TheAppLabb

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder of a startup called MEL Nursing Review, with MEL being short for Modular Education Learning. My web app helps practical and registered nurses prepare for the NCLEX (official licensing exam).

What challenge were you trying to address with TheAppLabb?

I already had a solution in place, but it didn’t reach the standard I wanted; the concept hadn’t been executed correctly. I wanted a practice test that resembled the experience of the licensing exam as closely as possible.

What was the scope of their involvement?

While I initially wanted a mobile app, TheAppLabb ended up building a responsive website instead. They took me through the entire process, as I come from the academic world and not the tech world.

The site features three types of exams, and users have to achieve 100% on each before moving on to the next. The final test is closest to the actual licensing exam and uses a similar algorithm.

What is the team composition?

The person I initially coordinated with was nice, knowledgeable, and taught me a lot. Another team member took over the project after everything was built and helped me with troubleshooting and quality control.

How did you come to work with TheAppLabb?

I found them on a list of Top 10 Companies in Toronto for tech development. We considered two other companies, but I felt comfortable with Kundan (Founder and CEO, TheAppLabb) and his crew, including Chetan (Senior Product Manager, TheAppLabb), the programmers, and the UI designer. 

How much have you invested with them?

The initial proposal was $50,000, but there was a $20,000 startup discount. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked with TheAppLabb from May until August 2017. It took another year to attach the payment module and get it to work well. We’ve also made some other changes and tweaks.

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

I haven’t yet launched, but I’ve beta tested with nursing students and received positive feedback. The platform is of excellent quality. Someone who runs a nursing job fair looked at it and was very pleased. I’m planning to open my brand to help nurses address anxiety and find jobs after graduation.

Kundan also suggested that I go to Founder Institute events to learn about the tech and business worlds; it was the best advice I could’ve received. From the first week there, I learned how to pivot toward and incorporate more things into my web app—namely, addressing the job recruitment process. This led me into a full rebrand as I decide how to help students from the time they’re in school preparing for exams to when they’re out looking for a job.

How did TheAppLabb perform from a project management standpoint?

Everyone from the finance person to the UI designer was accessible if I needed to talk. I could request to sit down with any of them, even without an appointment. I’m not sure whether other tech companies would have been this supportive. They answered everything I asked, which I liked because I was constantly unsure of myself.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They were supportive and respectful of someone not familiar with tech terminology, work, and processes. TheAppLabb treated me, an older client not intimately familiar with the tech world, in an exemplary way.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Codifying their processes and giving me something I could review for homework would've been good. It’s difficult to visualize all the steps from signing a proposal until the final delivery. This way, I would've known what things were going to look like, what wireframes were, and so on.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the COO and CIO for Caary Capital. We do credit cards for small businesses. I started this company about a year back, and I partially own it.

What challenge were you trying to address with TheAppLabb?

We’re utilizing TheAppLabb's capabilities for a UX/UI design.

What was the scope of their involvement?

I've worked with TheAppLabb a few times before. This time, it has been a more extensive engagement because it's a brand new company. We initially bought a few hours with TheAppLabb for an exploratory phase. When we were both comfortable with the deliverables, they engaged 5–7 people on the project.

We worked with those people on brainstorming and UX/UI design for three months straight. After three months, we designed another application, login pages, and a mobile application for Android and iOS.

Now, we’re working on the product, which is a money movement service. It's for B2B payments, and they’re designing the UX/UI for it.

What is the team composition?

We have 5–7 people on the team. There are two UX designers, two UI designers, and a technical architect.

There’s also a project manager, and the other two guys are also consultants on the technology.

How did you come to work with TheAppLabb?

I've known the owner for 15 years; he's very personable. I could’ve given this contract to anyone, but I settled on TheAppLabb because they were very flexible in their thinking and competitive from a cost point of view.

Additionally, I had experience as an executive at big banks, so I used to deal with many consultants. They were very stringent in the way they were. I hated that they usually tried to convince us if they didn’t get their way, so they ended up doing what they wanted anyway. Also, most of their decisions were based on how much more money they could make off of us.

Whereas with TheAppLabb, it was like talking to a colleague. They didn't want to make gauges to extort money or extend the contract. They had a solid, deliverable methodology. We’ve worked together, and they're very congenial.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent around $100,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began our partnership in July 2020, and it's still ongoing. The main deliverables are done, but we’re in the touches.

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

We're launching the platform in phases. The first launch is just for friends and family. We’ll have better feedback when we launch in public in three months, but now it’s only with five companies.

How did TheAppLabb perform from a project management standpoint?

Everything has gone well, and all the designs have been done in time. Even with the changes, they’ve been great at management.

In the beginning,  we used to come up with a new idea and let them know so they’d change it on the fly. In that sense, the turnaround time, team management, and overall design have been great.

In terms of communication, we had five to six-hour sessions every day when we were designing the logo. The initial plan was to sit down in the office and do a whiteboard session, but we had to scale it back due to COVID-19. Therefore, we couldn't work in person, but online meetings worked out well.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They're very flexible in their approach. In most of the companies I used to work with, once you signed an NDA, they tracked the scope to the beat. Any small deviation, they’d jump all over it and start charging money. Whereas with TheAppLabb, it’s an easy conversation. Even if we’re changing a design after it's done, they don’t start yelling and screaming.

Secondly, they’re great at finding the right resources for the team. Every time we’ve gone to them, they’ve been able to quickly provide us the right resources with the proper context, which helps us deliver on time. Additionally, they’re pretty cost-competitive as well.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don't see anything to improve; they're doing a good job.

Any advice for potential customers?

Engage them all in your thinking process. Don’t think in isolation, and go back with a design or development code. Also, the earlier the engagement, the better the outcome will be because the more they understand, the more they can provide you with better feedback and pricing.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I work for a national airport parking provider.          

What challenge were you trying to address with The AppLabb?

We were developing a consumer-facing native mobile app for our business. The app ran on iOS and Android.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Our team provided the objectives, user experience, and functionalities we wanted for the mobile app. We also provided them with information on our user base, as in what type of traveler was using the service. However, they developed the wireframes and a prototype of the app. They also determined the scope of the project by mapping out each functionality.

It was developed concurrently in each of the native environments (iOS and Android). The app allowed users to make a parking spot reservation. Consumers could park and pick up their vehicle from the app using a geofencing system. They did not have to come into the office or contact us.

What is the team composition?

We worked with Kundan (CEO, The AppLabb) and his team.

How did you come to work with The AppLabb?

We went through an RFP process, shortlisting a number of developers. We thought they were nimble and provided the best value in terms of output and cost. Our company needed a more boutique-style developer, which is what they were offering. After the interview process, we felt they were the right fit for us.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project began in October 2016 and ended in early 2019. We’ve paused the development process to get more data, and we’ll reinvest in the app later.

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

They delivered on what our expectations were. The app functions according to what was intended. The app has received positive feedback.

How did The AppLabb perform from a project management standpoint?

They were good at meeting deadlines and used Jira to communicate.

What did you find most impressive about them?

From a leadership perspective, I found that they were easily accessible. Kundan (CEO, TheAppLabb) still made time to be part of the project, which was refreshing. I’m sure he has many different projects, so I was appreciative of that. That’s the core strength of their organization.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, not really.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Companies should have a clear scope and understanding going into the project.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I founded eQuo in 2018 as a platform built for entrepreneurs, investors and lenders to connect with one another, based on qualified data and mutually aligned interests and criteria. eQuo creates a unique global marketplace connecting entrepreneurs, talent and investors to the resources they need, when they need them. eQuo is the first distributed marketplace that allows resources to be aligned so entrepreneurs and stakeholders can connect efficiently and productively to the financial capital, human capital, knowledge, customers, technology or other resources they need within the ecosystem. How? Investors and lenders receive pre-qualified leads that decrease the fire hose of applicants who don’t meet the general qualification factors required for consideration.

For what projects/services did your company hire TheAppLabb?

To build the software platform, assist with the development of the algorithms and AI and to help build the tech stack and related functions.

What were your goals for this project?

To create a platform capable of generating our Alpha of 10,000 users and able to scale beyond hundreds of thousands of users. To also have a working platform that was able to have unique IP in our core matching criteria through data tagging and AI.

How did you select this vendor?

There was a tender where we evaluated five companies, including theAppLabb. After initial presentations and several meetings, their team had the deepest understanding of the project, our purpose and how to complete the project.

Kundan was also very well connected to the target market we were addressing and was extremely helpful in working toward setting up meetings and opening doors for partnerships. The team was incredibly passionate about what we were doing and was the clear winner.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

Everything from project management, design, UI/UX and front and back end tech services. Additionally, they were very good collaborating in the development of the project, prioritizing and helping lead the articulation of the features and documentation.

What was the team composition?

A variety of people including project management, strategy, design, and technical services. All together there were up to ten people working on the development at any given time.

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

They have been a tremendous partner who have worked through difficulties collaboratively as well as assisting the team through coaching and mentorship. All in all, they were responsible for many key partner meetings with sponsors, investors and community builders.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

Very good with documentation and an effective use of key software such as invision and slack for questions and feedback.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Their passion for our business and how they over-reached in working side by side with us to realize our vision. They were part of our team, not a vendor. They truly cared about what we were doing and were very reliable as a key partner.

Are there any areas for improvement?

There are always areas for improvement, in their team and ours. We always talked through it and found a plan that worked for everyone.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the CEO of Oeno. We are a tech operation that provides wine and beer country tour services combined with payment processing capabilities.

What challenge were you trying to address with TheAppLabb?

We started this app about four and a half years ago and were met with more success than we were qualified to handle. We took the app offline and we needed some pros to come in and give it a facelift.

What was the scope of their involvement?

TheAppLabb redeveloped a mobile app for us. Their team also consulted on our ideas and formats, including on our UX design and coding. Our team provided the majority of the mockups and wireframes. We originally had only an iOS app but plan on releasing a cross-platform app. Eventually, we plan on migrating the platform to a web app. 

The app contains profiles on the different wineries in the area where users could go and learn about each winery. Users can see which wineries are closest to them using geolocation and how far away they are to decide where to go. The app also allows users to make purchases at festivals and wineries. 

What is the team composition?

I had one main point of contact at TheAppLabb.

How did you come to work with TheAppLabb?

A partner of mine was familiar with TheAppLabb and brought them to the table.

How much have you invested with them?

We have invested between $25,000–$30,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our ongoing engagement began in August 2017.

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

While the app is still in development, I’m happy with the work TheAppLabb has done so far. We often dump very aggressive timelines on these guys and they work their fingers to the bone to make sure they don’t let us down. And to this day, they haven’t. 

How did TheAppLabb perform from a project management standpoint?

Everything has been pretty good. We primarily communicate through email. I’m lucky that I live an hour away from their office, so if there’s a fire burning or a new initiative, I get up there to meet them face to face. We get in front of our blackboard and we map out everything. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

TheAppLabb goes the extra mile to make sure we get what we need when we need it. Their work ethic impressed us. They also have impressive after-sales service. When we have an important life event, these guys are always available and make sure we have support. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I don’t have any complaints.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

In this sector, you need to understand your capabilities and your direction. Understanding how these companies work, their rates and structure before you go in for initial meetings is helpful.

Introduce your business and what you do there. 

I’m the CEO of a digital real estate company that’s reinventing the way individuals find their dream homes. We’re focused on working to broker new sales opportunities with real estate developers as well as other high-profile property launches at a fraction of the cost by using technology.

What challenge were you trying to address with TheAppLabb? 

We engaged TheAppLabb to reconfigure the frontend of our MVP mobile application, looking at its UI/UX capabilities to facilitate the end user experience. Since we wanted to expand our offering from pre-construction to include rental and resale opportunities, we also needed support with market research.

What was the scope of their involvement? 

TheAppLabb initially helped us build out and expand our app’s service lines by conducting extensive market research. We needed to understand how to best position our solution to reach the appropriate target audience, which involved defining who our customers were, understanding what mattered to them, and identifying our end users’ pain points during the pre-construction sales process.

In addition to assessing the marketplace, they performed surveys and visited numerous sales offices to meet with property developers. They then presented their findings, detailing their recommendations for product features and UX capabilities. The team went through the same process to design the rental version of our app.

After going over their results, we relied on them to develop a UI design for our app. They created unique UI elements that would help our end users easily navigate the pre-construction transaction process. The final deliverables included an implementation roadmap, workflows, and UX elements for a new preconstruction app as well as assets for a new rental app. 

What is the team composition?  

Their lead UX consultant served as our main point of contact, but we also worked with a few business analysts and designers. There were about 4–5 resources dedicated to our project at any given time.

How did you come to work with TheAppLabb? 

We found them through a referral. One of our board members had mentored the CEO beforehand and felt that it would be a good opportunity for us to work with them.

How much have you invested with them? 

We spent between $25,000–$30,000 in total. 

What is the status of this engagement?

The project lasted from November 2018–February 2019.
 

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

TheAppLabb’s user story creation and market research have generated a lot of value beyond the initial scope. We now have a better understanding of who our customers are, which has helped us educate ourselves on some of the marketing we’re doing. Based on their information, we’ve defined our long-term marketing roadmap and are able to visualize our strategy, as well.

As for the UX/UI elements, Our backend team still has to create the service before we implement their deliverables, but we really liked the designs. They created several new features and provided a roadmap, which has helped us coordinate a development pipeline as we expand our solution.

How did TheAppLabb perform from a project management standpoint?

Overall, the documentation, communication cadence, and deliverables were great. However, they could’ve been more transparent during the week-over-week status reporting, and the actual communication was a bit long-winded. The team provided valid information, but having more conclusion-driven reports would’ve been helpful.

What did you find most impressive about them? 

What set them apart was their commitment to going above and beyond. Even when we just gave them a small requirement, they would approach the task by applying their own experiences. They really sought to add value beyond our initial scope rather than being just a service provider.

Besides that, they had an agile team that was equally as adaptable as our own. We’re a startup, so things tend to change quickly, and we need a vendor that can keep up with us. TheAppLabb was able to remain flexible, helping us adjust and set new requirements wherever we saw fit.

Are there any areas they could improve?

While we liked their deliverables, they could’ve improved on some of their verbal communication. I was trying to create a single product team by having our developers and their resources work together consistently. However, we ran into some challenges because I always had to relay their messages to my team rather than them directly speaking to the relevant individual. 

Focusing on how they treat their clients is key if they want to appeal to a mass market. Their current communication style is a bit robotic, which makes them feel more like an outsourced arm rather than an integrated part of our team. By engaging the human aspects of the project, they’d have a better experience relaying challenges, concerns, and week-over-week progress. It’s just one of the small things that one might expect from a larger shop, especially when considering long-term partnerships.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I co-founded a startup. It was a mobile app that facilitates local e-commerce transactions and connects people to various tasks. Those tasks range from tutoring services, maid and food delivery, restaurant reviews, and piano lessons.

If users found opportunities, they would apply, and the person who posted the task would pick whoever they felt was the right fit. After the job is completed, users leave reviews for each other.

What challenge were you trying to address with TheAppLabb?

We hired TheAppLabb to develop our mobile application.

What was the scope of their involvement?

My co-founder and I provided the requirements, the use cases, and vision, and then TheAppLabb team provided development and QA services. Their team developed our native iOS mobile application from scratch.

We wanted our own database structure that linked to the app. Their team provided all the work, but we offered our inputs at the final sign off.

What is the team composition?

Our primary contact was Kundan (Founder & CEO, TheAppLabb) who acted as our project manager. Their development team worked onshore and offshore. We also worked with one of their QA leads.

How did you come to work with TheAppLabb?

We were looking for a company close to Toronto. After looking at a variety of options, TheAppLabb came up with an excellent proposal.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent $50,000 CAD (approximately $37,472 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked with TheAppLabb between January and August 2014.

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

TheAppLabb provided a service beyond our expectations. A lot of hard work was put in by their team, and they met every deadline we set. The feedback was phenomenal, and we’re satisfied with what we received.

How did TheAppLabb perform from a project management standpoint?

We were dedicated to making sure the project management services were running smoothly. It was a pleasure to work with TheAppLabb’s accommodating team. A lot of situations went back and forth, and their team worked with us. They became part of our extended team.

They were upfront and approachable, making sure to communicate any challenges or issues. Their team was clear and transparent, which benefitted our business significantly. We knew the project was in good hands with TheAppLabb.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their work speed and communication style were all impressive.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, there are none that I can think of.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder of iMosque, a service that provides a congregational prayer calendar for mosques throughout Canada.

What challenge were you trying to address with TheAppLabb?

If someone wanted to pray at a mosque, they had to either call each mosque or go to their website to find the information. I needed a partner to build an app that would aggregate all that information into one location.

What was the scope of their involvement?

TheAppLabb started from scratch, building an iOS, Android, and web app. They used MySQL for the backend database to store all the information, Swift for the iOS app, C++ and Java for the Android app, and Ruby on Rails for the web app. We collaborated on the UX and design, iterating numerous versions of the general idea I had. They then built the wireframes and software requirements specifications docs, following my concept.

The app has a database of all the daily prayer times for the mosques that participate in our program. Users can access the app for free and know, within four seconds, where they can pray in congregation.

What is the team composition?

I mainly interact with the project manager, but I work with the developers when we review code.

How did you come to work with TheAppLabb?

This is my fourth attempt at building this app. None of my other partners delivered a viable product. I met TheAppLabb’s owner at a networking event, and they put together a plan for my project, so I hired them.

How much have you invested with them?

I’ve spent around $10,000–$50,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

Phase 1 lasted from February 2017–June 2018.

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

They converted my vision to reality, accomplishing something that three other developers couldn’t. We aren’t live yet because I still want to add a few features, but our beta testers have given generally positive feedback. They can access prayer times all in one spot in a visually-appealing format.

How did TheAppLabb perform from a project management standpoint?

The communication wasn’t perfect, but it met expectations. We had to clearly set goals to avoid scope creep and other issues. We mainly used Jira and phone calls to communicate.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The owner is fantastic and makes sure his clients are happy. He ensured I got what we agreed on.

Are there any areas they could improve?

The project manager quit during the middle of the project, and the transition to the new one was a bit rough. They could’ve been better at more clearly walking us through their process. However, they went out of their way to make sure I was satisfied.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am CXO at a digital agency in Montreal.

For what projects/services did your company hire TheAppLabb, and what were your goals?

Our client requested a partner to help develop a mobile app to act as an extension of their Shopify store. As our firm does no mobile app development, we leveraged the services of TheAppLabb.

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

We evaluated a number of firms in consideration for this project, but found that their flexibility and comprehension of our phased approach to scope were the deciding factors. Plus, Kundan has great suits.

Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and technologies used.

Prior to engagement, we had an extensive discovery phase to make sure all details of the scope of the project were captured. Once agreed upon, the firm provided an estimate of effort and timeline. The process followed a typical software development lifecycle, where we reviewed iterations of functionality until complete. The QA cycle allowed us to actively test the integration with existing systems, and then TheAppLabb handled submissions to app stores.

How many resources from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

The team consisted of a Product Owner, Project Manager, Business Analyst, and a number of Software Developers.

Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables?

When we look for a partner to enhance our offering, it has to be someone who ultimately makes us look good. We had a great relationship with TheAppLabb and would engage them again.

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timeliness.

Weekly updates were communicated via email, and additionally a weekly status call allowed us to discuss dependencies and risks.

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

Their efficiency is the most impressive attribute of the team. Their out of the box thinking comes in close second.

Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?

Nothing to add here.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the founder and CEO of an online mortgage marketplace business.

For what projects/services did your company hire TheAppLabb, and what were your goals?

We hired the AppLabb to develop a mobile app and a web app for our business. We are a start-up and they designed and developed our app. We wanted a user friendly customer interface that allows a user to obtain financing quickly and easily online.

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

We searched for developers in Toronto and ended up with a shortlist of 3. We chose the AppLabb due to their expertise, competitive pricing and deep talent bench.

Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and technologies used.

The scope of the work was essentially to develop a web app, an iOS app and a back office workbench for agents and underwriters. We started with a discovery meeting to evaluate our goals and objectives and begin to set the project plan. The we conducted UX analysis and strategy. This lead to a product roadmap including user stories and documentation. Our first sprint was a design sprint and system architecture was evaluated concurrently. This then lead to refinements and a scheduled sprint process for development.

How many people from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

There were project managers, UX designers, developers and others on the team. I do not know how many.

Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables?

We have launched our online business and the web app and iOS app are functioning well.

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timeliness.

I am the wrong person to answer this question.

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

Their team is always open, honest, and accessible. They are able to solve problems and help us find solutions to technical challenges.

Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?

Nothing comes to mind.