Faction Studio

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder, creative director, and interim CEO of a sports gaming startup. We host gaming tournaments related to major sports.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Faction Studio?

Sports gaming is an increasingly competitive industry amongst well-financed media companies and casinos, overseas operators, and the American market. My company wanted to build a new gambling app that we anticipate will receive significant attention from major media partners in the forthcoming football season.

Our core goals were to reduce time to market (TTM), provide novel user experiences and interfaces, and gamify an experience that has not traditionally been gamified.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Faction Studio is helping us build an iOS and Android app from scratch. We underwent a preliminary whiteboarding phase, during which we planned how to streamline and gamify an entire category of wagering. Our teams exchanged several sketches, which Faction Studio used to build interfaces. They did such a superb job with the UI designs that we decided to have them do mobile development.

What is the team composition?

We work with a senior project manager; a UI/UX designer; and Android, iOS, and backend developers. We also work with Faction Studio’s co-founder.

How did you come to work with Faction Studio?

We ordinarily did development in-house, but my team was impressed by Faction Studio’s UI designs and their capabilities in mobile development. I’ve been involved with or invested in several other ventures, and I have often referred them to Faction Studio for design and marketing work. I also knew Faction Studio’s co-founders when they worked for a previous company.

How much have you invested with them?

My company will likely spend around $650,000 this year.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our work with Faction Studio began in August 2018, and it is ongoing. We’re currently very deep in the development phase, so we’re collaborating on a daily basis.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Faction Studio delivered fast, clean, and intuitive interfaces. Our investors are blown away by how quickly Faction Studio is working; they’ve augmented our development speed quite dramatically, which is critical for a time-sensitive product that is dictated by the start of football season. We’re already close to being in a testing environment.

How did Faction Studio perform from a project management standpoint?

Based on my pre-existing relationship with one of Faction Studio’s co-founders, I discussed larger strategic issues with him at the beginning of the project to determine what internal and external resources we’d need. He used his experience with many different products and industries to provide feedback and ideas.

We’re in the founding stages of our brand, so my team and I are very hands-on at every step of the project, from creating sketches to APIs. We work in two-week development sprints that are very iterative. Our teams have ongoing communication via Basecamp.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The rate at which Faction Studio understood our product development goals was impressive; they got up to speed quickly. They’re very knowledgeable about creating fluid experiences on mobile products. We’ve also been impressed by their collaborative nature, ability to execute the specs, and ideation.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, we’ve been impressed across the board so far. I wouldn’t have agreed to do a feedback interview if I had any reservations.

Any advice for potential customers?

Faction Studio understands a wide variety of industries, which is why they’re so talented at building brand new products. Our app has a steep learning curve, but Faction Studio has developed remarkably quickly.

BACKGROUND

Please introduce your business and what you do there.

Rosetta Getty is a high-end womenswear company. We produce everything from women's ready-to-wear garments to some shoes and accessories. We are based out of New York, although Rosetta lives in Los Angeles. I am the director of sales in charge of all international business.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Faction Studio?

We needed to update our website platform to accommodate links to larger platforms, thus providing us with broader visibility and increased interaction.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Our old website was using Squarespace, and we needed to move that to Shopify. Faction Studio did everything from moving the back-end to improving some of our design elements. They handled all of that for us and got us fully operational on Shopify. What we were trying to do was get our e-commerce up to a level that would be functional.

How did you come to work with Faction Studio?

I actually was not a part of the selection process. However, I believe Faction was the original developer that created our website on Squarespace, so it was an easy decision to get them back on board to help us get to the next level.

How much have you invested with Faction Studio?

We have spent something more than $10,000 working with them.

What is the status of this engagement?

I think the project took about three to four weeks total. We engaged them in July [2016]. Our target was to be operational by August 1, and we definitely hit that goal. Overall, it took about a month to get everything up and running.

Faction has agreed to help us with the next part of our integration with a larger website, Style.com, so they will be coming back in to help us integrate with that platform as soon as the plug-in is available.

They have been very hands on and readily available to us. IT [Informational technology] is not my background – although I have been managing this process – and they have been amazing in stepping in and answering my silly questions. They've done an excellent job.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement?

We gave them a very aggressive timeline, but they were pushing us to be ready on our end more than we had to push them. They were incredibly quick and attentive to every detail. The new site is just operational, so I don't have any metrics, but I will say that Faction has been fantastic in the way they have attacked the project.

How did Faction Studio perform from a project management standpoint?

They were very patient and very clear in laying out the steps that were needed. They were quick to explain things to me and help me to understand why we were doing things the way we were – or why things weren't functioning the way I needed them to. Then, they were very quick to fix those things. Their patience and guidance along the way was phenomenal.

What did you find most impressive about Faction Studio?

The best thing was just how easy they were to work with. They made everything very understandable for me. They were super attentive. They would answer my phone calls any time of day or night. They were very quick to respond, and they were just lovely to work with. I can't say it another way – they were just great to work with.

Are there any areas Faction Studio could improve?

I don't think so. They provided everything I was hoping for.

BACKGROUND

Please introduce your business and what you do there.

Mrs. Sizzle is a blog that raises awareness about rescued animals. I am the founder.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Faction Studio?

I needed to build my website from the ground up. I knew I wanted to use Squarespace, so I searched for New York City designers that could use that platform and came across Faction Studio.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

I had an initial meeting with Faction Studio, mainly about the design and functionality of what my website would be. I was in the very early stages of thinking about this project, and they helped develop and code the back-end of the site, then helped me with graphics, illustrations, the layout, the flow – all those kinds of things.

The only thing the site does not need is a shopping site, but it definitely is connected to all of my social media platforms – Instagram, Facebook, Tumblr, and Twitter. Now, I have another social media platform called Take It To, which it's compatible with. Faction Studio set up all of those features in a logical and systematic manner. They were involved in helping me organize the project.

How did you come to work with Faction Studio?

I knew I wanted the website to be on Squarespace, which is based out of New York. Squarespace has a list of referrals to various companies. I just liked what Faction had to offer, so I reached out to them.

How much have you invested with Faction Studio?

I have spent something less than $10,000 working with them. Faction is very willing to work within a limited budget, which is what I had as a startup company. They were very willing to work with me within my means, which was helpful.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project began in May 2014, and I think took only a month. As the site grew and developed, Faction consulted with me through all the changes I was making.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement?

I think with a blog it's difficult to measure the effectiveness of any design since content is so much of what a blog is all about. They just made it accessible on social media platforms. Whatever they were doing was fantastic, but it's just not something that is necessarily measurable. Their capabilities are so much broader than what my needs were. I've recently been working with them on a social media app they developed. I think what I used them for is only a small part of their actual capabilities.

How did Faction Studio perform from a project management standpoint?

They were fantastic. Working with Faction was just such a breeze. They understood what my needs were and were able to speak to those needs.

What did you find most impressive about Faction Studio?

They are intuitive about what people's needs are, and they didn't try to oversell me on things I didn't need. They are in tune with what they can provide within a budget.

Are there any areas Faction Studio could improve?

No, not at all. In fact, I wish I had had more needs because they certainly could've met those if I had them.

BACKGROUND

Please introduce your business and what you do there.

My company is Blisfix, a technology company in the healthcare space. I am the vice president.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Faction Studio?

We needed the help of Faction to design our entire online presence.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We needed both a mobile and a web application. In order for the system to work, we needed two versions of the app – an in-house version and a customer version. The app was designed for iOS. After that, they developed a website for us as well.

How did you come to work with Faction Studio?

The reason why we started working with Faction is their experience with technology startups. My company is made up of myself and two other partners, one of whom had experience working with Faction, so he suggested using them.

Faction was helpful in developing the app itself and in the process of getting approval from the App Store. They knew the industry inside and out. They were well rounded, which helped with the entire process. I just felt like they had many resources for us to pull from, so that was very helpful to us. They had much experience and good connections. They didn't just build something for us and leave. They built something for us, and then showed us how to leverage it.

How much have you invested with Faction Studio?

We have spent something in excess of $50,000 working with them.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project began in the first quarter of last year [2015], but we actually didn't get our approval from the App Store until August. Actually, I think today [August 2016] is our anniversary in the App Store. We still work with them to do our maintenance.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement?

Two things stand out. First, when we submitted the app to Apple, it was accepted in literally a few minutes. It was so well done that once it was submitted, the approval and turnaround process with Apple was immediate. Second, the feedback has been very positive, and people love the app because it is very user-friendly. I've heard that a lot.

How did Faction Studio perform from a project management standpoint?

They were excellent. If there was any problem with them running late, they would let us know, but usually that wasn't an issue. They have a good team over there and using Basecamp was a real help.

What did you find most impressive about Faction Studio?

I don't have much experience working with other app developers, but I was impressed with their follow up, which was exceptional. If I had a question, they usually had an answer for me right away. It wasn't just about them building something and leaving it to us to figure out the details of every step along the way. They created a whole experience for us by helping us as a partner. They were also very accessible to us.

They have worked with many big companies, including companies out of Silicon Valley, so we were impressed by them. Their experience is just phenomenal, and they bring that with them to whatever project they're working on. They're experienced, and they made the whole process easy for us.

Are there any areas Faction Studio could improve?

No. I don't have anything negative to say about them.

BACKGROUND

Please introduce your business and what you do there.

We are a bespoke custom men's suit shop in New York City. I'm the founder and owner.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Faction Studio?

We needed to overhaul our website. I had worked with two different developers who were not doing what I wanted done. One was referred by Shopify, and the other was an acquaintance that was just trying to help out. Unfortunately, they were unable to clean things up, and the site was still unresponsive and buggy.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

After beginning my collaboration with Faction Studio, they were able to go in and retweak the site aesthetically and bring it up to something that I felt was more beautiful and functional. They made it more responsive and fully functioning.

Nonetheless, so many problems and bugs remained with the site that they ended up fully redoing the site, based aesthetically on what I had built. Although Shopify provides an e-commerce component, it's not a huge focus of what we do. Primarily, the site is about enticing customers to come in and see what we do in person.

How did you come to work with Faction Studio?

I was going to go back to the firm that had originally developed the site. They had been the ones that had built this app, so, given all the problems, I wasn't sure going back to them made much sense. We had already worked with them but had been unhappy, so it made sense to start with someone new.

We found Faction Studio through a mutual friend that had worked with them on something else. We connected and just started opening a conversation. They looked at our website and just started in.

How much have you invested with Faction Studio?

We have spent something less than $10,000 working with them.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project went on for six months, but much of that time was spent with me getting everything together. It took a few months of me just dragging my feet organizing everything before we actually started working on the site. Faction took four to six weeks to do everything and wrap everything up. They brought in help with photographers who were shooting content. There were multiple things happening throughout the process. We started at the end of May [2016] and wrapped everything up by the second or third week of July.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement?

I don't have any hard data, other than just being happy with my site. It looks good.

How did Faction Studio perform from a project management standpoint?

They were great. I run a small business here, and we're juggling so many different things. They kept me on point. They were more pushing me to hit deadlines than I was pushing them. They just needed me to do my part. I felt like they actually forced me to finish rather than the other way around. That's much better than other places I've worked with where it's me begging them to finish.

 Communication was good. I worked with one of their cofounders for the first half of the project. During the second half involving smaller details, I worked with a project manager who did the final tweaks.

What did you find most impressive about Faction Studio?

The biggest thing for me was having a nice mix of a high case level and the ability to deliver something, which in the past has been a real challenge for me. I've worked with others who were capable in programming, but didn't have the case level needed to execute the project. I felt that, working with Faction, I was able to have a good vision, but also able to execute what we talked about – improving the aesthetic side and executing. That mix was what made it for me.

Are there any areas Faction Studio could improve?

No, everything was great. I have nothing to complain about. It was just an all-around simple process, which was nice.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

MAKE is a design-driven, prestige beauty and skincare brand with an ecommerce flagship at makebeauty.com.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with Faction Studio?

We wanted to streamline our website with a more refined, brand positive image that was mobile-friendly and easier to shop. To implement a better user experience, we retained Faction Studio to design and create the site using Shopify as the platform. As a young brand in beauty with no brick-and-mortar flagship of our own, it was important to us to launch a site that we could personalize fully.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their involvement in detail.

Faction handled the design, wireframes, and implementation of launching the site. We provided Faction with design concepts and inspiration while explaining our needs, and they created a template based on a design from our previous website. They also used layouts from our design team and prepared a few different options for our review.

How did you come to work with Faction Studio?

They were recommended through a friend in the e-commerce space. After considering other firms, we selected Faction based on their past work, flexibility, and genuine enthusiasm about our brand.

Could you provide a sense of the size of this initiative in financial terms?

The total cost was between $10,000 and $50,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We met in early December 2015 and began the process on February 1, 2016. We launched the site on June 15, 2016 and spent another month making final changes and refining details.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement?

While the site is still new, conversions have increased, and we're generally very happy. The site is mobile-optimized and streamlined with a better user experience. Faction Studio created a site that offers a straightforward way to shop while elevating the look of Shopify templates, making it easier and faster for the consumer to shop our site.

We personalized all of the templates and Faction had to design many features from scratch, so this isn't your basic e-commerce Shopify site. It's more of a bespoke version, which is what we wanted. We're using Shopify as the base, but they designed a much more elegant face, and we're happy with it.

How did Faction Studio perform from a project management standpoint?

The Faction team has been very responsive any time we experienced an issue. They have done a great job of communicating effectively and managing our expectations throughout the process in a timely manner. We used Basecamp to manage projects and had occasional conference calls to touch base about more abstract concepts or needs related to templates. We have only met two or three times in person to ideate.

What distinguishes Faction Studio from other providers?

Faction felt less like an agency and more like an individualized service. We developed a relationship with the team and appreciated how straightforward and professional they were. We foresee this being a long-term relationship, and we would do business with them again if we need another website. Many agencies charge higher rates and continually add to the cost, but Faction Studio's services were cost-effective.

Is there anything Faction Studio could have improved or done differently?

No. Their work has met our expectations.

BACKGROUND

I am currently the CEO of Rivet Media, a 360-degree virtual reality content capture company. Our business focuses on live music and entertainment.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Faction Studio?

Faction Studio helped us develop our own distribution platform for 360-degree content. We've created the technology for capturing full-length live musical performances. Each show is around an hour and a half. You can give that kind of content away for free on Facebook or YouTube, but since we were charging customers for premium content, we asked Faction Studio to create a delivery app.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Faction Studio designed and developed a one of a kind iOS app for Rivet content. We record and livestream shows, so Faction Studio created a solution that can be used on an iPad and iPhone. Using this platform, we can set up live performances that are streamed through the app. We also have a separate section for on-demand content that people can purchase.

How did you come to work with Faction Studio?

I looked extensively at a few other companies that did this kind of work, but it came down to cost. As a startup, we didn't have the available funds to go with some of the bigger firms. Also, I actually know one of the owners of Faction Studio personally. Jason [Curry, founder and co-CEO of Faction Studio] and I came from the same neighborhood, and I was still in touch with him. Since I was impressed with Jason and with the quality of their work, I decided to go with them.

How much have you invested Faction Studio?

We have spent $10,000 to $50,000 on our project with Faction Studio.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working with Faction Studio in August or September last year [2015], and the project was completed by March of this year [2016]. We are still in touch, constantly coming up with new ideas and figuring out the best ways to implement them. Faction Studio also helps us fix bugs and create future updates. We did not launch with a huge content library, and we have not started marketing the app yet, so we're gearing up for the next phase.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement?

Last May, we launched the app onstage with Intel at the Computex conference in Taiwan. Intel was very impressed with what we had accomplished and the work Faction Studio had done with the app. It's a unique app in the 360-degree VR [virtual reality] space, and it looks great. If you compare our app with others, it would definitely stand out. I don't have many metrics for sales generated or downloads that I can share with you. But, without any marketing, we had around 1,000 downloads in the first three weeks. All of that came from the Intel announcement. I'd say the feedback has been extremely positive, and we're very happy with the design of the app.

How did Faction Studio perform from a project management standpoint?

We did not experience any communication problems while working with Faction Studio. I worked with Jason and a lead developer, Edward. The app itself is simple, but we had to custom-build a 360-degree video player, which was very challenging. There are ways to integrate outside players into your app, and you can purchase those players for a lot of money. But, we decided to develop our own, so it was just myself, Jason, and Edward. They were able to deliver an outstanding player and bugs were fixed very quickly. We had a very good relationship with Faction Studio.

What did you find most impressive about Faction Studio?

I was impressed by Faction Studio's ability to accept my comments. I would review a finished feature and then ask for several revisions. Faction Studio made the requested changes, and I did not experience any pushback or hesitancy on their part. Other developers would sometimes say, "Well, you asked for this and we gave you this and here it is. If you want to make changes, it will cost an extra such and such amount." That never happened with Faction Studio. There was no extra cost when we needed to change things. Faction Studio gave what I had envisioned for the app.

Are there any areas Faction Studio could improve?

I don't know of anything in particular that Faction Studio could improve upon. The project took longer than expected, but that was not really their fault. I had a very good experience, and they were very open to all of my changes.