Fifth Tribe

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a program officer for a global credentialing certification program. We’re the credentialing arm of a larger organization and help credential addiction professionals from all over the world.

What challenge were you trying to address with Fifth Tribe?

We were looking to build a website to support our current certified professionals and reach out to potential customers. Up until that point, we’d just been a side site of the main organization. We wanted to have a specific site to direct people to, with all the information from our different credential levels to basic process. The site would also serve as a connection and repository for our Commission members.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Fifth Tribe handled the design and development of our site from scratch. I have a Public Relations degree, and my job as the program officer was to direct the project and make sure we’d be able to translate our content into a user-friendly website. Fifth Tribe handled all the design, coding, and construction.  They were amazing to work with.

The site includes a basic search feature for content. We also have a second partner developing an online portal allowing our customers to apply for our services online as well as track their renewal needs. Fifth Tribe created a platform that would connect with our partner's. Eventually, we’ll also be able to collect payments on the site.

What is the team composition?

We had quite a few people from Fifth Tribe working on this project. Adam (Senior Product Owner, Fifth Tribe) was the main project manager, Schuyler (Lead Graphic Designer, Fifth Tribe) did a lot of the visual design work, and Beth (User Design, Fifth Tribe) did a lot of the technical progression of the project and answered our questions around function and design. Their team included an additional person for editing as well as technical people to execute all the tasks.

How did you come to work with Fifth Tribe?

We used an RFP process, reviewed submissions and checked references Fifth Tribe met the scope of the RFP, and were within our budget range. While not the lowest bid,  they had the best fit to meet our needs.
Fifth Tribe presented themselves well and were concise about what they could do for us.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent between $10,000–$50,000 so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Fifth Tribe in November of 2018. We’re moving into the next phase of maintenance and management of launching our online portal.

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

We’re only in the second month of the site being live and don’t have any major metrics yet. We’re coming to the end of the change and review process and will start tracking metrics after that. From my perspective, there’s definitely been an uptick of people emailing us. We’re getting inquiries through the site from people looking for more information. Fifth Tribe helped us narrow down our focus and identify our audiences. People sometimes think a website is going to be the catch-all for everything. Fifth Tribe was great at helping us find our appropriate focus.

How did Fifth Tribe perform from a project management standpoint?

Their project management style is effective for us, and they adapted well to our work style. We work remotely on many projects, and they were very good at keeping us on-task too. We set a timeline for the work from the beginning, and they worked with us when delays were our fault. Fifth Tribe was very good about meeting their timeline markers. They also offered ideas and options along the way.

What did you find most impressive about them?

First, it’s their overall product. We are proud of our new website. It looks beautiful on both mobile and desktop. The designer was amazing and listened to everything we needed. They went above and beyond, designing additional graphics and images, and worked with us to make sure that the site met our needs appropriately, especially since we have certain restrictions on how things can look. Fifth Tribe was also respectful to the many cultures we interact with, helping us present our content in a very concise, visually-appealing way.

Secondly, their team was very responsive. We had several problems on our end, and they helped us adjust accordingly. My supervisor was out of pocket for a month for jury duty, and Fifth Tribe helped us adjust our timeline, so that much of the work they were supposed to be doing a month later was moved up. That way, the things that needed authorization weren’t happening while my supervisor was out. They were able to keep us keep moving, which I found valuable, especially as a program officer.

Finally, they communicated with us at every stage, and very responsive to any changes we requested with a timeline — even after the site went live. They were willing to take the time to work with me and explain things to cut down on back-and-forth emails. There were very few adjustments, but they kept us in the loop when there were. I knew where we were on the project, and I could communicate it with my boss, keeping everyone happy.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Fifth Tribe was very good about adjusting. Initially, we struggled with communication between my boss and Adam (Senior Product Owner, Fifth Tribe) on identifying the work and next steps. Adam was very patient and quickly adjusted. 

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

Have your content ready to go in advance. We had the content, but it was in 30 different documents, which slowed down the process as we sorted all of the information. Having the content ready in advance will serve as a jumping-off base.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the VP of marketing for a home financing company.

What challenge were you trying to address with Fifth Tribe?

They’ve worked with us on multiple projects. Most recently, Fifth Tribe created an iPad-based application for our sales force team’s presentations to customers, businesses, and real estate agents.

What was the scope of their involvement?

We outlined the app’s flow and Fifth Tribe designed the UX. In collaboration, we considered our sales team’s experience in addition to the planned functionalities. Our internal design team then provided a template that detailed the solution’s flow and contents. Fifth Tribe built the app using that documentation.

Fifth Tribe completed development for iPad in six months. For security reasons, the app is not available for download; only current employees can access it. Currently, the team does support and content updates.

What is the team composition?

Asif (Co-Founder, Fifth Tribe) is my main point of contact.

How did you come to work with Fifth Tribe?

The team had a prior relationship with our organization. Originally, we found them through a reference for various marketing projects.

How much have you invested with them?

We started working together in 2016 and the partnership is ongoing.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve spent between $15,000–$20,000 for this specific project.

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

The solution is consistent with our brand and serves as a tool for consistent company-wide messaging. Our 60–80 account executives and entire sales force—currently licensed in 30 states—utilize the app for presentations.

How did Fifth Tribe perform from a project management standpoint?

The team is responsive via email, but we’ve had to guide them more than I expected. I had reviewed everything page-by-page and wished their team had used the same approach. Fifth Tribe could push tasks forward in a more proactive and detail-oriented manner.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The simplified UX design is noteworthy because it has achieved overall simplicity for the app. That achievement was significant because we don’t have the internal resources or time to complete that deliverable without external help.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Make sure that Fifth Tribe sets the right expectations and follows through on those deliverables. Clients should also ensure the team stays detail-oriented and communicates on a regular basis.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm a business manager for an educational website that partners with universities and other institutions to design, maintain, and sustain income share agreements programs to help increase access and affordability.

What challenge were you trying to address with Fifth Tribe?

Our website was outdated, so we engaged Fifth Tribe for a redesign that would help us better communicate our services and explain what income share agreements were to potential clients.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Fifth Tribe initially conducted a lot of research, interviewing our team and becoming more familiar with the educational component of income share agreements. From there, they conducted user analysis to inform the user flow, creative sitemap, and overall design. They added content to the wireframes by creating and adding written content into the design. The website is now live we're just in the process of clearing up a few loose ends post-launch. 

What is the team composition?

I work directly with an account manager.

How did you come to work with Fifth Tribe?

A friend recommended them to us.

How much have you invested with them?

We've invested around $20,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in March 2018 and is still ongoing.

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

We've been very happy with the site overall and received lots of compliments on its design from our investors. The updated design they delivered has already improved our bounce rate, which has helped with sales overall.

How did Fifth Tribe perform from a project management standpoint?

We work very closely with our project manager and have had good communication with them overall despite a few timeline delays.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Even though we didn't intentionally engage them for any branding work, we're very happy with their designs, from the colors to the illustrations they created.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They were delayed on some timelines, so there's room for improvement there.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a program analyst for a 501(c)(3) nonprofit affiliate.

What challenge were you trying to address with Fifth Tribe?

We wanted to create a user-friendly platform for people to apply for the various relief programs. We needed a program to help clients determine which program they can apply to and an easily accessible form for them to submit.

What was the scope of their involvement?

They covered the bases of researching the programs, the target audiences, and the tools needed to make the idea a reality. They designed the program with UX/UI components to fit our audience’s skillsets. They tested the programs in the target demographic and made the necessary adjustments. They used Python on the backend of the site.

What is the team composition?

We worked work our account manager, Adam Motiwala, and the co-founder, Asif Kahn, working on the program design itself.

How did you come to work with Fifth Tribe?

They were recommended internally by colleagues who had worked with them in the past.

How much have you invested with them?

For this phase, we’ve invested under $100,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We are currently on a break but we anticipate resuming our collaboration when we have results after the third quarter. 

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

The project is still in the testing phase, but their work has turned our ideas into a real product. Though we haven’t seen the exact numbers we’re aiming for, they’ve taken our idea from the drawing board to a real interactive, useful website. A small example of the impact of their work is the fact that we’ve helped users save an average of $1000 in property tax relief through testing the program on them.

How did Fifth Tribe perform from a project management standpoint?

They were fantastic at communicating about the project. They let us know how excited they were at every step and adapted their work to fit our needs. They were great in meeting our budget and understanding our financial limit. I couldn’t have asked for a better vendor relationship than the one I have with them.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They had the ability to hear our ideas, take our feedback on their work, and create something magnificent. They were able to make something exactly like what we had envisioned but better. Additionally, their ability to make a technology so simple to use that a computer-novice could use it by themselves was impressive.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There isn’t too much they can do to improve our relationship. There were sometimes gaps in the progress but most of it came from our side of the project.

Any advice for potential customers?

You should definitely reach out to Fifth Tribe if you are looking to promote any service or product. If you start working with them, give them as much information as possible about your goals and visions from the beginning.