collaborating. I also knew of several projects that they worked on that went well.

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

December Labs helped us design and develop the backend architecture for a mobile app. They developed an Express app in Node.js hosted on EC2, designed and setup a PostgreSQL database on AWS RDS, and setup several other AWS services like S3, SES, Cognito, and Lambda. They setup a Postman instance for our QA team so we could QA their work while the front end was still being worked on. They set up a Forest Admin account so we could easily make changes to our data as needed. They provided us with technical documentation and support after the main development was finished.

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

We worked with 2 people. One senior architect and one backend developer.

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

December Labs went above and beyond and finished their work faster than expected. They stayed available to help as our other dev continued to finish his work. We were extremely happy with their work, and they were a pleasure to work with. The dev we worked with was available at all times, and gave us constant updates.

The senior architect was available to help us make structural changes when the project direction pivoted here and there. We asked them to work on several different cloud services, and they did a great job incorporating all the different services. The code quality was great and we loved having their dev available to work with our mobile dev on the project.

After the project finished they provided support and technical documentation as questions came up. I am looking forward to working with them again on future projects.

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

Both of the individuals we worked with were available to chat with us whenever we needed to. We used an Agile setup with a Kanban board on Trello. At the beginning of every sprint we worked through what work would get finished and what the major goal of the sprint is. We also set aside some QA time for our team, so we could address any issues as they came up. Their main dev worked directly with out mobile dev, and their senior architect was available to meet when needed.

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

They did not simply join the project to do development, they got invested in the quality of the work and made several recommendations that greatly improved the project. They were always available for advice. They also worked through any technical challenges. Working with their team was seamless.

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

No, we were very pleased with their work and will work with them again.

Please describe your company and your position there.

CEO of a small software consulting company DNC Services

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

I hired December Labs to create a Cloud, Mobile and On Premise solution to expose on premise data to the the cloud and users' mobile devices. The goal was to seamless expose an on premise application database tables to the cloud, and then sync that to an iOS and Android native application on users devices.

How did you select December Labs and what were the deciding factors?

I selected December Labs as they were the easiest to work with and brought the most experienced engineers to the table. No task was too complex for them.

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

There was an initial scoping with the customer, and then post that a 1-2 month implementation. All up the technology used was Java, React Native mainly.

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

We worked with a senior level architect, a mobile dev, a frontend dev and a backend dev.

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

The results were excellent and the apps were designed beautifully, it allowed for faster communication from users to the back office and reduction of many errors caused by handling of paperwork.

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

Communication tools was mainly Slack and Email, and we used trello for simple tracking of sprint to sprint. Communication was near dail.y

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

Design, attention to detail, and the desire to make the customer happy whatever the cost.

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

None

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the marketing director of a company that offers a mobile application that allows users to find and navigate oil field locations across the US.

What challenge were you trying to address with December Labs?

We acquired the company in early 2019 and wanted to redesign the app from scratch.

What was the scope of their involvement?

December Labs evaluated the initial version of our app. Their team then completely redesigned the platform.

We provided input on features and feedback from users. We discussed the flow and logic, so what we wanted to happen when users perform certain actions. 

Their team then designed mockups and made adjustments based on our feedback. After creating the mockups, they started the development.

We tested the app internally and then their team created a beta version that we tested with users. We then released the platform and got more feedback from live users.

They continue to add features and conduct research for us. We tell them what we want to do, and then their team figures out how to do it.

What is the team composition?

We’ve worked directly with four people from December Labs including a project manager.

How did you come to work with December Labs?

We met at a startup incubator where we both had offices. They had a lot of clients in Houston, so their team came highly recommended.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent over $100,000 on their services so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our work together began in March 2019. We launched the new app in February 2020 but we’re still working with December Labs. Basically, they’re our outsourced developers.

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

Their response time’s quick, addressing bugs within 24–48 hours. There’ve been a couple of bugs here and there, but those were mostly due to user errors.

Their team frequently pushes out updates that have greater impacts on users. We broke our sales record in March, which was a team effort. Now, the app has all five-star reviews. All of our new users love the platform.

How did December Labs perform from a project management standpoint?

Their team communicates well and meets deadlines. Although, no one’s perfect and we’ve had delays. If the delays become significant, they don’t charge us for the extra time. Their team’s great about working through weekends.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their commitment to their work is their most impressive quality. For example, the project manager’s wife was in labor and he was still on the line with us addressing an issue.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, not at this time. It would always be nice for their rates to be lower but that’s an unrealistic expectation.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Work with them through the process. They have expert designers who can give you recommendations. If their team doesn’t have specific expertise, they’ll find someone who does.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the lead platform developer at Liongard, a tech startup based in Houston, Texas. We provide a product that helps manage service providers, allowing companies that manage IT for other businesses to automate some of the things they do manually. 

What challenge were you trying to address with December Labs?

We engaged December Labs to provide additional development support as we build custom software solutions in order to achieve our goals in a more timely manner. 

What was the scope of their involvement?

December Labs provides development bandwidth support for our team, working on our SaaS platform to make improvements to its interface. They work on the backend and UI design, using technologies like Node.js, PostgreSQL, and React. They've significantly optimized our database, adding indexes on to foreign key columns and making some major navigation changes to the platform. 

What is the team composition? 

Our main point of contact is Marcelo (Co-founder and VP of Business Development, December Labs). We also work with a couple developers and designers on their team as well. 

How did you come to work with December Labs?

They share a coworking office space with us in downtown Houston, so we had crossed paths a few times and learned about what kinds of services they offered. Once we had a need for them, we reached out. 

How much have you invested with them?

We've invested between $75,000–$80,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We've been working with them since January 2019.

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

Measuring development throughput is famously hard, but we use tools like Jira that we attach story point and tickets to that they've significantly expanded. We've tripled our output from 20–25 to about 60-70 story points per week. We're very impressed by the number of ticket closures and the complexity of the work they're able to complete regularly. 

How did December Labs perform from a project management standpoint?

They're fantastic to work with. It's difficult to find developers capable of communicating clearly and taking the time to listen to and  understand the reasons we do things a certain way. Everyone I've worked with on their team has gone over and beyond to understand our goals and been very thorough in their approach. We mostly use tools like Jira, Slack, and Bitbucket, which have all been hugely helpful in the process. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Everyone on their team has a lot of talent and knowledge in what they do–there are no weak links on their team. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

Not really at this stage. We had a small hiccup in the beginning that turned out to be a blessing. We requested they build a Windows installer, but we didn't scope the project well and their resource was not an expert in that framework. They ended up not charging us for most of the work and we learned a lot from that experience, so it's been smooth sailing ever since. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Communicate with their team regularly and clearly. We've had a lot of success using tools like Slack and Jira to accomplish that. 

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the CEO of Heaven, a lead generation and customer acquisition company.

What challenge were you trying to address with December Labs?

We hired December Labs to get our MVP operational and up and running.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Using HTML5 and CSS, December Labs developed an e-commerce site with video capabilities built into SQL Server. 

What is the team composition?

It varies based on our needs, but we work with anywhere between 3-6 people from their team. 

How did you come to work with December Labs?

I received a referral from a friend who had worked with December Labs in the past. 

How much have you invested with them?

At this time, we have invested about $100,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started engaging with December Labs in March 2019, and the work is ongoing.

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

December Labs generally delivers work on time. They’re a very reliable team. Overall, our relationship has been great. 

How did December Labs perform from a project management standpoint?

The December Labs team has been very responsive. As a startup, we sometimes have new insights and have to reprioritize. They’ve been accommodating and reliable 100% of the time.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They have a good breadth of experience and can build an array of digital products. December Labs communicates well. I’m very happy to continue working with them. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

Nothing specific comes to mind, but it would be nice to start negotiations on a long term contract.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the CEO and a co-founder of EllieGrid. We've designed a smart pillbox for people who take multiple medications. There are hardware and software components to it: the pillbox itself and a mobile app that allows you to program the pillbox with individual settings and alerts.

What challenge were you trying to address with December Labs?

We initially worked with individual developers and a few other firms to build a skeleton version of the application. We engaged December Labs because we needed to build it out more so that we could take it to market.

What was the scope of their involvement?

December Labs built the application for Android and iOS using React Native. We relied on their team to complete the backend and frontend development of the app. Within the product, users can create an account, connect to the pillbox via Bluetooth, and program the pillbox with information such as which compartment holds which medicine. December Labs also programmed the app to include smart alarms and push notifications that present a window of time for people to take their pills. The application also builds reports about whether or not the user took their medicine, which is information that can then be sent to caregivers.

What is the team composition?

December Labs has been flexible in terms of how many resources they dedicated to our project. Their team size has ranged from 1–3 developers at times, but they’ve also added designers when necessary.

How did you come to work with December Labs?

Their co-founder initially introduced himself to us to be friendly because we’re both in Houston, and I later ran into him at an event. We discussed his company at that time, but we were focused on other projects. Once the need arose for a development partner, I reached out to December Labs again to see if they could help. From that discussion, I determined that they could be a good fit.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent over $80,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our engagement began in 2018 and remains ongoing as we continue adding features and making improvements.

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

I don’t have much in terms of metrics, but qualitatively, I can firmly say that December Labs has provided excellent service. I previously worked with other firms because they were inexpensive. December Labs was a step up in that regard, and I learned that you get what you pay for. They are more reliable than past vendors in terms of quality and speed of their development. They can work quickly without sacrificing product quality.

How did December Labs perform from a project management standpoint?

December Labs was flexible in being willing to use Slack and Trello as we requested. We found those methods to be the best way to communicate and track their progress without bothering their developers too much. We also have weekly meetings.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’ve been honest and forthcoming in all matters during our time together. I once asked them to complete a one-off project separate from the original product, and they gave me a price and a timeline quote. Though they didn’t meet the deadline estimate, they didn’t charge any extra costs, which has been rare in my experiences with development teams.

Additionally, their team has made an effort to visit with us in person, either in California or in Houston. Their management team has been very present and available. It’s refreshing to work with people who are dedicated to our project. December Lab is staffed with good, honest people who also have excellent technological capabilities.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, they have exceeded my expectations, to be honest. They’re the highest-quality development firm I’ve ever worked with.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the CEO of Apartmentbutler.com. We're a B2B2C platform for apartment communities. We sell our services to large management companies and they offer those services to their residents as an amenity. Our platform is three-sided. We have a technical side for the property management companies to engage with their residents, and we have a supplier side, which we use to partner with local businesses. In addition, we have a dashboard and a web app that they use to schedule their jobs.

What challenge were you trying to address with December Labs?

We were looking for a company to help us migrate our tech stack from version 1 to version 2.

What was the scope of their involvement?

We started with a mobile app and we were designing a new database schema. First, we brought them on for a very small project–they were going to do the migration for us. But the scope of the project expanded quickly and they brought more developers on. December Labs successfully implemented every project we gave them, properly estimating the costs and the timeline. They were primarily working in PHP with MySQL database. They also used JavaScript and React on the frontend and node.js on the backend. In addition, they did some iOS work for us.

They were very engaged and brought a lot of things to our attention that we were missing, such as security issues and better ways to do the schema. Relaunching our whole teck stack was a large and costly project, in which December Labs played a vital role.

What is the team composition?

We worked with a project manager and four developers, some of whom are still engaged on a retainer basis.  

How did you come to work with December Labs?

We desperately needed additional capacity. One of their co-founders lives in the area (even though they're primarily based internationally). He was working out of our co-working space, so we got in touch with him. We were lucky to find them.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent about $400,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in 2017 and the project lasted eight months, so it was completed in 2018.

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

We recently closed our first venture capital round. We don't have in-house developers, which our venture capital considered a red flag. So having December Labs on our team made a big difference: our new investor became more comfortable (despite the fact that December Labs is an independent contractor) and ended up securing a deal with us.

How did December Labs perform from a project management standpoint?

It was a collaborative process, and we mostly used Trello for project management. Also, they were great at meeting our deadlines.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They took ownership of the project and made sure it was a success. That's something you don't see often from a contractor. They're still part of our team.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can't think of anything.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the director of strategy for a financial services firm.

What challenge were you trying to address with December Labs?

We're launching a workstation for our clients, and we engaged December Labs to design its UX and UI.

What was the scope of their involvement?

December Labs designed the UI and UX for our custom platform, producing mockups in Sketch.

What is the team composition?

We worked with one designer.

How did you come to work with December Labs?

We found them through Clutch after researching various design firms. We liked that they had experience in our industry, and they also offered competitive pricing and had a very professional website.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent about $20,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together on the project from April–June 2018.

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

December Labs provided high-quality design work, and they delivered exactly on time. They estimated the work would take eight weeks, and they weren't a day late.

How did December Labs perform from a project management standpoint?

They were very easy to work with; any feedback we provided was incorporated well, and they understood where we were coming from. We mostly communicated through Skype without any issues.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We enjoyed working with them overall. One of their representatives even visited our office, which showed how much they cared about the project.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the CEO of Welwaze Medical, a startup that is developing technologies for early breast cancer detection. We have two products: a pad that detects cancer and an app that reads the pad’s results.

What challenge were you trying to address with December Labs?

We needed help developing the full app. We didn’t have the expertise we needed in-house, so we partnered with them to complete the development.

What was the scope of their involvement?

They provided a full solution. They oversaw project management, design, front- and backend development, and all the technical aspects. They also worked with AI to develop a computer vision algorithm to read results.

They have multiple technological capabilities and really took ownership of the product. They asked to speak with an oncologist to understand the data and get their insight. They were very involved and were like a part of our company.

What is the team composition?

We work directly with Washington (Executive VP of Mobile & UX, December Labs).

How did you come to work with December Labs?

I needed a team with a range of capabilities, including computer vision expertise and blockchain knowhow. I interviewed four different suppliers and December Labs was the only company that could fill all our needs. I explained everything over several calls and they came back with suggestions. I met with them in person and decided they were the right group to work with.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve invested around $400,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in January 2018. We’re currently in development and will launch the beta in August 2018.

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

They’ve delivered a good quality product.

How did December Labs perform from a project management standpoint?

They execute everything according to the project plan. Their timelines are always realistic and they’ve hit every milestone.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They take ownership of the product and are a part of the team. They are available at all hours and their level of commitment and engagement is very high. They understand our philosophy and are willing to argue their points and make improvements. They operate as an extension of our startup.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the VP of engineering at Seneca Systems. We sell our application to local governments to help them manage their communications and workflows.

What challenge were you trying to address with December Labs?

Our application was primarily web-based and we needed someone to develop a subset of the features from the web app into a mobile app for both Android and iOS.

What was the scope of their involvement?

We began by giving them a demo of the web app, listing out which features we wanted in the mobile app, and providing them with documentation of our API. Then, they developed the wireframe and preliminary design work. That went through a few cycles of revision until it was approved, and from there they started doing the design work.

Every two weeks they would give us a new build, we’d provide feedback, and they would implement that for the next build. Toward the end of the project, they went through the web app and identified and implemented additional features they thought would increase the user experience.

They developed the app with React Native and it’s available for iOS and Android. They designed everything from login to listing out communications, and enabling city employees to respond across multiple channels from one interface. Users can also manage workflow so that they can track progress details until completion, as well as add notes and locations.

What is the team composition?

We worked with two engineers, two designers, and had a business contact that would check in every few weeks.

How did you come to work with December Labs?

They reached out to us through email. We decided to work with them after I spoke with one of their customers who had a great experience.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent about $100,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked with December Labs February–May 2018.

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

The only metric we were tracking was project length, and they exceeded our expectations.

We haven’t launched yet, but I can say that their design skills are great. The user interface they created is beautiful and easy to use.

They pay attention to detail, try to understand the problem, and come up with solutions instead of just meeting requirements. December Labs thinks through what you tell them to do and suggests alternatives when they are better for the project. Most of the time, they were able to identify and solve problems before I ever mentioned them.

How did December Labs perform from a project management standpoint?

They gave us updates every two weeks on changes in the build, project progress, what work remained, where the project was in relation to the established timeline, and the expected end. In addition to these updates, we had daily communication through Slack.

What did you find most impressive about them?

December Labs was familiar with the agile management methodology, which enabled them to adapt to changes in the app and overall project needs. I appreciated that they didn’t need much detailed guidance. They knew our API, and whatever they weren’t familiar with, they would find out. We didn’t have to invest a lot of our own project management or development time to support their development.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Not really, I was impressed with their work.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I think December Labs works better when they are given an entire project versus working as part of a team mixed with their developers and their customers’ development teams. It requires trusting them, but it’s worth it.