What was the scope of their involvement?
Spiral Scout built our first site from scratch. It was a collaborative effort, and each side brought ideas to the table. We didn’t have a hard notion of what the site would be, so they helped us envision it. The team also designed the asset libraries and site interface that structures how users engage with our digital assets.
The site has since become an e-commerce platform, and the libraries are the product side of our business. We’ve now grown to millions of assets, so the structure Spiral Scout built for us is the bedrock on which we run our entire business. Customers can log in to an individualized portal where their teams can collaborate on the digital assets they’ve customized over the years. These private portals are something else Spiral Scout has helped us with.
Typically, our clients design their training materials themselves, but they also come to us to do it. Spiral Scout helps us envision or architect some of the solutions these programs involve. For example, they helped create a social learning app that allows salespeople around the globe to interact with one another. Spiral Scout has supplied everything we needed to help fulfill a particular technical requirement from a client, from design to implementation.
Spiral Scout specializes in Java, but as a full-stack solutions company, there’s really nothing that they don’t touch. Some of our clients choose HTML5 for custom learning interfaces. Spiral Scout has also used React.js and Golang.
What is the team composition?
John (Co-Founder and CEO, Spiral Scout) is our relationship person. He’s always involved with us. JD (Co-Founder and CTO, Spiral Scout) is the programmatic genius and program head. Spiral Scout also put together a team of developers, web architects, and graphic artists. We work with around six people from their team at any given time; John and JD are often involved along with 4–5 backend people. John usually serves as our PM and primary point of contact.
How did you come to work with Spiral Scout?
John started a stock photography site called Cutcaster several years ago. Our co-founders had realized that we needed a portal—with search and e-commerce modules— that could contain all our digital assets. They began looking for stock photo sites, found Cutcaster, and loved its simple interface. We even started using it for some of our daily image needs. One of our founders eventually contacted John and told him they liked what he’d done with the site and that they were looking for something similar. John instantly obliged, and they began the relationship.
How much have you invested with them?
We’ve spent over $500,000.
What is the status of this engagement?
We started working together in the summer of 2009, and the first site launched in January 2010. We continue to work with Spiral Scout on similar builds as well as site edits, upkeep, and general enhancements.
Spiral Scout was a key partner in establishing the company's brand and online presence. They took client input well, implementing changes quickly to stay on schedule and budget. Besides their creativity and quality of work, the team's professionalism stood out.