Gulo

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m a manager for a nonprofit organization in the manufacturing sector.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Gulo?

In 2005, Gulo designed and developed our standard balloting system. The system enabled committee members to submit votes and process the results. We re-engaged them in 2015 to make improvements and update the server and software.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted to automate ballot voting, results sorting, and communication with committee members.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We received a recommendation.

Describe the project in detail.

We communicated the concept to Gulo and they executed the software-based deliverables. The team created four new functionalities. First, they enabled us to send formatted emails via the website to the main committee or subcommittee members; we could also archive those messages. The two main automation functionalities gave us the ability to post ballots, submit votes, and provide the results’ breakdown to members. Finally, Gulo created features to submit comments and post meeting reports or miscellaneous materials.

What was the team composition?

I worked directly with Zach (Principal and Founder, Gulo).

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The team accomplished all of our goals. They were responsive whenever our website or program updates experienced glitches. Gulo charged us for those fixes, but we were happy to pay for their timely service.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The partnership worked well.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

They were friendly, understood our requirements, and provided the appropriate solutions.

Are there any areas for improvement?

No, I can’t think of anything.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm a program manager at a university’s medical department.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Gulo?

We needed a company to help us develop messaging and raise the profile of our project.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They designed and developed our website. We provided them with very loose wireframes, but most of the time we relied on their expertise when we were making decisions about the look and feel of the site. It's a WordPress website that has a built-in resource guide. We gave them a spreadsheet of different resources we had found and they integrated it into a database with the backend that we can use. They also helped us redesign our logo and choose the colors. They continue to provide website maintenance for us.

What is the team composition?

We worked with about five of their team members.

How did you come to work with Gulo?

We found them through a word of mouth. We got quotes from a few different companies, but Gulo offered the best balance of affordability, skill, and capacity.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent about $25,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in May 2017 and we launched the website in September 2017.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We've received very favorable feedback. We accomplished a great deal for the money we spent, so it was a good investment on our part.

How did Gulo perform from a project management standpoint?

They were very easy to communicate with (either by email or phone). We had to nudge them a couple of times to keep us informed about the timelines and the progress, but they were very responsive. Overall, they were always available and patient with us as we were trying to understand the tech side of the website.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They're a small company, so we can contact them directly without feeling we're lost in a shuffle.

Are there any areas they could improve?

The project management piece could be a bit tighter in terms of keeping us informed of the progress. But we never doubted our decision to work with them.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of marketing and sales for High Tide Technologies. We’re a cloud-based remote monitoring company for the water waste and water utility space.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Gulo?

We originally built our website using Squarespace. Despite having a simple interface, Squarespace didn’t grant us the robust control we needed to properly customize the site for SEO. We needed a development firm that could help us transition the site to a better CMS.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Gulo started the engagement by questioning me about the types of websites we wanted to emulate with the redesign. They considered my vision and created a few basic wireframes that roughly demonstrated what they had in mind. Once I gave my approval, they started the development process.

Gulo redesigned our entire platform and developed it on WordPress. They implemented a custom UI/UX that’s a significant upgrade from the cookie-cutter template used by the previous build. They made sure to program the site with routine functionalities that were absent from the Squarespace version. For example, the WordPress CMS allows us to edit the names of blog pages, and that assists our SEO efforts.

We’re also starting create more content of regular basis, so Gulo helped us build a resource center within the site that enables visitors to sort and access digestible information. The feature gives our website a more professional presentation. It’s a lot more useful than just dumping a bunch of case studies onto an infinitely scrollable page. They also coded a dynamic page that enables customers to filter and find product distributors by location. The Gulo team continually updates the site and develops new functionalities whenever possible.

What is the team composition?

We primary communicate with Zach (Founder & Principal, Gulo), but they have at least five people assigned to our account.

How did you come to work with Gulo?

They were referred to us by the digital marketing agency we were using at the time. Our decision to hire them came down to a combination of price and the quality of their portfolio. Also, we were looking for a firm that interacted with us well. Our meetings together went smoothly, so we hired them.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent around $25,000 thus far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in September 2017 and the engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The new site is responsive on mobile devices and possesses a clean UI/UX. The site’s overall layout benefits the presentation of our video content. Users appreciate how the simple architecture makes it easy to find information. One of our goals was to retain a navigable interface while also adding a significant amount of content. Gulo helped us achieve that goal.

How did Gulo perform from a project management standpoint?

We Collaborate via Asana per their recommendation. It’s a useful software that allows me to send messages to their whole team and exchange files back and forth. Whenever I call Zach on the phone, he makes a point to return my call within the same day. We’ve never met face-to-face, but we know each other well. We’ve spoken a lot throughout the engagement.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Most development firms operate within a bidding environment, so it’s difficult to determine when a company overcharges for their services. Gulo’s work delivered over and above the value they set on it. Professionals within our industry say that the new site looks awesome.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don’t have any significant recommendations.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I find myself having to initiate communication when I want an update instead of automatically receiving scheduled reports. I don’t necessarily need constant updates, but that’s probably a factor other clients should consider. They’d likely accommodate me if I brought it up.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the operations manager for Global Beauty Science, a cosmetics company. We recently launched a new skincare line.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Gulo?

We worked with a couple of agencies to build the website, but the finished product didn’t quite meet our standards. We needed a team to fix the outstanding issues, as well as implement some new features.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Piece by piece, we analyzed our site with the Gulo team, identifying issues and areas where we could make improvements. Then, I gave their team access to our website, and they started working. There wasn’t much hand-holding, they worked pretty autonomously.

Our main problem was the mobile version of our site—the content was misaligned, oversized, and off-centered. Gulo made the necessary fixes and the additional edits we requested, delivering a website that more closely resembled our original vision.

What is the team composition?

We mainly worked with Zach (Principal & Founder, Gulo) and Hannah (Interactive Ideas Creator, Gulo).

How did you come to work with Gulo?

We’d been working with a digital agency on a different project, and I was discussing some of the other tasks we had on our plate. Based on a positive past experience, they recommended we work with Gulo. We followed the referral and met with Zach and his team in person. They were able to identify the issues with our site immediately and offered their services.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve probably spent around $10,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started the first project in March 2018, but we’re still using them for other work.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Gulo improved our website’s look, delivering something we’re proud to display.

How did Gulo perform from a project management standpoint?

Zach handles project management processes. We mainly speak through emails, phone calls, or texts, and he’s consistently responsive. They also use a screen-sharing web app to enhance some of our discussions.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Gulo acts like they’re a part of the internal team. They pull from their extensive industry experience and offer valuable suggestions and solutions. I feel like we have extra staff members, rather than an outsourced team. They really go the extra mile for us.

Are there any areas they could improve?

In terms of scheduling, we went over on a few deadlines. Sometimes their estimates were a little off, but for the most part, they’re great.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I work with Friedman, Framme & Thrush (FFT) law firm. We do standard law firm work as well as work with other firms to develop websites and do operational management.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Gulo?

We had a new logo and branding after merging with another firm. As a result, we needed to do an overall refresh of our website.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Gulo started by asking us a lot of questions about our goals and what we need. They dug into what is unique about our business, and then designed the new site based on those factors. They did review our current site and make recommendations, but their goal is to deliver something wholly unique. We want something completely new, not just slightly modified.

They do all of the wireframes, development, and design work. They did some API work in the area of the site where we store our attorney bios. They made it so we only have to update the bio in one location. They’re also working on the UE of the payment processing portions of the site for our regular practice and our collections practice.

What is the team composition?

We primarily work with Zach (founder, Gulo). A couple of designers and developers work on our project, but he's our main point person.

How did you come to work with Gulo?

I've worked with Gulo on two previous projects. I first found them by putting out a bid request on some online contracting sites. They responded and had a good presentation.

How much have you invested with them?

I think the initial bid was $21,000 and it's been right around that amount.

What is the status of this engagement?

They started working on this project in March 2018 and the engagement is ongoing. I initially worked with them 3–4 years ago.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They're in the final stages of development of the site now. Overall, I really like the look of the site. It's clean and modern. They did a great job responding to what we asked for. The new site is easy for clients to understand what kind of payment they need to make, and where to go on the site to make it.

How did Gulo perform from a project management standpoint?

Their team is good about staying on top of things. I check in frequently as well to make sure the project is on track. We use phone, email, and web conferencing to keep in touch. Zach came to our Baltimore office to meet with us in person before the project started.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re personable and easy to work with. They really listen to what we want.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, not that I can think of.

Any advice for potential customers?

Listen to Gulo’s advice. I figured out very quickly that it's best to hire experts if you want to do things right. They’re good at what they do, so listen to what they have to say.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a brand marketer for i-Health Inc., a division of DSM.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Gulo?

up4 probiotics is a relatively new brand.  Our goal was to create a new redesigned, responsive and personalized website that would create a connection, brand reinforcement and product alignment with consumers.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Gulo was responsible for website redesign and strategy. They led ideation for different concepts for the brand website.  In addition, they created an innovative customization strategy for the brand; customized landing pages were created to help distinguish users coming to the site from organic searches and external (digital media) links. Additionally, the site used social media logins and geo-targeting to customize pages to users’ interests.

The team also created a Self-Assessment Questionnaire (SAQ) to recommend products to users, driving them to newly created single product pages. To encourage coupon downloads, Gulo linked our digital Synchronous Serial Interface (SSI) to a third-party coupon site and enabled downloads through two external rebate apps.

Finally, Gulo was responsible for ongoing SEO, website maintenance and support.

What is the team composition?

Zach and Fred (Co-Founders, Gulo) were our main points of contact, on a daily basis.

How did you come to work with Gulo?

Our main agency had an existing relationship with Gulo.  Based on the brand’s needs, Gulo was the perfect fit.

What is the status of this engagement?

From October 2017 through December 2018.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Internal stakeholders enjoyed the unique customization, ease of use, and clean and modern design. Gulo’s wireframes and design templates proved helpful for choosing the look and feel. The “Find your Probiotic” quiz also earned positive user feedback for its informational content and recommendations feature. To date, our website visits increased by over 500% with a 92% quiz completion rate. In addition, SEO rankings have consistently risen over time.

How did Gulo perform from a project management standpoint?

Overall, Gulo was very communicative and kept us appraised as to the status of the website launch, they also communicated weekly regarding SEO optimizations to the website.  Throughout the duration of the project, we communicated via phone, email, and in-person for reporting meetings. In addition, Zach and Fred participated in weekly status calls with our other agency partners to provide status, but also learn and understand various business challenges. During these calls, Zach and Fred demonstrated their genuine interest in the brand’s success. They proactively suggested page and content optimization solutions via on a regular basis. Overall, their service went above and beyond.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The team listened to our business challenges and leveraged their expertise to solve problems creatively. Zach and Fred are strategic, innovation, smart and down to earth. Overall, a pleasure to work with.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Overall, I would recommend Gulo. No major areas of improvement come to mind.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the director of operations for a trade association.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Gulo?

We wanted to streamline one of our member services platforms, so we engaged Gulo to help us build the web-based platform from scratch.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Gulo designed and developed a website platform on WordPress, incorporating PayPal and other customer features as needed for member access. We provided them with the logo and some basic design ideas, and they developed wireframes.

What is the team composition?

We primarily worked with Zach (Principal and Founder, Gulo).

How did you come to work with Gulo?

One of our interns was tasked with finding a vendor for the project. After we spoke with Zach, we felt confident that he could do the job; he was very communicative and seemed to understand our goals and challenges well. Their services were also reasonably priced.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from around the summer of 2015 to November.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The platform Gulo built helped streamline previously tedious, time-consuming processes. Zach was a great partner, making himself readily available to answer urgent questions or requests from our client.

How did Gulo perform from a project management standpoint?

They were very responsive and quick to address any problems that popped up. Although I never met Zach in person, we were able to work together efficiently through a ticketing system and by phone and email.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Gulo came along at the right time and delivered on everything they promised. Zach was very professional throughout the engagement, even during some hectic moments. He always kept me in the loop and I felt comfortable working with him throughout the process.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can't think of anything they could've done differently. Perhaps, it would've been nice to meet in person.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the VP of finance for Dunbar Armored. We're an armored car cash transit provider that also offers outsourced processing for banks. In our money rooms, we physically process and count coin and currency for deposit. Money processing is our core business. 

Our ancillary services include a web system that allows customers to pay invoices online. We're not a major proponent of credit card use because our industry doesn’t offer cash discounts and the 2.5–3% interchange fees can add up quickly. We manage these payments very selectively. They account for less than 5% of our overall tender simply because of cost. Our returns are pennies on the dollar, so every transaction counts. Check and automated clearing house (ACH) payments are much more effective.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Gulo?

Like any business, we needed an online portal to allow customers to pay by credit card if their contract requires it. We had a significantly outdated website that was hosted on very old server technology. We contracted with Gulo to create a new website with a PayTrace gateway. 

Our hosting company was going through some changes and highly recommended that we move to another provider. At that point, they couldn't promise they could relaunch our site if it ever crashed. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Gulo designed and hosted our new website based on the wireframes we provided ahead of time. We didn't want to break away from the mechanics of our existing system’s customer experience, so they kept the UX simple. The payment gateway makes it easy to go online, look up open invoices, select ones to pay and check out.  It’s not meant for viewing anything in detail. We have other web portals for our customers to access copies of their bills. Gulo also works in conjunction with another company who manages interchange auditing. Level three processing minimizes the rate often to as low as 2% per transaction.

As the team automated processes, they built the new interface to update and refresh nightly. At midnight, the system automatically pulls payment information from accounts receivable into a file for our IT group to grab the next morning. The previous system’s user-driven updates required our cash-out person to initiate this process by manually refreshing the website.

The project lead carefully worked through all the details with our IT and finance teams to get the system up and running. My group and the cash-out and accounts receivable teams walked through and tested it. They provided feedback about what was missing or needed tweaks. 

What is the team composition? 

Zach (Partner and Chief of Technology, Gulo) was the project lead. He was on all our calls as we walked through the process and started testing the site.

How did you come to work with Gulo?

Our IT group got a referral to use Gulo. It might have been from the company we use for audits. 

What is the status of this engagement?

In July 2017, we started mapping out the project. We converted over to the new system in October 2017.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Gulo helped us build a new system that gives us a much lower interchange fee. It saves us a good 70 basis points on $10-11 million worth of sales, which is about $70,000. I'm very pleased from a financial perspective. We'll see a return on our investment in less than a year. 

Internally, going through this process made our jobs easier. Having a much cleaner nightly cut off at midnight syncs up all the operations on the merchant end. Our engagement was a success. It has simplified work for our employees.

How did Gulo perform from a project management standpoint?

Gulo was excellent. The owner was always very helpful. We communicated through phone and email. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Gulo delivered what they promised to. We’d used another provider who couldn't finish our project right. After that vendor's system went live, it had so many bugs we had to cut ties. During our second time around, we used Gulo, and it has worked out very well. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can't think of any. I haven't seen any bugs. We've only had 1–2 updates where customers made multiple payments late at night that weren't reflected correctly on the download report. After we submitted a help ticket, they were quickly able to remediate, research, and close out the transaction.