Web App Dev & UX/UI Design for Crowdfunding Startup
Featured Review- Custom Software Development UX/UI Design Web Development
- Less than $10,000
- Aug. 2019 - Ongoing
- Quality
- 5.0
- Schedule
- 5.0
- Cost
- 5.0
- Willing to Refer
- 5.0
"They’ve been right there with us at every step and haven’t let us down — they’re an excellent partner."
- Education
- Richmond, Virginia
- 1-10 Employees
- Phone Interview
- Verified
Unstuck Labs provides development and UX/UI design support for a crowdfunding startup for student loan debt. They’ve helped get the product up and running, using primarily JavaScript on the Wix platform.
The ongoing dedication to the work and ability to successfully get the platform running is what makes Unstuck Labs stand out as a partner. The client has earned funding for the product, partly thanks to the team’s solid work. They are devoted, passionate, and willing to go above and beyond.
A Clutch analyst personally interviewed this client over the phone. Below is an edited transcript.
BACKGROUND
Introduce your business and what you do there.
I’m currently developing a start-up company called Candid Works LLC, and I’m the founder of that organization. We are developing a new system where individuals with student loan debt can crowdsource funding towards their debt in exchange for providing social and environmental volunteer services.
This is a new concept, and we’re hoping it’s going to help alleviate the burden of student loan debt while doubling the impact of traditional charitable donation.
OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE
What challenge were you trying to address with Unstuck Labs?
There were quite a few challenges. When I approached Unstuck Labs, I was finishing my master’s degree in product innovation and we had to develop a business plan. There were a lot of challenges in terms of tax law, labor law, and whether it should be a crowdsourcing platform or if we should mitigate funds.
We had a pretty solid baseline idea for what we needed, and how we felt like we could accomplish our goals, but we just needed help moving through the steps one by one, developing them, and making a final plan for it all.
SOLUTION
What was the scope of their involvement?
We’ve worked together on just about everything. As far as deliverables, one thing we talked about ahead of time was trying to get the platform up and running. We had started on the website and we needed to find a way to handle our transactions.
They helped us set up an account where we could actually make these online transactions without having to mitigate them ourselves, as well as working through the final steps for our business plan. Right now, it is currently web-based for mobile and desktop. Eventually, we'd like to develop it into an app.
We use a little bit of JavaScript, but we actually ended up contracting out some of the services through Wix, which made it a little bit easier than starting from scratch. We used a variety of tools, including JavaScript, CSS, HTML, but a lot of it we were able to pull off without doing the nitty-gritty tasks because of Wix.
They provided design work in a couple of ways. They helped with the UX/UI in a certain capacity and the basic layout, but one of the things that was really important that they contributed to was the branding and marketing of the product itself. I studied marketing in product-service development, but they were really helpful in finding what we needed to say to get our point across and who to market it to.
What is the team composition?
I work with two people directly. At the time, there were a handful of interns that worked with us, too, which was really cool. They were from across the globe and were working on a separate project. I was always quick to let them jump in and help us with ideation and help us with developing a name. Ashshowwaf (CEO) and another teammate have been excellent. On a daily basis, they’d work with us and ideate.
How did you come to work with Unstuck Labs?
Our degree program is based on product and service development — it is a really unique program that combines master's level art, business, and engineering into one degree. They are big proponents of collaboration with accelerators and I was looking at the different opportunities that were out there.
I came across Unstuck and they took a big interest in our project. We took a big interest in them to the extent that they actually went above the call of duty and reduced the cost of the accelerator for us to practically nothing. They just seemed like they really liked the impact value and it was a great fit.
How much have you invested in them?
Their accelerator has a pretty standard rate of around several thousand pounds, but since I was a college student and found it difficult to afford that rate, they reduced the price to about $500. On my own, I’ve invested probably another $500 in resources. The project has been pretty affordable, thanks to them.
What is the status of this engagement?
I believe we started working together in August 2019, and we’re continuing to work with them today.
RESULTS & FEEDBACK
What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?
Overall, they’re a really incredible company to work with because of their really excellent sense of teamwork. They’ve been right there with us at every step and haven’t let us down — they’re an excellent partner. I’m really happy we’re working with them.
As far as metrics, our platform is up and running, which is the real metric. We haven’t piloted the project yet because I was balancing work and this project at the time.
When we were getting ready to launch a couple of months ago, we actually did get funding from an anonymous benefactor to pilot this and repay the debt of four individuals, which was pretty amazing. COVID-19 came and has held us off, but the success is that the platform is complete and ready. We just haven’t launched yet because COVID-19 and other things have gotten in the way.
I’m highly satisfied with the platform. It’s an agile process in my opinion, and it is such a complex project to take on that we still have a long way to go, but that is not necessarily something I am unhappy with. This is something that happens when you’re developing a service like this.
How did Unstuck Labs perform from a project management standpoint?
They’re a really solid company to work with and they understand project management solidly. We came really prepared ourselves.
I’ve worked in management for years, developing new products and services, and I hadn’t experienced project management in a real setting for products and services, and I feel like they’ve really nailed it. They have the right steps and the right strategies. They definitely know what they’re doing and are very professional about it.
Their team has its own set of software and it works really well —it is actually really good. I also came in with my own software, so we collaborated with theirs online.
What did you find most impressive about them?
The collaboration and the team perspective on what they’re working on is most impressive. When they start a project, they are every bit as invested as you are. They don’t just tell you to do something and leave you on your own. They invest themselves in it holistically.
I had a long drive to work with them, so we collaborated online, as well. I was really impressed by their resources in terms of personalities and connections. My school program is very well connected and with them being in DC, it is like an entirely different world when it comes to the people they know and the people they can connect us with. Their connections and sense of teamwork are two things that stood out the most — the resources are just out of this world.
Are there any areas they could improve?
The project we’re working on is so complex and different; it just simply hadn’t been done like this before. A lot of places were too intimidated to even consider trying to take the project on. To be honest, I can’t see any way that they can improve. It seems like they’ve got it all down.
Do you have any advice for potential customers?
Make sure that you are invested in your project. Luckily, and uniquely for me, I had developed a lot of the basic groundwork in terms of planning so our wireframes and journey maps were things I came into the project with.
If someone didn’t have experience in all of that, I would say to make sure that you’re ready to take it on because it could be a lot of work. Be fully committed to what you’re working on. Anyone that can say those things about themselves is going to be successful, at least to the best of their ability.
RATINGS
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Quality
5.0Service & Deliverables
-
Schedule
5.0On time / deadlines
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Cost
5.0Value / within estimates
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Willing to Refer
5.0NPS