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Software Built Better

4.9
28 reviews
Bronze
VERIFIED

Spire Digital, part of Kin + Carta, is a Denver-based digital product development firm that transforms business through design and technology. For over 20 years, we've provided strategic consulting, user experience design, software development, DevOps, and staff augmentation to the world's top companies.

Whether web, mobile, IoT, wearables, AR/VR, AI, or blockchain, Spire helps startups and enterprises succeed at the art of innovation.

Spire's services are geared toward the product and innovation needs of our clients, resulting in business-critical applications that seize opportunities to increase revenues, operational efficiencies, market share, and customer satisfaction.

Strategy: Digital Transformation, Innovation Lab, Agile Process Consulting, Customer Experience Research, Lean Product Development Consulting

Design: Design Sprints and Workshops, User Experience Design, User Interface Design and Testing, Visual Design, User-Centered Design Consulting

Development: Responsive Web Development, Native and Cross-Platform Mobile Development, Microservices and API Design and Development, Emerging Technologies, IOT, Wearables, AR/VR, Blockchain, Automation, DevOps, and Agile Development Consulting

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Undisclosed
 
$100 - $149 / hr
 
50 - 249
 Founded
1998
Show all +
Denver, CO
headquarters
  • 940 Lincoln Street
    Denver, CO 80203
    United States
    7205721875
other locations
  • 251 N Rose St Suite 200
    Kalamazoo, MI 49007
    United States
    3036209974

Portfolio

Key clients: 

TomTom, Lockheed Martin, US Navy, AT&T, Cochlear, MillerCoors, USDA, Helix, Western Union, Davita, Dell, Water for People, Pearson, Arrow Electronics, VW, Vail Resorts, Newmont Mining, Morgan Stanley, Dish, Berkshire Hathaway, STARZ, Coinstar, Gogo Business Aviation, Smithsonian, RE/MAX, USA Swimming

Lockheed Martin Image

Lockheed Martin

Utilities depend on SEEload, Lockheed Martin’s Demand Response Management System, to reduce energy demands on the grid, enable smart cities, boost reliability, and optimize utilization. Lockheed Martin, in turn, depends on Spire Digital to optimize the usability of the SEEload system. Spire has a 20-year track record helping engineering-driven organizations enhance their user experience. Designing and building web-based

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software systems that help trained professionals — from bomb techs to civil engineers — perform mission-critical tasks more effectively is central to what we do. We often find that users are forced to compromise their ideal workflow to adapt to the design of a system. We focus on the converse: Designing systems around the needs and ideal workflows of the user.  Read more >
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TomTom Image

TomTom

Amsterdam-based GPS giant TomTom wanted to use its infrastructure to develop a fitness device. For its first foray into this market, TomTom approached Spire Digital with an idea for a smartwatch that could monitor a user’s physical activity and save and track the data via a complementary mobile-web interface. In less than six months, using both responsive web development and user experience design, Spire was able to build,

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refine and deliver the interface and dashboard in time for the global release of TomTom’s fitness watch. Read more >
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Coinstar Image

Coinstar

Have you ever wondered what the most profitable item is inside a grocery store? It’s the Coinstar kiosk — the machine that converts those extra pennies into paper cash. Coinstar is the world leader in counting and converting coins at retail, with volume exceeding $3 billion dollars annually. Prior to engaging Spire Digital, Coinstar’s track record of success and innovation had not yet translated through to its digital presence.

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In fact, coinstar.com felt more like an afterthought than a core business driver. So Coinstar came to Spire Digital to transform the site into a next-generation digital hub, featuring a best-in-class design, with a customized user experience and toolset to enhance the brand’s value proposition. In building the hub, we ensured that it’d be easy for non-technical staff to update. We then created variants of the site for key markets around the world, facilitating global expansion. What’s more, the work we did on the hub is now being leveraged to advance the Coinstar in-store kiosk experience. Read more >
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USDA Image

USDA

Farmers and ranchers who voluntarily follow conservation practices can be awarded subsidies by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), a process typically heavy on the administrative side and full of complexities. In an effort to reduce time and waste in granting these subsidies, the USDA brought Spire Digital on board to lead a rapid agile UX design process that resulted in a beautiful enterprise web application as

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the solution. Working together with agriculture professionals and the USDA, Spire delivered an effective user interface for farmers, ranchers and regulators, and uncovered even more insights than they originally expected. Read more >
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Smithsonian Institution Image

Smithsonian Institution

The Encyclopedia of Life (EOL) is a digital initiative whose goal is to provide global access to knowledge about life on earth. EOL acts as an online collaborative encyclopedia with the intent of documenting the 1.9 million living species known to science. For organizations that need reliable and verified information about biology on earth, EOL serves as the most open, available and trusted repository. EOL came to Spire Digital

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to build a custom software product that could specifically meet the informational needs of EOL’s community of partner organizations. The digital product focuses on delivering curated experiences for the partners’ diverse groups of users. Read more >
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Dish Image

Dish

By scoring features based on user value, business value, and level of effort, we helped Dish create the feature list and roadmap for their new digital platform, to drive the business forward. We then turned the feature list into a clickable prototype of the new app, which we guerilla tested with a slate of customers to validate usability. Within just four weeks of inception, the app design was production ready.

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Read more >
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Silversea Cruises Image

Silversea Cruises

Monaco-based luxury cruise line, Silversea Cruises, sails on all seven continents, spanning every time zone and corner of the earth. Passengers expect top service from the ships, including speedy maritime internet service and robust onboard video entertainment. Silversea needed a solution to deliver on-demand as well as real-time network video and music feeds to their passengers. Experienced in local area networks and

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entertainment portal development, Spire was a perfect choice to undertake this task. Read more >
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Cochlear Image

Cochlear

Through our work, Clinic Finder has grown into a strategic tool for building the brand, generating and nurturing leads, driving conversion, and ultimately helping people hear. What’s more, this modern, single-page web application can be seamlessly dropped into any Cochlear website page or microsite. Read more >

Achroma Image

Achroma

Incubated at Spire, Achroma is a social enterprise committed to eliminating bias and discrimination in a number of areas, starting with mortgage lending. Achroma utilizes proprietary, AI-based de-identification and scoring technology to remove the possibility of explicit and implicit bias based not just on race and ethnicity, but also religion, gender and orientation in applications processes.

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Read more >
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Logos Imaging Image

Logos Imaging

Every so often, we take on the responsibility of leading a project with life or death implications. Take, for example, the work we’ve done for Logos Imaging, designing and building software that runs portable inspection systems for bomb techs. The business case for investing in user-centered design often revolves around driving increased revenue through better conversion and retention rates, or reducing costs by achieving

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greater efficiencies and higher levels of customer self-service. But this project was all about reducing risk by providing greater visibility of potential threats allowing the technician to focus purely on the task at hand. Helping bomb squads save lives is not only some of the most rewarding work we do, it’s also a major crowd pleaser during career day at school. Read more >
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Swisslog Image

Swisslog

As the world’s leading manufacturer of logistics and delivery management equipment for hospitals, Swisslog deals with complexity every day. They tasked Spire Digital to define the user experience design and application for what became MedPortal® Inventory Management Software (IMS), their groundbreaking automated system that coordinates the daily flow of thousands of pharmacy products within a hospital. Together, Swisslog and

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Spire applied user-centered design and lean product development methodologies to launch this innovative pharmacy web application. Read more >
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Blue Hawaiian Helicopters Image

Blue Hawaiian Helicopters

In addition to designing and developing a new website for Blue Hawaiian Helicopters, Spire has remained active in their CRO, A/B testing, and digital marketing practices. View their website at: https://www.bluehawaiian.com/

Inspirato Image

Inspirato

When Denver-based Inspirato, a private vacation club, contacted their members with trip proposals, the sales team had to do so by manually sending individual emails. This slow and tedious process, lacking in any real tracking capabilities, was ready to be overhauled, which is where Spire Digital stepped in with a custom solution. In five months, Spire developed a new customer experience tool for Inspirato that was efficient,

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consistent and measurable, and able to extend to prospects what had once been a sales tool used only for members. Read more >
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Reviews

4.9
28 reviews
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UX/UI Design for Insurance Company

"We came into this project having never done something like this before, and Spire immediately put us at ease."

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5.0

Quality: 
5.0
Schedule: 
5.0
Cost: 
5.0
Willing to refer: 
5.0
The Project
 
$50,000 to $199,999
 
Nov. 2018 - Ongoing
Project summary: 

Spire Digital provided UI/UX design services for a web-based insurance automation product. The team created wireframes using InVision to gather and implement feedback from their client.

The Reviewer
 
501-1000 Employees
 
Omaha, Nebraska
Jeff Morris
VP of Marketing & Operations, Berkshire Hathaway Homestate Companies
 
Verified
The Review
Feedback summary: 

Although the product is not yet live, it performed well in user testing and with multiple stakeholders. Flexible and responsive, the team is quick to receive and deliver feedback while continuing to adjust to their client's needs. Customers can expect a dedicated and experienced partner.

A Clutch analyst personally interviewed this client over the phone. Below is an edited transcript.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the vice president of marketing and operations for the Berkshire Hathaway Homestate Companies. We are a group of insurance companies that provides mostly commercial lines insurance, commercial auto insurance, and commercial property insurance, as well as workers’ compensation services.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Spire Digital?

We were looking to redesign a customer-facing—this means for our retail agents—commercial auto rater. The goal was to create a product that would let them go online and write up a commercial auto risk assessment, get a quote, and bind the policy. We’ve been using in-house software for about 10 years, and, although we knew that it was time for a refresh, we didn’t have the design talent to build a good UX.

Insurance is pretty static, and it's hard to change things too much without disrupting the way that agents do business. Because of this, we asked Spire to think outside the box and see if they could help us do something different from the rest of the industry. We initially hired them for design and development, but ultimately decided to keep all of the development in house.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Spire Digital completed the ideation phase and design work for the project. They created designs mostly from scratch, although they did take some ideas from our old site. The team provided wireframes using InVision, which they used to discuss potential changes and make adjustments based on our feedback.

We also asked them for some guidance regarding the question flow within various parts of the product. They didn’t deliver anything new in terms of content, but they did offer some feedback about the wording of some sections.

What is the team composition?

There were two main individuals that we worked with on the design side and three or four other managers that we would occasionally touch base with. We worked with the executive management team, as well.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent around $130,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

This is an ongoing project that began in November 2018.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The product did well in user testing, and we’ve gotten some positive feedback from other stakeholders. Our developers are still working on building out Spire’s designs, so I can’t comment on their effectiveness yet.

They’ve helped us take a step in the right direction—toward innovation—and I’m very excited to see the product in action. Spire has done a fantastic job, and we’re considering another project with them that would be more focused on content.

How did Spire Digital perform from a project management standpoint?

They were fantastic. The team stayed in touch with us throughout the project. We’ve been going through a shift to agile development with our in-house team, and Spire has been very patient with us despite some challenges.

They met with us every week to let us know how the project was going. We also received frequent demos, which allowed us to provide feedback and ask for adjustments. We used Microsoft Teams as well to manage tasks. Spire was great about pushing back against our ideas when they weren’t useful and steering us in the right direction when we went off-track.

Our primary method of communication was WebEx, but we also spoke to them over the phone while sharing our screens. We also had a number of in-person visits where they came to our office and sat down with our team. This seemed to help them learn more about our products and our business goals.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Spire went above and beyond to take care of an external problem that we faced at the beginning of the project. Initially, they found a developer to build the website using their designs, and that individual ended up being a poor fit. Spire wasn’t aware of this, and we eventually brought to their attention the fact that the individual’s work and hours billed did not make sense.

I couldn’t be happier with how they responded to the situation. This could have been a huge detriment, but instead, we were pleasantly surprised with the outcome. This shouldn’t reflect poorly on Spire, because, frankly, this could happen with any contractor, and they went out of their way to make things right for us. I really appreciated that level of service.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don’t think so; I was very impressed with them throughout the project. Design is something that we do not have much expertise in, and we’re thankful that we’ve been able to utilize Spire for that. I’ve been very happy with their work and their design process.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

We came into this project having never done something like this before, and Spire immediately put us at ease. They came to our office right away to get to know our team and quickly learn our business. My advice would be to share with them as much information as you can at the outset so that they can figure out how to translate that into real results.

5.0
Overall Score
  • 5.0 Scheduling
    ON TIME / DEADLINES
  • 5.0 Cost
    Value / within estimates
  • 5.0 Quality
    Service & deliverables
  • 5.0 NPS
    Willing to refer

Mobile & Web App Dev for Sportswear Company

“I have nothing but good things to say about Spire Digital.”

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5.0

Quality: 
5.0
Schedule: 
5.0
Cost: 
5.0
Willing to refer: 
5.0
The Project
 
$1,000,000 - $9,999,999
 
May 2015 - Ongoing
Project summary: 

Spire Digital developed, designed, and tested a mobile and web app that connects a fitness device to a global sportswear company’s platform. They built an iOS app in Objective-C and an Android app in Java.

The Reviewer
 
10,000+
 
Denver, Colorado
Chris Glode
Former VP of Digital - Connected Fitness, Under Armour
 
Verified
The Review
Feedback summary: 

Spire Digital delivered an app that accommodates hundreds of thousands of users from around the world. The team communicated well, adhered to deadlines, and followed requirements. Internal stakeholders were so pleased with their work that they’ve continued to engage them for various other projects.

A Clutch analyst personally interviewed this client over the phone. Below is an edited transcript.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I was the VP of digital for Connected Fitness at Under Armour.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Spire Digital?

Under Armour’s client is a large international consumer electronics company that developed a GPS fitness tracking watch. We needed help developing a web and mobile app that would allow consumers to connect their watch with our website.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Spire Digital provides full-service development support and helps with digital strategy. They’ve taken the lead in managing the client's needs. They helped create the requirements and wireframes for an Android, iOS, and web app. The team designed and developed the app, and they also provided testing services.

They wrote the iOS app in Objective-C and the Android app in Java. My team provided Spire Digital with API documentation, and they built the app so that it would strategically integrate with our platform.

What is the team composition?

I worked with a product lead. There were ten people on their team.

How did you come to work with Spire Digital?

Over the last fifteen years, I’ve worked with Spire Digital in different capacities. They have a really good reputation as a digital product firm, both locally and nationally.

How much have you invested with them?

Under Armour spent between $1 million–$5 million.

What is the status of this engagement?

My company started working with Spire Digital in May 2015, and the work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

At the time that I left Under Armour, there were more than 300,000 users on the platform.

How did Spire Digital perform from a project management standpoint?

We worked in an agile methodology. Spire Digital was excellent at meeting deadlines and following the requirements. We used Slack for daily communication and Zoom or Google Hangouts for our weekly check-ins and standups. Their team deployed Jira for managing day-to-day user stories and issues.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I’ve gone on to work with them on other big projects. I’m a long-time fan and repeat customer. I have nothing but good things to say about Spire Digital.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They’re growing so fast that it creates a challenging environment for them, but they do a good job of hiding that from clients.

5.0
Overall Score
  • 5.0 Scheduling
    ON TIME / DEADLINES
  • 5.0 Cost
    Value / within estimates
  • 5.0 Quality
    Service & deliverables
  • 5.0 NPS
    Willing to refer

Web Usability Project for Flight Wifi Company

"They were always willing to go above and beyond."

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4.0

Quality: 
4.0
Schedule: 
4.5
Cost: 
4.0
Willing to refer: 
4.5
The Project
 
$50,000 to $199,999
 
Oct. 2018 - Feb. 2019
Project summary: 

Spire Digital facilitated a usability study for a website. The team wrote survey questions and provided guidance for selecting participants. After the study, they provided supplementary UX design and strategy.

The Reviewer
 
1,001-5,000 Employees
 
Colorado
Director of Brand and Creative, Flight Internet Company
 
Verified
The Review
Feedback summary: 

The usability test was a success, and the internal development team is excited to build Spire Digital’s designs. Despite internal hurdles to progress, frequent in-person meetings made for a seamless flow of communication. The team impressed with their candid and transparent approach.

A Clutch analyst personally interviewed this client over the phone. Below is an edited transcript.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there. 

I’m the director of brand and creative at an in-flight internet and entertainment company. We service commercial and private aviation around the world.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Spire Digital?

When we hired Spire Digital, we were a very small team. We didn’t have a proper UX person, and our digital team was particularly tiny. We brought Spire on because we’d never done a usability study with our website. We wanted to establish the personas of our site users and understand their goals. We also wanted to see if users were satisfied with our website. At the time, we had no baseline of insights or metrics.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Spire helped us with a usability project, and we retained them to provide some recommendations for how we could improve our site. During the usability phase, Spire guided us through participant selection, telling us what the cohort makeup should be in terms of customers or prospects. They gave us estimates for how many people we should recruit and gave us strategies—incentives and that sort of thing—for reaching out. The team even wrote down the questions that we used in the study. Since I have experience with copywriting and customer experience, I collaborated with them to solidify these questions.

After the usability test was complete, they provided a combination of strategy and design work for our site. Their designers sent us wireframes and prototype UX designs to help us visualize their proposals. We’d already mocked up some designs—wireframes and some high-resolution UI designs—of top-level parent pages. They were mostly conceptual and were based on our industry knowledge, intuitions, and assumptions. We handed these designs to Spire and revisited them with the lessons we’d learned from the usability test. Spire took them as inspiration and guidance and then built on them.

The deliverables from the project were Sketch files and strategy documents. We hired a couple of developers and a web strategist to implement their ideas. We’re planning to redevelop the site in-house.

What is the team composition?

We’ve worked with three people from Spire. Becky (UX Product Owner, Spire Digital) was our main point of contact, and we also spoke with Ayla (Digital Strategy Manager, Spire Digital) and another designer. I served with one of my colleagues as their points of contact.

How did you come to work with Spire Digital?

We had a relationship with Spire before this project. Our company had used them previously on a number of projects, so I was aware of them and had heard positive reviews of their work. I also knew one of their executives on a personal level. I reached out to him and offered to have Spire pitch for the project. They were the clear winner amongst the other RFP respondents.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve invested about $60,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started the project in October 2018 and had their final deliverables by February 2019.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’re very happy with what Spire provided to us. They took us where we needed to go. Their team used elements from our previous designs and refined our ideas to make them better. They surprised us with how quickly they were able to improve upon our ideas.

Since we received their Sketch files, we’ve been working on our own to develop their solutions. We do check in with them from time to time. As a creative, I think it’s very powerful when an internal team is genuinely excited about an external partner’s work. Everything we’ve shown to our team has been met with positivity and praise. Our team can’t wait to implement their designs.

How did Spire Digital perform from a project management standpoint?

They certainly met our needs in terms of project management. We have several layers of reviews and approval at this company, which made the project take longer than expected. I didn’t fault them for that or the quiet periods when we had to reach out to them. This is a part of every agency-client relationship, and I’m not surprised that they moved on to other work and waited for us to ping them. Becky and Ayla were always super responsive. They got us where we needed to be in a short timeframe.

We used email pretty frequently, but I pushed to have more face-to-face meetings. We ended up doing weekly, in-person check-in sessions. Some weeks we would have a long list of items to discuss, and it was vastly easier to do that in person. Typically, we would drive to their office, and other times they would come to us. I was really happy that they were so willing to meet us at our office. As great as Slack and email can be, in-person meetings are sometimes much more efficient.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They were always willing to go above and beyond. They knew that extra effort on their end would help us full take control of the project. Spire also understood our brand and our needs. Feedback from my team has been positive all around. The quality of their work and the processes they used were just fabulous.

Something else that separated Spire from others was their willingness to tell us when they thought we were wrong. As a former agency owner, I know how alluring it can be to say yes to clients, but that’s now how Spire worked. They firmly believed in trusting the data, and, when we wanted to go a different way, they wouldn’t budge. It was unsettling at first, but we eventually came to appreciate their insight and expertise. We had many frank conversations with their team, and they always left the decision up to us. I thought their feedback process was really impressive.  

Are there any areas they could improve?

There’s nothing that I can identify as a mistake or a problem. The only change I would make is to look critically at the review and approval process. In hindsight, I would’ve wanted them to hold us to milestones because that would’ve made the project go much faster. That’s less of a comment on them, and more of a comment on our company culture.

4.0
Overall Score
  • 4.5 Scheduling
    ON TIME / DEADLINES
  • 4.0 Cost
    Value / within estimates
  • 4.0 Quality
    Service & deliverables
  • 4.5 NPS
    Willing to refer

Digital Marketing & Strategy for IoT & Mobile Tech Company

"I know that if I’m ever overwhelmed, I can always count on Spire Digital to help get the project done."

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5.0

Quality: 
5.0
Schedule: 
5.0
Cost: 
5.0
Willing to refer: 
5.0
The Project
 
$50,000 to $199,999
 
Aug. 2018 - Ongoing
Project summary: 

Spire Digital is providing digital strategy and web design services to increase lead generation for an IoT and mobile technology firm. The team delivers wireframes, landing pages, site copy, and email campaigns.

The Reviewer
 
200-500
 
San Diego, California
Glenn Munlawin
Senior Manager of Demand Marketing, Inseego
 
Verified
The Review
Feedback summary: 

Spire Digital routinely meets and exceeds both deadlines and overall expectations. The team fosters open and fluid lines of communication and provides near-constant progress updates. Their responsiveness, dedication, and flexibility set them apart from other vendors.

A Clutch analyst personally interviewed this client over the phone. Below is an edited transcript.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there. 

I’m the senior manager for lead generation at Inseego. We focus on industrial IoT products and produce the latest 5G technology devices to cell phone carriers worldwide.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Spire Digital?

We’re a relatively new company, in that our organization went through many iterations before we became Inseego. This current iteration is a combination of all of the companies that we’ve acquired, and, because of this, we realized that we needed help in establishing best practices to move forward.

At the time when we hired Spire Digital, which was before I joined, we only had two marketing people that were being stretched thin with limited resources. Another person was brought on for channel marketing, and she also became overwhelmed. The next choice was to bring in a lead generation expert—myself—and scale up that process.

Now there’s five of us, and we needed support from an external team to help us scale our success. We hired Spire to come in and do a small amount of work, and that relationship has since grown to include more and more projects.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Spire is helping me develop a strategy for our new website and lead generation campaigns. The team is breaking down, piece by piece, the types of things that we need to be successful, especially in how we relate to clients. 

They have provided wireframes that include examples of potential changes, which we can edit and comment on. They’ve also created new landing pages and copy that fit with our current campaigns. In addition to web design, the team sets up email campaigns for our channel partners that typically include three or four emails. They develop the cadence for those campaigns and find relevant images to use. I deal with them exclusively on lead generation, with some minor copywriting. Our senior director of marketing engages them on product updates for our 5g and wireless devices and our channel marketing director engages them for our IoT product line.

What is the team composition?

I talk with about three people on a day-to-day basis. We have a dedicated point of contact, a digital strategy manager, and a PPC specialist.

How did you come to work with Spire Digital?

My coworker found Spire before I started.

How much have you invested with them?

Our retainer is $5,000 per month.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in August 2018, and the relationship has continued since that time.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Their services have helped our team a great deal. Spire is fully ingrained with our team, and I sleep better at night knowing that our projects will actually get done because of their help.

How did Spire Digital perform from a project management standpoint?

Spire actually meets and exceeds their deadlines. For example, let's say we wanted something at the end of the week. In that case, Spire would give it to us tomorrow. It’s like magic for us, but it's really just because they know what they’re doing. They have every process already set up. That's the great thing about working with a partner like Spire.

I’m their point of contact, at least in terms of managing the relationship. It’s been really fruitful, mainly because I talk to them every day via email. I’ll sometimes text my point of contact for more urgent things, and we have weekly meetings for status updates.

They’re willing to provide me frequent status updates, so it’s been really good working with them. They’re like another set of hands for me, and other people on my team work with them if a project needs heavy lifting. I know that if I’m ever overwhelmed, I can always count on Spire Digital to help get the project done.

What did you find most impressive about them?

A couple of weeks ago, they gave us a workshop about scaling and best practices. It was actually more of a fact-finding mission for them so that they could provide better help. They ended up giving us a proposal for changes to our website that we hope to implement. That was very noteworthy, because we hadn’t solidified a path for our website, and Spire gave us a level of effort that was beyond what we expected.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There were some growing pains in the beginning, but that’s true for any new relationship. I heard about these issues when I started, but right now, everything is very smooth. The cadence of communication has improved because we now act like they’re a part of our team. They’re very receptive to our feedback because they know what we need and what we want. Everything can be improved, but we’ve gotten to the point where our communication has become fine-tuned.

5.0
Overall Score
  • 5.0 Scheduling
    ON TIME / DEADLINES
  • 5.0 Cost
    Value / within estimates
  • 5.0 Quality
    Service & deliverables
  • 5.0 NPS
    Willing to refer

Platform MVP Design & Dev for Digital Mortgage Marketplace

"The engagement helped open doors for us as a new company."

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5.0

Quality: 
5.0
Schedule: 
5.0
Cost: 
5.0
Willing to refer: 
5.0
The Project
 
Confidential
 
June 2018 - Ongoing
Project summary: 

Spire Digital developed the MVP for a web-based platform. The team created a responsive web solution using PostgreSQL, NodeJS and React Native. The MVP will launch next month.

The Reviewer
 
1-10 Employees
 
Denver, Colorado
Yaniv Kanfi
Founder & CEO, Achroma
 
Verified
The Review
Feedback summary: 

The team demonstrated exceptional vision and commitment. Spire Digital leveraged their niche expertise to design and deliver a functional and beautifully designed product. Service was a notable strength.

A Clutch analyst personally interviewed this client over the phone. Below is an edited transcript.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder and CEO of Achroma, a bias-free, digital mortgage marketplace.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Spire Digital?

I wanted to build a solution that would help eliminate discrimination in mortgage lending.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Spire Digital design and developed the MVP for a responsive web-based platform. They built a PostgreSQL and NodeJS backend with a React Native frontend. The MVP allows borrowers to search and filter lenders and loan products that suit their financial and credit needs. Upon completing a loan application, the anonymization engine redacts key information and supplants that with externally-based data to ensure strong underwriting process while removing the possibility of bias.

What is the team composition?

The project manager also served as the product lead. We worked with a backend developer, a QA team, and then a few frontend developers depending on the stage of the project.

How did you come to work with Spire Digital?

I knew the CEO and we started talking about my vision for Achorma. I hired his team to build the first release version because he and his agency had a demonstrated track record of delivering digital products for early-stage companies.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in June 2018, completed the MVP in January, and the partnership continues.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We don’t plan to release the product for another month. However, Spire Digital has already proved to be a valuable asset. They guided development, leading with a vision and perspective that yielded great insight into the early startup days.

How did Spire Digital perform from a project management standpoint?

Spire Digital was effective in distilling requirements into a great MVP.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The engagement helped open doors for us as a new company. Their level of service added a value rarely seen in agency relationships.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Clients that can take an active and engaged role in the day-to-day of the project will be rewarded through a collaboration that will exceed expectations.

5.0
Overall Score
  • 5.0 Scheduling
    ON TIME / DEADLINES
  • 5.0 Cost
    Value / within estimates
  • 5.0 Quality
    Service & deliverables
  • 5.0 NPS
    Willing to refer

WordPress Website Redesign for Cloud Services Provider

“Our website is great. It exceeds every expectation we set at the beginning of the project.”

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5.0

Quality: 
5.0
Schedule: 
5.0
Cost: 
5.0
Willing to refer: 
5.0
The Project
 
Confidential
 
Aug. - Nov. 2018
Project summary: 

Spire Digital rebuilt a cloud company’s website on a WordPress platform, using a mixture of PHP, CSS, and HTML for the frontend. They continue to provide support, in addition to digital marketing assistance.

The Reviewer
 
51-200 Employees
 
Colorado
Assistant, NewCloud Networks
 
Verified
The Review
Feedback summary: 

The new website is generating more traffic and improving conversion rates. With their extensive background in the industry, the Spire Digital team designed a smooth and engaging user experience. They remain communicative, friendly, and responsive, as they wrap up the engagement.

A Clutch analyst personally interviewed this client over the phone. Below is an edited transcript.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the marketing assistant at NewCloud Networks. We’re a custom cloud computing and communications company that’s been in business for nearly 30 years. I support our marketing director with designing landing pages, writing blogs, managing social media, and anything else related to digital marketing.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Spire Digital?

We had a pretty old website with low traffic and conversion rates and an unclear layout for our content. Users couldn’t find the information they were looking for, and we needed an outside partner to help us improve the site.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We initially hired Spire Digital to completely revamp our website. Their team analyzed our original platform and identified any pain points or specific areas for improvement. After researching industry best practices and analyzing our competitors, they optimized both the front- and backend systems. It’s based on a custom WordPress template, and the frontend was coded with PHP, CSS, and HTML. The team also implemented a few SEO strategies to improve our search rankings. Spire Digital continues to support our web development and digital marketing efforts.

What is the team composition?

I worked with a small team from Spire Digital at the beginning of the engagement to put together a set of wireframes for the new site. Then, I collaborated with a programmer on the technical aspects of the work. Since then, my main point of contact has been Ayla (Digital Marketing Leader, Spire Digital). She helps us continue to optimize and enhance the site to increase our performance and visibility.

How did you come to work with Spire Digital?

NewCloud Networks was working with Spire Digital before I started my position. We continue to work with them for their personalized and hands-on approach to customer service and their extensive industry experience.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in August 2018, and we launched the website in November 2018. We’re currently doing some A/B testing for specific calls to action (CTAs), images, and wording to make sure the content is resonating with our audience. We plan to finish up completely in about three months.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Spire Digital’s work has generated a lot more traffic to the website, and we’re moving closer to our goal conversion rate of 2%. The updated design sets the foundation for a smooth user experience. We track visitors as they navigate through our site, and it’s clear that they’re finding the information and content they need.

How did Spire Digital perform from a project management standpoint?

They kept us on schedule throughout the project, and we launched on time. Now in the testing process, we’re still on track to meet all of our milestones. Spire Digital communicates responsively and quickly addresses any of our questions or concerns, even if they’re outside the scope of our partnership. During the development process, we met in-person weekly, but now we check-in every other week. In the meantime, we speak through email.

What did you find most impressive about them?

First, I very much appreciated their level of professionalism, especially when they visited our office to collaborate more closely with our team. Second, I’m continually impressed by their technical and industry expertise. Our website is great. It exceeds every expectation we set at the beginning of the project. Spire Digital leveraged their experience from past partnerships and knowledge of best practices with modern technology to deliver a top-notch product.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, it’s been a seamless engagement. If anything, I would’ve liked a bit more guidance throughout the development process. My team doesn’t have much technical background, so they could’ve shared more details about their work in each stage. At most, there was a minor miscommunication, but we were all on the same page generally.

Any advice for potential customers?

I certainly recommend the Spire Digital team to anyone looking for web development or digital marketing help. They’re extremely valuable. Even if you hire them to complete a specific task, they’re willing to assist in other areas as well. The team is friendly, responsive, and involved. They’re capable of improving many aspects of a single business.

5.0
Overall Score
  • 5.0 Scheduling
    ON TIME / DEADLINES
  • 5.0 Cost
    Value / within estimates
  • 5.0 Quality
    Service & deliverables
  • 5.0 NPS
    Willing to refer

Software UI/UX for Lending Solutions Provider

“Our clients love the new software; it’s a complete transformation over what we used to have.”

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5.0

Quality: 
5.0
Schedule: 
5.0
Cost: 
5.0
Willing to refer: 
5.0
The Project
 
Confidential
 
Feb. - Mar. 2018
Project summary: 

Spire Digital updated the UI/UX of an existing software, conducting user research on which the changes were based. The project had a tight deadline, and they worked closely with the in-house team.

The Reviewer
 
1-10 Employees
 
Denver, Colorado
David Brooks
CEO, Cirrus Lender Services
 
Verified
The Review
Feedback summary: 

Spire Digital is responsive and extremely professional. Clients think the new product is great, and it’s attracted 40 users over the last few weeks. The leadership is fantastic, and everyone on the team is creative and skilled.

A Clutch analyst personally interviewed this client over the phone. Below is an edited transcript.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of Cirrus Lender Services, a company that provides software for banks to facilitate the collection of loan documents through a secure portal.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Spire Digital?

Our software was a bit old and clunky, so we needed a partner to update the UI/UX.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Our project had a quick turnaround, but we had an initial meeting to discuss our plans and goals. They then conducted user research, talking to a few clients to determine how the UI/UX should be improved. We wanted the program to be more intuitive and modern for users.

What is the team composition?

We mainly communicated with two leads, and they each had a team working under them.

How did you come to work with Spire Digital?

We heard of them through word of mouth. They have a good reputation in our area, so our product officer engaged with and hired them.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from February­–March 2018.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our clients love the new software; it’s a complete transformation over what we used to have. We’ve converted over 40 users in just the past six weeks.

How did Spire Digital perform from a project management standpoint?

They have a portal we used, but we mostly met in person. They’re well-led and highly responsive.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their leadership is high quality, resulting in top-notch execution and some of the best talent in the area. Everyone on the team is professional.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, they worked quickly. I’d gladly use them again.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

Engage with them in the early stages of your project; they’ll provide valuable insight.

5.0
Overall Score
  • 5.0 Scheduling
    ON TIME / DEADLINES
  • 5.0 Cost
    Value / within estimates
  • 5.0 Quality
    Service & deliverables
  • 5.0 NPS
    Willing to refer
    I've already referred them to numerous people.

Platform Dev & UI/UX for Outdoor Exploration Company

"Spire Digital doesn’t produce throwaway work—everything they build has a place in the long-term roadmap."

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5.0

Quality: 
5.0
Schedule: 
5.0
Cost: 
5.0
Willing to refer: 
5.0
The Project
 
Confidential
 
Feb. 2018 - Ongoing
Project summary: 

Spire Digital built out the UI/UX design of a web platform MVP and coordinated other frontend design tasks to display detailed information. Spire Digital currently provides small front-facing design updates.

The Reviewer
 
1-10 Employees
 
Boulder, Colorado
CEO, Outdoor Exploration Company
 
Verified
The Review
Feedback summary: 

Using mature processes and leveraging a skilled creative team, Spire Digital delivered a visually impressive website, which received rave reviews from in-house staff and external users. Spire Digital is an enthusiastic and trustworthy partner, making communication easy and workflow efficient.

A Clutch analyst personally interviewed this client over the phone. Below is an edited transcript.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of a company that provides a web platform that is focused on connecting the everyday person to the outdoors. We do that through technology that provides educational material and information that's necessary to help people plan and engage in outdoor experiences, such as hiking, camping, hunting, or fishing. We're leveraging technology and data analytics to help people get outside more often and leverage America's public land resources.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Spire Digital?

We had initially developed an MVP of our site, but once we gained more financial traction, we wanted to make the investment in building out our UI/UX because of its importance to the overall platform.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Our internal team manages the backend development. We rely on Spire Digital for the UI/UX design and other frontend design tasks to best present our rather large dataset.

What is the team composition?

Their team is led by Mikaela, our project manager who also acts as a tech lead and manages the agile board space, ticket creation, and workflow. In addition to Mikaela, our Spire team consists of a frontend developer, a designer, and ancillary support from QA engineers.

How did you come to work with Spire Digital?

We prioritized local firms so that we could meet in person. We interviewed several different companies and discussed our design, our prototype, and our goals. We tried to get a feel for the processes in each office. At Spire, we were able to observe a traditional sprint planning session and view their bullpen area to see how the developers worked together. It was clear that Spire had a mature environment. That experience, coupled with their examples of previous work, convinced us they would be valuable partners.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our engagement began in February 2018 and is ongoing. We maintain a relationship with them for a small amount of frontend design work.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We are extremely pleased with the outcome. The feedback we have received internally and from external users of the platform has been overwhelmingly positive. We achieved the intuitive feel and nature of the platform that we hoped for.

How did Spire Digital perform from a project management standpoint?

We reached our scheduled milestones under cost, which is a huge achievement for us as a startup. Spire Digital doesn’t produce throwaway work—everything they build has a place in the long-term roadmap. We originally intended for our relationship to last about six months, but it was gone so well that we’ve extended it.

Mikaela has been fantastic at keeping the team operating efficiently. We have great communication with her and with the team, in general. We’re very involved in the processes. We talk every day, and we meet at their office once a week so they can demonstrate the updates to the technology. They’re very transparent, and they make good use of their resources.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We appreciate how well their team works with ours. It feels like they are an extension of our in-house group. They are excited about what they’re building with us. They’re just as passionate about being successful at this as we are. To have their team be that dedicated to us, that’s the biggest differentiator I could ask for.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No. I can’t name an instance when we have been unhappy. They have been responsive to all issues.

Any advice for potential customers?

The fact that we're so actively involved with them and we communicate so much with them and work so closely with them, I firmly believe that's one of the reasons why it's working so well. For any new client, I would recommend being the same way. Be involved and get to know everybody that's working on the project.

5.0
Overall Score
  • 5.0 Scheduling
    ON TIME / DEADLINES
  • 5.0 Cost
    Value / within estimates
  • 5.0 Quality
    Service & deliverables
  • 5.0 NPS
    Willing to refer

iOS/Android MVP App for Military Social Network

"One of their software developers been with them for 15 years. That’s unheard of. They’ve built a solid team."

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5.0

Quality: 
5.0
Schedule: 
5.0
Cost: 
5.0
Willing to refer: 
5.0
The Project
 
Confidential
 
Oct. 2017 - July 2018
Project summary: 

Spire Digital developed an MVP—based on some existing code—before producing Version 1.0 of a fully-functional app. They handled both front- and backend construction for the app, which is for iOS and Android.

The Reviewer
 
1-10 Employees
 
Oklahoma
CEO, Military Social Network
 
Verified
The Review
Feedback summary: 

Initial users have praised the app’s aesthetics, and industry members are impressed with the app’s quality. Spire Digital provided excellent transparency regarding fees and were generous with their time. They deftly handled varying engagement intensities and fostered an approachable atmosphere.

A Clutch analyst personally interviewed this client over the phone. Below is an edited transcript.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder and CEO of a military social network. Our app provides military bases an arena to rate and review local business so that recently re-located active, reserve, guard members, or military spouses can find reputable services in that area. People move around so often in the military that it’s hard to move to a new area and know say, which plumber to hire. The military community is a small, tight-knit family, so this would provide a trusted source of recommendations.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Spire Digital?

They were three key functionalities we wanted Spire to develop for this first version. First, we needed to standardize our base directory system. Second, we needed to the app to be able to look up any phone number on the base to ensure that only active duty, guard, reserve members or military spouses could sign up. Third, we had to integrate local business profiles so that people could rate and review them.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We talked through what we currently had, to see if there was any code that we could salvage from some pre-development we’d done, and then discussed our vision and the possibility of an MVP. They provided all the frontend and backend work. They handled the entire development stack. They built a feedback feature into the app—which is for both iOS and Android—that allows users an easy to way to register their opinions.

What is the team composition?

We started off with just a project manager, and then they added a lead developer, a designer, and an administration team that would test software builds for bugs before we pushed them out. I had to scale down our hours to do more fundraising, so we went down to just the developer and myself, and we’d occasionally bring on the designer.

How did you come to work with Spire Digital?

We reached out to multiple software development companies and Spire responded to our email in just a few minutes. While other companies had us fill out an automated form and had us go through an entire process to sign up for a call, Spire personally reached out to us. They understood our concept right away, and they actually have people on their team with military connections. Having a little bit of understanding of the government and military was very helpful, but it was really their personal, human touch that won us over.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from October 2017 until July 2018. We’re currently in a paused period to gather feedback on the MVP, but we have about 50 more things to do.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Originally, they were able to put out an MVP in one month, which made us continue to work with them for the full Version 1.0 build out. Their quality is very high. I have family members in the software development space and they thought the app was top-notch. As soon as users downloaded it, their first reaction was that it looked good.

How did Spire Digital perform from a project management standpoint?

We’d have at least one meeting a week—on Fridays—to talk through any challenges and the sprints we were on. We’d also communicate on a Slack channel throughout the week. They were good about communicating billing and financials and working around my budget. They even through in a bug fix for free, which I thought was highly professional. I didn’t even have to ask for it; they just did the right thing.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I got to know them as people and they’d even invite me to events. I flew out there because they invited me to an investor party and I felt like part of their family. I felt really welcome, like I could walk in any time. Whether it’s the CEO, the president, the owner, or whoever, I can call them whenever and don’t have to go through a chain of command. One of their software developers been with them for 15 years. That’s unheard of. They’ve built a solid team.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I’ve never done a project this big so I didn’t know to prepare for this, but I wish they’d talked me down from starting off with such a big contract. I wasn’t aware of how much funding I’d need to accomplish what I wanted, so I had to bring down our hours while I did more fundraising. I don’t know if they’ve had to deal with that before, but it would have been helpful to have my expectations gauged in terms of how big a chunk I could accomplish with the funds I originally had. I have to take responsibility for that though, because I was in charge. They handled it really well.

Any advice for potential customers?

Spire is a capable company and they’re well-connected in the software industry. They can make it happen, so my best advice is to go with them. If you have the budget, they’re reasonable with their prices, compared to other companies. Know what you want—I wanted an MVP in a month—when you come to them, and then give them a little test to see if they’re right for you.

5.0
Overall Score
  • 5.0 Scheduling
    ON TIME / DEADLINES
    They met the sprints every time.
  • 5.0 Cost
    Value / within estimates
    They were very fair and met what was estimated. They gave me a very good rate.
  • 5.0 Quality
    Service & deliverables
  • 5.0 NPS
    Willing to refer

UI/UX for Online Enterprise Platform

“They’re very competent at interface design and we really like the aesthetic they delivered.”

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4.5

Quality: 
5.0
Schedule: 
4.0
Cost: 
n/a
Willing to refer: 
5.0
The Project
 
Confidential
 
2015 - 2017
Project summary: 

Spire Digital provided UI/UX design for an operations management platform. They collaborated with an internal development team to establish a design strategy that was applicable through an existing tech stack.

The Reviewer
 
1-10 Employees
 
Colorado
CEO, Online Enterprise Platform
 
Verified
The Review
Feedback summary: 

Spire Digital delivered an intuitive UI/UX design that’s on par with large software platforms. Users appreciate the appealing visuals and well-organized interface. While a singular instance of miscommunication impacted the project’s deadline, they performed well overall.

A Clutch analyst personally interviewed this client over the phone. Below is an edited transcript.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of an online enterprise. We provide an operations management platform for customers within a specific industry. The platform automates historically manual processes to save customers time and labor.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Spire Digital?

I had an idea for a tech-enabled business, but personally lacked the knowledge or experience necessary. We initially approached them to help us build a system along the lines of our vision. However, we eventually decided to hire an in-house development team to create the platform. We then engaged Spire Digital to polish the frontend design and deliver the product’s final UI/UX.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Our tech team collaborated with their designers to ensure the proposed wireframes would work with the system’s backend. Once both teams agreed on a general design approach, Spire Digital delivered a beautiful and efficient UI/UX.

What is the team composition?

We primarily worked with one designer. Other people from their team got involved when other skills were needed.

How did you come to work with Spire Digital?

Our attorneys recommended Spire Digital as a possible source to help us build the software. We reached out and the relationship grew from there.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in 2015 and the core deliverables were complete in 2017. We maintain a relationship with them and ask for their input on an ad hoc basis.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The primary metric we look at is customer feedback and that’s been very positive so far. Users feel like its modern software that’s easy to use. To be fair, there isn’t a high bar in our industry at this point, but no one’s complained about the interface so far. One of our objectives for the UI was for it be relatively unnoticeable like other modern software platforms. Spire Digital accomplished that.

How did Spire Digital perform from a project management standpoint?

Spire Digital is an easy company to work with and everyone did a really a good job. My only issue was a specific instance of poor communication. The employee that was supposed to help us implement the new designs left the company before the project was complete. This wasn’t communicated to us and we ended up wasting a lot of time waiting for that implementation.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re very competent at interface design and we really like the aesthetic they delivered.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They should have told us the bad news regarding the implementation resource as soon as they knew it. I don’t know what happened to them internally, but that miscommunication set us back several weeks in our development cycle.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I don’t have any specific recommendations. Overall, Spire Digital is really good at collaborating with the companies that hire them.

4.5
Overall Score
  • 4.0 Scheduling
    ON TIME / DEADLINES
  • N/A Cost
    Value / within estimates
  • 5.0 Quality
    Service & deliverables
  • 5.0 NPS
    Willing to refer
Verification

Clutch verification provides an additional layer of data to help you make the right purchasing decsion of business services. Learn more

Verification Level
Bronze
VERIFIED
Business Entity
Status
Active
Jurisdiction of Formation
Colorado
ID
20151464017
Date of Formation
Jul 21, 2015
Source
Colorado Secretary of State
Last Updated
Dec 24, 2018
Payment & Legal Filings
Bankruptcy
No
Tax Lien Filings
0
Judgement Filings
0
Collections Count
0
Source
Experian
Full Business Credit Report
Last Updated
Jul 19, 2019
Client Reviews
VERIFIED CLIENT REVIEWS
OVERALL REVIEW RATING
4.9
Source
Clutch
LAST UPDATED