LuminFire

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the competition director for the Minnesota State Fair, one of the largest state fairs in the US. We have competitions for livestock, jams, rugs, etc., all of which I oversee.

What challenge were you trying to address with LuminFire?

We get over 30,000 competition entries every year, and each entry includes a name, address, phone number, and other information. We needed a partner to develop a customized database to better manage all that information. We had a mix of numerous disparate database systems and wanted to combine them all into one large system.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Over the past 10 years, LuminFire has migrated our databases all onto one platform to make it easier to access and manage all the different competition entries. They also upgraded the system to enable us to enter results remotely as well as display them online and on our screens across the fairgrounds. Before that, we did everything on paper, but now we use Wi-Fi enabled iPads. That upgrade allowed us to broadcast the results in real time, which was something we’d never been able to do before.

Another project they did was to integrate all the different rules and regulations for our competitions into the actual database design. So, instead of having to refer to a separate Word document to determine the format of how things should be entered, the database was set up to automatically have the format ready.

What is the team composition?

We interact with one main developer, but there’s a whole team available.

How did you come to work with LuminFire?

They were recommended by our employment department, who’d worked with them before.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent between $200,000–$1 million.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been partners since 2008.

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

For every project they’ve worked on, we’ve seen a significant reduction in the amount of time it takes to accomplish that task. Our workflow has become more automated and less redundant, saving us time and money in the long run. The way they’ve structured our system allows us to easily change or modify a portion without having to interfere with anything else, which is incredibly convenient.

How did LuminFire perform from a project management standpoint?

They have tremendous customer support—I know I can contact them whenever I need anything. We use Basecamp to track the project, and we’ve never had any major problems.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They took time to learn our business and become passionate about it, even though they may not be deeply interested in state fairs. They’re positive and enthusiastic, always seeking solutions and implementing best practices.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Their sales staff can be a bit pushy.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

Be open about what you want and your limitations (including budget and resources). The more you can share, the better the partnership will be.