Cory Halbardier, Chief Executive Officer at Spacial Homes
Posted on Mar 22, 2022
Unicorn Road LLC
3 Reviews
Verified
Accelerating Entrepreneurs
Unicorn Road is on a mission to accelerate entrepreneurs and early-stage startups. Based in Chicago, we specialize in designing and developing custom and low-code websites, MVP web apps, and MVP mobile apps for teams who enjoy the sight of the competition in their rearview mirror.
We believe in dreams — sometimes even more than the people who are closest to the dreamer. But we don’t love that word because it doesn’t describe the ambitious, hard-working, innovative human beings we work with each and every day. We use the word entrepreneur. Entrepreneurs organize, manage, and assume risk. Entrepreneurs have the audacity to challenge conventions, disrupt industries, and pave the way to the new.
We at Unicorn Road think the best way to change the world is to ensure no genius goes undiscovered, and no idea is left to be dismissed as just a dream. We understand what’s at stake and we act with the determination that great ideas demand and the urgency needed to maintain momentum.
We aren’t offering a map, best practices, or hearsay from the side of the trail. We’re offering our expertise and experience at navigating the road where entrepreneurs build, test, and continuously improve their ideas.
Godspeed.
I will go where there is not a path. I will leave a trail.–Emerson
United States
1 E Erie St, Suite 525-4951,
Chicago,
Illinois
60647
7732453836
NA
10 - 49
2020
Service Focus
Industry Focus
- Startups - 50%
- Consumer Products - 10%
- Financial & Payments - 10%
- Information Technology - 10%
- Productivity - 10%
- Defense & Aerospace - 10%
Client Focus
80% Small Business
20% Medium Business
Review Analytics of Unicorn Road LLC
- 3
- Total Reviews
- 4.8/5
- Overall Rating
- 0
- Recent Reviews
What Users Say
John at Unicorn Road did a great job getting our website up and running
Cory Halbardier , Chief Executive Officer at Spacial Homes
Great experience with the Unicorn Road Team for website development and building
Erika Shaffer , Director of Strategic Communications at Madrona Venture Group
Recent New Website
Stacey Noble
What Users Like The Most
- The people were very friendly and easy to work with! Also, like the hosting site we're using. I had not heard of it but really enjoy it.
- They had a quick response to our needs often and when needed
- The functionality of the website worked exactly the way we hoped it would
What Users Like The Least
- Follow-up. Once site is launched, do a couple meetings to go over quality checks and flow of the new site.
- I have nothing to add here. I have nothing to add here.
- make sure their cell phone numbers are in their email signatures - this is a perennial request for me with everyone though!
Detailed Reviews of Unicorn Road LLC
3 Reviews
- All Services
- Web Development
- Web Designing (UI/UX)
- Relevance
- Most Recent
- Rating: high to low
- Rating: low to high
Erika Shaffer, Director of Strategic Communications at Madrona Venture Group
Posted on Jan 28, 2022
Great experience with the Unicorn Road Team for website development and building
Stacey Noble
Posted on Jun 17, 2021
Recent New Website
Executive Interview of Unicorn Road LLC
John Ostler
Founder & CEO
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Please introduce your company and describe your role within the organization.
Unicorn Road is a digital agency specializing in websites, branding, and SEO for entrepreneurs, startups, and teams who want to move fast. I’m the CEO/Founder and I help executive produce all our projects. That means that after doing some discovery I’m presenting our clients with multiple ways for our team to work with our clients at different price points that all achieve their future vision/goals. We then staff our projects appropriately based specifically on that need. A project may be more reliant on custom illustration, video, 3d, or some interactivity to help communicate the value prop. Another might need to reach some specific goals for SEO. In other cases, it’s an automated workflow for omnichannel publishing. We meet them where they are and tool the team to go as fast as possible while remaining exceptionally at the highest level.
What inspired the founding of your company, and what is the story behind its inception?
I’m an entrepreneur myself, and I noticed how important speed was to keeping my motivation and energy to continue building the product. The options I had at that time with other agencies whether onshore in the US or offshore seemed to work in the opposite direction. Their processes were tailored to their capabilities and client roster which was almost always tipped upside down starting with the highest paying clients. I wanted to take my 25 years of experience working at and creating digital agencies and create an environment where an entrepreneur felt comfortable saying, “I need this yesterday” and our team, tools, and processes were dialed in to handle that while not skimping on the production value or ultimate goal achievement. As it turns out, all teams want to be treated that way.
What are the core values and principles that drive your company's culture, and how do you ensure alignment with these values across your team?
We have a great user manual for everyone who joins our team describing exactly what it’s going to be like to work with us and our clients. It will be demanding. Everything will be needed yesterday. We will need to be fast on our feet and quick to come up with creative solutions. We’re fostering a culture of speed and excellence and after 4 years of running the company I can say that it’s not just entrepreneurs or teams that want to move fast, everyone does. It’s not speed for speeds sake, it’s about maintaining our excitement and momentum for the project. I think where other teams go wrong is that they don’t set the rules of the game with every hire. If everyone knows what to expect they can adapt. If things change or a company is inconsistent with how they deliver between clients it creates ripples in the organization.
Can you highlight some of the key achievements or milestones your company has accomplished since its inception?
One of the first startups we worked on was a HeathTech startup called STIGMA. The mission of the organization was to remove the stigma that is associated with talking about mental health started by an incredible founder Arianna Vargas. We helped her go from her sketches to a fully functional web-based v1 of the tool using a combination of Webflow, Memberstack, Airtable, and a few other tools. She used this and her amazing leadership and vision to successfully raise a seed round from some very high-profile angels in Chicago, go on to win multiple competitions at pitch events, build a team, and finally get awarded Google Play Top App of the Year for Good 2022.
Could you explain your company's business model? Do you primarily operate with an in-house team or utilize third-party vendors/outsourcing?
We work with a mostly freelancer model. We have found the best designers, developers, and artists prefer to work on their own terms and in fairness have earned the right to work on the projects they find interesting. It also allows us to accommodate the need for speed. If we staffed too many specialties we’d have to charge too much for our services. Going fast is in the best interest of everyone involved.
How does your company differentiate itself from competitors in the industry?
There’s a well-known phase in our industry which is “Fast, Cheap, Good –you pick 2”. Meaning if you want something fast and cheap it’s going to cost you a lot. If you want something cheap and good it’s not going to go fast. There’s a hack to getting all 3. We focus on cheap and good but then we take it further because we’re faster than most teams because we specifically put every process, framework, and tool that we use through that lens. If it speeds us up we’re going to use it and adopt it as long as at the end of the day it achieves the goals of our clients and keeps our quality of execution at the highest level.
How would you describe the dynamics within your team, and how do you foster collaboration and teamwork to achieve common goals?
We have a culture of constant shipping. Everything needed to get out yesterday. We’re always making minor adjustments to get that .01% every day. With that attitude, we have to be in constant touch always working to help and improve each other.
What measures do you take to support the professional development and growth of your employees? Do you offer training programs or opportunities for skill enhancement?
Because we ship all the time we’re constantly giving everyone on the team a chance to be in the driver's seat. They’re in a constant state of learning because the challenges are constant. We don’t rest we instead learn by doing.
Could you share a notable success story or case study that exemplifies the impact your company has had on a client's business?
Rick Shiels is the number one golf influencer on YouTube. He’s had great success on the platform and built a brilliant team around him. We approached him about his website in 2023 to discuss the opportunities to grow his audience of golfers at all levels and discover his content. We put together a comprehensive strategy to establish his website strategy and tie it back to the KPIs the team had in the coming years. In 6 weeks we had a fully functioning omnichannel publishing engine in webflow, a technical SEO strategy in place, advanced analytics, a newsletter, and an e-commerce store. His website impressions increased by 1200% in 6 months and his content is now showing up in equipment reviews, people researching pro players, and going beyond the YouTube algorithm.
What industries do you primarily cater to, and do you have a significant percentage of repeat clients? If so, what is the ratio of repeat clients?
We work with a lot of VCs on their websites and then websites for their newly funded companies. We also work with teams that have a marketing team but not much in the way of design and technical capabilities. Usually a VP or Director of Marketing. 9 out of 10 of our clients are repeat.
What initiatives does your company undertake to foster innovation and stay at the forefront of industry trends? Do you invest in research and development projects?
Our R&D comes from our people and the people we ask to join the team on projects. We don’t work with designers or developers who are prolifically producing content for their own channels. So for instance, designers who post on Behance or Dribbble regularly, or developers who are committing new implementations on Github and are prolific at talking about them on X. We do not invest in our own projects but most of the team has multiple side projects.
Please share some of the most sought-after services that clients approach your company for.
Webflow websites has been the biggest ask over the last 4 years. People are tired of not being able to update their WordPress sites or them becoming a security issue. Webflow was a very intentional choice because it allows our full stack engineers to move extremely fast while also providing an extremely easy to use tool for non-technical teams.
How do you build and maintain strong relationships with your clients, and what mechanisms do you have in place for gathering and acting upon client feedback?
We are prompt to get back to them with new ideas and strategies to solve the problems we’re seeing. There is a constant feedback loop. Sometimes just being willing to pick up the phone and call someone rather than sending an email and then setting up a meeting. Setting up meetings is slow. Calling someone to get to the root of what needs to be done is fast.
How has your company adapted to changes and challenges in the business landscape, and what strategies have you employed to ensure resilience and sustainability?
We’re having great experiences with our clients and they’re giving us great reviews on platforms like GoodFirms. This helps keep our pipeline full. We also don’t staff many full-time employees which keeps us nimble and adaptable. Our clients like the idea that they don’t have to go with some technology or design solution simply because that’s what is on offer.
What payment structure do you typically follow when billing clients? Is it Pay per Feature, Fixed Cost, or Pay per Milestone (phases, months, versions, etc.)?
Always fixed cost. Nobody wants a surprise. We put right into our proposals that every project is going to twists and turns and pivots and that’s simply the nature of this business. We need to be fast and nimble.
Do you accept projects that meet your basic budget requirements? If yes, what is the minimum budget requirement? If no, what is the minimum budget you have worked with in the past?
We don’t have a minimum or maximum budget because sometimes teams don’t need much of a push to achieve their future state. We’re very upfront and honest about that and it helps us maintain our trust that we’ll always suggest what’s necessary vs what we need to get paid to get the job done.
Can you provide an overview of the price range (minimum and maximum) of the projects your company worked on in 2023?
$2,500 –$75,000 but in almost all cases there were multiple projects in a year.
What technological capabilities does your company possess, and are there any ongoing or planned investments in technology infrastructure or tools to enhance your services?
Webflow, Airtable, React, Python, Shopify and we have an ability to work with fine-tune AI models.
Where do you envision your company in the next 10 years? What are your long-term goals and aspirations for growth and development?
We’ll rely on AI more and more as the LLMs mature because that’s what makes us faster. Our intention isn’t to remove the human element from the loop, but the tools we’re using today have already made our teams and our clients 10x faster. This is another great example of how your focus on being cheap and good can also include the process element of going fast. That’s the unicorn part of unicorn road, to achieve all three is the rarest of beasts.