Launch Deck

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We provide CRM [customer relationship management], data, and lead generation for real estate agents and mortgage lenders. I am the chief technology officer.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Launch Deck?

We needed to augment our team for the large number of products we need to build. We have a constant need to evolve the tools we provide.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Launch Deck has done a lot of work with all of our products. Initially, we asked them to work on our CRM by refining and adding new features.

How did you come to work with Launch Deck?

We chose Launch Deck because of their technology competency and their communication.

How much have you invested with Launch Deck?

We spent $50,000 to $200,000 on this project.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Launch Deck in August 2016, and it's an ongoing relationship.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I can email you some metrics.

How did Launch Deck perform from a project management standpoint?

They have the best project management of any team I've worked with. They track velocity and have emailed me and asked for more work. That's the first time that's happened to me.

What did you find most impressive about Launch Deck?

Their technology competency distinguishes them. We're using them for React node. It's hard to find people that can make an impact on our workload.

Are there any areas Launch Deck could improve?

Nobody's perfect, but I'm 100% satisfied with their work.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We are a marketplace for student loans and financing. Borrowers can receive quotes from multiple lenders, all in one dashboard. I am the chief technology officer and a co-founder of the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Launch Deck?

We were looking to have a redesign and fix the user flow of our application and dashboard, keeping in mind A/B testing and performance metrics on top of that work.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Launch Deck has helped us with the redesign of our site, but also implemented A/B tests, making sure that the changes we're making are for the better. Our site is mobile-responsive.

How did you come to work with Launch Deck?

I've worked with a number of firms over the 2-3 years we've been in business, including freelancers from Upwork and other freelancing sites. I've known Launch Deck's principal for 2 years; he acted as a mentor for us in the beginning, helping with design and user aspects. He eventually reached out and told us he was starting a new firm. I knew that he was a smart, hardworking person, so he would be able to do a good job. We've stuck with Launch Deck ever since.

How much have you invested with Launch Deck?

The cost of Launch Deck's services has been between $10,000 and $50,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We have been working with Launch Deck since the beginning of summer 2016. We have no plans of stopping anytime soon. We have set up a good system of analyzing user flow, and it's a never-ending cycle.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We have increased our click-through rates for certain pages by 20-25%, which translates to more income for us. The conversion rate on our application form has jumped by 15-20% after the optimization done by Launch Deck.

How did Launch Deck perform from a project management standpoint?

Launch Deck has a data-driven approach of putting pages together and testing them. They have an ability to look at the work from the user's perspective, making decisions based off of that.

What did you find most impressive about Launch Deck?

I've cycled through a ton of companies of this sort, and there was always a problem. Launch Deck has done what was promised, they have a good eye for design, understand users' mentality, and can back up their claims with A/B testing.

Are there any areas Launch Deck could improve?

Some of their code commenting could be better. I can't think of anything else.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

‎AppyHour is a dynamic marketing platform giving local establishments the freedom to create on-the-fly specials and promotions and instantaneously notify hungry and thirsty customers nearby with push notifications and a real-time deal feed. Our platform was launched in January 2016, and we have been bootstrapping since.

I am the founder of the company, and handle everything except for development.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Launch Deck?

Our biggest challenge was finding the technical talent necessary for launching the product. My co-founder does have a tech background, but he was a recent graduate, so we needed help being pushed in the right direction.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Launch Deck got our company going, saving it from launching a bad product. We currently have an awesome app for both iOS and Android.

Since I have a technical co-founder, Launch Deck was able to work with him, building the shell of our platform and launching it. We took over the work from there, putting out a few small updates. Launch Deck also helped with interface design, making icons look crisper, better than our original ones.

How did you come to work with Launch Deck?

I met one of Launch Deck's founders at a local event. He was one of the most knowledgeable people I'd met in this field, and still remains the strongest person in my network, in terms of expertise and talent. I followed up our conversations a few times and had to push to get him involved. This happened just prior to Launch Deck being formed, so he was very busy. Once I convinced them that the idea had traction, it was a no-brainer. I stopped all conversations with other candidates and went with Launch Deck. Their founder ran another company which launched one of the primary education apps on the market, so it was clear to me that Launch Deck had the talent in place to make our vision come to life, and then some. Launch Deck wasn't simply a dev shop that would build a mediocre product.

How much have you invested with Launch Deck?

We were able to negotiate a good price point, but the development would have been in the $50,000 range had we gone anywhere else. Launch Deck's team stuck their neck out for us.

What is the status of this engagement?

I met Launch Deck's owner in August 2015, and we started working together at the end of September. By mid-December, we had submitted the app to the app store and were ready to launch. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Since our launch in January, we have been bootstrapping. The feedback we've gotten has been great. We have over 13,000 downloads and great reviews on iOS and Android, which was mainly achieved by talking to people and directly promoting the app. I haven't heard anything bad so far.

This is in large part due to the direction Launch Deck geared us towards. They suggested some changes to our original design idea, which ended up being tremendous in making the product easier to use. Had we not launched with this great of a product, I don't know if the company would still be around.

What did you find most impressive about Launch Deck?

Launch Deck stands out in terms of quality customer service and letting us know what they think of our product and how it can be improved. Many entrepreneurs are stuck with certain ideas on how things should work, but Launch Deck is able to guide development in a direction which, even though we may not think is best for the product, actually is. Launch Deck's expertise in product road mapping is impressive.

Are there any areas Launch Deck could improve?

We started working with Launch Deck when the company was smaller, but they nailed everything. Launch Deck is doing many good things for a lot of people, and it's hard for me to say where they could improve.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We work with organ procurement organizations and transplant centers, building mobile apps as well as web portals, allowing them to access an HIPAA-compliant network, communicate more effectively with people, and offer information in real time. We offer a communication infrastructure which allows organizations to transplant more organs, in a more efficient manner.

I am a co-founder of the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Launch Deck?

We were struggling with creating an HIPAA-compliant backend. We set up our pilot customer site and showed mockups of the system, but we needed to check off some boxes before people would start pulling the trigger and taking us seriously.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We're first-time entrepreneurs, but Launch Deck has been successful in the past. They not only provided the know-how for taking it to the next level but also provided an entrepreneurial perspective. They helped us create a partnership with Aptible, which offers HIPAA-compliant backends as a service, and we've built on top of that infrastructure with their support.

Launch Deck had built HIPAA-compliant backends from scratch in the past, but they knew not to do that again, especially considering the need to diversify liabilities. Using Aptible was a cheaper solution, allowing us not to hire a dedicated data security engineer at this stage.

We have created a hybrid solution built using JavaScript and Apache Cordova. It hasn't been built for Android, but all of its plug-ins would allow deployment on the operating system, so it wouldn't cost a lot to add this capability. Our app development methodology was designed to be as device-agnostic as possible.

People are sometimes concerned about contract development because the provider might see the work as one-and-done, instead of supporting the client from a business perspective. Many development shops will simply try to milk every penny out of a contract without thinking about the future. Launch Deck broke the mold and saw the longevity of every project, wanting us to be successful. Launch Deck has consulted us on everything which was outside of our area of expertise.  

How did you come to work with Launch Deck?

We didn't go through a formal vetting process, and only relied on word-of-mouth from people in our area. One of the founders of Launch Deck had built a successful company through the John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Center and had visited our city as a sponsored speaker. We are both Vietnamese-Americans and frequented the same restaurants, so this was another way in which I came to know him. We had been continuously cautioned about working with contracted development, because of some of the horror stories this can lead to, especially in the early stages. Working with Launch Deck proved great, and they had a very phased-out, staged approach for not exceeding our budget.

How much have you invested with Launch Deck?

Launch Deck has changed its pricing model since we started working together, and I can't provide exact information about this.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Launch Deck in March 2016. They helped us develop our first working prototype, taking our relationships with customers to the next level and actually scheduling a go-live date. We continue to work with Launch Deck on extending the capabilities of our communication system so that we'll be ready for the launch.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Since Launch Deck was able to work with us successfully, we were able to raise over $500,000 and have a demo site ready to go live. It's been a dream come true for us.

Whenever Launch Deck released a new software version, we'd test it ourselves and also bring it to customers. Any bugs would be fixed within a week, and there weren't many overall.

How did Launch Deck perform from a project management standpoint?

Launch Deck holds communication with the partner as paramount. We are in the process of transitioning from a contracted to a dedicated team, given how much we use Launch Deck's resources. We will have an allotted number of hours and have guidance on managing them. We talk to Launch Deck on a weekly basis, if not more. I have daily standup meetings with one of Launch Deck's partners. I'm very happy with this, given that many developers can go under the curtain. Launch Deck has taken our feedback for app development and made changes during the process. One thing that we've run into were changing requirements. We were able to add in changes without a problem. Bug fixes continued 1-2 weeks after the contract ended.

What did you find most impressive about Launch Deck?

A key strength would be the fact that Launch Deck is focused on business success more than on the software itself. Through the interview process we had with Launch Deck, they were able to make research on our specific arena and assigned someone who had built and delivered medical software in the past as our main contact. He used his experience for prioritizing our core features, allowing us to save money. Everything else waterfalled from this fact.

Are there any areas Launch Deck could improve?

Being a software engineer myself, and having worked with other developers, I've found that we have an innate problem of being overly-optimistic in terms of estimates. I don't fault Launch Deck for this specifically, but it's something that everyone can work on. It would be great if our timeline and cost estimates weren't +/-50%. I couldn't do a better job myself, and this legitimizes our technology as non-trivial. It takes time and true effort to make, instead of just consisting of plugging in modules.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We offer a modern mobile concession platform for stadiums, allowing fans to order food and beverages from their seats and have it delivered. I am the CEO [chief executive officer] of the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Launch Deck?

Our team is comprised of 3 university students from an entrepreneurial school, and myself as an entrepreneur and business owner. None of us had the technical expertise necessary to build an MVP [minimum viable product].

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Launch Deck developed a full web platform allowing stadiums to manage the food ordering process. It's a scalable product which can be deployed to different stadiums quickly, in terms of onboarding the customer. Launch Deck also built non-native Android and iOS apps through a product similar to PhoneGap, which allowed for quick development and testing. Launch Deck also set up all our servers and security and continues to support us as we scale.

How did you come to work with Launch Deck?

I knew of inexpensive overseas offers through other companies I'd worked for. They would end up costing more in the long run because of scope creep and misunderstandings.

We knew Launch Deck's team from other events and engaged with them in order to see if they could help us build the first version of our product, get it out to the market, and test it. We also talked to a few of Launch Deck's customers and came to like their process of scoping out projects. Since Launch Deck was a local company, it worked out great for us.

How much have you invested with Launch Deck?

The cost of our MVP was between $10,000 and $50,000, and the second version will add another $50,000 to the total.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Launch Deck in June 2016 and launched the MVP in August. Launch Deck delivered one week later than expected, but this is a very good result for a development project. We are considering using Launch Deck as a chief technology officer and development partner.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The integration with Stripe was key for us, and it will allow our company to scale the payment aspects. Launch Deck's overall knowledge in terms of design and user interface, including what works and what doesn't, was extremely helpful. I've worked with many developers who missed our design goals and pushed us to bring in third-party designers. Launch Deck brought in the talent needed for completing this phase, which was vital to getting the product launched.

We launched the platform at our first high school event, which was attended by 2,000 fans. 250 people downloaded it, 90% of those downloads being on iOS. We found some bugs after that event, but by the next game the following Friday, Launch Deck had fixed all of those bugs and the event went just as well. We generated about 79 orders per game.

What did you find most impressive about Launch Deck?

Launch Deck has a focus on the early-on development path for startups, and in making an MVP instead of making sure that all possible features are present right away. Many startups think that they need everything right away, when in reality, they overpay for unnecessary elements. This played in with the design side as well. Launch Deck has both local and overseas developers and can scale the team to any size needed. Launch Deck can scale both on the inexpensive side, helping entrepreneurs, as well as on the corporate side.

Are there any areas Launch Deck could improve?

Communication was great with Launch Deck's CEO, but they need to improve when it comes to developers. There should also be an ongoing alignment on how far along Launch Deck is on a project. We didn't have weekly updates and were in the dark during the first 2 and a half to 3 weeks of the project. Launch Deck is putting a system in place for better informing their customers.