Proposal for Client Name

The Project + ABOUT Tanooki Labs

BarbedWire is looking to design and build a digital media platform to serve multiple content types to users. The platform will present users with image, video, text, newsletter and podcast content via a freemium/membership model. The platform will also be designed to be simple for editorial and staff to manage content and target users.

Unless otherwise specified this project is planned to be developed as a responsive website that is compatible with modern desktop browsers (Chrome, Safari, Microsoft Edge).

Tanooki Labs is a product design and development studio with over ten years of experience in building web and mobile applications for entrepreneurs in various industries, including the media and news space.

Since its founding in 2013, Tanooki has built over 150 products with multiple acquisitions and IPOs for its clients including several media platforms. We’ve built media literacy platforms for Reuters, a platform for CreditSights focusing on content distribution in the Bond market, and been a part of the expansion of The Information (including the build of The Information’s mobile application). 

In addition to the experience of Tanooki Labs, the principles for the Barbed Wire project have years of experience in the media field. 

Co-Founder Eric Skiff was a part of the early team at Clipmarks/Amplify where he developed new methods of sharing news media. At Drop.io Eric was a part of the core team working on the development of the Rich Media Backbone API which allowed users to share content from across the web.

Head of Design Dan Scholz previously served as the head of digital marketing at YouGov where he worked with CDO Freddie Sayers to refine and reimagine the company's editorial platform, YouGov.com and managed the US editorial processes. He has also served as a strategic advisor to several other financial services and healthcare focused media platforms.

SPRINT ZERO

Every new product is a challenge. Defining the product. Mapping the user journey. Designing the interface. Tanooki’s Sprint Zero is there to help entrepreneurs transfer their vision to an actionable development plan by doing just that. Through a two phase process the product team will sit with your team to make sure the product is defined so that no time is lost during active development. Not every question will be answered definitively and not every screen will be designed, but Sprint Zero ensures that when it’s time to answer those questions and design those screens the process is as efficient as possible.

Phase 1:
Product Discovery

In the first phase, the Tanooki Labs team will sit with the Barbed Wire team to identify the user flows that will exist within the application for each of the separate user types. This list will then be refined into multiple project phases.

Deliverable: List of user flows broken into separate phases, including definition of designs needed for Phase 2.

Phase 2:
Design Discovery

In the second phase of Sprint Zero, the Tanooki Labs Design Team will work from the list defined in Phase 1 to create a series of screens viewable using Figma. These designs will serve as reference points for active development. The Product Team will simultaneously create a detailed, phased estimate for the full development of the Barbed Wire Platform.

Deliverable: Designs as indicated at the close of Phase 1. Detailed Product Design and Development Estimate.

Project Structure & Development Process

Tanooki Labs projects take a podular approach to development. Every project includes a CTO to provide technical oversight, at minimum 1 developer, as well as a project/product manager to help keep everything on the rails.

Projects follow a weekly sprint cadence consisting of an IPM (Iteration Planning Meeting), daily 15 minute stand-ups, and a Demo/Retro meeting:

IPMS

IPMs are used to plan which features will be worked on during the course of the week.

STAND-UPS

Stand-ups are a daily touch point (and are optional for client product owner) for developers and PMs to identify and resolve anything that is blocking development.

DEMO / RETRO'S

Demo/Retro’s are a presentation of the product as it stands at the end of each sprint. There’s an opportunity for the client team to say what’s going well and what isn’t for anything related to the product.

At Tanooki we believe in transparency and constant communication and all of our client product teams have access to a dedicated Slack Channel where they can reach the Tanooki Team as issues arise. We also provide a weekly status report which includes updates on work performed and hours billed.

The Tanooki Team
(FOUNDERS)

Dave Renz
(Co-Founder)

Following a career in enterprise IT organizations such as General Electric, and multiple startups including QLabs (housed inside of AOL Labs) Dave has a track record of tackling complex problems and finding creative ways to get the job done. As Co-Founder of Tanooki Labs and a CTO he will provide technical and product oversight.

ERIC SKIFF
(Co-Founder)

Tanooki Labs Co-Founder, Eric is an alum of Drop.io, Amplify and AOL’s product incubator QLabs. Since co-founding Tanooki Labs, Eric has focused on helping entrepreneurs build their business as well as their products. As the Tanooki resident hardware hacker Eric is also a co-founder of NYC Resistor, the Brooklyn hackerspace.

The Tanooki Team
(DESIGN)

Dan Scholz
(Head of Design)

Dan is responsible for both building the lab’s brand and helping prospective clients define their needs. Dan has over 15 years of experience with brand development and product management for clients in finance, pharma, enterprise and consumer goods. He previously served as a Co-Founder of the Digital Branding practice at Makovsky Communications, the Global Head of Digital for Lazard Asset Management as well as Global Head of Digital Marketing at YouGov.

Conner Smith
(Creative Director)

For over a decade Conner has developed brands, campaigns, digital products, and services for global companies, organizations, and technology startups. Conner helps companies recognize their potential by delivering integrated digital, print, & unique brand experiences across all channels, driving revenue, conversion and user engagement.

The Tanooki Team
(PM)

Erik Carlson
(Director, Product Manager)

Erik Carlson is the Director of Product Management at Tanooki labs. With 11 years of experience, Erik has managed well over 150 projects and has helped build everything from marketing sites and enterprise platforms to clay-models and hardware builds.

Lauren Eichhorn
(ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR - PRODUCT)

Lauren joined Tanooki Labs as a Product Manager in January 2018.  After beginning her career as a teacher in Philadelphia she made the transition to tech, benefitting from the empathy and leadership skills garnered from her time as an educator. 

While at Tanooki, Lauren has worked on projects in various sectors including Real Estate, Fitness, ECommerce, and Shipping + Logistics.

The Tanooki Team
(PM)

Liz is a highly motivated product manager who cares deeply about product and user experience. Liz has over 10 years of experience transforming client needs into project requirements and solutions. She has a unique background in technology through her work as a licensed building’s architect combined with her knowledge of technological development.

Liz Fibleuil
(PM)

Danielle Sadow
(PM, Sr. Product Manager)

Danielle joined the Tanooki Labs team as a Product Manager in February 2018, bringing with her a dynamic skillset. She is a certified ScrumMaster and earned her PMP. She has over 5 years of project management experience working on interdisciplinary teams. During her time at Tanooki, she has successfully managed a range of web projects from e-Commerce to marketing solutions, maintaining great working relationships with key partners.

Danielle previously served as a Project Manager at ALM Media, with a robust portfolio in website redesigns, implementing finance approval platforms, setting up content management systems, risk assessment, amongst other exciting projects.

Victoria Ogino
(PM)

Before joining Tanooki Labs, Victoria worked as a PM for a software development team at the University of Arizona for 4 years. She has worked on a broad spectrum of projects including web apps, VR apps, games, and mobile apps. Before becoming a PM, she worked in education assisting students on IEPs and teaching at a STEM-focused summer camp. She has a Bachelors in Art Museum Studies and a Masters in Information Science.

The Tanooki Team
(DEVELOPMENT)

Ryan Boland
(Principal Engineer)

Ryan has been programming since he got his first computer and been with Tanooki for over 5 years. His career began working at large engineering firms in the transportation sector, where he learned a rigorous and methodical approach to problem solving. After transitioning to software development, Ryan has helped launch numerous web and mobile applications - as well as the occasional hardware/IOT project.

Peter Schilling
(Principal Engineer)

Peter Schilling joined the Tanooki team in 2012. As an engineer he is interested in creating tools that empower people. He focuses on building apps that are reliable, accessible and fast.

The Tanooki Team
(DEVELOPMENT)

Caley Steward
(Senior Developer)

Caley has been designing and programming digital experiences for over 15 years. In that time he has worked with major brands, ad agencies, higher education, and non-profits on projects of all scales and types. Caley loves making inclusive products that provide coherent user experiences across the digital spectrum.

Erik Sandfort
(Senior Developer)

Erik first began building websites in middle school and it began a life long passion with programming and the web. After obtaining a bachelors in computer science he began working for Tanooki Labs initially in 2013. Since then, Erik has been working with a wide range of early stage technology companies to build sophisticated web and mobile applications and experiences.

PROJECT
REFERENCES

While every project is certainly unique we believe that the following projects show examples of how we’d address potential issues in the development process for your platform requirements.

The Information

In 2019 Tanooki worked with Founder Jessica Lessin and VP of Product Peter Schulz to design and develop The Information’s first mobile app, The Tech Top 10. Since then we’ve served as design and technical support for the publication through the launch of The Information’s podcast and newsletter offerings and additional augmentations to the CMS and membership designs.

obé Fitness

Tanooki Labs worked with obé team to replace their bolted together video CMS with a scalable, customizable platform to make is easier for administrators and to feed a mobile app to enable members to fulfill their fitness goals.

DAPPER LABS

In 2019 Tanooki worked with Founder Jessica Lessin and VP of Product Peter Schulz to design and develop The Information’s first mobile app, The Tech Top 10. Since then we’ve served as design and technical support for the publication through the launch of The Information’s podcast and newsletter offerings and additional augmentations to the CMS and membership designs.

CA-CHING

Tanooki Labs worked with obé team to replace their bolted together video CMS with a scalable, customizable platform to make is easier for administrators and to feed a mobile app to enable members to fulfill their fitness goals.

REFERIN

In 2019 Tanooki worked with Founder Jessica Lessin and VP of Product Peter Schulz to design and develop The Information’s first mobile app, The Tech Top 10. Since then we’ve served as design and technical support for the publication through the launch of The Information’s podcast and newsletter offerings and additional augmentations to the CMS and membership designs.

TARGET100

Tanooki Labs worked with obé team to replace their bolted together video CMS with a scalable, customizable platform to make is easier for administrators and to feed a mobile app to enable members to fulfill their fitness goals.

Tanooki Pledge

At Tanooki Labs we think of our engagements as partnerships and we always approach our partnerships with a radical level of transparency. You can expect to put in a minimum of 8 - 10 hours per week on the product between meetings, ticket review/accept/reject and general product thinking. Because this is a partnership and we know that the success of the product relies heavily on mutual trust, we make some significant promises.

Things We Promise to Do

Treat your product as if it were our own, and think deeply about the product, it’s users, and your business.

Send Weekly Reports to keep you informed on progress and budget.

Attend Daily Standups to ensure developers have what they need and aren’t blocked.

Perform Weekly in-progress demos (Demo), retrospective process reviews (Retro), and iteration planning meetings (IPM) to gather your feedback and prime upcoming work.

Provide flexibility in features, scope, and timing based on your needs and feedback from early users, and input on how this may affect your budget.

Always choose the right solution for the job, even if it means lower billable for us

Things You Promise to Do

Be present at Demo, Retros and IPMs.

Communicate with the team via Slack/Email.Be present at Demo, Retros and IPMs.

If there is a product owner other than yourself or the key stakeholder, empower the product owner to make product choices and direct development work. Communicate with the team via Slack/Email.Be present at Demo, Retros and IPMs.

Work to ensure open communications with any additional partners.


A. If there needs to be a delay in payment, let us know ASAP, not after the payment is late.

Pay invoices on or before the due date.

Project Estimate, agreements, and documents

Please note that this is not a fixed-bid quote, but an estimate based on the conversations we've had and previous experience. If we get in there and things are easier than we've estimated here you are only charged for the hours used. Conversely, if things are more complicated than expected the final amount may be higher. You'll be getting weekly reporting on budget though so you'll always know exactly where we are with the budget at all times. If we are getting close to the end of the budget we'll alert you and we’ll discuss how we get the user value for the budget remaining.

Pledge Agreement

Master Service Agreement

Statement of Work Agreement

Reimbursable Expenses Agreement

Full Estimate Details

Thank You!

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