Iron Forge Development

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the Founder of Ridge - a web application that provides tools and tips across the startup fundraising experience – spanning pitch development, investor identification, fundraise tracking, and legal support. Inspired by VC and startup experience, the product increases efficiency and transparency for entrepreneurs throughout the process of raising private funding, thereby increasing access to capital across industries and founding teams

For what projects/services did your company hire Iron Forge Development, and what were your goals?

Our team had the business background and experience to develop a relevant solution to this problem, but needed help with design and development of an initial product. We contracted Iron Forge to develop an MVP of the Ridge product - to get something out into the market that could demonstrate ROI for entrepreneurs and the supporting ecosystem.

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

We found them via word of mouth and selected them after talking with 3-4 vendors. Our main deciding factors were location, price, and capability to support ad hoc as needed following the MVP release. The team was willing to solution around the scope provided and come up with reasonable compromises for a first version that fit within our price point.

Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and technologies used.

We went through a full process of project scoping, design, and development. First, we met to discuss and refine project scope - we conducted discovery workshopping to narrow on the key features for the 1.0 product. Once aligned on the feature set and key deliverables, we executed a contract and moved along to the design phase. In the design phase, we worked in Figma to review design mockups - the design process as a whole took roughly 4-6 weeks. Then, we moved onto the development phase of the project. For each development milestone we reviewed, tested, and debugged. Development of the web application consisted of an onboarding flow/sign up, then module-specific landing pages - including database elements tied to a super admin account, direct downloads of content, pop-up modules, and Trello-like movement of cards across a CRM flow. Overall, this development timeline consisted of a few months, along with a review period to check for bugs.

How many people from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

I predominantly worked with a project manager, then interfaced with a designer via Figma/email and a few developers via Marker.io and bug comments. I largely used the project manager as the point of contact to flag, sort, and prioritize key items. On a few occasions, I interfaced with the team's COO and CEO.

Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables?

We are about to launch the product publicly, so we will have more results in the coming months. However, we did conduct a smaller private beta for the solution in early summer and ran in-person/live beta tests. Feedback from this was largely positive - users were impressed with the design and pieces of the functionality. We had a relatively high initial conversion / signup rate from the beta. We also have had positive responses when talking with corporate and VC partners.

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timeliness.

The project management system was such that we would hold weekly calls to review progress, and then we would hop on the phone as needed outside of this. The project manager was very responsive over email and typically responded back the day of (or within an hour or two). We would collaborate over Google Docs for information sharing, then Figma/Marker.io, Zoom/email/phone, etc. for other things.

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

I thought the team did a good job at working with us on scoping up front and thinking creatively across the project on how we could achieve our desired outcome on this MVP. When we needed to amend or add on various elements, it was fairly easy to get to a reasonable solution.

Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?

We are happy with this MVP and what was developed; however, in terms of learnings, we could have spent more time between the design and development phases thinking about user interaction and edge cases. There were some requirements that could have been more extensively considered that we then had to solution for later in development.

Please describe your company and your position there.

Cofounder | Product Lead

For what projects/services did your company hire Iron Forge Development, and what were your goals?

MVP - iOS I designed we collaborated Iron Forge built We released We continue to grow our business and update the same app today

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

My cofounder knew one of the cofounders in high school and we decided to put our trust in him.

Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and technologies used.

We hired Iron Forge to develop our MVP iOS app/marketplace. The app was fairly complex because we needed to build features for both sides of our marketplace as well as admin features for ourselves to track data and facilitate movement within the app.

How many resources from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

I've worked with one development resource at Iron Forge.

Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables?

The deliverables were above and beyond what I expected. The care for the details, not just attention to them is what makes the Iron Forge a great group to work with. If attention to detail were the only quality I could speak highly about, The app would have had clear flaws in it because some of the details I delivered didn't make sense in practice. Iron Forge interpreted my goal and modified the details to build tech that accomplished that goal.

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timeliness.

They'll work/communicate with you however you'd like. open a slack channel, set up weekly calls, up to you.

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

The most impressive aspect of working with Iron forge is the pride they take in their work. It's not just a sales pitch. 

The app was built extremely fast and well but what stands out the most is how much Ian from Iron Forge dedicated himself to the project. When outsourcing projects you run the risk of working with vendors who think very linearly.

They understood the mission of our company and was able to innovate the app to serve our needs beyond the written requirements. By truly understanding our goals he was able to think about each feature of the application through the same lens we as founders were thinking about them.

The app Ian built for us 5 years ago is still in production today and Ian is still building features into it with the same care and passion.

Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?

As a long time client, you will need to plan larger feature development around the availability of resources. Just give ample heads up to get your feature in the queue. It's never been a long wait for me, just something to get ahead of and stay diligent about when planning.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the Founder and CEO of Forge Legend. At Forge Legend we are in the business of building Leader who Live Legend. We do this through by being Radically Authentic, Powerfully Imperfect, Leaders Not Victims, who do the Hard Work Worth Doing, and put an emphasis on We NOT Me.

For what projects/services did your company hire Iron Forge Development, and what were your goals?

We wanted to develop a custom app that let our clients track their progress in life across Faith, Fitness, Family, Finance and Fun. We wanted something native in iOS and Android and that would replace the myriad Google Sheets, JotForms, and paper forms we had been using for years.

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

We interviewed 5 companies and Iron Forge was a great culture fit and seemed to understand our demand not to cut corners, but while holding fiercely to a budget. We came to them with an existing SYSTEM, but we realized early in the process they were experts in taking our systems into apps meaningfully and not just doing what we already had in an app.

Our entire system stepped forward with the project and it became apparent that would happen through a multiple call live vetting process.

Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and technologies used.

We started from concept - from absolute scratch and worked all the way through with Iron Forge. From wireframes and design to feature sets and everything in between. We brought our proven system, a ton of google sheets and a vision and they helped us make that into an app reality.

How many resources from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

We had a project manager Kendra, a developer Ian, a sales rep Chris, and account rep Jeremy and even periodic contact with the CEO Sumner who checked in and was available for mission critical vision and planning meetings. Seems like a lot of people, but it was a big project, and they really worked seamlessly through scoping and bidding and beyond.

Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables?

We saw our vision for an app to run our coaching systems come to life and not only work beautifully for our clients, but actually improve the way we do things. The app itself has made our program better in ways we didn't expect. We work on high value clients and not high volume and we have been able to better serve all of our clients through the app.

What used to take compiling and days or weeks to deliver in the form of reports now happens instantaneously wherever our clients are.

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timeliness.

Organized, precise, and disciplined. They were able to keep us from running away with ourselves. I appreciated the order and process driven system they had.

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

They really cared about the work and their craftsmanship inside of it. Our developer went so far as to live our program to better understand what we were trying to accomplish it - which he did and he ended up improving the entire experience. This was a true partnership of creation and not just someone we contracted to do some work.

Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?

We initially believed we didn't have any Android users which was immediately proved wrong on releasing the iOS version of our app. I think we could have better timed / coordinated the development and release on the 2 platforms simultaneously but they made the best of the mis-information we gave them truly.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the Founder of a national adult recreational basketball league company.

For what projects/services did your company hire Iron Forge Development, and what were your goals?

We started out as an offline seasonal basketball league business that did not allow for us to scale. After many failed attempts we realized that we did not have the technological resources, infrastructure, or manpower to run our leagues in multiple cities at one time. We tasked Iron Forge with developing a self-serving mobile app for our league teams and players that would solve our technical infrastructure, manpower, and scalability issues.

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

Before hiring Iron Forge Development, we had a really bad experience with another app development company so we kind of knew what to look for and what not to do. The deciding factor for hiring Iron Forge was due to the fact that they took the time to really understand our business and our objectives for developing an app, the details of the project process, and the timeline that they provided.

Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and technologies used.

The scope of work consisted of developing a first-of-its-kind sports league app for the recreational marketplace. There were seven milestones within the development process and the app code and framework were built using Flutter language for Android and IOS.

How many resources from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

In total there were four individuals that I worked with:

• Sales Associate - initial contact
• COO - scope & development meetings
• Project Manager - assigned post-contract
• Sr. App Developer - had meetings during the pre-launch phase.

However, the Rockstar of their team and my main point of contact that I met with weekly was the Project Manager.

Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables?

We were on a very tight timeline and budget. It was critical for us that our project stay on track and be able to launch within the timeframe we had originally stated. Everything with our project was ahead of schedule and on budget and we were able to launch a week before our launch date. Needless to say, we were very happy and pleased with those outcomes.

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timeliness.

Iron Forge's project management style was very client/customer-centric. I was always in the loop of our project due to our weekly update Zoom meetings and I could email my project manager at any time with questions if I ever had any. We never had an issue with any of their communication tools or methods.

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

Being a non-coder tech founder, I appreciated their technical expertise. They helped me with thinking thru some blind spots and consulted me on the best practices, methods, and techs to use within our app.

Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?

None that I can think of at this time... they knocked it out of the park for me! I wouldn't change anything in reference to my experience.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the CEO of a company that created Manna Cooking: The only app in the world that allows people to find, customize, share, cook, and shop recipes all in one place.

For what projects/services did your company hire Iron Forge Development, and what were your goals?

We hired Iron Forge to do a UX/UI overhaul of our beta product and help us implement more development power. Our launch is set to go live next month, November 2021.

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

I had a personal connection to one of the founders and discovered Iron Forge coincidentally via Linkedin. We had spoken to a number of agencies previously and the quality and competence of each paled in comparison to Iron Forge. Iron Forge had experience working in our industry before and demonstrated immediately that they understood our brand and aligned with us on goals for the go to market product.

Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and technologies used.

We kicked off with their month long discovery process and broke down the existing product along with goals for V1.0 They first delivered us information architecture for all the new UX. Upon completion we proceeded to wire frames and UI inspiration samples. Once our team approved those they completed the UI in Figma and created a clickable prototype, then began the development process in conjunction with our internal team.

How many resources from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

We worked with a project manager, designer and developer weekly. Initially met with the CRO and other executive team, as well as an additional technical member of Iron Forge who did IA drafting

Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables?

We are still ongoing the final phase of the project as we approach our launch. The quality of their product speaks for itself. We have seen a major upswing in traction since showing demos of the new app to investors, advisors and new users.

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timeliness.

We have consistent weekly calls, and they were also very flexible with us. I appreciated the balance of organization and structure with the understanding that we are a young, dynamic company with unpredictable schedules.

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

I mean this answer literally: everything. While that feedback may not be actionable, it is truthful. Their design talent is perhaps the most striking, but they are far and away from the best agency I've interacted with.

Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?

Totally satisfied

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the CEO and founder of a connected fitness platform that bridges the gap between physical therapy and home fitness. We have a connected fitness tool called AXIUS Core, which improves our users' core strength, balance, and mobility. It guides people through a data-driven journey with a connected IoT application.

What challenge were you trying to address with Iron Forge Development?

We needed a proof of concept for a prototype IoT mobile app.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Initially, we had a discovery phase in terms of wireframing and mapping out what we wanted to build. We first provided an initial project scope document for Iron Forge to go through. After a few discovery calls to relay our needs and discuss the scope, they produced a comprehensive and detailed project scope and wireframe for the project.

Then came the implementation phase where they actually built it, which went through several different iterations. They ended up building several versions of this prototype app before we finally landed on the final version. Finally, we created a go-to-market (GTM) strategy, which they also helped design and implement. They continue to work with us on refining their work.

What is the team composition?

There are two people assigned to the project.

How did you come to work with Iron Forge Development?

They were recommended to us through a business networking group. I decided to work with them once I had a chance to speak with their development team because they were flexible, customizable, and had lots of experience in bringing apps to the market in this particular space. 

How much have you invested with them?

The total spend for this project is $75,000 so far. 

What is the status of this engagement?

The project began in March 2020, and we’re still working together.

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

Thanks to their work, we’ve been able to acquire nearly half a million dollars in investment so far. 

How did Iron Forge Development perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re great at project management and communication. They have a detailed scope of work and agreed-upon milestones that they're able to follow and reference. The team always keeps me up to speed on their progress in terms of deliverables — they consistently give me real-time updates on a weekly, sometimes even daily, basis. For operational communication, we mainly use Slack, but we also have occasional Zoom meetings and phone calls.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They have the expertise and vision that you'd want from a big company, but they have the dedication, flexibility, and attention of a small team. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don't have any suggestions for them to improve; we’re satisfied with the results of their work.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Have a clear understanding of what you want to build prior to engaging with any development and design group like Iron Forge. My advice isn’t specific to them, though; I'd say that's for any time you're outsourcing your UI/UX.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the co-founder and CEO of a mental health technology company.

What challenges were you trying to address with Iron Forge Development?

We hired them to help with development.

What was the scope of their involvement?

They developed two native iOS apps for us, working collaboratively with our internal team. They also developed an ERP web application. This project was more complex and included intricate design work and backend development. 

What is the team composition?

We worked with 7–8 people. There was one iOS developer, four web application developers, a lead designer, a project manager, and two additional designers. 

How did you come to work with Iron Forge Development?

They were recommended to us. 

How much have you invested in them?

We’ve invested a bit over $200,000. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in January 2020, and our relationship is ongoing.

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

They consistently executed our ideas. They’re effective, but their work is also affordable. They’ve taken on some complex challenges. 

How did Iron Forge Development perform from a project management standpoint?

They hit all of our deadlines. Our iOS developer is very responsive and works well with our team. The rest of the team’s project management is good, but not great. Communication is frequent, and they keep me informed of any major obstacles or issues. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re reliable and get stuff done. I can count on them. They know how to solve problems. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

There are times that they could’ve communicated a little better and been more organized in tracking the project. However, I would still give them high marks overall. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

If you want a US-based development team, they’re a great option, especially if your company is smaller. Define the project well upfront. 

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the CEO of a technology startup.

For what projects/services did your company hire Iron Forge Development, and what were your goals?

We worked with Iron Forge to create a clickable prototype so we could validate our startup concept. We then had Iron Forge build out our MVP so we could further test and validate.

How did you select Iron Forge Development and what were the deciding factors?

I felt strongly that Iron Forge was a partner. They provided a lot of value outside of just the technology aspect. Members of their team helped me with fundraising and digital marketing advice. They also weren't just trying to build what I asked them. They provided pushback in areas that they thought the concept could be improved.

Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and technologies used.

Iron Forge first created a clickable prototype of the app in InVision that we used to validate our concept. After validation, they also built our iOS MVP in Swift. The app involved integration of several APIs, dashboards, and scheduling functionality.

How many people from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

We worked primarily with Ian from Iron Forge on the development of our app.

Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables?

The project was delivered in a timely manner, and they worked quickly and diligently to fix any bugs that we found during testing.

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timelines.

They had a very clear process and communication process throughout the life of the project.

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

Again, I thought their approach of forming a true partnership with us as the client was what was most impressive. They were more than just a development company, they helped with fundraising and marketing strategy as well.

Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?

There is nothing that jumps out at me that they could have done better.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder and CEO of a tech startup called Last Minute Hair. We provide an on-demand delivery service for beauty products making it easy for local beauty supplies stores to market and sell their inventory to consumers and then deliver it within an hour.

What challenge were you trying to address with Iron Forge Development?

I was looking for a trustworthy development company to help with building out my mobile app to take to the market. After trying to build it out myself, I realized that it would take so much time I wanted to find a tech company that I could trust.

I wanted to have a click-through prototype that I could leave to the audience and a visual for people to see exactly what I was speaking about. I wanted to find a software developer to help start the app process.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Iron Forge Development was very hands-on with educating me on the process that it would take to build my app. I knew exactly what I wanted my app to do and the features that it had, but decided that I needed a narrative created for my app.

The key feature that I had for my app was the ability to do a two-step authentication for the receiving and payment of the deliveries and they helped me work through that process. Iron Forge Development helped me integrate the POS software that I also created to the app and helped to make it easier for consumers to search for a product by brand name and user type.

I knew what I wanted to do and the feel that I wanted in the app when people use it, but I didn’t have necessarily a full look. Working on the project, we were able to go back and forth and told them what I wanted to say and the language and they give feedback on how we could potentially write it.

Initially, they didn’t know what they'd be able to complete, but they work on building key pages and important aspects.  Iron Forge Development was really helpful when we built the driver side that the consumers would use. While we had a consumer side to be more lighthearted with a lot of images, we want to keep it conservative when we’re dealing with the business side and keep the same emotions, but in a cleaner way.

They helped to make my app more user friendly and more sustainable for the future. The app is available for iOS and Android and they also helped me with the process of adding the app to Google Play and Apple App Store. In 4–5 weeks, they built a prototype for my app, which includes a lot of things because it's very intricate.

What is the team composition?

It is very intimate. I'm able to get in contact with everyone from one of the founding CEOs. I work with one of the CEOs, who developed the entire frontend design for the mobile app. I have access to them and they are really supportive.

How did you come to work with Iron Forge Development?

I found Iron Forge Development just in time for my very first pitch competition that I had last October 2019. Once I spoke to Chris (Chief Revenue Officer), I was definitely sold because of how genuine and invested they were to make sure that they would build a product that was best for their client. 

Iron Forge Development’s name popped up in a Google search and I started looking through their portfolio. I then searched for them in Google Play Store and Apple App Store. I started to look through the reviews and the consumer feedback of what their experience was using the platform for these apps that they built out. One of the apps that they built out had a 4.4 review.

Even the reviews that had a low rating were most likely due to human error where the person who was using the app didn’t use it well. It was mostly people who were excited or praising the app for these other companies that they built for.

With that, I felt confident that the people who were using my app would feel the same way just because of their detail; they have a very keen eye for detail and I really like that.

How much have you invested with them?

By the time the project is done, I will have invested $60,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

I started working with Iron Forge Development in November 2019 and I’m still working with them to finish the development of the app.

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

I’ve been able to acquire lifetime members of the app and people who are pre-registering to be a part of the platform. I have business owners who are really excited and impressed by the flow of the app and how their inventory will be presented to their customers, and how I built up the process in the app so that they are protected and their bottom line is protected.

They work from the back- to the frontend and they knocked it out. It looks really good and there weren't a lot of things that needed to be added afterward. I won my first pitch competition.

How did Iron Forge Development perform from a project management standpoint?

Iron Forge Development is always on point. The communication is awesome. Every time I reach out, they are very responsive. I have a direct cell phone number so I am able to text and call them.

If they can't answer right away because they are in a meeting, they will always get right back to me as soon as they have free time. It isn’t hard for me to get a hold of them. Project management wise, they’re always on time; they built out a full prototype within four weeks.

It was more of a collaboration, but I’ve been thinking about the work for two years before I met Iron Forge Development. I had my work together by the time I got to them, but they definitely helped bring me to full circle. They built up the prototype and that’s what I’ve been using to market.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I needed the job done right the first time and that’s what Iron Forge Development did. They are very personable and that’s why I have this true loyalty to them. They’re more than just a development company, they've almost become like family. They make sure that we are taken care of and we understand the process. If I need any help, they’re always there for me and I can call them up or text them.

Iron Forge Development’s theme and app design is very clean and polished. The users are always in front of Iron Forge Development’s mind when they develop an app. Their eye for detail is something that stands out.

Are there any areas they could improve?

With new team members coming in on the project, there should be a full understanding and consistency of what’s expected. That’s always something that is easy to work on.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Know what you want, have a clear idea of what you want your product, app, and website to do. Make sure everything is consistent throughout what identity your company has and align with that.

Once you have all of that, it makes the job easier because they’re able to pull the images together, speak the language you want, and implement features because they have a starting point of what exactly your company is about.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the CTO of meMR Health.

For what projects/services did your company hire Iron Forge Development, and what were your goals?

We hired Iron Forge for full mobile & web app development as well as machine learning/OCR.

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

Very reasonably priced as well as a highly impressive portfolio.

Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and technologies used.

They designed and developed a Flutter iOS, Android, and web app with the backend in Node, all hosted on AWS. API built with GraphQL and Database used Postgres.

How many people from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

We worked with Iron Forge's VP of engineering as well as a Sr. Data Scientist, along with a few Flutter/Node/AWS/Python devs.

Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables?

The project was successfully delivered along with our additional scope creep.

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timeliness.

Project management started a little shaky, but was much better towards the middle to end of the project.

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

The ability to get the vast variety of tech done under one roof!

Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?

Tighter scoping and Project management. But they're a very solid team to work with overall.