FINDING THE ONE
Why Delmonik Contee chose Zing for Bond Love's software development
Bond Love: Why Delmonik Contee chose Zing for his mobile application
FINDING THE ONE
Why Delmonik Contee chose Zing for Bond Love’s software development
While the societal impact of divorce is felt around the world, when it touched Delmonik Contee’s family, he envisioned Bond Love, an app to strengthen relationships.
“When loving couples break up, it not only impacts them: it impacts their family,” begins the entrepreneur.
After asking himself how technology could change that, he recalls:
““I thought about it and I’ve never seen a couple - married or not - come fresh off a vacation or a restaurant where they’ve having a good time and getting divorced the next day.”
He noticed trends before breakups happen, such as couples spending less and less time together. He noticed trends before breakups happen, such as couples spending less and less time together.
“I thought technology would be a good fit at reminding and incentivizing you to do things together. So I designed a feature set around communication and encouraging couples to get out and do things together.”
He noticed lots of apps designed to bring couples together - but none that helped them to stay together.
CHOOSING THE RIGHT PARTNER
Initially, Delmonik tried to develop the app on his own.
He remembers:
“I quickly realized that was going to take a long time and I’m not even sure if I was the right person to do it. So I reached out for support.”
He heard lots of horror stories about large companies engaging development shops with “nightmareish experiences”. That’s why he decided to undertake a request for proposal (RFP) process.
After looking at around 17 different portfolios, he decided Zing was the best fit for his app.
“I chose Zing because - ultimately - I thought they offered the best value. It wasn’t just about cost. If you’re just looking at price, sometimes there’s a reason one company’s undercutting another by 50%
“I was really impressed with the people, the professionalism and the overall quality of the work.”
“I also really liked the fact that in one spot I could get all the support that I needed because when I initially engaged with Zing, they were tasked with development with someone else doing UI/UX and it, it worked out okay, but it's much better when everything is under the same roof.”
Always pragmatic, he knows that developers are good at developing, UI and UX professionals need everything ‘pixel-perfect’.
“I also really liked the fact that in one spot I could get all the support that I needed because when I initially engaged with Zing, they were tasked with development with someone else doing UI/UX and it, it worked out okay, but it's much better when everything is under the same roof.”
Always pragmatic, he knows that developers are good at developing, UI and UX professionals need everything ‘pixel-perfect’. He adds:
FRESH STARTS
Prior to working with Zing, Delmonick worked with a design company to get the right look for the app with mixed results.
“It’s supposed to be a fun app, but their design looked just a little too serious,” he explains. “So we started at ground zero - looking not only at the architecture, but the look and feel, too.
“I tasked Zing to redesign the look and feel of the app, as well as updating the architecture to make it much more scalable and secure.”
WORKING WorkingTogether
While many people know what dating apps and how they work, Delmonik recognized the biggest challenge facing Bond Love was helping people understand what the app is.
“The team at Zing and I brainstormed lots of different options. Honestly, it was a work in progress and we made incremental changes as we went,” he recalls.
“We addressed the challenge of educating the audience through ads and messaging and we were cognizant that the app is essentially a paperweight if you’re not in a relationship.”
For those who are single, most features are unavailable. However, the app does allow users to send and receive friend requests.
“DOUBLING DOWN”
While Delmonik felt the idea was straightforward, exposing the app to thousands of people could mean that some just don’t get the concept.
“That’s why we really doubled down on the onbording experience,” he stresses.
“If you’re putting an app out there even smart people - even if its something they’ve never done before - need step-by-step guidance to break it down and as simple as possible.”
With the help of Zing, the Bond Love founder released several versions of the product, sending emails, sending notifications and changing the workflow to get things working as seamlessly as possible.
“Ultimately, it was no one thing that solved the problem. It was the combination of multiple things,” he adds. Through trial and error, Bond Love and Zing got the product to the point where everyone can understand.
Loving success
Looking back on the development of the Bond Love app, Delmonik is pleased with the results, as well a his decision to work with Zing.
“There was 100% trust between me and the team,” he explains. “I know all of their names. I can reach out to them directly.” And when problems arise, he knows he can count on them to have his back.
:He adds: “Nothing’s perfect and technology is hard. When you’re pushing the limit and doing something that has ever been done before you’re gonna have a bug or two. And they all got fixed within two days - max.
“The team was responsive, which is good because nothing makes an app owner panic more than when their app is out in the wild and users are like ‘hey, I clicked this button and nothing’s happening’.”
While the app is already bringing couples closer together, Delmonick isn’t quite finished.
Looking ahead, he’s hoping partner with Zing again to introduce monetization features to the app. He is also currently considering creating a B2B stablemate for Bond Love. Whatever he does, he knows it will be with the help of Zing because he recognizes that:
“If you take a random shot in the dark, you know, you're probably going to have to go through some trial and error before you find someone or a company that's as good as what the Zing team.”