Seb Azzo

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We’re a branding agency that specialized in launching and relaunching brands. I’m a senior account manager and have been working here for about five and a half years.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Seb Azzo?

We were looking to create a set of online guidelines so that they could be digitally accessed across the world. Their team was hired to build and maintain our product.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They develop a product called Brand Cloudlines, which is a way for companies to develop, store, and share their brand guidelines digitally. Users are able to access and download their guidelines from the cloud to any device from any location.

What is the team composition?

We worked with 3–4 of their teammates, depending on the scope of work at the time. We interface with Michael (CEO, Seb Azzo), another owner, and two developers.

How did you come to work with Seb Azzo?

They’ve worked on a few products that our internal team really likes. One of their main products is simple and functions well. A digital director at our company has also worked with them in the past and really enjoyed it.

Because of this, we ended up forming a relationship with them that’s only become stronger over time. It’s benefitting us more and more as time goes on.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent about $150,000–$250,000 on the project.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them around November 2014, and our teams are still collaborating daily.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The product is doing amazingly well. Customers find the product to be simple and easy to use. Most of our users are not tech-savvy, so it was important for the solution to be intuitive. From a management perspective, they assisted me in understanding their processes that didn’t come naturally. Our internal team was always excited to work with them.

How did Seb Azzo perform from a project management standpoint?

We have a Slack channel set up with them, so I can contact them at any time. Our teams are also in daily contact, often setting up phone calls for progress updates. Twice each month, I have a meeting with them to discuss future plans for the product. If we have any active development work, we meet over Google Hangouts or in-person to go over products and testing together. They’re located about five minutes away from us, so I could always get in contact with them. That was very helpful. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Because of the flexibility of their services and willingness to undertake a brand new product build, our partnership has been very exciting. We’ve worked with other development agencies in the past that stopped communicating with us after completing the work, but their team has stayed in touch. 

They have the product’s best interests at heart, pushing it to make sure we’re getting a quality end result. If there’s anything that they think could be improved, they speak up and talk to us about it. That way, we can find a better solution together. The product wouldn’t be where it is without their help.

Are there any areas they could improve?

It may be beneficial to have more resources available throughout the project, but they’ve ramped up when we’ve needed it. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Have a structured plan ready, understanding what you want out of your solution. At the same time, listen to their advice because they know what they’re talking about. They may have a better way of approaching the project, so allow them to guide you sometimes. There’ve been many times that we’ve benefited from their advice.