Originally US

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the owner of a digital design agency based in Singapore. We provide user experience and interface design.

What challenge were you trying to address with Originally US?

We only provide design services, so the main business challenge was the development portion. We needed a partner who could support us, so we hired Originally US.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Originally US has provided app development services for an iPad application we built for a local client. We handled the UI/UX design.

The app is intended for document organization. There is a customized content management system on its backend which enables the uploading and organizing of documents. Users can create presentations from multiple PDFs, categorize them, and upload custom HTML.

What is the team dynamic?

We’ve worked with Calixto [Founder, Originally US] and communicated two or three times per week on different scopes and timelines. We meet clients together with their team.

How did you come to work with Originally US?

I don’t remember what our first project with them was, but we built a relationship from there onward.

How much have you invested with them?

Our core project has had a cost of more than $100,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Originally US two or three years ago, around September 2015. We’ve continually started new projects together.

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

Working with their team has been excellent. It’s hard to find trustworthy and experienced app development companies. Originally US falls into the category of skillful and experienced teams, and their founders have strong technical backgrounds, which support their work. This is a good thing to find with a development company. I haven’t had to spend too much time communicating with them, and they’ve always been able to deliver the final product well.

How did Originally US perform from a project management standpoint?

Their responsiveness is good. We’ve been able to reach them whenever it was necessary, and they’ve delivered the work professionally.

What did you find most impressive about them?

In terms of size, Originally US is still small, and they’re able to work fast. This makes them stand out from other development companies. They also stand out in terms of services—the end-products they’ve delivered are very good, compared to the average app development company in the market.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They could work faster, but I’m not sure there’s anything else they could improve. We’ve had some arguments and conflicts, but they’ve been constructive.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

Come to them with a clear scope in mind, and do not take the team for granted. If there are any unclear parts, sort them out before engaging the developer.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the head of distribution marketing at a life insurance agency in Singapore. 

For what reason(s) did your company hire Originally US?

After doing some research, I found Originally US. They demonstrated a proven track record delivering similar solutions and had a technically capable team.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted to deliver a pre-sales tool with a CMS [content management system] that can be scaled to meet the needs of our 4,000 agents. 

How did you select this vendor?

We called for proposals, and 4 vendors responded. Originally US had the best bid.

Describe the project in detail.

We hired them to develop a sales enablement app with a CMS based on an example that we provided.

What was the team composition?

There was a project manager, a technical lead, and the rest of the team. I think about 4–5 people were involved in total. 

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

The product now has a 70% utilization rate from our agents, which is similar to our active ratio.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

We’re both based in Singapore, so it was extremely easy to meet in-person and discuss more complex issues. We handled simpler issues over the phone.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Originally US is made up of engineers with no salespeople, and the whole team is technically capable. I find their setup to be more efficient since I don’t have to navigate layers of salespeople.