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At Rootstrap, we help enterprises scale people, processes, and products through outcome-driven development.
We choose projects upon which we can make an impact and measure our own success by the success of our clients. Companies like Disney, Salesforce, Google, Spotify and MasterClass have trusted us to build innovative solutions to their most challenging business problems.
Rootstrap is powered by the desire to do what is best for our clients. We don’t simply take orders. We challenge assumptions and speak up when we believe that a client may be making a mistake. Good business practices and purpose-built teams ensure optimal outcomes for our clients. Our continuous devotion to developing internal knowledge and collaborative processes allows us to solve problems that other people can't.
Rootstrap’s work is fueled by a deep understanding of a software project’s real world business context. We are committed to delivering solutions designed to achieve desired user, client, and market outcomes. Fully dedicated teams, working side-by-side throughout the process, support this work.
Locations
United States
8913 1/2 Sunset Boulevard,
Los Angeles,
California
90069
(310) 907-9210
Uruguay
Sarandi 690D MF,
Montevideo,
Montevideo
11000
Argentina
Av. Corrientes 800 Caba,
Buenos Aires,
Buenos Aires
C1008
Focus Areas
Service Focus
- Mobile App Development
- Web Development
- Web Designing (UI/UX)
- Testing Services
- Big Data & BI
Client Focus
- Small Business
- Medium Business
- Large Business
Industry Focus
- Automotive
- Business Services
- Financial & Payments
Rootstrap, Inc. Executive Interview
David Jarrett
CEO
Please introduce your company and give a brief about your role within the organization.
Rootstrap is an award-winning custom software development agency that has built web and mobile apps for startups publicly traded companies and public figures. Our U.S. headquarters is located in Los Angeles, and we also have hubs in Uruguay, Argentina, and Colombia as well as distributed team members in a variety of other locations around the world. We currently operate mostly remotely due to the pandemic but look forward to being able to spend more time together in person again when it is safe to do so.
As CEO, I have broad responsibility for both the general management and continued growth and development of Rootstrap. A big part of what I try to do at Rootstrap centers around removing bottlenecks for members of our team and facilitating a collaborative work environment conducive to success. We believe in the philosophy of servant leadership; my job is to work for our employees, not the other way around.
Beyond helping the company to grow and develop, it is extremely important to us that we create opportunities for our team members to grow and develop in their lives and careers and enable them to perform to the highest level of their abilities at all times. We’re especially proud of the people on our team who have grown with us over the course of the years into leadership and management roles and are excited about creating many more of these pathways in the future as the company continues to scale.
As CEO, I have broad responsibility for both the general management and continued growth and development of Rootstrap. A big part of what I try to do at Rootstrap centers around removing bottlenecks for members of our team and facilitating a collaborative work environment conducive to success. We believe in the philosophy of servant leadership; my job is to work for our employees, not the other way around.
Beyond helping the company to grow and develop, it is extremely important to us that we create opportunities for our team members to grow and develop in their lives and careers and enable them to perform to the highest level of their abilities at all times. We’re especially proud of the people on our team who have grown with us over the course of the years into leadership and management roles and are excited about creating many more of these pathways in the future as the company continues to scale.
What is the story behind starting this company?
Our journey began in 2011, with the founding of both a digital agency based in Los Angeles as well as an Uruguayan web and mobile app development and engineering firm. Several years later, our two companies began collaborating on the delivery of client projects and over time developed a strong working relationship, which eventually led us to merge in 2017 in order to create Rootstrap. We believed that a hybrid firm owned and led by a truly multinational team would have the capabilities to occupy a unique position in the market, to grow at faster rates, and to work with larger enterprises on increasingly complex assignments.
We currently have over 250 employees and are continuing to grow in all of our different practice areas while also expanding our geographic footprint in order to keep up with demand from existing and new clients.
We currently have over 250 employees and are continuing to grow in all of our different practice areas while also expanding our geographic footprint in order to keep up with demand from existing and new clients.
What are your company’s business model–in house team or third party vendors/ outsourcing?
We work primarily using in-house team members. If a project we’ve taken on requires services outside of our core expertise, however, we are able to tap into an extensive network of trusted, vetted partners to augment our own team and deliver the client’s desired outcome. Generally, however, we are not trying to be everything to everyone and do our best to stay focused on continuous improvement and the pursuit of mastery within our core practice areas.
How does your company differentiate itself from the competition?
At Rootstrap, our process-driven approach is key to designing and building innovative products for our clients. We practice what we like to call outcome-driven development, which means that we place the same importance on understanding our client's unique needs and desires, business goals, and challenges as we deliver high-quality code. We’re highly curious and relationship-driven and believe that this emphasis on creating shared understanding and strategic alignment ultimately helps us make better product, design, and engineering decisions when building and maintaining software and apps for enterprises both large and small.
What industries do you generally cater to? Are your customers repetitive? If yes, what ratio of clients has been repetitive to you?
First and foremost, we consider ourselves to be industry-agnostic technologists and prize adaptability as one of our core values. That said, we tend to do a lot of work in education, consumer-facing platforms, healthcare, and fintech. We start all engagements with a long-term mindset - preferring to prove our expertise early to a client and subsequently become a truly strategic and growth partner. As such, we enjoy extremely high year-over-year client retention rates, but we are also proud to earn a high repeat rate on an individual level - it is very common for individuals that work with us through one company to hire us again at their new firm after switching jobs.
Please share some of the services that you offer for which clients approach you the most for?
Web & mobile app development, UI/UX design, product strategy and management, DevOps, quality assurance, blockchain, and machine learning. We work both on discrete projects and in a staff augmentation context.
What is your customer satisfaction rate according to you? What steps do you take to cater to your customer’s needs and requirements?
We are proud to enjoy a near-100% customer satisfaction rate, and have received numerous independent 5-star reviews for our work. Our commitment to client satisfaction starts from pre-sales, ensuring a client understands what they are paying for and the expected outcomes. Even when a client begins an engagement, we enable them to participate as fully or as hands-off as they like—giving clients choice is key so that they are in control. Our goal is not just to build pretty interfaces, but to deliver demonstrable business value to each of our clients. Letting our customers be hands-on throughout the duration of our service allows better transparency and closer relationships with our developers.
What kind of support system do you offer to your clients for catering to their queries and issues?
From a general perspective, our clients tend to work closely with project teams and we try to capture and resolve questions and issues both in real-time as well as in regularly scheduled review and retrospective processes. Beyond that, clients also have account managers who help them navigate the complexities of the software development process. This account manager is independent of the client’s project team and acts as a trusted advisor. We also have ample support structures and processes in the event that any issues require escalation or further support. Fundamentally, we are ready to supply clients with the help and resources they need to be successful.
What kind of payment structure do you follow to bill your clients? Is it Pay per Feature, Fixed Cost, Pay per Milestone (could be in phases, months, versions etc.)
Payment structure depends on the project, but we primarily work on a time and materials basis using agile development methodologies. In project-oriented engagements, we engage in deep-dive Discovery work to map out requirements and milestones that can be scoped out and estimated in terms of both time and cost. Regardless of payment structure, we always strive to find ways of working that align with our client's needs and budget - ensuring we are delivering outcomes based on business value.
Do you take in projects which meet your basic budget requirement? If yes, what is the minimum requirement? If no, on what minimum budget you have worked for?
Our minimum requirement is $100,000, although we typically work on projects that are larger and a bit more complex than this threshold would allow.
What is the price range (min and max) of the projects that you catered to in 2021?
We conducted projects for VC-backed startups from $100,000 all the way up to multimillion-dollar enterprise engagements.
Where do you see your company in the next 10 years?
We continue to work towards our vision of becoming ‘globally recognized digital masters.’ As part of that goal, we will continue to expand in both size and geographic footprint, while working on engagements that stretch our capabilities and offer growth opportunities to us both as individuals and members of a team.
We will continue to adapt to the world of tomorrow by emphasizing new service offerings in emerging technologies like blockchain and machine learning services. We aim to continue providing extraordinary service to our clients and to help define the standard for quality in both our region and the industry at large.
We will continue to adapt to the world of tomorrow by emphasizing new service offerings in emerging technologies like blockchain and machine learning services. We aim to continue providing extraordinary service to our clients and to help define the standard for quality in both our region and the industry at large.
Rootstrap, Inc. Clients & Portfolios
