Hiperion

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the owner of AthElite Strong, LLC. We have two divisions, namely AthElite Scouting and AthElite Recruit. AthElite Scouting is for professional football scouting, while AthElite Recruit is for high school to college recruiting. We’re partnered with three Indoor Football League (IFL) teams and two teams in the Champions IFL. We also have a partnership with one independent indoor football team specifically for scouting. Our company has five champions right now, and we’re trying to build a brand. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Hiperion?

Hiperion is creating an app for our business to digitize the recruiting and scouting process. This way, players have one place where they can enter all their stats, measurable goals, and everything else. When the app’s functionality is complete, it will make the process of gathering information from players much easier. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The most important part of this project is the functionality of the app. Since we have two different departments — recruiting and scouting — we need two databases for players and two databases for coaches. We don’t want searchers to be mixed up. Right now, we’re working on the coaches' side of the app; the players' side is pretty much ready for launch.  

For specific functionality, players can go to the app and put every bit of information about themselves. Players can also go out on the field and film themselves doing football drills and upload that into the app. Meanwhile, Hiperion is also developing a website for me. The site isn’t yet done and contains only a few bits of information here and there. We’ll vamp it up once we complete the app. We’ll also work more on marketing after building the website. 

What is the team composition?

I mainly speak to Jace (CEO & Co-Founder). A couple of other people also work on the project, but I don’t talk to them directly. Seth (CTO & Co-Founder) does development work on the backend of the app. Before anybody touches the project, they tell me about whether the person is good at what they do. 

How did you come to work with Hiperion?

I first found them online. I posted on Facebook and LinkedIn that I was looking for an app developer who was preferably in the Kansas City area. Everyone who had messaged me was outsourced overseas, and I didn’t want that. Then, somebody tagged Jace in my post and I started talking to him. 

At that point, it seemed to me that he had the same passion as I had. In other words, my decision to choose him was based on himself as a person. He had that drive and passion for what he was doing. He was also excited about the project since he was trying to build a brand. In other words, we had a lot in common, so I hired him. 

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve invested between $10,000 and $49,000. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We officially started working together in December 2020, and the work is ongoing. The development kicked into high gear in January–February 2021, and we’re almost to the point of launching. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

As far as the actual app goes, I can see it as the vision in my head. I can see the functionality that we’re trying to achieve — they’ve practically brought the app to life for me. Overall, Hiperion has delivered everything for this project.  During the entire engagement, they’re fully invested in doing everything based on what I want.

How did Hiperion perform from a project management standpoint?

Hiperion’s project management has been great. They’ve been able to meet every deadline that we’ve set. Every time they tell me a date, they’re able to meet it spot on. Moreover, I know that they’re always working on my project. 

Meanwhile, I’ve also had great communication with Jace. I can pick up the phone to call or text him at any time. He’s always right there and ready for me. While much of their work is done remotely, I’ve also met with Jace in person a few times. Most of our communication is via phone calls and Zoom meetings. The more we get down and talk, the more I put my trust in him to complete the project. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Jace and Hiperion have passion for what they do. We have the same mindset and both want to build something for our own. Given that, once Jace starts talking about what he’s doing, everything flows out of his mouth because he’s passionate about it. He loves what he does and pays attention to us — he’s passionate about building an app that we truly want. 

Further, Jace is like me; he’s young and hungry and is building a brand for himself. He’s also knowledgeable when speaking with me. Every time I bring something up, he breaks it down for me and tells me how things will go. After getting to know him in this project, I’ve put my full trust in him. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

I’d like Jace to come and see me a little more often. However, that goes both ways; I also haven’t been able to see him since I have a full-time job. Overall, we need to figure out how we can get together in person more often in order to further take on this project. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

You should be knowledgeable about your project. Everything will be easier for Hiperion and Jace if you have a little more knowledge about what you want in terms of development. 

For context, I knew everything that I wanted, but explaining it to Jace was difficult for me. It took more time than expected for us to be on the same page because I didn’t have the ability to describe it to him in technical terms. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder of Obvious Product Development. I invented the VAL (voice-activated lock).

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Hiperion?

I was trying to create a product, and my prototype didn’t function well enough to be marketable, so I partnered with Hiperion to take my product from the prototype stage to the MVP stage.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Hiperion tweaked my smart lock prototype. The team created 50 MVPs, and then they delivered a functional mobile app that allows customers to use the product. To go along with that, they also built firmware that allowed the device to communicate with the app. I’ve now launched the product and the app, which is available on Android, iOS, and iPadOS. Its primary purpose is to fix the onboarding process for the customer. Hiperion’s work is almost finished; they only need to make a couple more revisions to the iPad version.

What is the team composition?

I primarily work with Jace (CEO & Co-Founder), who acts as the project manager. He relayed all of my requests and queries to his technical partner, who is the software engineer.

How did you come to work with Hiperion?

I posted an ad on a Facebook Group for local startups. I received many responses, but I chose Jace because he was very personable and enthusiastic about the project. Furthermore, I liked that they did everything in-house and didn’t outsource their work. 

How much have you invested with them?

The project costs $25,000 so far. However, I’ve only paid about $6,000–$7,000 in cash. To account for the rest of the cost, I’ve given Hiperion a small amount of equity in my business.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project started in September 2020, and it’s ongoing. We’re just making a few finishing touches now, and it should be finished soon.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Prior to working with them, I had a prototype that wasn’t fully functional — there was no way for customers to download the controls to any device and actually use the smart lock. Hiperion has successfully created a downloadable app that makes our product usable. The MVP is also marketable, which speaks volumes about the project’s success.

How did Hiperion perform from a project management standpoint?

Overall, they’ve done a great job of being very responsive. We work together remotely, and we communicate on a weekly or biweekly basis. I’ve only met with the team in person a handful of times throughout our engagement. In terms of deadlines, I’m aware that most things in the technology world take longer than expected, so the team has done a satisfactory job.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The fact that they’ve taken my idea and turned it into an actual MVP is impressive. Their rates are also reasonable, which is rare in the software development space. Finally, I appreciate their ability to communicate quickly and efficiently.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They could improve on meeting deadlines.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Have a detailed project scope written out beforehand.