Hounder

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I provide marketing services for several companies including a company that uses AI to find threats in critical infrastructure before the threats evolve into a significant issue such as a wildfire.

What challenge were you trying to address with Hounder?

Our website needed to be updated. It didn’t represent the work or the caliber of the customers who use our services. The messaging wasn’t as clear or as strong as it could’ve been either. We wanted the website to represent the brand and to tell a story that resulted in leads.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Hounder developed an entirely new website from the bottom up. We told the Hounder team the story that we wanted the website to tell and our key value propositions. Their team helped to create that story, making our services and value proposition clear to a couple of key audiences. Hounder took our complex concepts and translated them onto the website in an easily navigated and easily understood form.

What is the team composition?

I worked with Josh (Chief Technology Officer, Hounder) and Justin (CDO, Hounder) primarily. While my direct conversations were with the two of them, there were others behind the scenes

How did you come to work with Hounder?

This is my second collaboration with Hounder. When I met with Josh and Justin, we connected really well. I chose them because their past clients were market leaders and worked in similarly complex domains as ours. Also, it’s exhausting to build a website but Hounder made it fun. I spoke to many vendors that couldn’t describe how we would advance from having no website to launching a platform. Hounder told me exactly how the process would unfold. If there’s a web project, their team’s the first one that I call.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent between $50,000–$100,000 on this project.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started to work on this site in April 2019 and completed the project in August 2019.

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

Anecdotally, we have a stronger understanding of what we do and continue to bring in top clients. It’s wonderful to hear that people find our company through the storytelling on our website. The project excited our internal team because the website highlights their work. We’re on the cutting edge of technology, so it can be hard to describe our services. The website allows our team to show what they do. Overall, the organization’s happy with the website and it serves us well.

How did Hounder perform from a project management standpoint?

I met with Josh and Justin on a weekly basis and their team executed sprints between meetings. We communicated by Slack and email, so I never had any trouble connecting with them. They gave nearly instant responses. When building a website, multiple people have to contribute. Their team was clear about deadlines and met them. They tolerated us when we didn’t meet our deadlines too.

Web providers often just execute content but Hounder was a partner down to the story. They wanted to know our goals and became a part of my marketing team. When it’s your project, you can be so close to the product and company that it’s hard to articulate what you want. Their team understood our goals and provided suggestions.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Hounder was able to communicate complex, hard to describe concepts across the website. Another strength was how they managed the project. Website development can get out of hand fast. Their team was good about planning the process and following that plan. Their team was experienced, making the engagement exceptional.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I thought about this question previously but genuinely can’t think of anything that needed improvement. I never had an issue with them and would hire them again for web development services.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Onboard them like you would a marketer coming on to the team. Depending on the size of the build, you’ll work on a project for many months. Kick off the engagement by having an individual who is deeply involved in the project explain it and the company in their own words. This ensures that Hounder understands your competitors, services, and customers. If you set them up with context, they’ll deliver above and beyond your expectations.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a commercial leader at a global safety sciences company.

What challenge were you trying to address with Hounder?

To accommodate the ever-evolving nature of our global business, we need to build a modular website with SEO-friendly content available in multiple languages.

What was the scope of their involvement?

They met with us to gain a better understanding of our business. After identifying our needs, they collaborated with our corporate office ensure that their wireframes were following our style guidelines. In addition to integrating SEO best practices, Hounder designed an email automation system that feeds sales metrics into our CRM. Impressed with the website, we commissioned them to redefine the digital advertising roadmap for our entire company. They initiated the process by reviewing our past marketing efforts and then went on to create a viable plan and execute it.

What is the team composition?

We worked closely with their chief development officer Justin Hough,

How did you come to work with Hounder?

Their founder Joshua Northcott is a former colleague from my previous company. He was my advisor for everything concerning web design, advertising, and SEO, so I knew that he could help us with the project.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent more than $400,000 for their services.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our first project with them dates back to 2016, but they didn’t become our primary web vendor until January 2017.

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

Our website looks fantastic, and it has all of the features that we wanted.

How did Hounder perform from a project management standpoint?

Now that our relationship has grown, they operate as an extension of our team. Most vendors have a difficult time working with multiple divisions, but Hounder has a reliable process that helps them manage our teams seamlessly. Despite our strict deadlines, they coordinated the schedule excellently to accommodate our demands.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Hounder is in a league of their own when it comes to explaining their work in a way that makes sense. Their conversations with me differ from their interactions with other stakeholders within our company, but we all leave the discussion with confidence in their ability to deliver.

Are there any areas they could improve?

We have yet to experience any hiccups, but it will be interesting to see how they handle the challenges that will come along with their growth.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the head of school at Milpitas Christian School, a dual campus school in the San Jose area.

What challenge were you trying to address with Hounder?

We needed to redo our website to be more user-friendly for those searching for a school. The existing site is brochure style, focused on the details instead of what potential students are looking for in a school.

What was the scope of their involvement?

They’re currently in the process of doing a total redesign of our site. We have regular meetings where they ask us questions and listen to us talk about what we want. They’re also helping us to better understand how to target our desired audience. We have a lot of questions about what information should be included on the new site, and they guide us through the options.

What is the team composition?

Our main points of contact are the owner and the chief development officer of Hounder. They work as a team.

How did you come to work with Hounder?

We went through a search process and narrowed it down to three companies. One of the reasons we chose Hounder is that they have experience working with Blackbaud, which we use at our school.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project started in July 2018. Work is ongoing and is scheduled to be completed in early October 2018.

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

We're thrilled with the work they’ve done to date. They listen and really try to understand the client’s needs. They don't try to upsell us, they just want to help us create the best possible website for our school. They’re such a professional, quality company. We're really impressed.

How did Hounder perform from a project management standpoint?

One thing I appreciate the most is that they stay within their quoted timetables. That's very important for us as we’re eager to get the new site up. So they’re time conscious, and they stay on task. They use a web conferencing software as our main form of communication. It allows them to walk us through their ideas as if we were all in the same room. We can see their drawings and hear their explanations of new features. They’ll show us things to get our input, and then make tweaks while we’re talking. It’s been a really effective way to dialogue with one another. It feels like we're one team.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I most appreciate the relationship they’ve developed with our team. I know that they are 100% on board with us, our stakeholders, and the school community. They're working hard and doing their best to accomplish our goals for the new website. They’re an amazing company. They’ve gone way beyond my expectations. I'm so glad we picked Hounder.

Are there any areas they could improve?

The only thing that could make them better is if they were actually located on our campus.

Any advice for potential customers?

I’d refer them to any school or organization without hesitation.