Never Settle

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of product for Selfbook. We created a new product that enhances the booking experience for hotels. The specific need that we tackle is accessibility — many hotels want their widget to be accessible and compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). I work closely with engineers and designers to build the product.

What challenge were you trying to address with Never Settle?

We had an internal development team, but they weren’t familiar with ADA compliance. We needed specific talent to come in and help us with that part of development.

What was the scope of their involvement?

First, we did an audit of our widget to find all the issues integrated within our Jira service. Never Settle came in, and we gave them access to our Jira account. They worked on the issues we’d found in the audit and did frontend work related to ADA compliance throughout our widget. Our software was built on React, but there wasn’t backend work.

Never Settle took the tasks we gave them, completed them, and found more issues. They picked up the issues again and tackled the work. Also, they helped with documentation around ADA compliance so we can use it for reference and best practices going forward.

What is the team composition?

We work directly with one developer. I believe he has another developer helping on the side, but we don’t have contact with them. Also, we’ve dealt with Kenn (Co-Founder & CEO).

How did you come to work with Never Settle?

We were referred to them through the ADA audit agency.

How much have you invested with them?

The initial estimate was around $14,000, but we’ve rolled over it, so it’ll be under $20,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in November 2021, and our relationship is ongoing. We’ll be done at the end of this month.

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

They’re super communicative and easy to work with. Never Settle has hit the ground running with the work, and they didn’t have too many questions, which was great. They’ve also helped mentor some people on our team, which is a nice addition. Overall, they’re really knowledgeable in their field, and we’d work with them again if we needed to. They’ve exceeded our expectations.

How did Never Settle perform from a project management standpoint?

It’s been good so far. We regularly communicate via Slack and calls.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They get the task done and are easy to work with.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There’s nothing I can think of. It would’ve been good if they’d told us when they hit the original estimate. I believe we’re now over it, but they haven’t communicated that to us, and it’d be good to know in the future. Other than that, it's been great.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I’d definitely recommend people to work with them.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of the Highland Art Center.

What challenge were you trying to address with Never Settle?

I was looking for a resource to help us make our website more user-friendly and acceptable for those on our team responsible for keeping the content current and relevant.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Never Settle updated our Squarespace website. First, we got on a conference call and talked about what was and wasn’t working on our previous site. Then, they made a recommendation on what they could do. From there, the team presented a price and a timeline. I managed the content and the team enhanced some of the content that I turned in.

What is the team composition?

I worked with the president, initially. Then, I worked with one developer as my go-to person.

How did you come to work with Never Settle?

We were working with a different firm and I think they sold their customer base to Never Settle.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent close to $10,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in August 2019, and our work is ongoing.

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

Everything that Never Settle stayed within our budget and timeline. Never Settle was really flexible and patient while working with me. Our new layout flows and presents who we are in a more targeted and effective way. It’s less cluttered, too. My board members have been very excited about what they’ve seen, too.

How did Never Settle perform from a project management standpoint?

We used Google tools to share documents and manage the project. I really liked having one person throughout the project.  

What did you find most impressive about them?

The person assigned to me was really caring, conscientious, positive, and supportive. They made great recommendations that I wasn’t thinking of. It was a really good partnership.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I can’t think of anything. Their prices were more than fair and we got a great value. The same services in California would’ve cost double.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be really clear about your needs. Never Settle is pretty resourceful and they have good ideas. You allow them to do a better job by being really clear about what you’re trying to do.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the founder of We Grieve, an online community that brings grieving people together to heal. 

What challenge were you trying to address with Never Settle?

We needed Never Settle to create an online community that not only provides resources but also connects people with small, private groups where they can talk to each other via Zoom, Facebook, or other similar platforms.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Through WordPress, Never Settle created a public platform that had free resources available to anyone who accessed its URL. They also built a member-only side that offered either a monthly or an annual subscription. It also gave users the option to gift membership to somebody who experienced a loss. A lot of details were put on the member-only side. 

On both the public and the member-only sides of the platform, people received loss-specific resources. For instance, someone who’d lost a parent would receive something different from a person who’d lost a child. Moreover, Never Settle helped people quickly get the information they need. Users could access content and resources in different ways without having to wade through 60 PDF files just to find something relevant. 

What is the team composition?

I worked with their CEO and a developer. 

How did you come to work with Never Settle?

I searched for the top 10 web development companies in the Denver metro area and chose three of them. I called and interviewed those companies, and I ultimately chose Never Settle because of their track record and success in projects related to what I was trying to do. On top of that, they had the passion and personal interest in what I was doing.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent around $15,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project lasted from November 2020–March 2021. 

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

For success metrics, we needed the website to work, and people should be able to navigate it well. It was also important that I didn’t see a lot of abandoned carts because some people changed their minds after seeing all the details of their purchase. People’s feedback about professionalism, photo quality, and number of words per web page was also important to me. Those were some of the measurements that told us the launch was successful. Generally speaking, Never Settle met our overall goals. 

However, this business has a slow growth process, so it’ll take a longer time to measure success going forward. 

How did Never Settle perform from a project management standpoint?

Our communication was very positive. I was happy with the fact that I didn’t have to talk to a lot of people during the project; I didn’t have to talk to a different person every time I needed help. The developer was very responsive, and he worked on the project at times that I wasn’t expecting him to. As a result, I was pleasantly surprised at the speed at which things were resolved. He was always good, and our communication was always clear. 

Meanwhile, their CEO was a little hard to communicate with because we were on different pages a couple of times. We were trying to match technology, art, and business to help people and give them something that met their needs, so it took us a while to get to what we were trying to accomplish. However, we worked through it, and he was consistent in asking questions until we arrived at the solution that we were looking for. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

What stood out to me over time was their grasp of the complexity of the project. They kept us from getting buried in the weeds too quickly and helped us stay on the big picture. I never had to deal with or get involved in all the project details because they always knew how to handle those details.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Our engagement was a “discover as you go” project, so it would’ve been helpful for us if we had more upfront information about the phases and parts of such a project. However, it wouldn’t have mattered to me whether we stuck to those parts or not as long as I was aware of the bigger picture since I’d never developed a website of this size and complexity before. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be clear about what you want and your ultimate goal; always keep that goal in front of you in all conversations. Sometimes, other businesses put you on a lane and tell you that that’s what your business is and that’s what you do. However, it might not be correct, so you must stay truly clear on what you want and have conversations about your goals continually. In our engagement, Never Settle was very responsive, and they listened well. 

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO and co-founder of a company called Eceipt, a digital services provider of receipts to POS companies and retailers. We’re a small startup with the goal of embedding ourselves in the retail industry as the number one choice of businesses for coupons and receipts. 

What challenge were you trying to address with Never Settle?

We needed Never Settle to work on the initial framework, website, and marketing strategy of the company.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Never Settle used Webflow for developing our website, and they built it around an organized structure. There was a main landing page, and it was our main point of marketing. Users could get 80% of the information they need by scrolling down through it. They built it using our wording and images. Then, there were three other pages that provided more detailed information. 

Never Settle also worked on our image and branding. They developed our logo, color schemes, and profiles, as well as our catchphrase.

The third leg of their work was developing the MVP of the application itself. This was our main concern. They took my wireframes and put them into a clickable and more professional setting. We parsed it through each other to have an idea of how the app would work and function in terms of screen changes and information presented. We could then take it to our potential customers and tell them it was what they’d be seeing if they signed on with us.

What is the team composition?

I initially worked with Kenn (CEO). When Kenn had to leave, I worked with Stephen (Customer Service Support Manager).

How did you come to work with Never Settle?

I was working out of the Denver area and looking for local companies that I could meet with in person, and Never Settle was one of the companies I found. I liked their portfolio and their business model, and the contract they offered was competitive. At the end of the day, they were inexpensive, but the value-add they had was more important than the money, so I hired them.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent between $10,000–$11,000. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from November 2020–February 2021. 

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

We haven’t begun the final leg of the project, so the metrics that I used were more personal, such as telling them whether I agree with what I see or not. The only metric that they didn’t hit was the timeline. We were hoping to be wrapped up by early January 2021. However, there was a bunch of circumstances outside their control that limited their ability to stick to the original timeline. 

How did Never Settle perform from a project management standpoint?

In terms of project management, the part that was most lacking was communication. It was very intermittent. There was no weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly communication about questions or updates. They would simply give me the website and tell me what they needed. Then, I’d send them a bunch of edits. To be honest, I was hoping for more regular communication.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The most impressive thing about them was their ability to work on details that I wasn’t necessarily paying for. I wasn’t paying them for that type of precision, but they did it anyway. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

Realistically, they could improve their communication frequency. That was the biggest deal for me. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Trust Never Settle and their inputs. They know what they’re doing. Make sure you keep up good communication. Have your documents and information prepared for them beforehand, because that’s going to make the job a lot easier. 

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of VP Health Systems, Inc.

What challenge were you trying to address with Never Settle?

We have a platform that networks small family pharmacies, and we allow them to use the existing infrastructure to provide nonprescription products through a consumer portal.

We had hired another local firm to do the project for us. When we were more than two-thirds through paying the project costs, we realized that most of the work hadn’t been done. Never Settle came in and picked up the project midstream.

What was the scope of their involvement?

The majority of their time was spent cleaning up and figuring out what had been done so far by evaluating previous work to determine how much remained. They developed a WordPress consumer-facing site. On the backend, they built a file configurator that compiles orders and codes them into a .DAT file format that’s then sent to individual pharmacies so the file is readable by their equipment and software.

Their team also built a custom assessment tool that goes through our products and determines which ones to recommend to customers. They also set up payment processing, integrated tools, and handled other logistics including email notifications.

What is the team composition?

Kenn (CEO) and Andrew (CTO) are my two main points of contact. They manage the rest of their team. There are about 8–10 other individuals involved that I know of.

How did you come to work with Never Settle?

I found them on Clutch.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve invested about $45,000 to the entire project.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our ongoing engagement started in March 2020.

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

Communication is really important to me, and they’ve been amazing at that. They answer phone calls on the weekends and emails late at night. They’re great about finding different tools to help explain things. Their team uses video snippets to explain things I don’t understand. They go out of their way to make sure we’re comfortable and understand exactly where the status of the project is.

How did Never Settle perform from a project management standpoint?

They use a custom project management tool but they also use Airtable, Loom, Metorik, and a snippet tool.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They understand WordPress extremely well. There’s no doubt they know what’s going on with WordPress’ capabilities and incapabilities. What’s more, they’re more than capable of coding out custom solutions to make something do exactly what we need it to do.

Andrew in particular is a machine, he’s phenomenal. They do everything so quickly. I’ve worked with a dozen other firms, and Never Settle is at the top of the list when it comes to their ability to build custom code tools from scratch.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I can’t think of anything. We’ve had a really good experience.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

The more specific you are with your requirements and specifications, the better. Never Settle is good at taking layman’s terms and turning it into something real. They have people working around the clock.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I work for Iris Global as a manager of Stop for the One, our child sponsorship program. We’re an international mission non-profit organization. We do humanitarian aid and missions work all over of the world.

What challenge were you trying to address with Never Settle?

We were using a monthly service to manage our website with another marketing company and Never Settle acquired that company. They reached out to us about marketing opportunities and we went along with them.

What was the scope of their involvement?

They offer both monthly service and one-off projects. Currently, they manage our website and do a lot of our advertising on social media. They also do SEO and manage various blog postings and content.

How did you come to work with Never Settle?

We were with JCI Marketing, who’d built our website, and then Never Settle acquired them.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent around $9,000 so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been working with Never Settle since May 2019.

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

They did a full update of our website that we were very satisfied with, especially regarding the design. They’ve also improved a lot of our SEO on the website that has driven an increase in monthly sign-ups for sponsorship, our key metric. Social media traffic and newsletter signups have also both increased.

How did Never Settle perform from a project management standpoint?

They’ve been excellent. We’ve loved working with their team. They’re efficient, down to earth, personable, and understanding. They genuinely believe in what we’re doing as a mission, and that support comes through as they manage our projects. They’re always on time and creative in thinking ahead on things we haven’t considered. Solutions come before we’ve thought of the problems.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Ken (CEO) has gone above and beyond to show that he believes in our mission. Their entire team is just very gracious and wonderful to work with.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Honestly, no. We’ve loved their services, from the tools they use to meet with us to the monthly reviews they do.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Really let them explore all the options for improvement. We didn’t know a lot about non-profit SEO, and they had a lot of knowledge.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder & director of iEmpathize. We focus on human rights issues by using media to communicate our message and program. We fight crimes against children, specifically work on issues of exploitation and trafficking.

What challenge were you trying to address with Never Settle?

Our programs require a lot of online support and technology to be able to get them into the audiences we’re trying to reach. We have several kinds of relationship assets that come out of our partnership with Never Settle. We wanted the public to have a stronger understanding of what we do.

What was the scope of their involvement?

The team helps with our general web presence and design. In getting the public to understand our mission, we needed to dig deeper through educational platforms and showcases for our potential clients. We also have a lot of sensitive information from our program, so we have to ensure any data within our site is secure.

The site is on WordPress because we want to manage a lot of the backend ourselves. Within that, we use a lot of tools that their team has brought to us in the form of a widget or other customization. We have to report the data that we receive to board members and donors, and their team aggregates it in a way that makes sense. The most important step is our educational learning platform content with the different quiz features, designs, and tools that we need to customize our content. They’ve built all of that for us.

What is the team composition?

Kenn (CEO) and I work together, but depending on our needs, there are other primary people that we work with. One helps with the design and technology, and the other assists with our learning platforms.

How did you come to work with Never Settle?

I launched our NGO out of Denver, and Kenn was working there. Through multiple relationships, I knew about Kenn and his heart for philanthropy. After a few conversations, we brought them in for other client work before investing them in our organization.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent over $50,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our ongoing engagement has been growing since 2009.

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

They’ve done multiple sites for me. Their knowledge of WordPress helps us accomplish our goals. I’ve also referred Never Settle to a lot of others. We’re consistently receiving great and unsolicited feedback from our audience. They appreciate the functionality, storytelling, and design accessibility. The creativity of the site stands out as well. If we hear that something can be better, Never Settle improves it.

How did Never Settle perform from a project management standpoint?

We primarily do conference calls and emails. They also send video tutorials to us. While development is happening, they have project management tools that we get to interact with and collaborate with.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their understanding of the content that their clients want. They do a great job of wrapping their mind around the goals, not just the technology aspect.

Are there any areas they could improve?

As any company grows, there are growing pains. But Never Settle is on the path where I want to keep working with them. I could’ve shifted anytime over the last ten years, but I wouldn’t want to do that.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Give them the information you need and connect with them on your vision. Let them process that for you and bring their perspective. Never Settle’s approach is solid. If you’re looking for people who care about what you care about, they’re amazing people that look beyond making money.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the outreach coordinator at Children’s Hospital Colorado. I work in the Pediatric Mental Health Institute.

What challenge were you trying to address with Never Settle?

We were looking for a partner to support us with a web development project.

What was the scope of their involvement?

We started off by building out our full site, starting with the landing page. Never Settle also worked on an LMS and CRM to be integrated along with the website. We’re still working with them currently.

What is the team composition?

We typically worked with two or three people from their team.

How did you come to work with Never Settle?

They were recommended to us. We interviewed several other potential partners, but we really liked Never Settle’s customer service, passion, and feedback loop. They also offered great rates.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent between $25,000–$50,000 so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in January 2019 and the project is ongoing. 

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

My colleagues are all very happy with the work Never Settle has done. Along the way, they’ve been flexible, provided excellent customer service, and it’s clear they’re very passionate about the work they do. They dive into the project completely, and that shows in the product they produce. 

How did Never Settle perform from a project management standpoint?

Never Settle has been great. When we first started, we had weekly calls, which we then moved to twice a month. We can also keep in touch through the backend of the system. We often screen share during our meetings, which is helpful when the team provides recommendations for tools.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their passion sets them apart from other providers. Also, the level of attention they give us as a client is noteworthy.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, our engagement has been great.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

If you want great quality for a great price and phenomenal customer service, Never Settles is the way to go.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We specialize in developing green battery technology. At the moment, we’re an R&D company. However, we’ll transition into a manufacturing and sales company in the near future.

What challenge were you trying to address with Never Settle?

We don’t have any in-house experience with branding, e-commerce, web development, or logos. They were hired to help us develop these components.

What was the scope of their involvement?

They’ve done web design, logo development, brand style guidelines, and strategic marketing planning. That’s helped us determine how we’ll market our products, gain pre-sales traction with customers, and how to position ourselves most effectively. They used WordPress to deliver the site. The platform is still pretty basic because we’ve yet to launch our product. However, we plan on having a long-term engagement as we make our offerings more robust. They’ll scale our web design and presences in accordance with what we’re able to handle as a business. 

The business strategy was collaborative and immersive. Kenn (CEO) and Brad (COO) spent several days at our headquarters to understand our vision, mission, and process. From there, they put together a comprehensive launch package that addressed what we needed. 

What is the team composition?

I worked mostly with Kenn and Brad. There are designers and developers that we’ve also worked with on their end. 

How did you come to work with Never Settle?

I’d known the CEO of their company for many years. We didn’t do an exhaustive search because we’re under the radar. So, we were looking for a trustworthy partner that could help us launch. I ran into Ken at a seminar. He gave me his card, and we decided to engage later.  

How much have you invested with them?

So far, we’ve spent about $5,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in February 2020, and our engagement will be long-term.

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

They delivered on our initial deliverables, which were our logos and brand style guide. Their team also put together an effective marketing roadmap that can operate parallel to our development plan. 

We were impressed and pleased with the website design and their process for creating designs. They prioritized iterations, interactions, and relational collaboration. Their clear process and ability to deliver on requirements indicate that the relationship has been successful. The deliverables exceeded our expectations and helped us conceptualize our marketing plan in a whole new way.   

How did Never Settle perform from a project management standpoint?

We communicated through email, text, phone calls, and video calls. They were very open to feedback, oftentimes asking us for candid feedback. We built a strong relationship and were always comfortable providing feedback to each other. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

From the beginning, it was clear that they would prioritize our relationship over logistics. We appreciated that because we wanted someone to truly understand our process. Their design work is incredible, but their relational customer experience model is the best thing they do. They make us feel valued and treat our mission like it was very significant. They’ve focused on relationships, truly partnering alongside our team to understand us. We consider them to be very a close strategic ally, not just our marketing vendor. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

There are always opportunities for improvement, but they did a great job.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Invite their team to come in and understand your processes. That will help you build a strong, long-term partnership. They have the capacity to do much more than merely deliver marketing products. Their model is comprehensive, thorough, and robust. When engaging them, I’d recommend enlarging your goals and making them more holistic. They can certainly ramp up to that level.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of a youth leadership organization.

What challenge were you trying to address with Never Settle?

We had a website that was originally developed in 1996. While there were a lot of changes, updates, and redesigns over that time, the basic structure remained the same and it was becoming increasingly difficult for our techs to be able to deal with it.

What was the scope of their involvement?

In the end, we decided it was time to rebuild the website from scratch. We had an initial conversation to establish some requirements and a basic roadmap to kick off the project.

They set up the basic framework and then transferred all of our existing data over to the new site. Design folks from both teams were involved throughout the process, and every month or so they would update us on the progress they had made.

What is the team composition?

There were about 2–3 members of their team working on the project with us.

How did you come to work with Never Settle?

I knew some folks on their team and was familiar with their expertise and track record, so I decided to go with them.

How much have you invested with them?

The total cost was around $20,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started about two years ago, running from March 2018–January 2019.

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

Our website isn’t used to measure traffic, but everything on it looks great and works great. People have given us really positive comments and feedback on how good it looks and how easy it is to use, which we are really pleased with.

It’s also much easier to use on our end than the previous system had been. Never Settle’s philosophy is to create something that we can update and improve on our own as needed where we would have needed a development partner before.

How did Never Settle perform from a project management standpoint?

They worked really well with our team, touched base frequently, and always hit the deadlines that we requested from them. It was a very enjoyable experience because of how easy they made it to manage the work.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their team is definitely excellent at what they do. We don’t have a lot to compare them to, but in terms of most other agencies, they are extraordinarily professional, easy to work with, and good at coming up with creative ideas and solutions.

Are there any areas they could improve?

At no time was I surprised by something that didn’t go the way I expected. Everyone can improve, but I can’t think of anything specific that they should be doing differently.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

My advice would be to let their team provide feedback at the beginning of the project rather than just asking them to execute on something concrete. They really know what they’re doing, so their input will significantly improve the quality of solutions in your final product.