Launchpeer

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am attempting to found a company based on a mobile application.

For what projects/services did your company hire Launchpeer?

I hired them to coach me on the process of developing an app as well as create a codeless prototype for the fundraising process.

What were your goals for this project?

To create a pitch deck, pitch, and a prototype for the application I am trying to develop.

How did you select this vendor?

Targeted advertising and a free consultation phone call.

Describe the project in detail.

The team helped me take an idea in my head, validate it, create a website, create a pitch deck, practice my verbal pitch, explained fundraising, and lead me through the entire prototype creation process including creating a customer journey, logo, and ultimately making the prototype which looks fantastic.

What was the team composition?

I was able to work directly with the sedulous CEO Jake who has answered my tireless questions and guided me through each step. For the technical part of this I worked mainly with two other individuals (Rebecca and Gabe) who were extremely knowledgable, friendly, organized, and diligent. I believe there were others working behind the scenes. I cannot speak to working with them directly but I can say the quality of their work on the product was fantastic.

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

The creation of the impressive prototype and a beautiful pitch deck are the primary visible outcomes of these efforts. The more obscure and subtler results are how much they have taught me about the process of developing a mobile application and creating a business around it.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Generally very efficient, particularly during the prototype development phase. For the less technical components, there was an entire curriculum I could follow at my pace and there were weekly group coaching calls to help keep me accountable and push the workflow.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

1. How skilled they are at what they do.
2. They are one of the few companies (possibly the only) that are willing to put in this much effort and give this much help and attention to people operating at early early stage start ups.
3. They are able to work with technology companies at multiple phases of development because of how skilled they are.
4. How accessible they can be. Their technical team responded to my emails consistently and I regularly communicate with their CEO who is super knowledgeable.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Not at this time.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the founder of a podcast player app. Our product integrates social media into the listening experience.

What challenge were you trying to address with Launchpeer?

We hired them to help with the beta version of our app at the very beginning of our development process.

What was the scope of their involvement?

I expected them to develop a functional beta app for iOS and Android, using React Native. Initially, we started with a larger scope, which we pared down quite a bit as we went. We hoped to pull Twitter content into the app that was relevant to the podcasts that users listened to. We also wanted to add direct messaging features and a click creation feature. In the end, we had a bare-bones player with Twitter content in the listening and discovery experience.

The project started very well, and I was impressed by the contracting process. They were very thorough, and it took about a month to ratify the contract. In the first two months, I was impressed by their speed, and our initial expectation was to have a working product within about 12 weeks. In the end, we spent ten months on this project, and we just cut ties with them. There were just too many bugs, and we ultimately transferred the project back to our internal team.

What is the team composition?

In the beginning, we worked with one main developer and a project manager. There was also a customer success manager who worked in the background. Along the way, the managers and a secondary developer left while we were working together. There was a lot of turnover.

How did you come to work with Launchpeer?

My co-founder found an ad for them on Instagram.

How much have you invested with them?

The cost of the project was around $70,000, which we paid in two-week installments.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started in October 2018, and we terminated the contract at the end of August 2019.

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

We've completely severed ties with them. I was hoping to go to market within about three months, but we're already about a year into the process. We still don't have an MVP, and we're currently looking for a new technical founder to help us complete the project internally.

How did Launchpeer perform from a project management standpoint?

Their project management was ok, but the outcomes weren't there. We had to pull them along the way, and they pushed back at almost every turn. We were willing to be flexible and make changes, and the product did become sharper over time. They were friendly, and we tried to keep communication as respectful as possible.

Overall, they were very difficult to work with, and we had to renegotiate several times. We borrowed a lot to make this app, and we still have nothing to show for it. The relationship really soured. They didn't prioritize my project, and seemed to only be in it for the money.

What did you find most impressive about them?

At this point, I can't think of anything specific that they did well. I have reviewed them already on other sites, and they have responded, but I don't care to engage with them any longer.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be careful. There weren't many reviews available when we first engaged them, so we didn't have any information from other clients. They've somehow managed to get 5-star ratings from customers, but I don't know how true those reviews are. They posted a positive testimonial on their website that they attributed to me, which I asked them to remove. That kind of behavior is unethical. Reach out to the reviewers who have rated them poorly and ask them about their experience.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the founder of Rostrd, a platform that connects youth athletes with former college athletes who can serve as mentors and coaches.

For what projects/services did your company hire Launchpeer?

We needed them to design a prototype for our app.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted the finished prototype to help us secure funding and move toward a full-scale business launch.

How did you select this vendor?

I first heard about them through advertising on either Facebook or Instagram, and I decided to speak with them after some further research. I considered some other vendors, but Launchpeer was the right choice.

Describe the project in detail.

They held a number of meetings with me to discover what I was looking for and how they could best make it come to life. After multiple discovery meetings and almost daily conversations, they made changes to my logo, updated details per my request, and made it exactly how I wanted it.

What was the team composition?

I worked with a project manager and a lead as well as designers and a creative team.

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

The prototype looks amazing and we’re ready to take the next steps. Launchpeer’s work helped us sort through our questions and get our idea off the ground.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The workflow was great. Every member of their team worked together very well. They always made me feel like I was their only client. They did a great job responding to questions, using Zeplin for project management, and they used their expertise and knowledge to make suggestions as well.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

They delivered a better prototype than I expected. I didn’t need to make any changes to the initial design because it was so well done.

Are there any areas for improvement?

I think explaining Zeplin a bit more clearly would have helped me understand how to use it faster.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m the founder and president of 5th Level Web, an internet marketing firm.

For what projects/services did your company hire Launchpeer?

We hired Launchpeer to build a prototype for a proof of concept (POC) for a new marketing SaaS tool.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted to demonstrate our application’s flow to prospective investors and employment recruits.

How did you select this vendor?

I interviewed six prospective freelance developers and companies.

Describe the project in detail.

The prototype was supposed to model the application’s flow from the perspective of both end-users (client companies) and marketing agencies. They were supposed to build it with Sketch and Adobe Photoshop/Illustrator.

What was the team composition?

I met with Jake Hare (Founder, Launchpeer), a project manager, and two developers.

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

Unfortunately, Launchpeer did not perform. They achieved none of the outcomes promised in the agreement, and they tried to poach one of our startup team in direct violation of the non-compete clause in the NDA we signed. I lost trust in them, stopped the project, and requested a refund, which hasn't been given.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

My team ended up doing the brunt of the work because Launchpeer didn’t deliver. We created the diagrams, wireframes, and user story they were supposed to provide.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

They seem to be getting a lot of positive PR in spite of their problems delivering a successful product.

Are there any areas for improvement?

First, they need to learn and demonstrate integrity by honoring the contracts they sign. Second, they need to actually deliver what they promise. 

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the founder of FYTR. We're an online marketplace that customizes meals from restaurants to fit people's personal caloric needs or food considerations.

What challenge were you trying to address with Launchpeer?

We're a startup, so we needed to get market validation on the supply side and on the demand side. We were looking for a company to develop a platform for us.

What was the scope of their involvement?

We had multiple phone calls with them and discussed how the system could run on the supply side and how restaurants could customize their meals. Then, I provided my feedback and we tried to find different plug-ins and APIs to get the market validation, while keeping the costs down. We broke each segment of the build into different parts. That way we could build out a small part, validate that part, and then continue to build other parts instead of trying to build everything at once. I made a lot of changes after we started building the visual prototype in PDF, but they were always very understanding.

They’ve already delivered the first beta version of the demand side application, which is the backend system for the restaurants. It's a web based application that is built in React Native. We're now developing a platform for users, which is going to be an iOS/Android app.

What is the team composition?

I work with 4–5 members of their team, including a designer, a lead developer, and a project manager.

How did you come to work with them?

I found them through an online search. Their team is very friendly and they're willing to work with my budget. Also, their entire team is in the United States, which is important to me.

How much have you invested with them?

We've spent between $40,000–$50,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in March 2018 and the relationship is ongoing.

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

We have a technical adviser, who has been reviewing the scope of work and commended the quality of the code. Launchpeer is very transparent with the bills, which gives confidence to myself and my adviser. In addition, they offer a 30-day free maintenance service that includes addressing any bugs. That gives us peace of mind because we're testing the platform with the restaurants. The companies that have tested the app so far are very happy with the results.

How did they perform from a project management standpoint?

We communicate via email, Skype, and Slack and they're very responsive.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They're truly invested and passionate about the project. I never felt that this is just another project for them.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can't think of anything. It took them a little time to understand my needs, but once I passed the project on to their technical team, they implemented is properly.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be clear about what you want and they'll be able to provide that for you.

Please describe your company and your position there.

Our company helps real estate brokerages grow their market share by utilizing Hopscript, our phone-based lead generation system. It’s designed to increase the lead to client conversion ratio. I am the CEO.

For what projects/services did your company hire Launchpeer?

We identified a way to increase the conversion ratio through untraditional methods of script usage. We recognized this method as an opportunity to establish a new product that can increase real estate appointment conversion rate. With that idea in mind, Launchpeer helped us create our vision from start to finish.

What were your goals for this project?

We needed a user-friendly product that could make a massive amount of calls within a short timeframe, serve as a catalog of scripts, and record and play audio during a phone call.

How did you select this vendor?

We interviewed multiple companies. Launchpeer best understood our vision and was excited about turning the idea into a reality. They had the strong team structure, experience, professionalism, and capabilities our complicated project required. We could tell they were enthusiastic about our product.

Can you go into detail about the services they provided and the scope of the project?

Launchpeer guided us through the stages of product design, graphic design, and marketing. They turned our idea into a sellable product that’s ready for launch.  We’re about to take it to market. As a one-stop-shop, they offer everything a startup needs to hit the ground running.

What was the team composition?

Launchpeer has a relatively large team, but most of our day-to-day contact was from the project managers. They served as a reliable point of contact and ensured no information was lost as it passed from person to person.

Can you share any information that demonstrates the impact that this project has had on your business?

Our main product, Hopscript, is ready to be launched next month. Without Launchpeer, our idea never could have come to fruition.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

Launchpeer managed the project and communicated seamlessly with us. We met all our deadlines and stayed within our budget. They're efficient with their time, friendly, and always available to answer our questions.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Launchpeer’s ability to grasp a vision and translate it into a sellable product is top-notch. They were able to take our ideas and expound upon them not only to make a better product but also to come up with really creative branding and design. To put it simply, they know what they're doing from development and design to branding and marketing.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m the COO of an e-commerce platform for outdoor enthusiasts to buy and sell outdoor gear, as well as book or promote adventure-travel trips, guides, services, etc.

For what projects/services did your company hire Launchpeer?

We needed to grow our online presence through social media marketing.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted to increase our user base, online presence, analytics, and sales. We needed our campaign to be directed to our specific niche of outdoor enthusiasts, which can be tough to penetrate if the right approach isn't taken.

How did you select this vendor?

We had searched for many marketing firms, but none seemed to be our fit. Knowing the people at Launchpeer beforehand was a huge help, so when we discussed our needs, they knew what we wanted instead of just telling us what we wanted to hear. We haven't looked back once since.

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

From knowing us prior, Launchpeer knew what we did, and learned even more about us and what we wanted to continue doing. We had meetings almost daily, non-stop communication, and a very detailed plan laid out from the start for our marketing campaign.

What was the team composition?

Their whole team was involved with us from the start, including a designer, a writer, and an analyst. They stayed consistent and productive the entire time.

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

All social media outlets have grown over 300% in less than 90 days, and it won't be slowing down. We have metrics showing positive results for every aspect of our marketing campaign! It’s all very positive, and our users and market have been engaging with all of it.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

They offer great communication, and are both timely and professional.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

What’s most outstanding is the fact that everyone can relate to our industry and our platform as a whole thanks to their work. Their experience and true professionalism are not only impressive but also very comforting, especially when it's so hard to find hard workers in today's world!

Are there any areas for improvement?

The only thing that could’ve been done differently was that we should’ve started earlier. Zero complaints for the Launchpeer team.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder and CEO of Mylai LLC. We’re an on-demand personal training service.

What challenge were you trying to address with Launchpeer?

We needed to outsource custom software development, from cradle to grave.

What was the scope of their involvement?

They took what I had—a rough sketch and prototype of the idea—and turned it into a fully working product with enterprise apps, two phone apps, and databases. Gym owners can go to our web-portal and register an account, and then their trainers can swipe “I’m Available” and be dispatched to wherever the user would like to get workout. It’s a turnkey, SaaS solution for the gym owner.

The app itself has two different workflows: one for users and one for trainers, but they both download the same one. It has geo-location and mapping features, plus geo-fencing. All the information is housed under our CMS—our enterprise, web-based solution. This lets us access all the data easily and lets trainers and users go through one focal point. The mobile apps were built with React Native, and the web tool was done in React.js.

Right now, we’re still in our 60-day bug fix period, and we’re on version 1.3. After that, they’ve offered to continue maintaining the app for 1% of the project cost.

What is the team composition?

We’ve worked with five or six people, including a project manager.

How did you come to work with Launchpeer?

Prior to Launchpeer, we’d tried outsourcing and working with a friend of mine from college, neither of which went well at all. We actually found them through a mutual connection. A friend of mine is a project lead in a big software development firm in Cincinnati, and she floated them to us after I realized she was out of my budget. They quoted me a price that was perfect for our budget so we went with them.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent around $46,000 so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from March until June 2018.

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

Within our first month we have seven customers, north of 300 users, and over 50 reviews, which have a 5.0 average. It was a pretty quick turnaround and we’ve had a lot of really good comments from our customers. They really like the design, and I think they personally submitted our application for UI/UX award in South Carolina. There’s been nothing negative; it’s a really good app going by what everyone has said.

How did Launchpeer perform from a project management standpoint?

We almost always talked through Slack. We worked with two-week springs, so we had semi-monthly calls for an hour to go over progress. They were by the book with the methodology.

What did you find most impressive about them?

How quickly they responded to concerns, for sure. I think the longest they ever went during business without responding to anything was probably 30 minutes. Outside of business, it was maybe five hours at most —Saturday night at 8:00 until 1:00 Sunday morning.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I would say they could upgrade their contract negotiations. They originally sent us a primitive contract and we went through 19 revisions to make it more dense and sophisticated.

Any advice for potential customers?

You should spend extra time upfront to clearly outline the scope. If possible, produce your own materials for them to reference during negotiations so that they're abreast of what you want. I think that's why ours turned out so well. I was very diligent with that. Other than that, I don’t think you’ll find a better, more affordable, development shop.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder and CEO of reDUNNit, a mobile app that connects vendors in the automotive appearance reconditioning business with customers who have problems with their cars. We refinish wheels, repaint bumpers, and take out dents.

What challenge were you trying to address with Launchpeer?

Our general industry works for car dealerships. We go in and recondition used cars to make them look good and new for when the customers come in to buy them. Most people don’t know our industry exists, so I was looking for a way to inform the public that we can fix cars faster and cheaper than going to a body shop. I wanted a conduit to connect people to local vendors to get their repairs done.

What was the scope of their involvement?

After hiring Launchpeer, I explained to them how the process needed to work. We iterated back and forth on the idea until we came up with a functional model. They’d already done a similar task for another client, so we tweaked that plan a bit to match my goals. We workshopped the idea repeatedly, then they began the dev.

They guided me through the tech aspects, and I took care of the structure and business sides. They created the wireframes and documentation and also did background market research that informed our app’s purpose and functionality. They even helped design the logo, identify new users, and find new ways to market to them. We first built the iOS app and then the Android.

What is the team composition?

I worked mainly with four developers: one for iOS, two for Android, and one for web.

How did you come to work with Launchpeer?

I saw them on Facebook. They had experience in the type of product I wanted to create, and they seemed to have a good understanding of what I wanted to accomplish, so I hired them.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent about $130,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from September 2017–March 2018.

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

The app is currently live, but only in a limited area—we’re in the middle of making some marketing changes. The app does exactly what it’s intended to do, and I’m pleased with Launchpeer’s work. The clients enjoy it and say it’s incredibly interactive and easy to use. They can easily get a quote, schedule appointments, and make payments.

How did Launchpeer perform from a project management standpoint?

I was pleased with everything they provided. They walked me through the tech parts I didn’t understand well and gave me clear direction and feedback. We had biweekly meetings to go over progress and mainly communicated over email, phone, Slack, and Jira.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They were always responsive and quick to answer any questions, which made me feel like an important client. They consistently met my needs.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

Build a relationship with the team and trust one another. You can form a long-lasting relationship that satisfies both parties.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the co-founder of Vireo Labs. We are a chat-based mobile company focused on education.

What challenge were you trying to address with Launchpeer?

We wanted to develop an iOS and Android-friendly mobile app, using our web-based prototype and the social science data we had collected as the foundation.

What was the scope of their involvement?

They did everything, including consulting, project management, development, some light design work, and QA testing. We provided them a working prototype through a web-based version of the app, which we had tested with users across the country. They took the web experience and developed it on Ionic. Then we had a meeting to discuss any re-engineering that was needed for frontend design. We also discussed how to involve our CTO on some of the backend support.

One of the key features they developed was bringing to life a recommendation engine inside the app. Through this feature, the psychometrics profile recommends careers the user should pursue based on his or her vocational profile. They brought that to life in a digestible way that appeals to teenagers. For marketing the app to universities and counselors, Launchpeer had to be especially confident in the recommendation engine, because it involves multiple algorithms that point at multiple APIs. Even though that involved a lot of very difficult programming, they made it seem very easy.

The app connects students and prospective students with campus or admission counselors within a university through a chat function. They had to develop that to work in real-time from device to web, and from device to device. Launchpeer also had to streamline the login for our teenage demographic.

What is the team composition?

We had a project manager and two developers. I also worked closely with the founder from a client management perspective.

How did you come to work with Launchpeer?

I was looking for somebody local and had probably met with four or five other firms before deciding on Launchpeer. I had heard of them before and approached their founder after hearing him speak at a conference. After talking with him, I realized he had the same entrepreneur mentality I did. I liked his client focus and personal background in the industry. The key reasons we went with Launchpeer were that the founder understood where we were as a company, and he provided a solution that matched our budget and timeline.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent $30,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together February–May 2016 and launched the app January 2017.

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

We currently have users in 49 states, and our convergence rate from downloading to becoming an active user is 80%. Both of those are a testament to the way the app looks and feels upon immediate download, and how user-friendly it is.

How did Launchpeer perform from a project management standpoint?

Starting from the project kick off, they did a wonderful job of managing our expectations. We used two-week sprints, and during that time both developers were in contact with our CTO. I worked mostly with the founder on the overall project and client management side.

One of the biggest successes in their project management was that very early in the process they identified that our CTO wasn’t familiar with the language. By identifying and flagging that, they were able to adjust the timeline in a way that didn’t affect our targeted launch date.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I’m continuously impressed with their follow up. The founder and I have stayed in touch with each other over email and text. He still provides support, guidance, and occasional grant writing. He’s stayed in touch with us as a business, because he believes in what we do and that we’ll make a difference. That in and of itself makes him a good partner and helps Launchpeer stand out amongst their competitors.

Are there any areas they could improve?

When we worked together, the testing and QA environment could have been better. I don’t remember what platform we used, but the results were difficult to share across people and teams. However, they have grown since we’ve worked with them, so it may no longer be an issue.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

If you come to Launchpeer not just from a development perspective, but wanting business advice, they will provide that value-added service and really analyze your business strategy. They won’t just be on a project to write code and make money but to advise you on best practices and strategies. It’s smart to have them as a partner in this industry.