Twin Sun

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I oversee marketing and partnerships at my company. We are a biotech/pharmaceutical data vendor.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

Twin Sun was hired to build and manage our website.

SOLUTION

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

We selected Twin Sun through an interview process. They are also local to our headquarters.

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

Twin Sun manages our website in a very consultative manner. They have handled the ongoing updates flawlessly.

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

We have one primary point of contact who holds a leadership role within their company.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We have received numerous laudatory comments on the design of our website. The Twin Sun team has been a seamless integration into our own operations.

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

The typical scope of work entails updating contents on pages on an ad hoc basis. Every now and then we will overhaul the design of the site to include new products. Every step of the way, Twin Sun has been easy to work with while providing a top-quality product.

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

Their expertise in WordPress is noteworthy. My team members are not experts in web design or development whatsoever. The Twin Sun team makes it easy for us to tell them all of our ideas and they turn around and turn it into an easily digestible format for viewers.

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

Not really. Any issues we have encountered with the website, the Twin Sun team has been responsive and quick to fix. No complaints at all.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am a Partner at Nibble Technologies. We specialize in integration and API management services and software.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We've worked with Twin Sun on 3 different projects all in the DoD and Federal space. While my company specializes in integration and API management software, we do not typically have available resources who specialize in UI/UX type work. We were able to partner with Twin Sun to fill this gap and to provide our customers with an excellent product from top, down.

SOLUTION

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

The management of Twin Sun was known by a mutual business colleague and came highly recommended. Over the course of several remote conversations I was able to get to know Dave L. and Chris W. and was impressed with their knowledge of the industry as well experience with past project work.

After interviewing several resources I felt that the Twin Sun employees were the best fit for our customer, especially given the background that they had with Federal and DoD customers.

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

All of the projects we worked with Twin Sun on involved custom web applications helping create a singular customer view of numerous and disparate datasets. The web applications had a large API layer that was exposed in some cases using React and in another case using Angular.

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

We have worked with 4 different resources over the course of our different projects. We generally described the resources as full-stack web developers and I would categorize their experience as ranging from Junior all the way up to Principal/Architect levels.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

On our first project we were able to deliver a full-featured, fully functional, production web application in less than 5 months with only 4 developers in total, one of which was Dave Lane from Twin Sun. With very informal requirements from the customer, we were able to guide them from conception, through architectural decisions and all the way through implementation and release.

The release was a resounding success and the customer could not have been more pleased with the work. Since the initial launch, the site has gone through two subsequent revisions and is used by 100's of employees within a large Federal Agency.

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

We engaged Twin Sun as staff augmentation on multiple projects so the project management responsibilities were largely driven by ourselves or the end customer. Regardless of the PM style or tooling however, Twin Sun resources proved themselves capable and flexible to adapt to the cadence and style of the customer.

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

Their technical expertise was both wide and deep. Every new technical challenge was rapidly researched and resolved, even if the "ask" happened to be outside of the list of technologies the resource had previously worked with. They're incredibly smart-resources who can get the job done.

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

The only thing I wish I would have done sooner is met Twin Sun :)

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the marketing director for Alternative Capital Solutions. Our company parents over other companies, and we are a non-bank commercial loan lender. We cater to different types of commercial real estate businesses, helping clients who were not able to secure a loan from banks. 

We have a newly launched brand called the Commercial Broker Playbook, for which I am also the marketing director. It is a subscriber-based learning platform for commercial lending brokers.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Twin Sun?

We hired Twin Sun to build the actual Commercial Broker Playbook itself.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Twin Sun utilized Moodle to build the e-learning platform. The team customized the website, uploaded all of the educational material, integrated a Stripe payment gateway, and built a dashboard where we could view how our students were progressing. They also built the platform in a way that ensures there is no overlap of content between the three different subscription tiers and that our content, videos, and materials were secure and not easily corruptible. 

Apart from building the platform, Twin Sun also developed a landing page where prospective customers could learn more and sign up for a subscription. The team even taught us how to onboard new students and process payments through Stripe. 

What is the team composition?

Caleb (Founder & Partner) and Chris (President) were our initial contacts prior to working with Dane (Marketing Development), Caitlin (Designer), Jack (Senior Software Engineer), and Jeremy (Software Engineer).

How did you come to work with Twin Sun?

We were considering working with another company, but their price was a bit out of our range. That’s when I reached out to Caleb, who I’ve actually known personally for years now. We met and went over the project details. I really liked their proposal and their suggestions in some areas, so we decided to go from there.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent $60,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working together in April 2021. The platform was launched last October 2021, and we plan to do some updates in Spring 2022.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I don’t have any metrics, but I had a very smooth working relationship with Twin Sun. They were always very quick to help. We appreciate that they really tried to grant our wishes, but that they set realistic expectations and presented real-world examples. Their honesty helped us decide on which goals to pursue and what that would entail.

On top of that, Twin Sun rolled the whole thing out fairly quickly. The platform itself has not run into any sort of issues since its launch.

How did Twin Sun perform from a project management standpoint?

They did really well and were always checking in on us to see how things were going or if we needed anything to be moved around for a timely launch. We spoke at least once a week, and they typically gave a good overview of the project’s progress. 

We typically communicated via email, video calls, and Confluence.

What did you find most impressive about them?

What stood out about Twin Sun was their willingness to work within certain budgets. They are a very friendly team and they work together like a family, which, in turn, made us feel comfortable having them as a partner. They not only had the ability to work quickly, but they also had quality people on their team.

I also liked that I did not need to shuffle through different people and explain things to everybody. I was faced with the same people every time, which speaks to their consistency.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I can’t think of anything negative about them. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Maintain a conversational relationship with Twin Sun. They are people that you can talk to about anything, whether it’s about your worries or about your struggle to choose between options in the project. It's important to reach out to them if you have any questions because software development involves so many steps. Keeping open lines of communication with be a good idea for anyone.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the executive director of Objective Zero Foundation. We’re a tech nonprofit using mobile and web-based app technologies to connect the military and veteran community to peer support and mental health resources in an effort to combat suicide.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Twin Sun?

We hired Twin Sun to work on mobile and web app development.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Twin Sun has built our native apps on Android and iOS, and they’ve developed our web app based on our mobile apps. We use Twilio products, too. Moreover, they’ve created new integrations into our apps, including automatic features. The team has also helped refactor our messaging and code errors. On top of that, they help us with project management, UI/UX design, and everything else included in mobile app development projects. 

What is the team composition?

We work with 3–4 people from Twin Sun. Two of them have leadership roles in the company, and they help us with budgeting, SOWs, and others. The rest include developers and designers. 

How did you come to work with Twin Sun?

We were referred to Twin Sun by our previous developer who could no longer handle the amount of work we did. That previous developer worked with Twin Sun in the past. They knew that the team had the skills to keep our development going, building upon what was started. On top of that, Twin Sun was familiar with the technology that we were using. As a result, we hired them. 

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent between $100,000–$150,000. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Twin Sun in January 2020, and the partnership is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Since we’ve worked with Twin Sun, we’ve seen a noticeable increase in our user base. Apart from app users, we also have volunteers supporting other users through text, voice, and video chat. In 2020, we’ve seen a 40% increase in app users and a 45% increase in our volunteer base. 

Moreover, the Twin Sun team has decreased the time it takes to connect a user to a volunteer through voice, video, or text. Usability, security, and privacy have also improved. Our recent program evaluation has shown that 100% of the users we’ve surveyed feel safe and that their privacy is respected when using the app. 

Further, Twin Sun resources are quick to respond to app crashes or bugs. If I share a problem that our users experience, they quickly address the issue. Apart from that, their communication is clear, so I understand where the issues lie and what fixes are being made even if I’m not a tech person. I also get updates along the way; when they implement a fix on the app’s backend, they let me know when it’s submitted to the App Store or Google Play. Overall, they always keep me informed at every step of the process. 

How did Twin Sun perform from a project management standpoint?

I’ve had zero problems with projects going over budget. Twin Sun has done a great job at providing a buffer so that we don’t go over our budget on our projects. For context, the team suggests techniques to enhance the app many times along the way. As a result, we add more work to make the app better in terms of usability. In other words, their resources do a great job of anticipating issues that may arise during the project, so they put those in the budget. 

To communicate, we use Jira, Confluence, and emails. We do weekly check-ins over Google Meet. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Twin Sun’s communication is absolutely superb. We’ve worked with other development teams in the past, and those people are highly technical. As a result, they aren’t always clear in their process. By contrast, Twin Sun relays the process of app development to us clearly even if we don’t have any technical skills — this sets them apart. No other developer I’ve worked with has broken down their technical language in the way that Twin Sun does. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, there aren’t any. They’ve been a truly fantastic resource for us, and we’re a better organization with better services and impact because of them. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Clearly communicate the product that you want. This is crucial for the Twin Sun team to understand how they can best support your needs and project. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder and owner of Unger Software Consulting. We’re a software development agency, providing software and design services. I offer mobile application and web development solutions that support the entire software lifecycle.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Twin Sun?

They’re basically overflow resources for the company. They take on projects that I don’t have the capacity to do by myself.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We’ve partnered on several projects during which Twin Sun provided additional development and management resources. We completed several projects and have several active projects. Their team has worked on Android, iOS, and Java development projects. They also assisted with AWS work.

What is the team composition?

On a regular basis, I work with about 2–3 individuals at a time. Over the lifetime of our relationship, I’ve probably worked with 6–8 of their employees.

How did you come to work with Twin Sun?

I had a previous relationship with the founders of Twin Sun because we previously worked together at a company. After leaving the company, we maintained relationships with one another.

How much have you invested with them?

We just passed $220,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working together in July 2019, and our relationship’s ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’ve partnered on projects that neither one of us could’ve managed on our own. They’re excellent technological generalists with many skills. Their team learns how to be successful on any given project, which the quality of their work reflects.

Twin Sun takes the time to figure out how to make our projects successful. Their team takes the time to be successful because they want to build a long-term relationship. The quality of what they produce is important to developing that relationship.

How did Twin Sun perform from a project management standpoint?

We mostly use Slack which is a convenient way for all of us to correspond because we’re computer oriented and distributed. They’re effective at talking about what’s happening with the project. Their team’s thoughtful with their feedback.

They respond to deadlines well too. Twin Sun won’t commit to a project that they can’t accomplish. Rather than scramble and do a poor job, their team would rather say that a timeline’s unrealistic.  

What did you find most impressive about them?

Twin Sun’s intentional about how they conduct business. They’re honest about their strengths and areas for growth. We have a lot of trust.

In our relationship, I'm reaching outside of my organization for resources. Ultimately, the product has my name on it, so it’s my reputation at stake. I trust that they’ll help me to be successful with projects because they want to work on future projects. Twin Sun focuses on maximizing a long-term relationship for long-term returns.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I didn’t experience challenges specific to Twin Sun. The challenges we faced related to the nature of agency type development. By nature, they have multiple projects to schedule at a time. It would be lovely if they could drop everything and work exclusively on my projects.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

When hiring an agency, it’s important to have a clear understanding of what you want to accomplish. Twin Sun can help to refine your ideas too. However, if your goals are fuzzy, your criteria for success will also be fuzzy.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder of a company that develops mobile technology to help people be more present during their day. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Twin Sun?

Twin Sun built a web-enabled app.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They essentially developed a website that users can access on mobile devices. When a user turns their phone facedown, a timer starts counting down from two minutes. Once the timer goes off, they can turn their phones back over. It’s a way to help people get off of their screens.

How did you come to work with Twin Sun?

I knew one of the founders, Caleb (CFO & Mobile Developer). 

How much have you invested with them?

It was about $5,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project was from June–July 2019. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Twin Sun did a terrific job in terms of quality. I needed a beta version, so nothing too fancy, but the app looked and worked great. I was super happy with that. 

They also did a great job of working with all of the different types of browsers and phones. Only certain phones allow access to their accelerometer, since the phone needs to know where it’s positioned and whether the phone is turned over or not for the app to work. 

How did Twin Sun perform from a project management standpoint?

They did terrifically. They kept me informed throughout the entire process, and they met their deadlines.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Brainstorming with them at the very beginning when we were outlining the project was enjoyable. It was also great to work with them through any hurdles I didn’t foresee; they were very flexible.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No.

Any advice for potential customers?

I encourage them to hire Twin Sun and start a conversation.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the e-commerce manager of a furniture and appliance rent-to-own company with 110 stores called Rent One.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Twin Sun?

Rent One built their e-commerce platform on a program called October, which isn’t found in the majority of retail environments. As a rent-to-own transaction’s different than a retail transaction, we built a custom program and then lost our programmer of 14 years.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Twin Sun learned the program that we wanted to use, October. Once acclimated, their team began to work on many different projects in the funnel.

At one point, they worked with our SEO team. Their team solved issues with the movement of information and customer-facing issues. Currently, they’re working to solve employee issues.

They have full access to the front- and backend of our e-commerce platform. Their team’s cleaning up the product to make it better.

What is the team composition?

I primarily work with Chris (Business Development & UI/UX Design). Dave (Technology Development) dug into the program and figured out that he could help us.

How did you come to work with Twin Sun?

I found them through word of mouth because Knoxville, Tennessee isn’t a terribly large town. I initially reached out to a local company that had no interest in working with October but recommended Twin Sun. I called Chris and the rest is history.

When I first worked with Twin Sun, I was director of advertising for a company of 42 furniture and appliance rent-to-own stores. In that role, I worked with them for about a year. As I knew Twin Sun from this position, I tapped them to step in and help us.

How much have you invested with them?

On this project, we’ve spent somewhere in the neighborhood of $40,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

This engagement started in May 2020, and it’s ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Twin Sun was willing to acclimate themselves to our program, which was major. No other vendor wanted to do that. 

When you’re dealing with an e-commerce platform, you measure a project's success by whether or not the product works. When you make a change to a website function, it has to be spot on. Twin Sun understands our ideas and puts them into a functional solution.

They’re willing to partner with us in our approach to projects. We’re able to combine our knowledge and work towards a profitable solution together.

How did Twin Sun perform from a project management standpoint?

We communicate via email, but they’re willing to accommodate their customers. Chris and I text and video chat. Their communication and ability to meet deadlines are fantastic. They’re so great that I asked my new company to believe in Twin Sun, and we keep going back. That’s a testament to their team.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I’m most impressed by their diligence. Their commonsense approach is why we continue to work with them.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, it’s oddly enough been perfect.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Know what you want. You can’t expect a company to give you what you want if you don’t know what that is. Do your homework and prepare for conversations. Good customers create good partnerships. It’s important to keep communication channels open.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder and owner of Artful Agenda. It’s a web-based calendar application, and we’re currently developing corresponding iOS and Android mobile versions. Users can customize their calendars with stylish skins, covers, stickers, and fonts. Basically, we take the creative aspect of paper planners and implement them on a digital calendar.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Twin Sun?

We’d invested a good sum with a developer, but their team started to miss deadlines and go over their estimates as we moved through the project. The relationship went downhill fast, so I took the code they’d finished and started looking for a new development agency.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We brought in Twin Sun to get us back on track after the negative experience with the previous vendor. They used the code we had to recreate the website as it was before we switched vendors and analyzed the work. After fixing all of the problems that arose, the Twin Sun team continued with the development, delivering an MVP for us to launch on the market. Their work included a lot of custom coding with JavaScript and PHP technology, setting up connections with iOS, Google, and Outlook APIs, and integrating various calendars and additional functionalities. After the website was finished, they modified the UI design to make it mobile friendly.

They helped us beta test the website and made any changes that we requested. Then, we started working on the iOS and Android mobile applications. Currently, there developing those versions and still providing support for the web-based platform.

What is the team composition?

I worked with the project manager, the main developer, and about three other resources.

How did you come to work with Twin Sun?

Our UI designer had been friends with the Twin Sun project manager for a while. As our relationship with our previous developer worsened, he encouraged me to get quotes from other vendors to finish the project. I spoke with three companies in total, one of which was Twin Sun. Their team was comfortable working with the code we had and showed genuine excitement about the project. Additionally, they offered a fixed rate for the project, which we appreciated.

How much have you invested with them?

So far, I’ve spent between $90,000–$100,000 on their services.

What is the status of this engagement?

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

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Before working with Twin Sun, my platform’s interface wasn’t functional, and it didn’t reflect our envisioned design. There were multiple broken links and bugs—it was disastrous. The Twin Sun team came in and immediately got us back on track, then expertly built out the rest of the site. Any time we run into an issue, they quickly fix it. Our users praise the web platform. So far, the iOS and Android versions seem to be headed in the same positive direction in terms of their look, feel, and functionality.

How did Twin Sun perform from a project management standpoint?

Project management is one of their most notable strengths. The team is consistently professional and transparent. They go above and beyond to assure a smooth and stress-free experience on my end. The Twin Sun team is very timely, finishing their work before the estimated completion date. Whenever I come to them with questions or suggestions, they respond promptly.

When we were working exclusively on the web app, we used Jira to track our progress. I could log in and see what they were currently working on at any point. Now, we use Critic to share support tickets with their team. Otherwise, we communicate through email with occasional in-person meetings to discuss new contracts or plans.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re very respectful and consistently go out of their way to meet all of my needs and requirements. I trust that they always have my best interests in mind.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, it’s been a positive experience so far.

Any advice for potential customers?

Clients should know what they want before partnering with Twin Sun. Because I clearly communicated what I wanted from the start, their team was able to deliver exactly what I was looking for. It’s been a very smooth process.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the owner of a nightlife mobile app called Niteplug.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Twin Sun?

I reached out to Twin Sun to take my idea and bring it to life. They developed our app for iOS and Android and helped launch it to the App Store.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Twin Sun provided full-cycle development services, from the scope and business requirements to the design, development, and production. I gave them my functionality specs, and they built the app for iOS and Android using a cross-platform tool. We’ve just launched the iOS version to the App Store.

What is the team composition?

One of their partners served as my main point of contact, but there were about 4–6 team members total working on the project.

How did you come to work with Twin Sun?

Another development firm referred me to Twin Sun, so I reached out. After a few impromptu interviews and conversations, I decided to go with them because I liked the team’s personality.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent about $60,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

Their work lasted from January–December 2018.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They did an outstanding job, and the final product is bug-free. If there were any issues, Twin Sun’s team found and fixed them during testing.

How did Twin Sun perform from a project management standpoint?

We primarily communicated via email, text, and biweekly phone conferences to ensure that everyone was up to date. They maintained a high level of transparency from the beginning, and I appreciated that they always kept me in the loop, regardless if we had good or bad news.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Besides being transparent, Twin Sun stayed within the budget without trying to upsell unnecessary add-ons. They promised they would complete the job, informed me of any changes, and delivered as expected.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I can’t think of anything, right now.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Often, a client has a vague idea of what they want to build but can’t quite put that to paper, which makes it extremely hard for the developers. A vendor can’t deliver something if you don’t tell them exactly how you want it. Being prepared to go into the engagement and providing detailed technical docs or wireframes will help save time and energy.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

US Framing, one of the largest wood framing sub-contractors in the nation, specializes in multi-family housing and rough carpentry. As the company’s financial controller, I assist with financial operations and asset management.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Twin Sun?

We wanted to refresh our outdated website, but we didn’t have the necessary resources to redesign the platform in-house.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Twin Sun revamped our antiquated website by integrating a modern web design on the frontend and refining the backend for seamless functionality. They also curated and developed original content for our site.

What is the team composition?

One contact assists us with design and development, which another helps us manage our content.

How did you come to work with Twin Sun?

We interviewed several developers, but Twin Sun was the only company whose vision aligned with our own.

How much have you invested with them?

The web design project cost us less than $10,000 to complete.

What is the status of this engagement?

They began working on the website in March 2017, and they concluded in March 2018.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Twin Sun delivered a stellar website that brought our company into the 21st century. We’ve received several compliments from our vendors and business partners.

How did Twin Sun perform from a project management standpoint?

They set realistic expectations, so their work pace was never a concern. Their punctual team managed to meet every deadline, despite our last-minute adjustments to the timeline.

What did you find most impressive about them?

In addition to being honest and hard-working, they are highly collaborative. They made brilliant suggestions to enhance our website, but they also stayed true to our original concept.

Are there any areas they could improve?

We didn’t notice any red flags while working with Twin Sun.