PROG Apps

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the co-founder of Gout Scout. We’re a gout management company producing a mobile application for people who suffer from gout. Essentially, our mission is to help people better understand their condition and help them manage it. Hopefully, one day they’ll understand what’s causing breakouts and be able to rid themselves of it.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with PROG Apps?

We needed help with mobile app development. When we started creating the app, we created a no-code prototype that wasn’t scalable, so we needed to talk to someone else.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

PROG Apps has helped build an MVP from the set of needs that we approached. They’ve created a prototype geared towards meeting the needs of our end users and the business objectives. They’ve done design, development, and project management, helping deploy the application into the Android and Apple app stores and making sure it’s accessible to our users. Also, they’ve done all the backend around being able to provide analytics and helping inform our go-to market strategy by providing the data that we require. For the design process, they’ve done user research and usability testing. Now, the team continues to help us with the ongoing development of the applications and the analytics and user insights.

Initially, we talked to them about how we’d do the application. We had few features; it was basically a gout log. They helped us put together the first version with only three live features, which were the simplest ones. Then, we created the MVP and started to get initial adopters. Over time, we’ve raised new features and improved the UX/UI experience based on user feedback.

Regarding key features and functionalities, when users access the app, they can log their gout attack, including the affected body parts and how painful it is. They can keep a daily log from when the episode starts to how it progresses — for example, if it’s getting more or less painful, moving around their body, or affecting other body parts. Alongside that, they can log their uric acid levels. Some people prefer to do home testing, while others go to a clinic appointment to have their blood taken. Either way, they can track that metric over time, and those two features are the main gout management metrics.

Additionally, users can keep a record of the gout medications they take and set reminders on when to take them or when to reorder their tablets so they can retrospectively see if they missed any days. There’s also a food and drink logging feature so people can keep a visual food diary and check for any trends in their diet and lifestyle over time. For example, if somebody drinks Coca-Cola every day for two weeks and then has a gout attack, they might want to stop drinking Coca-Cola for the next few weeks to see if that changes.

Similarly, we also have a BMI calculator because BMI is one of the high-risk factors for gout. People can track whether reducing their BMI positively or negatively impacts their lifestyle. Also, there’s general information about gout, a water intake log to track hydration easily and check if you hit your target, and a stress level log. If people feel stressed out, they can put how they’re feeling from 1–5.

On the other hand, we have a social feed to build a gout community where people can share their experiences, strategies, and tactics for dealing with their condition. Since the app is available in every country with an app store, it’s a global community. Also, an insight section with the reporting part is provided on a neat dashboard. Users can see how they’re getting on for the day to see if they’re on track to hit their targets and help them make better daily decisions. Users also can set time periods within the reports to look back and cross-reference data points to identify what’s causing their attacks and avoid them in the future. 

Outside those features, the backend provides us with analytics on how many people use the app, the engagement levels, and more information that allows us to decide what features we’ll develop going forward.

What is the team composition?

We work with a senior engineer, full stack mobile engineers, and a designer.

How did you come to work with PROG Apps?

I worked with the founder at a previous company long ago. Then, they created PROG Apps. I told him I had an idea for an app, and he said he could make it happen. Compared to others, they were efficient, collaborative, highly engaged, and passionate about what we were trying to do.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent between $50,000–$100,000. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working with them in March 2021, and our relationship is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

First, we wanted to find out if anyone else thought the app was helpful, so PROG Apps helped us get it deployed to the market. Then, we were able to get a few hundred users quickly. People said they’d really like to use the app, which was good.

From there, our acquisition number has been the target based on the features we’ve been rolling out. They’ve been on the marketing side of things, creating our website and landing pages to drive up our user acquisition. Also, they've helped us increase the user base volumes incrementally.

How did PROG Apps perform from a project management standpoint?

Project management has been excellent. They’re open and transparent; they’re clear on the complexity of the tasks, the impacts on deadlines, and the things we need to change. Overall, they’ve delivered what’s expected on time.

We use Conference for shared documentation and Google Docs for some other things. They’ve used Miro and Figma for some engineering aspects and Google Analytics for some dashboard metrics. Finally, we’ve communicated over Discord.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We really enjoy working together. They’re a very personable and professional team. PROG Apps is very calm and collected; they think pragmatically about what they do. They’re great.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, there’s nothing they could improve on. We’ve learned a lot about our users, and they’ve been adaptable and agile.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Give them the freedom to help solve problems. You should have an idea about what you want to achieve, but you get the best out of them if you let them be creative and offer solutions rather than instructing them on exactly what to do. They’re very talented.