Sunflower Lab

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

This product is extremely important, and we’ve been satisfied with Sunflower Lab's work. Any problems have been minor or mostly our fault.

How did Sunflower Lab perform from a project management standpoint?

Our project manager is technically literate and uses a scrum process. We use the agile development process and Jira to track our progress. We do daily 15-minute calls to check the project status and to clarify any requirements or questions. They’ve been willing to handle our project differently, in a way that better suits our goals, and we appreciate that.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I’m used to a very fixed and rigid process for outsourced development. However, with Sunflower Lab, we have the flexibility to change requirements and adjust the budget, and that’s been extremely valuable. It’s a foundational part of the scrum methodology, so it helps to have agile-trained people on both teams.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I would’ve preferred they build the software in a way that allowed us to test it earlier. Because of the way they divided the project in the beginning, we couldn’t run tests until six weeks in.

When we outlined the project, their sales team somehow didn’t address our SEO need, which we assumed was part of the budget. When we began discussing SEO dev, we had to renegotiate because they’d assumed we didn’t need it. We should’ve spent more time clarifying our requirements at the beginning.

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

We plan on bringing in a third-party analyst to review Sunflower Lab’s code when we’re further along. So far, we’ve gotten positive feedback from users who say the app looks and functions great. It’s had a few bugs, but nothing major.

How did Sunflower Lab perform from a project management standpoint?

Our communication is manageable—they’re located in India, so English is their second language. We communicate via Slack, and their response time is incredible. We have weekly meetings to go over project details, but they’ll have more meetings if needed. I can just tell them we need to talk, and within 20 minutes we’ll be video conferencing.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re highly responsive and willing to work outside of regular business hours. When we needed to submit a build to Apple, for example, a developer from Sunflower Lab was up until three in their morning, their time.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Because English isn’t their native language, they often made simple spelling mistakes at the beginning of our engagement. But now that we know that, we’re better and providing them with the exact text that we want on the frontend.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

Be willing to get up early to meet with them. The time difference means their work day begins when it’s still early morning here, and I’ve found that giving them notes at five in the morning helps them be more productive throughout the day.

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

We do not yet have numbers in terms of app downloads, in part because we have not yet been as aggressive about promoting the apps as we should be. Our goal in the near future is to figure out the most effective way to push for more downloads and figure out how best to take advantage of some app-only features.

The biggest reaction we received was at the aforementioned meeting. Everybody loved the new look and the apps’ functionality; they gave us a lot of great feedback about Sunflower’s work. Additionally, a lot of our advertisers are now doing specific things just for the apps, which demonstrates how they have embraced it as a platform for their products.

How did Sunflower Lab perform from a project management standpoint?

Ronak was a very good point of contact; he came to our office a couple of times to kick off the project, and we had regular conference calls. He was always quick to respond when we needed something, and he was very clear about what he needed from us.

Sunflower collaborated smoothly with our website developer, which meant that we did not have to be too hands-on with that. I believe they used Crashlytics to roll out the different builds. Every time there was a new build, we would get an automated email telling us that it was ready for our review. We did a lot of communicating that way, which was very convenient and efficient. It allowed us to send them changes or requests almost as soon as a new build came out, and helped them to provide us with further updates even faster.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their communication in general was extremely impressive; we always felt like we knew the status of the project. I also appreciated the different types of communications tools that they used at any given stage, be it a phone call, an in person meeting, or a video call that allowed us to screen share. Also, despite their developers being located offshore, it felt like we were still working with a local, thanks to Ronak’s direct involvement.

I would definitely recommend Sunflower. Not only did they do what we asked of them, they also offered suggestions that we had not even considered, using their experience from past projects to steer us in the right direction. They ended up acting as a de facto consultant as well. We are probably going to continue to use them on projects in the future, either on a maintenance level or to further update our current apps. We were very happy with our collaboration. The combination of being both affordable and local to our area made them a great work partner.

Are there any areas they could improve?

The timing of the final touches on the apps prior to their release was a little lacking. It felt like they thought we were done and had then moved onto other projects, or as if our project had been put on a backburner. It did not interfere with our deadline, but the end product wrap-up period could use some improvement.

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

The apps have only been out for a couple of weeks, and we’re already at 500 downloads without any marketing. Businesses are signing up without us having to reach out.

In terms of feedback from users and other businesses in our industry, I estimate we’re in the top 3. For user friendliness, we’re No. 1. The other apps are cluttered and hard to use. In terms of functionality, our apps work great. The fact that other apps were on the market gave us an advantage; we could see what they did and improve on it.

How did Sunflower Labs perform from a project management standpoint?

They are very responsive. Their priority at the beginning was to put me at ease, because they knew I had issues with other companies. They offered to meet in person and give me a tour of their company.

Their communication is great, and they usually respond within minutes. During development, they set up a conference call once a week, and we would do standup meetings to check on productivity. They answer every question I have. It’s great working with them.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their productivity is impressive. They were ahead of me the entire time. They delivered what we stipulated in the contract exactly, down to the last detail. The project went so smoothly—everything was always on time, and Sunflower never made excuses. No other company I’ve worked with has met deadlines.

The other teams I’ve worked with had a lot of introverts, who usually don’t communicate very well. Sunflower’s team has great communication skills.

I would recommend them a million times. I’ve spent 5–6 years in the tech industry looking for a good developer—I finally found them in Sunflower Labs.

Are there any areas they could improve?

The main challenge is our hours, because I’m on the West Coast and they’re on the East Coast. At first, we were trying morning meetings. I perform better at 10:00 a.m., but that’s 1:00 p.m. their time, and they’re busy then. We switched to later meetings, which worked out perfectly for me. I know they went out of their way to make that happen.

Do you have any advice for potential clients?

I would go with Sunflower Labs before any other company. Their rates are extremely good. They complete good-quality work for the pricing.