CodeBright

Intro: 

Full Genomes (Full Genomes Inc, FGC) a genetic genealogy company based in Rockville, Maryland that makes next generation sequencing technology available to the general public focusing on the Y chromosome. FGC works with universities, law enforecement and other government agencies to conduct research and perform DNA tests on murder victims across the country to help solve criminal cases that were unresolved for decades prior. FGC also helps consumers perform genealogical research, genealogical health predespositions etc.

Problem:

Each DNA test result performed by Full Genomes usually contains large amounts of raw data with hundreds and even thousands different data points. In order turn this massive amounts of raw data into meaningful information- the genealogy and data scientists at FGC had to manually analyze a significant portion of the data. This made the product labor intensive (and thus expensive) and not scalable.

Solution:

CodeBright has developed a solution that processed the raw data from the DNA test results and visualized it in a user friendly easy to understand form (even to a regular consumer). The solution has allowed to streamline and further automate the DNA test result analysis and presentation.

Intro:

NVR is a medium sized family owned home improvement company founded in 1963 operating in the Washington, D.C. area. 

Problem:

Having a large sales force and having to handle a large volume of construction jobs of different types the company needed to track/calculate:

• if the customer has paid for the job in full or not

• figure out how much to pay the crew and the material vendor

• based on these and numerous other factors the commission for each salesman on each job needs to be calculated.

NVR had used a custom built desktop software developed in Microsoft Access 2003 to calculate the profitability of every job and salesmen’s commission but the software became obsolete and very unreliable.

Solution:

CodeBright has built a custom web based software application (accessible from any device connected to the internet) that helps NVR to:

• Manage each job from the beginning to the end.

• Input all the job details of every job for the system to track.

• Once the job has been marked as completed- the system calculates the profit and loss on every job and calculates commission for the salesman.

Results:

The web application helped to make the complicated debt collection process a lot easier and clearer. Now everyone on the team knows the status of each case and what the next steps are. The paperwork is now also a breeze: instead of printing out numerous forms and filling them out by hand- the web app prints the form from a template and fills in all the necessary fields from the case file. Due to increased productivity- the agency is on track to double the volume within a year of launching the web application.

Intro: 

RWK is a seasoned debt collection agency/law office based in the Bronx, NY specializing in tenant-landlord debt collections as well as other debt collection cases. The firm was founded in 1970.

Problem:

Since the firm was founded in the 70s- lot of the business processes have stayed the same as they were back then. Here are some of the problem areas:

- Paperwork: Debt collection process is quite complex and multifaceted that involves A LOT of paperwork, legal notices, subpoenas, court filing and court proceeding documents etc and RWK team has been doing ALL THIS by hand! Hundreds upon hundreds of papers every week- all filled out/written/printed manually! Needless to say, this has stifled the growth of the firm. Plus all this paperwork required a significant amount of physical storage.

- Case Management & Workflow:  With 20-30 debt collection case open all at the same time- it was hard to tell what status the case A, B or C was at, what legal notice has been filed, has to be filed or even how much money was collected from case X, Y or Z. 

Solution:

CodeBright has built a web-based software application (accessible from any device connected to the internet) that helps to:

• Manage the collection process from the beginning to the end

• Each collection case is broken down into milestones/stages and everyone in the team now knows

  • Where each case is at

  • The debt details

  • What’s the next step that a particular team member needs to take in order to move the case forward (the app guides the team through the entire collection process step by step).

  • Anyone can see the background/history of each case.

• Digitized records- a significant reduction in paper volume.  All necessary documents are backed up in the cloud.

• Automated document generation using mail-merge

​Results:

The web application helped to make the complicated debt collection process a lot easier and clearer. Now everyone on the team knows the status of each case and what the next steps are. The paperwork is now also a breeze: instead of printing out numerous forms and filling them out by hand- the web app prints the form from a template and fills in all the necessary fields from the case file. Due to increased productivity- the agency is on track to double the volume within a year of launching the web application.

Similarly to Uber and Airbnb- MyBagCheck, Inc creates a market place by connecting customers (who need temporary luggage storage) with drivers (who are looking for additional income).

If you’ve been to a big city like NYC, Chicago, LA or SF with luggage for business or pleasure- you know it can be a problem. You might be booked for a conference with your flight leaving in the evening or trying to go back to the Statue of Liberty and now you have to worry about the hotel check out and your luggage…

My Bag Check is the ONLY on-demand baggage pickup and delivery service in New York. It doesn’t matter if one is a tourist or a local, long gone are the days of trekking through the city with both hands filled. Users use the mobile app to summon a driver to pick bags up and set a delivery time/location to have them dropped off at a later time (the luggage is stored in a secure location in the heart of the Big Apple). My Bag Check allows users to enjoy the wonders of New York City without having to lug around those bags.

Problem

My Bag Check founder was trying to validate this concept without spending a fortune on development and having to have to wait many months to see the first version of the product.

Solution

CodeBright has built an MVP (Minimal Viable Product) with just the core features in a relatively short time and on budget and in just 2 months the services started to accept its first orders proving the validity of the product and the demand for it in the market. 

Results

My Bag Check is steadily gaining market share by marketing to directly to consumers as well as B2B- forging strategic partnerships for cross-promotion and referrals.

In February 2018 the startup was featured in TechCrunch and overnight the user base grew more than 10 fold overnight!

The product is being developed/improved/expanded organically (thanks to the feedback of actual users). In addition to the mobile app- CodeBright has also developed a web application and now My Bag Check customers can create orders on both mobile and web.

Intro:

HandyMan iOS app is the “Uber for home improvement services”. The mobile app follows an Uber’s/Airbnb’s business model creating a home improvement market place by connecting customers (in need of home improvement services) with HandyMen (experienced tradesmen looking for additional business). HandyMan app creates a smooth experience for both parties, moderates/facilitates the process from the beginning to the end.

If Mr. Homeowner needs a plumber to fix a leaky faucet or handyman to paint walls- opens the HandyMan app, describe the project, reviews up to 5 quotes from HandyMen and hires the most suitable one for the job. Once the project is completed- the homeowner.

Problem:

HandyMan founder had a vision for a tech product that would connect service providers with customers creating value for everyone involved and like many startups- HomeAnswers, Inc faced a lot of challenges (technical and otherwise), had budget and time constraints.

HandyMan founder raised an initial round of funding to launch a product on a limited budget and in a short period of time in an attempt to validate the concept and determine whether or not there is a need for this type of product in the market.

Solution:

Since the founder didn’t have much experience launching tech products into the market- CodeBright team provided a wholistic approach and advised/supported the founder in many different aspects from naming the product (it was a team effort to come up with the name HandyMan®) to creating the entire graphic design artwork (incl. logos, UI/UX, wireframes etc), to doing the actual software development (front-end and back-end), QA and the launch into the App Store. 

Due to the limited budget and time- we have used MVP (Minimal Viable Product) methodology include only the core features/functions in the initial versions to deliver the initial version of the product to the market in the shortest possible time and budget. Read more about MVP.

Results:

The HandyMan app was developed and launched into the App Store on time, on budget and with the agreed-upon set features. HomeAnswers, Inc founder was able to give a functional initial version of the product in the hands of the actual users/ investors/partners/potential acquirers to get their feedback/input and further recommendations/suggestions on how to make the product a success.

Update: Despite the initial success of the product- the startup failed to take the product past the beta version, was unsuccessful at user acquisition and thus never reached the critical mass of users necessary for sustainable growth of the product. The app is currently dormant.

A mobile app to accompany the Getting Started with Latin book – an app that allows the user to review vocabulary and grammar concepts in a multiple-choice format.

CodeBright built a mobile app (Android and iOS) that helped users practice Latin. This has increased the results that William Linney’s readers/students were achieving.

This helped William Linney to:

• give more value to clients

• increase the number of clients

• make his books and courses more attractive to his target audience

New Jersey Orators, Inc. (founded in 1985) is a non-profit youth organization that teaches the art of public speaking, an appreciation for literature, reading and media arts literacy, civic engagement, college readiness, and life skills to youth from 7 to 18 years of age in preparation for advance learning. New Jersey Orators had a very obsolete software for scheduling and managing their speech competitions, so CodeBrightly reverse-engineered their old web application and created a new one that is easy to use and user-friendly.

Intro:

NVR- an established commercial home improvement/maintenance company based in the Washington, D.C. area has hired CodeBright to develop “Property Management Simplified- a custom mobile iOS app.

Since 90% of NVR’s business came from the existing clients- the primary purpose of the app was to further promote customer loyalty. Customers are now able to schedule service right from their mobile apps and earn reward points for every service call- giving them an incentive to stay loyal to NVR and less price sensitive.

Problem:

NVR team prides itself for providing the highest quality commercial building maintenance to their loyal customers (commercial building owners) all around the Washington, D.C. metro area.

Although the customer satisfaction has always been higher than the average industry standard- with the high-quality standards come higher than average prices(you get what you pay for) and NVR sought for additional ways to promote customer loyalty to help ease the question of the higher rates.

Solution:

CodeBright team proposed to build a custom mobile app specifically for existing customers of NVR that would 1) make the process of requesting a service call with NVR as easy as requesting an Uber and 2) allow the customers to accumulate bonus points for each service request- similar to the miles/points credit card companies offer (the more you spend- the higher the more reward points you earn).

The app also helped customers to:

• Schedule appointments, get reminders and project status updates (i.e. Appointment Scheduled, Project Started, Project Completed).

• Catalog/archive all the service calls with all the necessary information about each service call for reporting (tax and other) as well as future maintenance.

• In the case of multi-unit residential real estate properties (apartments)- residents gained the ability to request service calls themselves (with the property manager’s approval).

Results:

With the brand-new mobile app developed specifically for the existing customers- NVR was able to gain a high initial customer participation in the app and a favorable feedback from the customers.

In the first 8 weeks after the launch of the mobile app- the new service call request process had increased the volume of service requests by almost 1/3, the order size has increased by 20% in that time and the company received a positive response from the property managers who already started seeing the time savings afforded by using the app (namely the property managers who managed maintenance services for a large number of residents).

Intro:

Discoverlist is an iOS mobile app that allows users to easily share travel recommendations and photos with friends. Users can quickly plan trips, explore trendy hot spots around the world, or build a travel profile to showcase all of their adventures.

Problem:

The founders envisioned their product and approached CodeBright with branding (complete with logos & color schemes), wireframes, and user experience / user interface designs in hand. 

Their vision described a product rich with features, integrations, and nuances, yet were operating with a limited budget and tight timeline. 

Solution:

CodeBright developed the entire iOS application (back-end and front-end) from the ground up in a single iteration in addition to creation of the administrative dashboard.

CodeBright also facilitated two rounds of beta testing for users to test the app, share critical feedback and offer suggestions.

Results:

Discoverlist iOS app has gone through multiple rounds of Quality Assurance tests which led to higher reliability and user satisfaction.

The goal was to validate a business idea on a limited budget and timeframe. This goal was achieved and the Discoverlist iOS app officially launched.

Overall the app received positive feedback from users.