Swenson He - Out of Business

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the owner of a company that is developing a mobile application.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Swenson He?

I have a creative background, but I was trying to venture into the tech space and needed developers. I worked with 3 different teams and had 2 prototypes built, the latter of which was functional but didn't live up to my standards. I was looking for someone who could understand the product and build it to perfection.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

I had worked with another UI/UX [user interface/user experience] designer previously, but Swenson He suggested that there may be a better way to approach it and thus consulted their designer. We came up with a much more beautiful outcome. Swenson He is now developing the beta version of my iOS app, and then we will refine it to its final App Store-ready version.

How did you come to work with Swenson He?

I was working with a company in Silicon Valley and wasn't happy with the results. I talked to a few people and also visited angel.co. I came across Swenson He's profile on the site and was attracted by their claim of making builds that are 99% perfect. Although not that complex, my app needs to work without a flaw, or people won't use it. I need the ability to connect users within a matter of 2 or so seconds. If this isn't achieved, then there will be a big drop in usage.

How much have you invested with Swenson He?

The total cost of the app development will be in the $50,000–$200,000 range.

What is the status of this engagement?

I started working with Swenson He on September 2016, and we're within the first stages of the project.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement?

After some initial visits to their offices, Swenson He was able to show me working examples of the app. Having previously built 2 other prototypes with other teams over a period of 9 months, I was impressed with Swenson He's speed.

They also suggested ways of improving my designs. I was hesitant at first, but in the end, the app turned out much more beautiful.

I'm pre-investment, and I appreciated Swenson He accommodating my budget and allowing me time to raise money.

How did Swenson He perform from a project management standpoint?

Swenson He communicated well, answered all my questions, and was helpful in every respect. Everything has been delivered fast and on time, which I found to be uncommon after working with other developers.

What did you find most impressive about Swenson He?

I appreciated that Swenson He showed me an example upfront of what would be built, which gave me confidence. I had a very specific, technical challenge of pairing 2 phones cross-platform, and I wasted almost a year trying out other companies in the US and abroad. Swenson He presented me with a functional proof-of-concept very quickly.

Are there any areas Swenson He could improve?

There's nothing that I would improve on so far. It's been a great experience.

What tips or recommendations could you share that might increase the likelihood of success with Swenson He?

I have no specific advice. Swenson He has been professional since our first conversation and guided me through the process.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We are a smart consumer goods company for people on-the-go. I am the founder and CEO.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Swenson He?

The project is still in active development, but basically we needed to build a complete app with which users could interact to manage their smart product. The first part of the project involved mapping out the architecture, user storyboards, wireframes, and feature set.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Our goal was to understand the main user needs and create a high-level flow for the user interface. The biggest challenge was simplifying the setup process of the product and deciding the best way to build the app so that it remained incredibly easy and intuitive to use.

How did you come to work with Swenson He?

Their work with Simplehuman impressed me. I had worked with larger organizations before, and it would often take four weeks to get to a place that the Swenson He team got to in about 30 minutes. They are sharp, focused, and incredibly capable.

How much have you invested with them?

Sorry, this is confidential.

What is the status of this engagement?

The first part of this project was completed in less than a week. The team delivered on time and presented with precision. Overall, it was the equivalent experience of having all the pieces of your business puzzle cosmically line up. The Swenson He team intuitively understood what we needed and continually impressed with their keen thought process and outstanding quality work. We will continue to work together for the next part of the project, where we build out the app entirely.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or impact of the engagement?

We achieved many things: (1) the architecture for the app, including a complete understanding of the steps to build the intelligence component and the backend; (2) a user interface flow for the app, including content, navigation, hierarchy, and the basic functionality of each screen; and (3) fully developed storyboards with a feature set summary.

Furthermore, the Swenson He team: (1) reduced the setup process from an average of 20-25 steps to simply 2 steps total; (2) clarified the way the user interacts with the app, thereby creating the framework for scalability, for future aspects that we intend to introduce; (3) streamlined the user experience by implementing a 50% reduction in the number of screens we had proposed; and (4) dramatically simplified the architecture by >90%.

Overall, the simplification of the user interface, experience, and architecture inevitably led to a dramatic improvement in every aspect of the app. It became an easier app to build with an undoubtedly easy-to-use interface and beautiful experience.

How did Swenson He perform from a project management standpoint?

They outperformed on every level. The project manager staffed to my project was a transparent and timely communicator; he worked around my needs for communication to make sure I received updates and information only as needed or only when I could act on them. This built a high level of trust and allowed me to focus on areas where I could add value.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their precision and quick understanding, not to mention their brilliant insights and intelligent questions. They are great listeners, which I believe is the foundation to their success.

Conversely, are there any areas of improvement?

No. I am completely excited to continue working with Swenson He. The reduction in stress I have from working with their fully competent team is exactly what every founder/CEO needs when building their company.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

We design trash cans, sensor mirrors, soap dispensers, and other high-end modern homeware. Our products are shifting towards connectivity; e.g., our mirrors and other products are Wi-Fi connected.

What is your position?

I was the e-commerce manager while working with Swenson He. I am now the director of creative services. Our relationship has pretty much stayed the same in terms of communication on new initiatives.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with Swenson He?

We never had an app and definitely wanted one. Swenson He had experience in this area, and we were familiar with the brand that they'd built.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their involvement in greater detail.

Swenson He has built wireframes, storyboards, and initial sketches for us, as well as taking part in new advancements. They also helped in terms of strategizing and brainstorming. Whenever we reach a new challenge, we will include them in the open discussion. They're very good at giving us best-practice approaches and fresh ideas. Along with that, they're very good in terms of project management. I worked directly with them in making task lists and getting updates. We work on small projects within projects, which they organize for us.

How did you come to work with Swenson He?

One of their partners initially approached our company for another project. We had existing company ties through one of our employees. Swenson He reached out to us with a cool idea that they had for our website. It involved placing widgets on the site with which site users could share and ‘like’ a particular page. It wasn't exactly necessary with our brand, but we liked their proactive energy and skill, so we reached out to them three months later when we needed an app. We were confident in their skills, and they were excited to work with us.

Could you provide a sense of the size of this initiative in financial terms?

Sorry, this is confidential.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in 2014. We maintain an active relationship. Swenson He helped us launch the app on iOS. We also wanted to make it available on Android, so they helped us with that. We keep in constant communication for new app features and also for maintaining the internet-of-things side of our product.

The iOS app development took a little under a year. The Android version took two to three months to complete.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement?

Our app is unique in the sense that it offers subscriptions not available on the website. We weren't expecting to see an extraordinary amount of sales coming from it, but we've seen a good amount. The ease of using the app has helped it grow. Users have given us good reviews for it, and our app downloads have been rising constantly.

How did Swenson He perform from a project management standpoint?

Swenson He is a very professional and highly motivated team. They're well-versed and knowledgeable within the app world, constantly documenting and educating themselves. I can't stand having to tell developers about a particular advancement in their own field, so I've appreciated their level of proficiency. They're also friendly and willing to help making quick fixes. Whenever we have a rush project, Swenson He will be in it alongside us. They don't fixate on hourly estimations and other details, but rather get on top of things.

What distinguishes Swenson He from other providers?

They're motivated, willing to help, and knowledgeable. I've worked with a lot of developers, but Swenson He stands out from the average.

Is there anything Swenson He could have improved or done differently?

For the most part, no. They're growing as a company, so more manpower would help at this point so that they can take on more projects simultaneously. When we wanted to expand to Android for example, they didn't have someone immediately at hand. It is completely understandable, given that their focus is iOS. It took a while to finally start the Android project because they wanted to find a good developer.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

The company that I was a part of when we worked with Swenson He was a tech startup offering live broadcast radio sharing.

What is your position?

I was the chief technology officer. I was in charge of managing all technological aspects within the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with Swenson He?

We'd had a huge issue with the backend part of our platform and wanted to migrate to Google Cloud from Parse. The main issues were performance, reliability, and scalability.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their involvement in greater detail.

We hired Swenson He in order to get help migrating from Parse to Google Cloud. They helped us build a scheme for our database in order to understand how our app could function within its new location. They did an analysis of our current infrastructure, getting an image of exactly what we needed and picking out the right technology for us. We had a choice between using MongoDB and other technologies which would have worked for our current situation.

There were some limitations for our app, given that we're a radio streaming service. There were some technologies that we didn't understand well, so Swenson He supplied the right expertise for these cases, from streaming to encoding and so forth. They gave us a detailed plan on a weekly basis. We were assigned a project manager and two engineers for the work. I felt that their team became part of ours, integrating well.

How did you come to work with Swenson He?

We used to work in the same building as their company in a shared office space. I didn't know exactly what they did at the time, but we happened to talk to some of their team about our problems, and they gave us free information. To me, doing this means that the person I'm talking to knows their stuff. They eventually suggested starting a deep-dive relationship to find out what the ideal situation for us would be. We had a couple of meetings but also shopped around, looking at two other development shops. We decided to go with Swenson He.

Could you provide a sense of the size of this initiative in financial terms?

The total project cost was between $30,000-35,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started the project in October of 2014. The work completed in January of 2015.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement?

Based on the resources we were able to shift, we decided not to move the entire infrastructure. Swenson He built a small component for our project, which took 4 months to develop. It allowed to us gain significantly more user retention.

How did Swenson He perform from a project management standpoint?

I look for two things in hiring a team: project management and technical skills. Swenson He receives a 10/10 in terms of technical skills. Our project manager was always available for us, even though they were probably swamped with other projects at the time because they were smaller back then. Their project management and technical skills have been great.

What distinguishes Swenson He from other providers?

Their technical ability is off the charts.

Is there anything Swenson He could have improved or done differently?

When we worked together, their company had only been active for about a year. I've met with them recently, and it seems that they're expanding, so they've already solved their own problems.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

We specialize in making connective baby and nursery products consisting of software and hardware working as Internet of Things solutions.

What is your position?

I am the co-founder and chief executive officer of the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with Swenson He?

We needed development resources for our app.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their involvement in greater detail.

Swenson He is our lead iOS developer. They've worked with us in getting our product alpha- and beta-tested and launched on the market. They mainly collaborate with my co-founder, who is in charge of software development. Swenson He developed the UI/UX and also integrated the iOS app with our backend servers. They handled user testing and drafted the documentation for it.

The main goal was getting the app launched and off the ground. We had to make sure that the UI would be robust and intuitive for parents. We had a live streaming server infrastructure that was being built from the ground up. It required a lot of deep understanding and documentation in terms of how to plug it in and operate it.

How did you come to work with Swenson He?

I had worked with their owner at a different firm, and had also collaborated with their company when they first launched a few years ago. The two biggest things that I can say about Swenson He and their work are that they're extraordinarily detail-oriented, making sure that everything going into an app is given the same amount of attention. The other advantage is that they keep all aspects of the work in-house, instead of rolling them out to other firms.

Could you provide a sense of the size of this initiative in financial terms?

The total development cost was between $50,000-200,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in 2012. The work completed in 2014.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement?

They performed extraordinarily well. Swenson He is extremely smart and adept at what they're doing. There is a high level of communication involved in handling our complex server backend. We're very pleased with how the UI looks even two years later. They engaged in a lot of dynamic work interacting with users and had an overall high level of detail.

What distinguishes Swenson He from other providers?

There is a high level of punctuality in their work. Swenson He is committed to deadlines and to following through on executions. They're very good at scoping the right talents for their company. I imagine that their UI capabilities have grown since working with them as well.

Is there anything Swenson He could have improved or done differently?

No.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

We are a consumer goods manufacturer in the housewares and beauty industry.

What is your position?

I am the director of electronics engineering. I am in charge of research and development through the production of our items.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with Swenson He?

We used their team to develop our cloud-based servers. We didn't use existing platforms for cloud services. Our solution had been put together according to our specs and needs.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their involvement in detail.

We worked side by side with Swenson He in order to create the right protocols and the best cloud service that we could use for our current products as well as our next-generation ones. They also developed our iOS app and are currently working on the Android version.

Much of the work is being done on an ongoing basis. We have constant discussions about what needs to be done and the best way to do it. We have many goals and tasks, but most are short term. We want to experience the results directly and make multiple iterations until the output is right. I enjoyed working with Swenson He. They are a professional and capable company.

How did you come to work with Swenson He?

I interviewed a variety of different developers, both for app and cloud services. Swenson He was impressive in terms of resume and capabilities. They're young, smart people.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together a year and a half ago. The work is ongoing for the Android app, but our cloud solution and iOS app have been completed.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement?

The results were very good in terms of Swenson He's responsivity and the performance of their product. The cloud platform works very well and so does the iOS app.

What distinguishes Swenson He from other providers?

Swenson He is very knowledgeable and capable, very responsive and fast to react. Whenever we had modifications to make or take on a new project, they provided high quality solutions at a great pace. Working with them has been great.

Is there anything Swenson He could have improved or done differently?

I've had an excellent experience. There's always room for improvement, but nothing specific comes to mind.