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Verified Profile
Sidebench is an award-winning strategy, design, and development consultancy based in Los Angeles. We cater to innovative enterprise companies and top new ventures seeking product strategy, bringing them the strategic value of management consultants & experienced founders, the technical chops of expert data & systems architects, combined with the UX-first approach of one of the best product design teams in the world. -- Awards & Recognition (below) ---
Recent Awards & Recognition:
- Clutch #1 LA Custom Software Developers (2018, 2019, 2020)
- Clutch #1 LA Mobile App Developer (2018, 2019, 2020)
- Clutch Global Top 100 B2B Firms (2018, 2019, 2020)
- Clutch Global Top Leaders Awards: Mobile App Development & Software Development (2018, 2019, 2020)
- GoodFirms 2020 Top LA Mobile App Development Companies
- GoodFirms 2020 Top Software Development Companies, Top Web Design Companies
- Inc. 5000 America’s Fastest Growing Companies (2017, 2018, 2019, 2020)
- Entrepreneur Magazine’s E360 - Most Entrepreneurial Companies in America (3-time)
- Forbes 30 Under 30; LA Business Journal 20 in their 20’s; BuiltInLA Top Social Impact Companies; Beckers Top Healthcare Leaders Under 40; Clutch #1 Minority Owned Firm in the World (Clutch, 2020)
- AWARDS: W3 Awards (Gold & Silver), Davey Awards (Gold), Mobile UX Awards (Gold), American Hospital Association’s Innovation Challenge Winner
- CERTIFICATIONS: Certified Diverse Supplier, Accessibility (CPACC), HIPAA compliance trained & certified (company-wide)
- ...and many more!
Let’s Co-Invent the Future Together!
Locations
United States
2912 Colorado Ave. #201,
Santa Monica,
California
90404
3108933589
Focus Areas
Service Focus
- Mobile App Development
- Software Development
- Web Development
- App Designing (UI/UX)
- Web Designing (UI/UX)
Client Focus
- Large Business
- Small Business
- Medium Business
Industry Focus
- Healthcare & Medical
- Consumer Products
- Financial & Payments
Sidebench Executive Interview
Kevin Yamazaki
Founder & CEO
Please introduce your company and give a brief about your role within the company?
I’m the Founder & CEO of Sidebench, an award-winning digital innovation lab, and product design studio. Sidebench incubates select early-stage startups and partners with enterprises & brands including Red Bull, Facebook, Oakley, Andreessen Horowitz, Accel, Sony Pictures, United Talent Agency, NBC Universal, Cedars-Sinai, Instagram, American Heart Association, among others. Sidebench’s goal is to create positive disruption in all industries and to impact the most number of lives through our work positively. We are closely aligned with the Los Angeles Design Community as a company through OpenIDEO, Social Enterprise Alliance Los Angeles, the WITH Foundation, and I’m also personally a board member for multiple non-profit companies, including American Red Cross and the Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. Our work has been recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine’s most entrepreneurial companies in America, the Forbes 30 Under 30 list, and Inc Magazine’s fastest-growing companies in America.
What was the idea behind starting this organization?
With my background in technology consulting and user experience & product design, I had a vision for building next-generation applications and custom software for large enterprise companies in a very different way than the industry’s big players. I wanted to digitally transform large businesses while also incubating, investing in, and launching startups at the same time. My idea was to integrate human-centered design, modern technical architecture, and forward-looking business strategy into every step of a new product design framework, one shaped around our start-up style of rapid prototyping with the risk mitigation planning and testing needs of working with Enterprise-level IT, Marketing, and Operations teams. It didn’t take long before it was clear that we could go toe-to-toe with the big guys and win.
What are your company’s business model–in house team or third party vendors/ outsourcing?
We operate with an in-house team of Technical Architects, UX Designers & Researchers, Product Designers, and Product Managers in Los Angeles, and our software engineering team sits in Egypt. We acquired ownership of the engineering team last year after two years of delivering successful, scalable products as an integrated team. They were by far the best engineering team we had ever worked with out of the hundreds of developers we had worked with locally, as employees, on client teams, at previous tech startups, Fortune 500's, abroad, or anywhere else.
How is your business model beneficial from a value addition perspective to the clients compared to other companies' models?
One of our biggest differentiators is that we have proven time and time again to solve “impossible problems” across multiple industries. In order to do this, we integrate our expertise in 1) Product Strategy, 2) User Experience design, and 3) Technical Architecture at every major decision point of a new business concept and product design project.
We are extremely unique in this way. This is how we have been successful in building everything from apps that reach millions of users, to internal “corporate innovation” platforms that generate millions of dollars in profitability, to systems that fundamentally change how the government makes decisions.
We are extremely unique in this way. This is how we have been successful in building everything from apps that reach millions of users, to internal “corporate innovation” platforms that generate millions of dollars in profitability, to systems that fundamentally change how the government makes decisions.
What industries do you generally cater to? Are your customers repetitive? If yes, what ratio of clients has been repetitive to you?
Sidebench caters to all industries; however, in the past, we have had significant experience across financial services, media & entertainment, consumer products & retail, along with healthcare and government. Our clients usually partner with us on multiple projects, most over the course of multiple years. We are often brought in for Product Strategy, and then move into a separate Product Design engagement, followed by Implementation, and then Data Insights & Support. We have a number of clients who hire us as an ongoing engagement to support the various project and product types.
Mention the objectives or the parameters critical in determining the time frame of developing a mobile app.
When determining the time frame for development on a mobile app, critical parameters to Sidebench are defining overall objectives and the alignment of features that make it into the MVP. We focus on this, as an MVP offering allows us to be lean to get a minimum set of features and bring them to market to gauge user responses. Other questions we consider are if there is an existing code base, existing designs, and how much of these existing materials can be reused.
How much effort in terms of time goes into developing the front end and back end of a mobile app?
Both Front-end and Back-end development requires continuous and close collaboration across cross-functional teams. We will usually quote between X and Y weeks for development projects depending on the complexity of the solution needed. Products with complex back-end work and many user flows can take several months to develop. For Sidebench, it is important when building quality products to ensure development teams have the right balance of high effort, clear communication, and efficiency.
What are the key parameters to be considered before selecting the right platform for a mobile application?
There are a number of factors to consider when choosing the right platform. Other than time and cost, understanding the platform’s users, their demographics and loyalty are equally important along with the complexity of the platform, and it’s compatibility with the type of app you want to create.
These days, almost all new products must support both iOS and Android. iOS is more important domestically, Android more important internationally, but you'll always miss out on potential users unless you build for both.
These days, almost all new products must support both iOS and Android. iOS is more important domestically, Android more important internationally, but you'll always miss out on potential users unless you build for both.
Which platform do you suggest your clients to begin with when they approach you with an idea (Android or iOS) and why?
There is not one platform that we always suggest. At Sidebench, choosing a platform is always based on the client’s business goals and long-term product vision. We have recently encouraged partners to choose React Native as an alternative to deciding between Android or iOS. React Native lets you build mobile apps using mostly JavaScript. It uses the same approach as React, letting you compose a rich mobile UI from declarative components. With React Native, you don’t build a mobile web app, an HTML5 app, or a hybrid app; you build a real mobile app that’s indistinguishable from an app built using Objective-C or Java. React Native uses the same fundamental UI building blocks as regular iOS and Android apps. You just put those building blocks together using JavaScript and React.
Android or iOS, Native or Hybrid — which platform is best to use to build your app? What are your recommendations?
This is very much driven by the overall needs of the project. If for example, the project being developed is a game, we would likely start with recommending a native iOS or Android app. A hybrid or non-native solution “could” work, but the advantage of running as fast and as smooth as possible, for something as intensive as even a light game, would push the needle towards a native solution above others.
If however, a project only had access to Javascript developers, and the project did not involve a very resource-heavy solution (like a game), there is a good chance a React Native hybrid solution might be suggested. This would also have the advantage of enabling development for both Android and iOS simultaneously (not quite, but much closer to that) than individually/separately.
If however, a project only had access to Javascript developers, and the project did not involve a very resource-heavy solution (like a game), there is a good chance a React Native hybrid solution might be suggested. This would also have the advantage of enabling development for both Android and iOS simultaneously (not quite, but much closer to that) than individually/separately.
What are the key factors that you consider before deciding the cost of a mobile application?
Before presenting our clients with a quote for their mobile solution, we will first take into account the number and complexity of user stories needed to achieve an MVP. At Sidebench preparing the right UX/UI flows for the client and their users is extremely important, and we more often than not suggest clients engage in a discovery process with us to ensure the user experience is optimized for their targeted customers. Finally, the tech stack is also an important factor to consider before deciding the costs of the mobile application.
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.)
We typically work with our clients to define a payment structure that works for them. Most often it is either Fixed Cost or Sprint Based Time & Material.
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?
At Sidebench we have predefined ranges which give an estimate of the types of budget’s we work with, however depending on the circumstance that minimum budget will change and we can get creative with our cost structures. There is an expectation, however, that both the idea/concept is validated and we will do our best to put forth an accurate estimate based on the information that we have present. This is one of the key focuses of our discovery process is to define to a more granular level the development cost. Software development is always difficult to pinpoint due to the nature of phased rollouts and the extent as to which features are included in the first release of the product.
What is the price range (min and max) of the projects that you catered to in 2018?
For 2018, we have worked on a myriad of different types of projects, everything from product and concept ideation and strategy to full-scale agile development. These projects have ranged from $10k to $500k+.
Which business model do you suggest to your clients enabling them to generate revenue from mobile applications? Why?
At Sidebench, recommending the right option for them is the most our highest priority. When it comes to the business model, it always comes down to the overall vision of each of our clients. Factors such as the industry, whether it is a service, or has an e-commerce element, and whether or not it is public-facing will help define the appropriate business model. There is no one-stop approach to determining the revenue model.
Sidebench Clients & Portfolios
Sidebench Reviews
6 Reviews
- All Services
- Web Development
- App Designing (UI/UX)
- Relevance
- Most Recent
- Rating: high to low
- Rating: low to high
Lauren Jenai, Founder and CEO at Manifest
Posted on Dec 09, 2019
iOS Mobile App Dev & Design for Health & Fitness Program
Review Summary
I hired Sidebench to redesign and develop the Manifest app from the ground up. We’ve gone through workshops regarding the flow of the app and they’ve been very thorough in getting a full understanding of the concept before starting development. With a defined vision, they’ve developed an app for iOS and we are launching in the App Store soon.
They offer a thorough and organized process, but what’s truly notable is their creativity. Everyone’s input is extremely valuable and it helps keep me on-task. Communicating with developers is often frustrating, but that was never the case here. They're a young and exciting team with a fresh perspective. They have a really good pulse of current markets and strategies; they're a talented group of people.
They offer a thorough and organized process, but what’s truly notable is their creativity. Everyone’s input is extremely valuable and it helps keep me on-task. Communicating with developers is often frustrating, but that was never the case here. They're a young and exciting team with a fresh perspective. They have a really good pulse of current markets and strategies; they're a talented group of people.
Ryan Easterly, Executive Director at WITH Foundation
Posted on May 02, 2019
Design Strategy & Universal Design Workshops
Review Summary
Sidebench joined our digital health initiative for our Universal Design workshop, which allowed adults with developmental disabilities to give feedback to designers and developers. The workshop was a success, so we expanded it to a symposium and a project we’re calling Beta Day. The hope is to reach a broad array of representatives from tech companies and support them in beta testing their products with adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Our needs are unique among Sidebench’s clients, as they’re not developing technology for us. They provide insight into the way designers and developers think and are ultimately responsible for creating the educational components of the workshop. We want to make sure we speak to the tech community in the best way possible, so Sidebench delivers more content and better outreach. Their insight is strong, and they’re great to work with.
Our needs are unique among Sidebench’s clients, as they’re not developing technology for us. They provide insight into the way designers and developers think and are ultimately responsible for creating the educational components of the workshop. We want to make sure we speak to the tech community in the best way possible, so Sidebench delivers more content and better outreach. Their insight is strong, and they’re great to work with.
David de Jesus, Founder & Principal Engineer at AUGx
Posted on Mar 05, 2019
Custom Global Enterprise Platform + iOS Application
Review Summary
Sidebench was key in our business roadmap, and helped build and scale our suite of iOS & Web Platform Apps. Sidebench’s focus on product management and tech leadership has led to a seamless collaboration with Red Bull’s in-house IT and development teams. The Sidebench team was been able to help guide the vision as well as a back it up with a solid technical team. It's been a seamless process since the beginning. One of the big wins is that the app is being used across all business units. The system and application is now currently being heavily used globally for all Red Bull events and continues to be completely supported by Sidebench.
Anthony Armato, Senior Strategist at R/GA
Posted on Oct 24, 2018
Brand Manager - Pabst Brewing Company
Review Summary
They were great. The quality of their work was really high and they delivered on time
Evan Carlson, Assistant at Anita Ko
Posted on Apr 06, 2017
Professional, skilled, and efficient!
Review Summary
The entire experience working with Sidebench was a dream come true. They were attentive to our needs, and took our ideas and transformed them into the website that we always wanted and needed! We definitely recommend them to anyone considering outsourcing their web development/design projects.
What is it about the company that you appreciate the most?
<p>We share the same attention to detail - which is hard to come by. They were thourough and made sure to take the time to get everything right the first time.</p>
Jordan Burnier, Marketing Manager at Stampington & Company
Posted on Mar 24, 2017
Sidebench Studios delivered exactly what we wanted
Review Summary
With the launch of a brand new title, we wanted to design and build a mobile responsive website that captures our unique brand and mimics the sensory experience of its readers. Some of the challenges were that we also needed to leave room for extensive growth, e-commerce, and a few more capabilities that we just weren't quite ready to utilize at the launch of the new site. Sidebench Studios delivered exactly what we wanted: a beautiful, fluid, and functional website that is mobile responsive and gives us the ability to manage changes/growth in-house while keeping the door open for future e-commerce capabilities. I cannot speak highly enough of the skill and professionalism of their team, open communication throughout, including handling new requests seamlessly, and completing this project on time and within budget. This hasn't always been my experience when outsourcing similar projects. I would highly recommend Sidebench Studios for any interactive web design and developmental projects, e-commerce fixes and additions, mobile optimization, and other related needs.
What is it about the company that you appreciate the most?
<p>- Excellent communication and understanding of client's needs. - Fulfillment of expectations on-time and within budget.</p>