Tapptitude

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the chief product officer for a mobile app that connects people with personal nutritionists. We’re a small team of two, and I work very closely with Tapptitude running all app development.

What challenge were you trying to address with Tapptitude?

When we went to Tapptitude, we had been testing out our theory on a text-based platform. We were connecting beta users with nutrition coaches, and the main call to action was to share photos of their meals. The users got coaching via messaging to build healthier habits based on what they were already eating.

The challenge of using an SMS solution was that we didn’t have a place to host the images or track the progress and goals that coaches and clients were setting. We needed to start building a roadmap and infrastructure to support these features.

What was the scope of their involvement?

We kicked off by figuring out how to build these mobile applications that would allow coaches and clients to connect and build from there. The initial scope of work was to build MVPs for four mobile applications. We decided to launch on iOS and Android because we had been testing our core pre-launch product for nine months, so we were pretty confident in doing so. 

Tapptitude was tasked with building a provider app and a client app on both iOS and Android, which meant four separate mobile apps. In addition to that, they stood up our web admin, which is where we manage anything administrative between coaches and clients and have dashboards set up. 

We’ve since built an additional web coaching app, which gives our providers the flexibility to work off of desktop or mobile. In terms of the business, we have two main applications, but we run them both on iOS and Android. The client-side app and provider app are separate, but they work together for messaging functionality and related functions.

What is the team composition?

We have a project manager who is our day-to-day contact. He works with the developer and makes sure that our sprints are running smoothly. He acts as the communicator between the internal team and the dev team. 

We also have one iOS developer, and he is the primary person working on the iOS and consumer apps. He manages both of those. We have one Android developer who also works on both the client and the provider apps. Another person manages our database and backend work, and we brought on a full stack developer to help stand up the web coaching app. He does front- and backend work on the web-based app. 

Additionally, we have had one full-time QA person who handles QA for all of our apps. After launch, we brought on a second part-time QA specialist who helps with testing as well.

How did you come to work with Tapptitude?

Tapptitude was recommended to us by someone in our network who had used them. We looked at about 10–15 different agencies, and we had a number of phone conversations with a lot of them. Tapptitude stood out from our first call with them.

We weren’t just looking for an agency that would take our requirements and build the apps; we wanted a partner who would challenge our thinking and team up with us. Since we’re such a small team internally, we wanted any resources we had to feel ownership over what they were building, too. 

I am always looking for someone who is going to challenge our thinking and ask the 'why' behind everything in a really great and constructive way, and that is always what we get from Tapptitude. Their team, compared to other tech shops we spoke to, was the only one that we really felt that from. From day one, they shared their own ideas, and you could tell they were excited about what we were building as well, which was really important to us.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our kick-off was in February 2020, and we are still working with them. We plan on working with them through 2021, for at least the next 6–9 months, because we are very happy with their work and haven’t felt the need to bring it in-house just yet.

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

We did a soft launch in September. In terms of measuring their work and success, we think of it holistically. We do a lot of qualitative user feedback to understand early attraction and retention rates. Moving from text to the app was big for us. We purposely launched with a really limited feature set because we wanted to go to market as quickly as we could. There wasn’t a lot that we hadn’t already proofed out via our text solution that we were initially working with. 

One thing we do with any new feature release is measure adoption within our core user base, and that has all been really great so far. We have seen really strong results. We did a big push about a month ago and saw a 95% adoption rate to the new features we had implemented, which was awesome. We have a really big release for at least two features coming up in January.

We also measure things like bugs that make it to production, and we have worked with Tapptitude to really limit any bugs that come up in a new release. Together, we are implementing a new regression testing strategy for 2021. We’re always collaborating on DevOps to make sure our sprints are running smoothly and our releases go as planned. Like anything in this role, our work is always iterative. 

How did Tapptitude perform from a project management standpoint?

I would say the project manager who is staffed on our project is an invaluable asset, even to our internal team. The project manager is really on top of it and communicative. There are many weekends that they have worked for us because they want to meet deadlines that we have agreed to together. There have also been very late nights where they have checked in at 2 a.m. their time because they want to make sure an Apple review is submitted, for example. They are great with project management and communication. The project manager really feels like an extension of our internal team, despite the environment that we’re working in and the fact that Tapptitude is an offshore team. That has been great.

Three times a week, we do morning syncs with our project manager to go over the sprints. We always value over-communication so that if there are any roadblocks, we can make sure we jump in to get ahead of them. 

As with any development project, unforeseen things do come up, whether it is something related to a new API we’re working on or a new Apple change. However, the way Tapptitude handles those types of situations has been pretty impressive. We don’t expect every feature release to happen on the date that we intend it to. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Everyone on their team shows that they feel ownership over what they are building. When you care and understand the features you’re building, you are always going to produce better work, and their team has. 

I think it’s unique to work with an agency that feels like they are a part of your team. I always refer to them as our tech team and developers, versus saying they are an agency that handles those things for us. The ownership they take is their main value add and the reason I’d recommend them to another business. This is especially true for startups; when you’re a small team, anyone you bring on at an early stage that is going to take ownership is really valuable.

Are there any areas they could improve?

We’re working toward implementing traditional scrum processes in 2021, which will allow us to discuss what went well, what didn’t go well, and what we can do better as a team next time. This isn’t because we don’t trust Tapptitude to handle everything; rather, we want to further integrate our team into theirs.

We believe more traditional scrum practices will enable us to build a stronger tech team in DevOps. Typically, I think they keep this process separate from clients who do not want to get super involved. However, since we’re long-term partners now, we have expressed interest in getting more involved and attaining more visibility.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Bring Tapptitude on when you are still in ideation mode and testing stages for whatever your concept is. They are the type of partners who have ideas and want to workshop. They were really excited for us to bring them into our roadmap planning. Don’t wait until you have your final tickets and features that you want them to work on — bring them on earlier and get them involved, because they have a lot of great experience. They will be able to help you make those features even better and stronger.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the senior product manager at a marketing platform for retailers.

What challenge were you trying to address with Tapptitude?

We were looking to build capabilities to send mobile push notifications. This required a software development kit (SDK) for iOS and Android. We didn’t have the skills in-house and didn’t plan to hire for them, so we brought Tapptitude on.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Tapptitude built the SDKs for iOS and Android. We hired them for an initial 2-month period, and then a 3-month support period. They integrated our platform with our customers’ apps.

What is the team composition?

I interacted with four teammates, including a salesperson and a project manager.

How did you come to work with Tapptitude?

A colleague had done a review of app developers, and Tapptitude was part of it.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent $50,000–$60,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working with them in July 2020, and the app was released in September 2020.

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

It was good to work with Tapptitude. 

How did Tapptitude perform from a project management standpoint?

They performed very well. The initial salesperson was involved throughout, and the project manager was also available throughout. We communicated via Jira, Slack, and a weekly video call. We did quite a few collaborative sessions, which went well. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Tapptitude’s price and experience distinguish them from other companies.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, nothing comes to mind.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Trust them because they have the experience and know-how to build SDKs. They’re happy to work with vague or detailed requirements. Additionally, spend time with them. Our joint stand-ups highlighted things to unblock and decisions to make, which was helpful.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We’re a startup in-venue app solution provider. We enable customers to order from bars or collection points. I’m the founder and managing director of the company.

What challenge were you trying to address with Tapptitude?

We needed someone to build us the application. Its goal was to reduce or eliminate queuing at venues, particularly live-music ones like concerts and arenas.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Tapptitude created a detailed map of the functionalities of the app and other business opportunities within it — different side-streams it could go down. There was heavy planning in terms of the potential for the application, covering wireframing and design before starting development.

I gave them a lot of information prior to the work, and I actually made my own designs and mockups to show how I thought it should function. We had a couple of sessions with Marco (UK Managing Director & Product Strategist) and fleshed out a proper mural of what exactly the app would do and what its technical requirements would be.

They developed the app for iOS and Android, building out its own API and integrating it with APIs from third-parties.

What is the team composition?

Tapptitude assigned a team of around seven people, including developers with different skillsets and a team leader.

How did you come to work with Tapptitude?

I found them on Clutch. I contacted around 25 developers on the site, and I got responses back from maybe 10. I had several video calls and whittled the list to two, and I finally chose Tapptitude.

How much have you invested with them?

We’re up to about £120,000 (approximately $158,000 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Tapptitude around October 2019, and the app went live on the in July 2020.

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

The feedback has been positive. The app is clean-looking, easy to use, and intuitive. It can be used by anyone, and it works exactly as we expected it to. We barely have any support requests from customers, even though we’re coming up to around 28,000 transactions from 10,000 customers that have used it so far.

I’ve probably dealt with 3–4 support cases so far. We’re continuing to make improvements and refinements based on feedback from the venues that are using it.

We’ve made multiple changes since launching, and Tapptitude has responded quickly to those. Even the improvement requests are coming down now. The app is an accepted part of the furniture. It just runs.

How did Tapptitude perform from a project management standpoint?

The structure they set up worked quite well. It was kind of messy around the launch, but that was mostly my doing. The iOS version was supposed to be ready by July 2020, and we weren’t even going to build the Android one until November 2020.

However, COVID-19 happened and we determined that venues would be needing contactless payment solutions when they reopened. We accelerated everything for the 4th of July deadline, which was the UK's reopening of pubs and restaurants.

We crammed in everything we could in order to go live on that day. Tapptitude used Jira to track the work, and I was in touch with the product lead on Slack on a daily basis. 

We had weekly catchups through video calls, to discuss any changes and improvements. Different team members got to present during those meetings, sharing what they’d done that week and what would be done the next week. 

We shared wireframes through InVision, to make sure things would look and function correctly. They also used MURAL to map out the project. There were no language issues, and they also had a point of contact in the UK to physically meet with us.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Tapptitude is a very good development agency. I’ve been delighted with the results and their adherence to our timeframe and budget. Looking at competitor products on the market, we’ve managed to produce something better in a shorter period of time.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They’re a bit overoptimistic about timeframes at times. However, when I remove the cap on the timeframes, the team can build things out in record times, so I can’t really complain about that. There’s no real criticism I could make about Tapptitude.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

Clients should know their product inside-out and not assume that the person they’re talking to has the same understanding. Everything should be spelled out down to the letter so that there’s no room for misinterpretation.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the co-founder of a new company that makes an app for artists and designers and helps them receive simple, constructive feedback.

What challenge were you trying to address with Tapptitude?

We hired them to develop the app.

What was the scope of their involvement?

First, we met with Marco (UK Managing Director & Product Strategist) before signing the contract. We then did a one-day workshop where Tapptitude brainstormed from the starting idea to come up with a clear idea of who we wanted our users to be, what our general market focus was, and what features we wanted.  

We worked on the design aspect for about 2–3 months, including UI. Tapptitude then developed the whole iOS app, and we’ve launched a beta version to a select few users. The team is going to go back into development using that feedback. They also set up all of our accounts and data servers. 

What is the team composition?

We worked with 3–4 teammates constantly.

How did you come to work with Tapptitude?

We reached out to a bunch of different organizations, and we preferred Tapptitude because they were very communicative and talked us through the steps of making our idea feasible. They were also the friendliest, so it felt like they were the right fit for us. 

How much have you invested with them?

So far, we’ve spent £38,000 (approximately $49,800 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working with them in September 2019, and we launched the beta version in July 2020. Now that we have the feedback, we’re hoping to launch at the beginning of September 2020.

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

What people found most successful about the app was the flow and the UX because it’s a tactile product that’s easy to use and delivers the results that people are looking for. Now, we’re working on developing personalized profiles or the ability to have more options of media so that different artists can participate.

How did Tapptitude perform from a project management standpoint?

Their project management is great. They’re always on-call so we message them directly. If not we can email or Slack them. Marco was always willing to talk to us when we set up a new account, and he would set up a call to go over the functionality and what we needed to know about it.

If we haven’t talked to Tapptitude in over two weeks, they contact us to see how the beta test is going. We’ve also had weekly calls with them throughout the project.

What did you find most impressive about them?

What drove us to them was that they were friendly in their approach. It was nice to meet with Marco in a non-office setting, and we just bounced ideas off of each other. Initially, they were the company that felt the least intimidating. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

We experience language barriers because they’re based in Romania. So, it could be helpful if they expanded to London to overcome that challenge. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Work on things on your own and come up with ideas. If you show ideas instead of just describing them, it’ll be much more effective in helping them understand the direction you want.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder and owner of Valileo, a small startup producing a video communication device for the elderly. We went to market in October 2019 on grandparents’ day, and we’ve been adding functionalities since then.

What challenge were you trying to address with Tapptitude?

I was looking for a partner that could help me launch the project, one that would act not just as a developer but that could also take care of the project from beginning to end.

What was the scope of their involvement?

I didn’t know anything before contacting Tapptitude, and I didn’t have any software in place. They really brought my idea to life. They provided project management and implementation services, but it went much further than this. 

The team developed the main app for Android, plus two client apps for iOS and Android. They designed the complete backend architecture, which I didn’t have a clue about. 

I gave them clear ideas of what I wanted to achieve with the software, but I didn’t have the knowledge, so I couldn’t drive them on the architecture. They used multiple programming languages.

What is the team composition?

Laurențiu (Head of Android) was one of my main contacts. The number of people assigned varied over time, with 6–10 people at the peak.

How did you come to work with Tapptitude?

I contacted 2–3 organizations that I had found on Clutch, one of which was Tapptitude. They were the most professional by far, so I chose them.

How much have you invested with them?

The cost of the main development was €100,000 (approximately $114,000 USD). We’re planning to invest another €20,000–€30,000 (approximately $23,000–$34,000 USD), so the overall cost will be €130,000 (approximately $148,000 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We started with a small collaboration in the second half 2017, basically testing each other. We expanded the scope a bit in 2018, and we went for the big development in 2019. We’re in maintenance mode now, adding new functionalities and fixing bugs.

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

My main goal was to produce a robust software that didn’t have a lot of bugs and worked well in many different situations. Another consideration was the provider’s level of ownership, and Tapptitude cares about the project. 

If I made another 10 apps, I’d go to Tapptitude for all of them. The team has anticipated every issue and stood behind me all the time. As a startup owner, the fact that I can count on Tapptitude is a game-changer for me. 

They find solutions, fix issues, and strive to make improvements, and they’re always dependable. They never refuse a request or say they’re too busy, and they do it in the end. That’s really amazing.

How did Tapptitude perform from a project management standpoint?

We’ve changed tools over time, depending on the situation, and the one we use most is Trello, partly because I was already familiar with it. I know what’s going on with sprints and due dates. Time estimations could be improved, but Tapptitude will work at all hours of day and night and on weekends to catch up. 

At the end of the day, I don’t feel it as a big issue. Laurențiu in particular wants to achieve perfection with the software, and that takes extra time. I talk frequently with him over WhatsApp and phone calls, and the whole team is always open to connecting with me.

What did you find most impressive about them?

It’s the fact that I can really count on them. They’re really accountable for what they do, and they never let me down. There will always be mistakes, but they always take responsibility and fix every issue. 

That is the most impressive aspect of working with them. Tapptitude also has iOS, Android, backend architecture, UI/UX, and lots of other high-level skills. On top of that, they’re very warm in how they treat me and take care of my problems.

Additionally, they did research and expanded their knowledge in areas that were new to them. They never give up, and they always provide me with the right development to address different situations.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Respecting due dates would be one area of improvement, but this is really a minor point. Another would be letting me know how many people are working on a project, but that problem was already solved. 

In the beginning, I wasn’t able to understand how many people were working on the project, and that was the moment when we implemented Trello. We did it specifically to solve issues like this one. I know exactly who’s working on what now.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

I advise involving Tapptitude completely in the project, and not just telling them to develop this or that functionality from here to there. They get passionate about what they do, and the more project parts are transferred to them, the more they’ll get involved and become passionate about it. 

That’s what I found with my project. They don’t just develop software; they will advise the client and become part of the project. That becomes a motivating factor for both parties, and it’s the way to get the most out of them.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the managing director of a SaaS solutions company that works with telecommunications companies.

What challenge were you trying to address with Tapptitude?

We sought a partner to support frontend application development. While we develop in-house as much as possible, we identified that development could be expedited with the help of the right outsourced partner. Before Tapptitude, our challenge was to balance cost and quality as well as find an organization that follows similar development methodologies to us.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Tapptitude helps us to develop new products and applications. They also provide operational support to maintain our existing products.

Their team provides UX/UI design services. Most of the time, they create mockups and wireframes, but we’ve also provided them. Their team develops native Android and iOS apps using Android Studio and Swift 4. They manage the projects and QA processes.

What is the team composition?

Our project manager’s our main point of contact. We interact with a pool of 6–8 team members, which depends on the project and the availability of resources.

How did you come to work with Tapptitude?

I found them through Clutch and initially contacted them because of their reviews and ratings. During our first call, I asked them a few questions about their methodologies and requested a few examples of their previous work. I chose them based on a combination of those factors. 

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent between €150,000–€200,000 (approximately $168,600–$224,800 USD) on their services.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began our partnership with Tapptitude around April 2018, and it’s ongoing.  

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

We track KPIs and review Tapptitude’s performance on a monthly basis. Overall, we’re quite happy with them.

When there’s an issue, we address it straight away. They overcome it. If there were sticking points, we wouldn’t have worked with them for this long.

Many of our client projects have a fixed price, so the accuracy of estimates is important to us. Tapptitude has been accurate in this respect, helping us with the predictability of our costs. 

Another metric is the overall delivery timelines. They’re quick to allocate resources and deliver work.

How did Tapptitude perform from a project management standpoint?

We use Slack for communication, which is quick. We manage the project using Jira. Unlike past development agencies, Tapptitude's willing to work in our environment and structure. As a part of our development team, it would've been counterproductive to have a disconnect. Their flexibility to work with our approach and project management tools is important.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Whether it’s development or UX/UI design, the quality of their work most impresses us. Their design solutions are also impressive. We throw many challenges at them, and they manage to find the perfect designs to help us deliver those services.

Are there any areas they could improve?

As a business, we always want people to work faster. Compared to other developers, Tapptitude is generally fast. But, as a business, we’re always trying to deliver quicker.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

It’s hard to give general advice. Based on our experience with them, I’d say that trusting Tapptitude’s design approach benefited us. Rather than trying to push solutions in a certain direction, trust them.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m one of the founders of a startup. Our main product is a service marketplace focused on sports, leisure, and well-being.

What challenge were you trying to address with Tapptitude?

We needed to develop a service marketplace with features that competitors didn’t have in place.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Tapptitude helped us brainstorm ideas including the concept, which guided us to an MVP. Their team helped us select features based on their know-how into what would require a greater or lesser amount of effort.

After that, they helped us through the design phase. Their team came up with mockups that featured the platform's look and features.

Then, Tapttitude developed and implemented the platform. They help us manage the marketplace, advising us on services and maintaining them such as Twilio, AWS, and Heroku.

What is the team composition?

We have a main point of contact — Ioana (Product Manager) — who is our project manager. On average, we’ve had 4–5 resources supporting this project.

How did you come to work with Tapptitude?

We found Tapptitude through Clutch.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent around $250,000 on their services.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working with Tapptitude around April 2019, and our partnership’s ongoing. If we need a specific enhancement or solution, we turn to them.

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

They earned our trust because their team built the platform properly. Their team delivered more than we initially expected. They also think outside of the box.

It’s not fair to use the outcome of the project itself to assess their work because we launched the project in a complicated moment. But I can rate their work based on the accuracy of their development estimates.

During the initial planning phase, we estimated the total cost of work and came within a 20% margin of our estimate. From this point of view, their team assessed the initial workload well. It wasn’t a closed solution, so we made changes throughout the project.

How did Tapptitude perform from a project management standpoint?

We met with them every Tuesday and Thursday. If needed, we had additional meetings during the week. We set up a ticket system, which we didn’t use often. Instead, we reached out to them via Skype. Their team quickly addressed our concerns. While it could’ve been a better approach to use the ticket system, we stuck to a more casual approach through Skype, which worked.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We appreciate the quality of their suggestions. Their knowledge of existing services in the market allows us to avoid the development of custom solutions, which saves time and money. Usually, the existing services address the problem. Their knowledge of tools and how to keep costs low is their greatest strength.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Reporting is their only area for improvement. The work was delivered reliably, but it’s important for us to see figures clearly. Luckily, we trusted them. But it would be good for them to focus on creating professional reports.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

They know how to guide and organize the engagement to reach your goals. If you want proper reports, set up those tools at the beginning of the project because it isn’t their strongest point. They tend to do more informal reporting.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We are a food delivery company, and I’m one of the co-founders and the CEO. We’re like a lot of food delivery platforms out there, but we have more of a B2B slant.

What challenge were you trying to address with Tapptitude?

We’ve worked with them for several years on various parts of our native software application.

What was the scope of their involvement?

At the beginning of the project, we sent them generic descriptions of what we wanted and they helped us come up with wireframes. Initially, it started out as an MVP for iOS. Over time, they’ve helped us build out the frontend for iOS and Android. They’ve also integrated the backend through the web, so we can access and track different things. It was predominately Node.js and React.

What is the team composition?

My main point of contact is our project manager, who has been great. We also speak to one of the co-founders and COO fairly frequently as well. the team itself consists of 6–8 people based on what we’re working on.

How did you come to work with Tapptitude?

We came across them on Clutch. We developed to a few other development agencies shortlisted on Clutch, and we’ve had several people recommend them to us. It just seemed like the best balance between technical capability, experience, and price.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent about £85,000 lbs (approximately $105,000 USD)

What is the status of this engagement?

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

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

We’ve deployed the apps, and they’ve been live for a few months. We’ve had some testing sessions where all of the feedback was overwhelmingly positive. Everything works the way it was designed to and how they promised it would. Design-wise, the feedback has been positive as well. Everyone has been happy with the outcome. It’s intuitive, easy to use, and looks the part as well.

How did Tapptitude perform from a project management standpoint?

We used Trello to monitor and manage the project. On a day-to-day basis, we used Slack to communicate with our project manager and the rest of the team as well. We had numerous phone calls with them so we were on the same page. My co-founder and I went out to meet with them in person and go over the elements of the project too.

They were great, we could always get ahold of them or schedule a call on the same day. We had absolutely no issues with deadlines. They delivered what they promised us, and if we asked for a last-minute change, they did their best to accommodate us.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The interest they took in our business and the elevel they wanted to understand our business as a whole to build a product. We found that they were the only team that we spoke to who understood what we were trying to do, while other didn’t understand what our goals were. As a result, Tapptitude was able to offer us advice which helped us build a better product.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Not really.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

What you get out of it is the same as what you put in. With Tapptidude in particular, they make a concerted effort to understand what we were doing, so as long as you portray your goals clearly, you’ll be happy with the results.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’ve recently taken part in a MedTech program at a university. Shortly, I’ll be founding a company.

What challenge were you trying to address with Tapptitude?

I was participating in a college program. It was a hackathon to challenge mental health, well-being, and happiness. My team had a lot of psychological knowledge but didn’t know how to translate that into technology.

What was the scope of their involvement?

The program was a six-month tech accelerator program that focused on getting universal academic knowledge exchanged into entrepreneurial programs. I was partnered with a psychologist, and for five months, we worked together researching university student health and well-being. We were also on grant working with the university.

Tapptitude developed a prototype for a mobile app that would be an AR game. The app functions using positive psychology interventions to foster well-being. Our product designer was multilingual, so the plan was to develop the app in multiple languages.

What is the team composition?

My point of contact was their business development manager. He had a team of developers based elsewhere, but he met with us in the UK.

How did you come to work with Tapptitude?

I attended a product discovery workshop at the college’s hackerspace in the UK. I met a company there that worked with us on product development, user experience, and flows. When we knew that we wanted to build an app, they recommended Tapptitude.

The business development manager understood the space, which is quite tricky. There had to be a good understanding of mental health and well-being. The team at Tapptitude had an exceptional understanding of what we were trying to achieve.

How much have you invested with them?

The project cost around £25,000 (approximately $32,000 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We were introduced to Tapptitude in early July, and the showcase where we presented at the college was in September 2019.

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

Tapptitude did an excellent and extraordinary job for us. Since we were presenting to a university, our primary success was the presentation. What we showed at the showcase was enough that we can take the next step in development.

This was a unique partnership because it isn’t the typical entrepreneurial journey where funds can be raised frequently. The team at Tapptitude worked well with us and our tight timeline.

How did Tapptitude perform from a project management standpoint?

At our first meeting, we explained our goals and strict deadline. Our point of contact was superb, researching the whole area before coming back with a comprehensive Google Doc with key points. This document helped align our goals. We stuck to it, and there were no issues or delays.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Coming from a non-technical background, their team did an excellent job of explaining concepts and processes to me. They weren’t condescending about it. I came with a wealth of psychology knowledge that they were enthusiastic about. Their team was excited to learn about different markets and segments.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Initially, the only issue was their invoicing, which we needed in pounds because of the university. As soon as I told them, they adapted. The team at Tapptitude was adaptable in various aspects.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Ask for their dedicated business development manager.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder of Cityhive, a residential referral platform. Our platform allows landlords or apartment owners to oboard their buildings, units, and residents to incentivize their residents to help fill vacancies.

What challenge were you trying to address with Archbolt: Venture Studio?

We needed to take our theoretical idea and turn it into a product.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Archbolt: Venture Studio developed a web app for us. Through a handful of strategy sessions, they came up with an execution and business plan. Development started from there. 

They built out our backend, which is our technological backbone, from scratch. Their team was also responsible for the frontend, including UX, graphics, design, and the overall feel. They wrote the application in HTML and CSS. Their team also used Ruby on Rails. The application platform was also linked to various third party sites.

What is the team composition?

We work directly with two members of the Archbolt: Venture Studio team. Initially, it was four or five people on the strategy and advisory side, but when we moved to the development phase, we worked with these two people.

How did you come to work with Archbolt: Venture Studio?

We found Archbolt: Venture Studio through a marketing site. They came well recommended so we contacted them. After meeting up and getting a good vibe from their pitch, we chose to work with them in the consultation phase. Eventually, we chose them to build up the project as well.

How much have you invested with them?

We have invested between $125,000–$150,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our ongoing engagement with Archbolt: Venture Studio began in July 2018.

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

The product is done and we’re going to market next week. We had as positive of an experience as it gets. We’re very happy with everything they’ve provided.

How did Archbolt: Venture Studio perform from a project management standpoint?

Archbolt: Venture Studio is professional, thorough, and organized. They send out weekly updates and communicate transparently. I couldn’t ask for a better partner on this.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their team is well rounded. They’re young which means they’re well versed in technology and understand the latest trends. Archbolt: Venture Studio is not the kind of team that just does everything you want. Just because you’re the client doesn’t mean they won’t think through your recommendations and provide better ones when necessary. Their goal is to make sure you’re producing the best product. If that means they have to push back on certain ideas to find better solutions, they will. We appreciate their honesty and candor. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, we’re happy with everything. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

If you want to develop a product and need a consultation advisory as well as development work, I would reach out to Archbolt: Venture Studio before you do anything.