Slingshot

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the executive director and one of the founders of New Roots, a small grassroots food justice organization. We focus on igniting community power for fresh food activism.

What challenge were you trying to address with Slingshot?

We needed a better customer-facing platform for our shareholders, the families who purchase our fresh food. After conducting a survey of these shareholders, we discovered that almost everybody had access to smartphones and decided to create a mobile app.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Slingshot developed a mobile app for us. The app helps our users get information about food easily. Users can set up a profile and payment method, including food stamps and snap benefits. It was important to us that all of our customers feel like they are on an even playing field regardless of payment method.

After inputting this information, users sign up to receive their fresh food during the growing season in May. They also receive reminders and alerts about what’s coming in the bag as well as some recipes from our blog. Users can also cancel their shares, donate directly through the app, and view different market locations. 

The backend of the app allows us to download spreadsheets and see which farmers are coming to each market. The app has been completed and is currently in the testing phase before the next growing season.

What is the team composition?

Initially, we worked with 10 members of the Slingshot team. As the project went on, the team whittled down to five and then three members. We worked with David (Owner, Slingshot) throughout the project, as well as a project manager, artists, and coders. 

How did you come to work with Slingshot?

We heard about them through social media and also had a board chair with a personal connection to their president. We applied to work with them and were chosen out of 30 applicants. 

How much have you invested with them?

Slingshot is providing us with pro bono work. We are very fortunate to have been chosen for this opportunity. 

What is the status of this engagement?

Our ongoing engagement with Slingshot began in December 2018.

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

Everybody’s incredibly excited about the app. While it is still in the testing phase, it has received positive feedback internally from staff members. From the minute you download the app to buying your shares and getting information, it’s a very beautiful experience. The app features our branding and the colors and icons are perfect.

Slingshot is also fun to work with. They get everything done but we have a great time working together. We had the time to get to know everyone personally and they were really delightful. 

How did Slingshot perform from a project management standpoint?

Slingshot is always on time. Their team is consistent and responsive. They were also incredibly patient with us throughout the project, especially since we kept adding on to the project.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We appreciated their emphasis on aesthetics. They make products that are beautiful not just functional. Having an artist on their team is a real asset. They are technically skilled and went above and beyond in terms of the design.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, everything has been great.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Think ahead about all of the things that you’re going to need in an app. Go down the road in your mind about everything that has to happen to make the project successful. Thinking about every detail ahead of time makes the process run smoothly.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the chief technical architect for an entertainment and gaming company.

What challenge were you trying to address with Slingshot?

We were looking for a development partner to develop a raffle program for us so that we could take it online. This would allow us to have patrons enter into the 50/50 raffle during some of our races. It’s a charity program where the other 50% goes to charities.

What was the scope of their involvement?

They developed our website for a raffle that would enable certain people and states, by geolocation, to purchase raffle tickets online via PayPal. They ran testing efforts with people using mockups and that proved to be pretty worthwhile. 

For the site, there could be several different campaigns running on different days or the same day, and people can do guarantees and seeds that are normally in raffles. The platform shows the winning ticket result and it essentially turns off at the designated time to buy new raffle tickets. It shows the total pool to the patrons when they’re looking to purchase a raffle ticket. Then we print the raffle tickets on the backend at the facility and do a live draw while putting the tickets in a drum.

What is the team composition?

I worked with five people, including the CEO, the CIO, developers, and UX people. The CIO managed the project. 

How did you come to work with Slingshot?

I was introduced to them via some people I work with at another company. I received three different quotes. Slingshot wasn’t the cheapest but they were in the right ballpark and were actually across the street which helps.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent $70,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from January–May 2016.

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

They had elaborate UX design skills. They had some really good graphic expertise. All the people I worked with were very good. Their team was all professional and excellent to work with.

How did Slingshot perform from a project management standpoint?

Project management was excellent. We did sprint retrospectives with them that went well. The relationship was very good. Communication was prompt and clear. They weren’t scared to ask questions or bring up any concerns or troubles. They worked in a scrum methodology. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re easy to work with. As a team, they were solid and delivered what they set out to do. They stay within budget and are excellent people to work with.

Are there any areas they could improve?

We had a really good experience with them and they delivered what we needed. There was one little bug we found later on but that’s just typical in development. I don’t have any criticism.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Trust them and work with them — you’ll get good results. They’re smart.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m an associate professor of management at the University of Louisville. I’m also the academic director for the Project for Positive Leadership.

What challenge were you trying to address with Slingshot?

We were developing a package of education materials related to positive leadership for executives and students. As part of the package, we wanted to build a leadership development application for mobile phones. 

What was the scope of their involvement?

Slingshot built the mobile app. It integrates with calendars and helps users select events to plan for so that they can practice leadership. The app then walks them through the planning process to help them exhibit leadership in the event. Each user also gets placed in a community where they can share plans, get feedback, report on how an event goes, and give insights to others forming plans. The purpose is to help people exhibit exceptional virtue through an activity and to inspire people around them.

The app is for both iOS and Android; Slingshot used software to build it once for both platforms. We already had built a web app for a similar purpose and had been using it for a number of years. It worked well, but I still wanted to improve some things about it. Slingshot still did the normal process of lean development: they interviewed people, led a design phase to come up with different ways to visualize the app, and built a prototype. However, the web app also informed their process.

What is the team composition?

I worked with two designers and a project manager. He had design and development expertise and managed an outsourced dev team. I also talked with the president to contract the app.

How did you come to work with Slingshot?

We did a competitive bid, and three companies submitted proposals to our RFP. We selected Slingshot because they had the best proposal and were highly recommended in our community. It was an easy decision.

How much have you invested with them?

It was a $150,000 contract.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in January of last year. The development is done; Slingshot is now doing finishing touches, putting the app on AWS, and uploading it to apps stores for approval.

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

I’m afraid I can’t give any numbers. I’ve have shown it to a few other people, and they like the design, but they haven’t tested it out as fully as I have.

The development process had a constant cycle of feedback; Slingshot would send me an iteration, I’d give feedback, they’d incorporate my thoughts, and then we’d go through there. There was only one time in the process where a bug affected functionality, and Slingshot fixed it within a day or two. I’m sure they caught others along the way. Overall, I’m pleased with the product and process.

How did Slingshot perform from a project management standpoint?

From the parts I saw, they were very responsive and quick. In all cases except one, they were ideally responsive. In one case, they were too responsive. I think they maybe should’ve pushed back on me more in the case. Otherwise, Slingshot did push back when needed. 

They also adapted to our cost structure. Slingshot is used to working hourly, but our organization uses contracts instead. Slingshot probably worked more than they agreed to and did the rest of the work for free. They were extremely responsive to the customer.

Slingshot kept me more informed than I needed to be as well. We used to meet weekly until I pushed to have updates every other week; we didn’t have as many pressing updates, and I was confident in their abilities. We communicated mainly through Zoom meetings, but we also sent ad hoc emails and texts. I tried to visit their team in person as often as possible before the coronavirus hit; their office was conveniently located for me.

What did you find most impressive about them?

It’s hard to pick one thing. Slingshot was great at blending technical expertise with personalized communication. I also liked the lean process; it worked well for the project.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There were some minor things along the way, but I wouldn’t change much. One thing I’d change was my fault; I pushed for market research but we probably shouldn’t have wasted our time on that. That was on me, not them.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of Xooker, a mobile rewards platform for local businesses to interact with and reward customers through games and loyalty programs. 

What challenge were you trying to address with Slingshot?

We wanted additional support with the development of our mobile application.

What was the scope of their involvement?

When we brought Slingshot on to the project, the app was already developed, but we wanted assistance overseeing the programming and engineering. They facilitated the development of a multiplayer game on our app with UNITY and Amazon Game Sparks. 

What is the team composition?

We worked with a team of around five people from Slingshot, but had one main point of contact who managed the project. 

How did you come to work with Slingshot?

We were introduced to them through a referral. Their previous clients spoke very highly of them which is why we decided to work with them. 

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent a little over $200,000. 

What is the status of this engagement?

Our ongoing engagement with them began in mid-2018.

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

The application has been well-received by users. We aren’t getting negative feedback which shows that it works the way it’s intended to. They’ve delivered on what they promised and even exceeded our expectations.  

How did Slingshot perform from a project management standpoint?

Since much of the work is happening remotely, we use Slack so everyone can remain up to speed. However, it’s easy to pick up the phone and have a conversation with their team. For example, if there’s ever a glitch in the system, they start working to fix it immediately, even if it’s after hours on the weekend. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

They deliver products on time and do what they say they’ll do. They’re great to work with. We wish we had found them much sooner. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, they’ve been the best developers we’ve worked with. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers? 

Communication is key. The team at Slingshot is flexible and receptive to different project management styles. 

Introduce your business and what you do there. 

I'm president and CEO of a company that manages IT expenses for medium-to-large organizations. We have a software platform that assists with that process.

What challenge were you trying to address with Slingshot?

We originally brought them on board several years ago to rewrite our platform’s software. We wanted to rewrite it because of technology changes and new things we wanted it to do. Once we found out how good they are, we decided to keep them on full time to do our software development work and to continue to advance our product.

What was the scope of their involvement? 

Slingshot continues to add functionality to our platform. It’s a very complex software platform. We have a new release every 4–6 weeks, and they're fully engaged in that process. They not only help us think through everything, but we've also completely outsourced the actual development and support work on our platform to them. 

Our platform uses SQL and .NET environment, so Slingshot utilizes C# and other coding techniques. Our core functionalities are processing, monitoring, correcting, and auditing IT expenses. We're tied into our customers’ accounting systems as well as via Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) to most major carriers. Slingshot has assisted with the majority of that development.

What is the team composition?

Typically there's one full-time employee, and we add additional resources as needed. Just about everybody in their company has worked on our platform at some point. We used to have an account manager, but now we meet with David (CEO and president, Slingshot) a couple of times a year. Otherwise, we're consistently working with their project managers and developers.

How did you come to work with Slingshot?

One of their sales people called me every month for years. When we ultimately decided it was time to rewrite our platform, I asked him to come on in and talk to us in person. That's how it got started. 

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent between $250,000–$500,000.

What is the status of this engagement? 

We first started working together in January 2011, and the engagement is ongoing.

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

They’ve added a tremendous amount of functionality. We’re now light years ahead of where we were before we started working with Slingshot. They do a good job of managing the platform, keeping it fresh, and upgrading it all along the way.

How did Slingshot perform from a project management standpoint? 

We wouldn't continue working with them if they weren’t a pleasure to work with. There are less expensive developers out there, but cheap isn’t what we're looking for. They're an excellent group. 

What did you find most impressive about them? 

We most appreciate their knowledge, processes, and efficiency. We like that they work on other projects. They have a breadth of knowledge in the marketplace and find new methods that can apply to our environment. We also like that they're located in the U.S. so they're reachable and we can meet with them in person. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

I’d like them to cost less. Nothing else comes to mind. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

My advice is to stay engaged. Software development isn’t a one-time project. You're always going to have another idea or thought of what else you want done. Go into it understanding that it's a longer engagement as you continue to think of new ideas and concepts. They’ll help to continue to change it and keep it fresh.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of a pet health insurance company. We service pets across the U.S. from start to finish, including issuing policies and paying claims.

I’m the CEO of a pet health insurance company. We service pets across the U.S. from start to finish, including issuing policies and paying claims.

What challenge were you trying to address with Slingshot?

We had a proprietary software platform we’d built in 2004 and needed to rewrite some of the code and core processes. We needed a partner to identify pivotal points of efficiency, and we thought we’d need to rewrite the whole platform. However, Slingshot helped us realize that we only needed to change a few components through an iterative process.

What was the scope of their involvement?

We had a discovery phase so that Slingshot could identify the most critical functions they could work on; we didn’t prescribe any solutions or areas of work. They outlined small projects we could build, test, and launch iteratively to consistently get value from our partnership. 

They’re working on a web-based app that we use internally and externally. It provides quotes, issues policies, and performs all aspects of customer service, including payment processing, reporting claims, and renewing memberships. It’s our primary tool used by both employees and customers.

The app was written in .NET, and Slingshot kept some features and changed others. For example, they rewrote our payment processing platform, transitioning to a new payment processor and updating how our software engages with it. For the next phase, they revised our renewal process, making it smoother and more accessible for the customer to understand. 

The final project was our claims processing feature, which we ultimately decided to pull out of the primary app and put into a new tool that’s built in Angular. The first two projects were redevelopment, and the last one was dev from scratch.

What is the team composition? 

We worked with three developers and a strategy planner.

How did you come to work with Slingshot?

We’d been connected with Slingshot for several years but weren’t ready to financially commit to an investment in our infrastructure. They maintained the relationship and, when we decided it was time for this project, we hired them.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent between $250,000–$500,000. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We partnered in November 2016, and the work is ongoing. We’re starting a new engagement soon.

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

We’ve increased how many failed payments we’re able to recollect on and also seen a significant improvement in our retention rates. Additionally, the processing times for our claims has dropped considerably, year over year, as a direct result of changes to our IT infrastructure.

How did Slingshot perform from a project management standpoint?

We know where the project is headed and what’s coming up.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re committed to excellent service and take time to understand our business as a whole. Unlike other firms, we’ve never had to clean up their work once they’ve delivered it. They’re more expensive than similar agencies, but their work is phenomenal.

Are there any areas they could improve?

We’re strong willed and move fast, and they could probably push back more if they think something we want to do isn’t the best idea. However, they’ve gotten better at doing that.
 
Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

Make sure your larger team is on board with the partnership. If so, you’ll get better input and a more productive engagement.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am a physician and researcher at a pediatric organization. I am an attending physician in emergency medicine, and I am also a researcher in the child abuse division. My work over the years has focused on trying to develop better ways to differentiate abuse from accidental trauma in young children. To conduct that research, I have to collect rich data to have those tiny details that allow me to see the difference between abuse and an accident.

What challenge were you trying to address with Slingshot?

I hired Slingshot to develop the software I needed to be able to collect detailed research data.

What was the scope of their involvement?

The first steps of our engagement included building a web application that would be HIPAA-compliant and meet all National Institutes of Health (NIH) requirements so that we could access patient data that were entered by investigators across the country. The web app also allowed us to take physical examination findings and code them in a way that could tag them to various research questions. Taking photos isn’t allowed, so we had to find a way of researching the nuance findings of a physical exam. In doing so, Slingshot developed a database of questions linked to data points entered in real time while enrolling a patient. All of that information was then connected to a larger data center so that all data could be collated in one place. Once my team received permission, Slingshot came on-site and shadowed us in our work environments to learn more about the clinical flow of patients. It was exciting to work with them in that way because they were willing to attempt something innovative and create something within the clinical sphere.

During our 10-year project, my staff and I have developed a data set that includes about 18,000 children. Slingshot still supports that initiative.

We are currently in the middle of an app development project for Android and iOS. Instead of relying on scientific publications, we hope that the apps can make our data more accessible to anyone working with these specific patients. The apps are being built so that it’s easy for anyone to answer a few questions and document injuries. The algorithm underneath will help them understand what the best next steps are. I am excited that we are developing the apps for the international market as well, meaning we’ll be helping and researching across the world.

What is the team composition?

We primarily work with three people: David (CEO, Slingshot), Chris (CIO & Chief Product Owner, Slingshot), and Rachel (UX Design Lead, Slingshot). They bring others into the project as necessary.

How did you come to work with Slingshot?

I interviewed many companies for the first development project before being introduced to Slingshot. Their team was committed to taking on the challenge and making it work. After we moved our operation from Louisville to Chicago, we started interviewing firms for the mobile app development work, but nobody quite understood our needs like Slingshot. After several members of the hospital staff vetted the Slingshot team, we selected them again for our latest project. They were by far the most engaged vendor, and they were more willing to take some risks than any of the other companies we met with.

How much have you invested in them?

We have spent close to $1,000,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our engagement began in 2009 and remains ongoing.

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

Other NIH researchers have expressed a keen interest in the software and the application. I speak all over the world about this research, and when I present, the audience recognizes that this data is unique and doesn’t exist anywhere else.

The software has proven to be intuitive and accessible for users that are not particularly familiar with technology. I’ve also received feedback that the software and the data have had such a profound impact on other physicians that they have changed many of their practices.  

How did Slingshot perform from a project management standpoint?

I continue to work with Rachel and Chris each week to iterate the project. Slingshot has been a steady presence in my research efforts for the last 10 years. They’ve met every deadline in that span, which is crucial when being considered for grants. Slingshot has always come through for us, though.

They have been very adaptive. We enroll patients around the clock, and if something doesn't work in the evening, I can contact them, and they will address the issue. I’m unsure of how they manage to do that with their small company, but they’ve always been reliable in that sense. Further, if we want to do new things with the data, Slingshot will write the code necessary for us to view the data from a different perspective.

What did you find most impressive about them?

If you are trying to do something no one has ever done before, they want to hear your ideas and learn your vision. Slingshot wants their work to reflect your vision—as opposed to their perception of what the product should be. They are more concerned with what you’re trying to accomplish than with forcing their own ideas.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Slingshot has already made strides in this regard, but I’d love to see them add more gender diversity to their staff. I became much more enthusiastic about the company when they added women to our project. I’m a strong proponent of having women in problem-solving roles because they think differently than men. I think their company will continue to grow as they further incorporate women in all levels of their team.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Make sure that while working with Slingshot—or any other company—that you break everything down into the most basic elements because your project’s developers can’t be making assumptions. What might be second nature to you needs to be said. You can’t assume that anything is already known.