Sunflower Lab

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the CEO of a nonprofit organization. I engaged in an app development project with Sunflower Lab as a result of a research fellowship project.

For what projects/services did your company hire Sunflower Lab?

At the end of the fellowship, I was awarded a grant to develop a web application that allows for the search of social services programs and for those searching to rate their experience and outcomes.

What were your goals for this project?

The goal was to develop and deploy an app in the app stores that allowed for a robust search and rating system.

How did you select this vendor?

I interviewed multiple vendors and selected based on them meeting project criteria.

Describe the project in detail.

The app called Keys to Degrees allows a person to search social services by geographic region. They are able to retrieve information about how to engage the service provider. The app then prompts the user to provide data on quality of services and if the service solved their problem.

What was the team composition?

The team was a group of advisors from non-profits along with Sunflower labs.

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

The app was pilot tested with a group of college students for user interface design. The pilot students gave the app a 5 star rating.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The workflow was managed with a team project software system. I was always up to speed on the latest developments.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The most impressive aspect was their design process.

Are there any areas for improvement?

No suggestions

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I work at Legacy Link, an afterlife legacy startup.

What challenge were you trying to address with Sunflower Lab?

We had developed a wireframe diagram of a mobile application. Thus, we needed a company to develop the app. 

What was the scope of their involvement?

They developed our iOS and Android app. We’re in a testing phase right now. The app has two components. One component is a recording of a person’s assets, including financial information, 401k’s, brokerage accounts, real estate information, car information, loan information, and all debts and liabilities. Thus, if you need to pass that data on, it’s in a consolidated place. The app also takes other things you’d want to pass onto someone—all your hobbies, coin collections, art, etc.

The other component is a personal message service. We’ve developed the ability for people to either record messages in video, audio, or text format. We’ve developed over 1,000 questions in 80 different categories. People can develop their own custom questions. After answering these questions, their heirs or loved ones can view them after they pass on.

They can also use this to leave birthday or anniversary messages years into the future. We’re finding that this ability to connect with someone after passing on is something that people are really excited about. It offers the ability to leave a chronicle of your life for your descendants and loved ones. They can connect with you and learn things that you liked and didn’t like, things that were valuable to you, etc. It can also hold information on anything you enjoyed: music, arts, vacations, travels, and family reunions.

Their CEO came out to see us and we had a three-day transfer for the design phase. They then reviewed those wireframes with their entire internal team. We both went through every piece of those wireframes and analyzed them before beginning development.

What is the team composition?

Their CEO has been our point person from day one. We’ve been interfacing with the CEO on all matters. They have a team working underneath the CEO.

How did you come to work with Sunflower Lab?

I did my due diligence and embarked on a very long process in which I found 30 different app developers from online searches. I whittled that down to about 12 companies. We selected six through various interviews.

After we narrowed it down to those six, we did very exhaustive phone interviews and online interviews to determine if the company fit our needs and how skilled they were at programming techniques. Sunflower Lab was familiar with programming that I knew and was by far the most qualified for a number of different reasons.

How much have you invested with them?

We invested $67,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in March 2019 and the work is ongoing.

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

We haven’t released the product yet because we’re still in the user acceptance testing phase. We will then take it to a bigger customer base of at least 50 or more users and put the app through a more strenuous test. Through this, we’ll get some better analytics on storage rates and things like that. After this, we will go back and do some fine-tuning.

The price is exactly what I thought it would be. I feel I’m getting exactly or more than what I anticipated.

How did Sunflower Lab perform from a project management standpoint?

I’ve had weekly, face-to-face meetings with Microsoft Team, Zoom, or other video chats with our point person. He’s been instrumental in making the project successful. He’s very smart and knows the app well. There have been some great suggestions and solutions when we’ve been missing things in the design. He then worked with his team to ensure that the solution met all the requirements. I’ve been extremely pleased with Sunflower Lab’s team.

One of the reasons we selected them is they used the same tools as us. There was no training on our side when it came to utilizing these tools. Their team uses Jira and Slack and the communication is outstanding.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I’ve never had them say they couldn’t do something. There was always a solution in mind; nothing ever came up about cost or time. It was always about what was best for the product. They don’t overcharge you; they actually show a commitment and try to give the best product they can. They use all the right programming techniques and structures.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They’re a smaller company, but growing. Our app is really good, but I know that the look and feel of our app will need to be improved when it goes to market. While it looks great, it still doesn’t have the feel of an app like Instagram or Facebook. The functionality is perfect though. They’re going to need to tweak their aesthetic design process, but that will come as their company grows.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the co-founder and managing partner of Aura Wireless Co. We develop proprietary antenna technologies.

What challenge were you trying to address with Sunflower Lab?

We developed the world’s first software-based antenna. We needed someone to develop a cloud-based remote access platform so that our customers could remotely access the antennas that they purchased from us, configure them, and manage them.

What was the scope of their involvement?

We outlined a specification, met with Sunflower Lab, discussed it, and tasked them with developing the web-based software based on that specification. We wanted to enable our customers to access it with any device.

It’s a project that doesn’t have an endpoint, and they’ve completed the initial milestones. We continue to add features and capabilities.

What is the team composition?

I had two points of contact.

How did you come to work with Sunflower Lab?

I did some research and narrowed it down to 3-4 custom software developers. I had conversations with each and made the decision to go with Sunflower Lab.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in February 2018 and the work is ongoing.

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

We had a specification and wanted it delivered on or before a certain date, and they delivered as needed and ahead of the deadline.

How did Sunflower Lab perform from a project management standpoint?

They performed admirably. We communicate via Slack, email, and face-to-face. They also used a project management tool.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re very good at setting and meeting expectations.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I’m very satisfied with them.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Setting expectations is very important. Pay attention to that part of the discussion.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Respondent 1: We’re an electronic component manufacturer. I’m the director of test labs.

Respondent 2: I’m the engineer and architect for this project.

What challenge were you trying to address with Sunflower Lab?

Respondent 2: We wanted to modernize some legacy database systems in order to incorporate all three of our test lab locations into one centralized system.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Respondent 2: Sunflower Lab has been writing an internal web application to help our data acquisition process in the test lab. The team built the product on a SQL server and mainframe using ASP and other technologies. They developed the platform to store and manage data, allowing us to reach it easier. 

What is the team composition?

Respondent 2: I’ve spoken to three members of their team personally, which has included a project manager. There’s a larger team in the background that I haven’t communicated with directly. 

How did you come to work with Sunflower Lab?

Respondent 1: We researched several different companies. We called and interviewed Sunflower Lab. A representative from their team come out to speak with us. He was professional and picked up our terminology well. We thought he would be a good fit for this project.

How much have you invested with them?

Respondent 1: We’ll have spent $250,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

Respondent 1: We started the project in 2017, and our collaboration’s ongoing.

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

Respondent 2: Essentially, the only metric we’ve tracked has been timeline performance.

How did Sunflower Lab perform from a project management standpoint?

Respondent 2: To start, we used Zoom as a third-party video conferencing software. We’ve since switched to Microsoft Teams for meetings. Sunflower Lab has been reasonably speedy on requests for changes, bug fixes, and new features implementations.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Respondent 1: Sunflower Lab has communicated well, making them easy to work with.

Respondent 2: We haven’t interfaced with anyone else. It’d be hard to say anything that makes them stand apart.  

Are there any areas they could improve?

Respondent 2: We sent Sunflower Lab a localized copy of our current system to help them understand the logic behind the scenes, hoping they would use it to design the new system. We thought they could’ve utilized that more.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Respondent 2: Not really, no. Just schedule interviews and talk with their team.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Signify—formerly known as Philips Lighting—is a global leader in the lighting industry. I'm the director of digital innovations. Within this scope, we’re bringing digital technology into what was once a conventional industry.

What challenge were you trying to address with Sunflower Lab?

Our company has made various professional and consumer applications in multiple domains. The initial project with Sunflower Lab was to build a consumer app.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Once we signed the statement of work, we had a couple of discovery workshops where we went through what the app should do. It’s a relatively uncomplicated e-commerce consumer app, but with backend elements that will make it unique for the user.

It was developed for iOS and Android. We built it as a native app at Sunflower Lab’s recommendation, given that it required deep integration with peripheral technology. It has an AI engine and a dynamic product catalog. We guide users to choose better lighting products within the app.

What is the team composition?

I believe there’ve been five people involved in total. Yash (Co-Founder, VP of Products and Strategy, Sunflower Lab) was our main point of contact. He mainly acted as an account manager, while also partially working as an architect and product owner. Nirav (Senior Software Engineer, Sunflower Lab) was more the product manager and scrum master.

How did you come to work with Sunflower Lab?

We went through a normal process of scouting for suppliers and sending RFQs. Sunflower Lab was one of five companies that responded. We chose them because they were responsive in providing a quote and also went further in learning exactly what we wanted. They brought their own experts and architects to think along. That led to the final statement of work.

How much have you invested with them?

We invested $100,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Sunflower Lab in September 2018, and the project was delivered in April 2019. Development on the app is done, but other things are in process. We’re working with Sunflower Lab on three other projects.

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

The business product isn’t launched yet, but we managed to put out a prototype in a matter of weeks. That facilitated the whole discussion and planning process. After that, they built a working version three months into the project. We reviewed what extra features we wanted, and we started the whole cycle again. 

Even though we haven’t launched the app yet, we recognized their ability to move fast and respond to the needs of the customer. They worked over holidays and weekends in order to release what we needed on time. The user feedback has been positive for the part we’ve completed so far. We think we’re ready to launch, but we’re not ready with other things.

Sunflower Lab fixed bugs promptly, and there was never a moment of them disbelieving us or acting like it wasn’t their problem. They’re always very responsive and supportive. We stayed within the agreed scope boundaries, and we met our deadlines for 90% time.

Another piece of evidence is that we’ve continued working with Sunflower Lab on other projects.

How did Sunflower Lab perform from a project management standpoint?

We used various channels, which can sometimes be annoying even for my own team members. We used Slack, email, Confluence, and Jira, so we had multiple options to confuse ourselves. However, both written and verbal communication were clear, and everything went well.

One of the other interesting aspects is that they’re present in multiple time zones. Sunflower Lab has teams in India, Ohio, and New Jersey, and we’re based in Boston, Eindhoven, and Shanghai. Our team is partially in the United States and partially in Europe. They’re partially here and partially in India, which made it ideal for continuous workflow beyond the working hours of our local team.

Distance can be an issue, but we worked in such a way as to make use of this time difference. We plan reviews and standups in an efficient way. They deliver their work review; we meet and test the app. They pick up more feedback after they wake up. It’s worked pretty well. When we’re close to deliveries, they will work on both their and our schedule. They’re very accommodating.

What did you find most impressive about them?

It’s their speed and flexibility. They’re a discussion partner, but they’re also doers. We can plan for the long-term, or we can start doing things. We’re able to implement our ideas and see how they look at a pretty fast pace, without losing an arm for it.

Are there any areas they could improve?

We’ve had regular retrospectives, and, for most of the time, we came back agreeing with what the improvement points were. They made fixes and we went on.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

Clients should understand what they want clearly. Once we start rolling, the clock is ticking and the work gets done, so it’s harder to change our minds. Make sure you know what you want to achieve, and also break it down into iterative steps. We didn’t try to implement too many things at the same time—most work was done feature-by-feature. That helped with verification and testing, but also with figuring out what we wanted.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Our parent company is called Logiciel Technology. My role is the director of technology, and we’re working on a software product designed for care providers or agencies that offer in-home care to developmental or intellectual disability patients. This software will allow what’s traditionally done on paper to be digitalized, making the process speedy and cost-effective.

What challenge were you trying to address with Sunflower Lab?

We needed help on the development end of building the project after starting a partnership with developers who didn’t deliver the way we would’ve liked.

What was the scope of their involvement?

They assigned a team of developers to handle a software development project for us. It was partially completed by a previous partner, so they took it on as a rescue project. The design had already been implemented by that phase. They were focused on the backend. 

Sunflower Lab was building for three platforms: iOS, Android, and a web app created in JavaScript. Those platforms interface on a Microsoft Azure server, and that’s where the data and API endpoint are housed.

What is the team composition?

We used an agile workflow, composed of two-week sprints. We define our needs for each sprint and assign a team that matches them. Usually, this will consist of a core group of four people: a backend specialist, web app developer, a native iOS developer, and a native Android professional. 

Occasionally, they’ll throw in additional developers to support larger tasks. We also have a consistent project manager, who’s called a delivery manager at Sunflower Lab, and I have meetings with him twice per week.

How did you come to work with Sunflower Lab?

I first heard of them while working at a past job at a marketing company. They engaged us for marketing services, but nothing came to fruition with that. When I joined my new company, we needed a team of developers because we no longer wanted to work with our current partner at the time.

So, we reached out to Sunflower Lab, and I was excited to find that they were located only about 10 minutes away from my home.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent between $50,000–$60,000 in total.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project started in May 2019 and is still ongoing.

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

We’re still pre-launch, so it’s early days. The product will launch in the first week of October 2019, as long as we’re able to take care of some last-minute bugs. But, everything is working well so far. That makes them successful in my eyes.  

How did Sunflower Lab perform from a project management standpoint?

Like I said before, I have check-in meetings twice every week with the project manager. They’ll last between 15 minutes and an hour depending on the scope of the current sprint. We connect using Zoom for conference calls, to accommodate our distance. I can also reach the development team directly through Slack if I ever need to. However, I like to channel all my information through my project manager.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Despite them being overseas, they’ve been super responsive. The product is in its beta testing phase, so it's critical that it does work for those who are already relying on it. A couple of times, their team has jumped into the platform late at night to iron out problems that come up. If any urgent needs arise, I can count on them to take care of things.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There isn’t anything out of the ordinary. Sometimes, I find myself having to repeat messages multiple times, but that can be expected while working with remote teams on fast-paced development projects.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Make yourself available to them because they work quickly. If you put them on the back burner, you might be delayed. But, they’re responsive as long as you are too.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am a web architect for an insurance rating agency. We provide data analysis to the insurance and financial industries. My responsibilities include overseeing the website, mobile application, and social media content.

What challenge were you trying to address with Sunflower Lab?

We had another vendor, but we weren’t able to grow with them. That team had developed a cross-platform mobile application, which was too risky for us as a government-regulated company. We then hired Sunflower Lab to redevelop the existing application as a native solution for iOS and Android. Our team aimed to get the app into the field. Our insurance agents would use it on-the-go to look up insurance companies’ credit rating and creditworthiness.  

What was the scope of their involvement?

The scope required Sunflower Lab to redevelop and redesign the app. The team added functionalities to improve the solution’s search features and results. They also updated the layout and format, creating enhancements on top of the previous version.

What is the team composition?

The project manager was our main point of contact. The 4–5-person team included at least two India-based developers.

How did you come to work with Sunflower Lab?

We put out an RFP and interviewed Sunflower Lab.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent between $25,000–$50,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in spring 2019 and Sunflower Lab launched the application in January 2019. Our team now has a service agreement with them.

Describe the impact this engagement has had on your business.

The app is sleek and easy to use. Furthermore, its design and functionalities are better than the previous version. Achieving those results was challenging, but we did get there in the end.

How was project management handled?

We experienced several issues with communication and them misunderstanding the scope requirements. Consequently, our internal developers had to write a substantial portion of the code. Between the numerous conservations and follow-ups, our team felt that they had to do a lot of handholding. That experience was not only frustrating, but a prolonged struggle for our side.

Is there anything that the vendor did well or that you would consider a strength?

Although the app was clean, it’s difficult to compare performance because we don’t work with a ton of vendors. Sunflower Lab did provide 10 design options, each of which improved upon the existing app’s look.

In what specific areas can they improve?

Sunflower Lab should set up meetings when they are unclear about specifications, as opposed to sending an email. That would streamline communication, especially given my workload and the number of team members involved.

Introduce your business and what you do there. 

I’m the founder of Positive Outcomes LLC.

What challenge were you trying to address with Sunflower Lab? 

I had the idea for a recovery tracker app that will be able to track a person's sobriety. I needed to hire an external resource to actually create the app.

What was the scope of their involvement?

I initially met with Ronak (CEO, Sunflower Lab) to pitch him my idea. I want the app to send information to a database that is specific to each addiction agency that pays for a subscription. It’s a complicated process because the app has to be able to talk to a database, and the database has to be separated into multiple databases.

Sunflower Lab assigned me a project manager based in India. They’re developing the app for both Android and iOS. They send me different builds and designs. They came up with the colors for the app and created a design for the background. If something isn't the way I want it, I let them know and they fix it. They're almost done. There's a few last things that need to be addressed.

What is the team composition?

The project manager was my main point of contact. He has 3–4 people under him. However, he recently left the company. Ronak let me know what was happening. Then he actually took the project under his wing for the last few weeks while they finish the project.

How did you come to work with Sunflower Lab? 

To be honest, they were basically the only company to call me back. I did a lot of research and I called several different companies. One other person did call me back but was rude on the phone. Sunflower Lab was very quick to respond. 

How much have you invested with them?

I’ve spent about $23,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

Work started in October 2018 and the engagement is ongoing.

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

I'm really happy with everything they've done. I've started pitching the app to multiple CEOs of different addiction treatment facilities. They're excited for the app and interested in doing a pilot at their agency. Sunflower Lab has built a groundswell of support for me.

How did Sunflower Lab perform from a project management standpoint? 

Sunflower Lab is so responsive to my needs. Even though he was located in India, my project manager was always quick to respond to my emails. In terms of process, they created a prototype app for me to give them feedback on what needs to change. There’s a lot of back and forth. They constantly send me emails with a link to the prototype app, so I can download and play around with it. That allows me to see what I like and what I don't like. Ronak is also really helpful. He changed my mind on a couple of ideas. The experience he brings to the table made my app even better than my original design.

What did you find most impressive about them? 

I really liked their openness and transparency about the loss of my project manager. Ronak told me directly, which I appreciate. Because he took over the project himself, there wasn't any downtime to find a new project lead. He took it upon himself to make sure that I was happy. I can't say enough about their willingness to communicate with me.

Likewise, they're quick to ask me questions if something doesn't make sense to them. Obviously, they're not experts on addiction. It might seem simple to me because I know this material, but they don’t know anything about the field. They’re always inquisitive and asking smart questions to better understand the “why” of the app. 

Are there any areas they could improve? 

The only issue that I ever had was 12-hour time difference between me and the team in India. I answered a lot of email in the middle of my night, their morning. That's just part of the business. If you want something to succeed, you have to put in the time and effort. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers? 

Have a very detailed design before presenting it to Sunflower Lab. That made the process easy for me. Do it right, and do it right the first time. Don't leave anything out and really think through every different scenario.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder and CEO of a software development agency.

What challenge were you trying to address with Sunflower Lab?

We had our own contract developers, but one was having problems and the others were on different projects. We needed a partner to augment our staff, so we could develop some time-sensitive software.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Sunflower Lab is working on a big software project, developing a web app from scratch that will eventually become a mobile app. They use PHP, SQL, and MEAN stack (except MongoDB). For user verification, they’ve integrated SMS and email verification. They’re also implementing videos and scalability features. The app is modular so that it can be propagated onto multiple servers that use the AWS system and platform.

What is the team composition?

They have a project manager who’s in charge of a different number of developers for each phase.

How did you come to work with Sunflower Lab?

We made a fairly large list of potential vendors and narrowed it down to 30 candidates who we got more information on. We then selected about six to do extensive presentations. From there, our internal team seriously discussed three of them, and Sunflower Lab won.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent around $30,000 so far. It’s exceeded our original budget, but we’ve added requirements to the scope.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been working together since May 2018.

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.

Please describe your company and your position there.

We are an allied healthcare provider that provides outsourced services to hospitals and ambulatory centers in seven states.

For what projects/services did your company hire Sunflower Lab?

We needed to rebuild our custom application from the ground up in order to take advantage of the most up-to-date technology. We also wanted our app to be far more scalable.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted to improve efficiency, manage a better workflow, and create a more scalable app.

How did you select this vendor?

We wanted a local vendor, and we were impressed with their approach to solving our business problems.

Can you go into detail about the services they provided and the scope of the project?

Sunflower Lab is completely rebuilding our existing custom software. Their team is evaluating each feature for estimated value, time commitment, and risk. Currently, they are developing an MVP that is nearing completion. Sunflower's team will be adding less valuable or critical features in later releases, which will allow us to quickly have a functional product for a fraction of the cost.

What was the team composition?

The team consisted of a project manager and a team of 4–5 developers.

Can you share any information that demonstrates the impact that this project has had on your business?

The project is still in progress and we do not yet have measurable metrics.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

Their team broke the project into 13 two-week sprints with a clear roadmap. 

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Their ability to understand our business and offer efficient solutions impress us.