hedgehog lab

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the head of engineering at a retail bank.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with the hedgehog lab?

We needed help with mobile app development and staff augmentation. We had an old mobile application and needed them to help us build a service improvement roadmap over the next two years.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

First, we provided hedgehog lab with the profiles of the types of resources we needed, including the seniority levels and software skills. They then sat down with our product team to discuss the project brief, and what success looked like for this project. We had them develop a Native application for iOS and Android with a backend in Kotlin and Java.

Then, their team worked with us to develop an improvement roadmap for our services. The roadmap included the technologies that could be used for future development, the scope of work, and a benefits case analysis. 

The final strategic roadmap has been handed over to us, along with the mobile application development work, but we’re still utilizing hedgehog lab’s expertise. Their team is embedded in our workflow.  

What is the team composition?

I didn’t interact with the software engineers from hedgehog lab; I primarily worked with Catherine (Head of Client Engagement), Ben (Head of Product), and Sarat (CEO & Co-Founder). 

How did you come to work with hedgehog lab?

We hired hedgehog lab for several reasons. One was that they were mobile development specialists; they had the resources to augment our team and a good portfolio. We needed a flex partner that could meet our requirements. 

How much have you invested with them?

We invested £1 million (approximately $1.2 million USD). 

What is the status of this engagement?

This project with ​​hedgehog lab was from March 2021–March 2022.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

There are several ways to measure hedgehog lab’s successes. First, there is resource augmentation — we had to let two of their consultants go because they weren’t a good fit. However, hedgehog lab was good at taking those changes in stride. I’d say we had a great relationship with them when it came to the resources they provided to augment our team. 

When it comes to the service improvement strategy, we have several KPIs. Most importantly, they could double our delivery speed, which meant getting more engineers on our project. 

How did hedgehog lab perform from a project management standpoint?

I got weekly updates from my three main points of contact. Their team put together the scope to follow; they pushed us to stick to our deadlines within our contracted engagement. We had an issue 1–2 weeks before the launch, but that was because we couldn’t get everyone set up from our team. They didn’t want to draw out the partnership artificially. 

We primarily communicated through Microsoft Team and Google Meet; we also had face-to-face meetings. Occasionally, they’d call or email me. hedgehog lab was very communicative — they communicated more than other vendors we’ve worked with, which sometimes was a little uncomfortable. However, I think they were coming from a good place and just wanted the engagement to be a success. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

I have nothing but good things to say about hedgehog lab. They were a good organization with great principles and values. For the most part, they found good resources. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

Like most organizations, there can always be issues with teammates. They crossed the line once to ensure teammates were happy, which made me uncomfortable. They pushed some responsibilities into my court that weren’t necessarily my problem. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

You need to spend a lot of time with hedgehog lab upfront because their team is more boutique than other organizations. I’d recommend them.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of external affairs for a mental health nonprofit.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with hedgehog lab?

We wanted to create a digital hub that was about building a social movement of people who were impacted by, affected by, or do something about preventing suicide.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The brief behind the project was to help us build a digital hub that would be a place where people could sign up to support the campaign and show their interest. We also wanted the digital hub to be a source of support and help for people who were affected by the issue. It’s a place where people could see others who joined the movement and hear their story.

We also wanted to include resources for people to read and watch. The platform hedgehog lab built is integrated with social media channels and has an interactive sign up capability.

What is the team composition?

We had a lead point of contact who was our main connection to hedgehog lab. At any one point we had two or three other colleagues who joined us in weekly meetings. There may have also been other people involved behind the scenes that I wasn’t aware of.

How did you come to work with hedgehog lab?

We were working with another creative agency who was supporting us in the development of the campaign. They were the ones who brought hedgehog lab into the mix in terms of delivering on the digital hub, because they didn’t have that capability in house. 

We met with hedgehog lab through the process of the campaign as the client, and we were really comfortable with their approach. They were great at dealing with people like me and my colleagues, who don’t have technical skills or knowledge. The team made us feel very confident about what we were doing and why at all times.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent in the region of £40,000 (approximately $54,000 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in July 2020. We launched the digital hub in September, and we’re wrapping up with them now.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

A few thousand people have signed up since we started the campaign at the end of September, which we’re absolutely delighted with. We also have the ability to use Google Analytics to look at the performance of the site. People’s experience when they come onto the site has been a huge part of being able to keep them with us and convert to sign up.

The hedgehog lab team also supported us to communicate with those people that signed up. We’ve been looking at open rates of our newsletter, which have been above the industry benchmark. 

Anecdotally, the team has helped us build something great. They helped and supported us in the process of design, giving us really good advice throughout with their knowledge and experience in creating websites and content. 

The team was absolutely crucial in helping us make some pretty vital decisions. They helped us understand when we were going in the wrong direction, without pressuring us to go with their advice. However, hedgehog lab’s suggestions were always well-intentioned, and we were often pleased to take them.

How did hedgehog lab perform from a project management standpoint?

They were excellent. We always had an open communication channel. The night of the launch, we had a problem with the site, and even though it was after hours, hedgehog lab got on board right away to fix it. They were extremely responsive to the situation. We were very well looked after with hedgehog lab; I can’t speak highly enough of them.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They turned the project around in days, when it was something that should’ve taken weeks. Their ability to respond in a really tight timeframe, and their patience with us as we were working through a complex campaign, was really impressive. 

We loved working with hedgehog lab from start to finish. Their ability to respond quickly, give us good advice, and be there when we needed them are all signs of a great agency to work with.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Nothing jumps out at me as particularly important. They’ve always been available when we need them and provided organized status updates. There’s nothing that springs to mind.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

As a client, we didn’t get to meet hedgehog lab until they were discussing with the other agency, but if we had, we would’ve been able to give them a much clearer brief on the project. My one regret would be that we didn’t insist on speaking to hedgehog lab sooner, because I think we lost a few days on the project.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder of Dooey, which is a new, non-linear messaging service that will launch next month. We got funding from Scottish Enterprise, Scotland’s main economic development agency, to actually sell the app.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with hedgehog lab?

The existing messaging platforms always have the same format of a linear conversation. When revisiting that conversation after being offline, you’d find it difficult to bring up the subject again or discuss a certain point. My idea was to review the conversation and branch off on a topic that’s important to the user, to discuss it further. That was the challenge I brought to hedgehog lab.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They’ve designed and built the app from scratch. hedgehog lab has been working on it for over a year now since we got the funding. They came up with different scenarios, and we worked together to find the best way of building it out. Before that, we put together some wireframes and some design work so we could approach Scottish Enterprise to get the grant funding that we were after. hedgehog did all the backend development and the frontend design. Over the last year, we’ve worked with between six and ten people on their team. It’s quite a tight-knit team. We had designers at the start, and when they had finished, they moved on to different projects while the developers built it.

The branching concept is the main feature in the app, to enable users to branch off from the main conversation to a sub-thread. Also, users can have a social domain and a business domain, and they can search between these profiles. Each area has its own set of contacts and a general personal profile. It allows you to keep your social and your business life separate from one another. So, you can discuss work topics with your colleagues, then switch to the social side to talk to friends. Those are the two main features that were important to me.

The app is iOS, to begin with, but we’re working on an Android version that will hopefully be out at the end of summer. I’ll be handling the marketing, but they’ll provide some advice.

How did you come to work with hedgehog lab?

I received a recommendation from Fueled in New York and discussed the initial idea with them. They were interested, but the budget wasn’t there at the time to build it. They recommended speaking to hedgehog lab because they were fairly local to me. I knew of the work they’d done before, which was high-quality. I got a non-disclosure agreement signed with one of their directors. They really liked the idea, and we formed a partnership from there.

How much have you invested with hedgehog lab?

We’ve invested about £175,000 [$224,564].

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in February of 2015, and our partnership is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’ve done beta testing, and the feedback has been quite positive. We found one or two issues, but nothing that’s holding us back. On the whole, we’ve had very strong feedback. Users are pleased with the app and are finding it useful. It’s not offered to the general public yet, but we’re looking to launch within the next month.

How did hedgehog lab perform from a project management standpoint?

Everything is delivered within the specified timeframe and budget. They’ve been very punctual, and they’ve stuck to the budget as agreed. The communication has been great. We use email and Basecamp for discussing any issues that arise, but there haven’t been any major problems. During the design phase, they sent me emails with ideas and different options. The communication from the team and the project manager was very good. I couldn’t have asked for more. Every Friday, I get a breakdown of what’s happened in the previous week and the plan for the following week. They’ve kept me abreast of the situation, and I’m happy with the communication.

What did you find most impressive about hedgehog lab?

The strength and depth of their team have grown a substantial amount since I first contacted them two years ago. They’re able to provide lots of different insights. Their people have different experiences, and they bring in their own insight on what can be done better. They pass that on to the team working on the job, so the strength and depth of the team has been very strong and has impressed me the most.

Are there any areas hedgehog lab could improve?

I’ve not had experience with other software firms, but I’m totally impressed with the way they’ve handled the project. There’s no specific thing I would like to change. It’s been a very pleasing experience, and I’d choose them again.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company.

We're a messaging startup. Our app is going to be mainly mobile, but it'll work on desktop as well. We're based in Glasgow, Scotland.

What are your role and responsibilities?

I'm the founder.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What was your goal in working with hedgehog lab?

I've not had a lot of experience with software or with building an app. Hedgehog lab was recommended to me, and I got in contact with them.

Please describe the scope of their work.

Hedgehog lab has been doing mainly the development work.

SOLUTION

What was your process for selecting hedgehog lab with which to work?

I was using my own money at the start, so I had to go for a company that was willing to work on a tight budget. hedgehog lab was quite willing to deal with the limited budget, so we were able to get things started. It was mainly the recommendation that introduced me to hedgehog lab, and then I did my own research on them. They seemed to be a very good fit.

When did you begin working together, and is the relationship ongoing?

We started in February of this year [2015], and I'm still working with them.

Can you provide a ballpark figure for the size of the work that they've done for you?

For what they're doing now, we've spent about £30,000 [approximately $47,000] working with hedgehog lab.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Do you have any stats, metrics, or general feedback to show the success of the project?

The feedback has been great. At the moment, we're mostly doing one update a week. If there were any questions or if they had any other material, they'd get it to me as quickly, so I can look at it, think about it, and get back to them. I'm pleased with the communication.

Is there anything unique about hedgehog lab that really makes them stand out compared to other companies?

It's not just one thing. It's the whole package they provide. They cover all the bases. They've got a great team that has a lot of resources in different areas. That's what attracted me to using them.

Looking back on the work so far, is there any area that you think they could improve upon or something that you might do differently?

No. The relationship has been just fine so far. To be honest, there's nothing that needs improvement.

What advice would you give a future client of theirs?

Give them as much information as you can so they can do a good job. Be as open and as transparent in the initial meeting as you can, so they can understand your thoughts and put them on paper.