We’ve been working with Alex for four years, supporting the growth of Findr from a tiny self-funded concept to a six-figured invested international platform. We’re proud to have helped him bring his vision to life.
Objectives
Like many startups, Findr was born out of a tremendous and ambitious idea, one that would require dedication and stewardship to succeed. We wanted to help Alex create a business model and platform that could one day stand alone as a self-sustaining entity. From the beginning we strived to:
- Advise, recommend, and partner with Findr to help it achieve its grand vision
- Design and develop a fully functional, scalable, robust platform
- Attract users and photographers to the system
- Follow a lean, agile methodology of releasing early and refining often
- Craft a product that is loved by users and supports the business Alex wants to build
From branding to building
Working with Alex from 2013, we helped him create the Findr brand whilst designing and developing the entire platform over multiple iterations.
Alex’s tenacity, vision, and entrepreneurship took Findr from a bedroom startup to a recognised tech business.
Strategy
The strategy behind Findr was longterm. Our role would be to support the business for many years, from the development of a simple initial concept to the creation of the current large, sophisticated platform. Alex was the visionary of Findr; we were the guardians.
By following a prioritised, agile approach, we encouraged Alex to focus on features that would bring the most benefit to his users and attract the most interest. There is a tendency to feature stuff and bloat software so restraint is necessary in maximising budgets whilst simplifying user interactions.
Users are everything
The term MVP - Minimum Viable Product - gets thrown around a lot but we prefer the term MLP - Minimum Loveable Product. In a world of startup saturation, it’s no longer enough to produce the bare minimum skeleton functionality that your users might want. Instead, it’s important that their experiences are enjoyable and rewarding at every step.
The user experience behind Findr was given special consideration and attention. From the layout of the results page to the booking process, each screen was designed to be simple, clear and easy to use.
Implementation
The latest version of Findr, developed throughout 2016, saw some huge changes and additions to the system. The entire interface was redeveloped to present users with a more focused requirements search and prioritised results listing. The map interface is still present as an option for viewing results by location.
An entire end-to-end booking system was also created, allowing photographers to manage their schedule and take direct bookings online. Much like Airbnb, Findr repositioned itself as a facilitator of photographer bookings, providing quick, easy access for users and a secure, trustworthy marketplace for photographers.
An ever-growing system
The original iteration of Findr was a simple map based on Google Maps that allowed users to find photographers visually by location.
Since then, the system has grown to follow a more requirement based search with full booking and account management behind it.
The map still exists as a method of locating photographers to this day.
“Primate are a great team to work with. Second to none for professionalism and diligence. Every step of our project to date has been delivered on time with our expectations exceeded over and over again.”
Alex Hewitt
Managing Director