Custom data-driven web and mobile software development.
We make time to understand your business needs so we can build the right solution that fits within your budget and timeline.
About Us
We are a custom web and mobile application consultancy based in Baltimore, MD. We've been building custom software since 2005, and over the years, we've become a staple in the Baltimore tech community, developing software for local startups and institutions alike. We developed an iPhone app before the App Store and helped our clients understand "the cloud" back in 2008. We've built over 150 custom applications for enterprises and startups alike, including successful startups OrderUp (acquired by Groupon), GiveCorps (acquired by Network for Good), and RedOwl Analytics (acquired by Raytheon).
As a custom software development agency, we provide a wide range of services including mobile application development, web application development, product design and research, back-end development, DevOps configuration, API development, user testing, and mobile application builds. We have APIs in production that handle over 15 million requests weekly and apps that are delivered in a dozen languages, including Chinese, Vietnamese, and Arabic; we build apps that handle scale gracefully, are stable, and are easy to continue to build on.
Much of our work is greenfield — meaning new applications built from scratch — leveraging best-in-class languages, open-source libraries, and processes, including Elixir / Phoenix, Ruby on Rails, React, and React Native. We use agile development processes and consistent communication to ensure that we stay aligned with clients on priorities, budget, and timeline throughout each project.
We build custom mobile and web based applications that handle business logic, such as the new digital ticketing system for the Baltimore Water Taxi, Brookes Publishing’s online Ages and Stages Questionnaire, and location-based crime aggregator SpotCrime. Many of our clients have been with us for a number of years, some over a decade; over 40% of our annual revenue comes from repeat customers.
We pride ourselves not only on our high standards of code and organization, but also on our communication skills both with technical and non-technical stakeholders. We work with a variety of clients with a range of technical expertise. Some of our clients have no technical staff but need an internal or external tool built, and so we function as their de-facto technical team; others have a robust engineering department but need a project or feature turned around more quickly than they could manage in-house. We’re equally comfortable in both of these scenarios and anywhere in between. We even occasionally provide technical advising for startups and DevOps consulting for complex application architecture builds.
While many of our clients are in Baltimore, Maryland, New York, Washington DC, and Virginia, we’ve worked with clients on five continents and the International Space Station.
For more on what we can offer, check out our services, method, and case studies.
Our Team
We are a team of engineers; almost everyone on our team codes (even our Product Designer and our Director of Marketing). Our President is a classically trained engineer; we take our tech very seriously. That being said, we also highly prioritize communication, with a clear understanding that the work of translating between technical and business perspectives is crucial to the success of all of our projects.
Our team members come from many different backgrounds; some have traditional engineering backgrounds, some came to mobile and web application development later in life through bootcamps. Some came to us early in their careers, some came here after stints in large organizations. We even ran an Apprenticeship Program in 2018 to help accelerate the careers of three junior developers and close a hiring gap internally.
Regardless of background, everyone on our team is constantly learning and growing as a developer and a professional; we pride ourselves on our high quality code and our excellent organization and communication skills.
Community
We're proud to be a Baltimore company, and you'll find that many people in the local startup and technology communities know who we are.
Civic engagement is one of our core company beliefs, and we've been engaged with a number of community initiatives over the years. We've been sending pizza to technical meetups in town since 2010, including Bmore on Rails, Charm City JS, and others. We created and hosted the Ruby on Rails unconference BohConf for several years, and have created a series of initiatives including the Baltimore Women in Tech Microgrants and a developer apprenticeship program.
We run the Baltimore Elixir and Erlang Meetup and the Baltimore AI Meetup; we speak at and sponsor a number of Elixir conferences including ElixirConf, Lonestar Elixir, and the Big Elixir. We also run an interview-format Elixir podcast focused on conversations with leading Elixir developers around the world, Elixir Wizards.
We've been members of the ETC community since 2006. Our first office was at the old ETC Eastern building, and though we now work out of the Broom Factory in Canton, we are still very involved through mentorship with the strong entrepreneurial community at the ETC. We also make a point of connecting with other startup incubators, accelerators, and entrepreneurship organizations in town including Accelerate Baltimore, Conscious Venture Lab, Betamore, and the Johns Hopkins Fast Forward incubator, through mentorship, sponsorship, and speaking opportunities.
Our latest community projects are the civic hacking initiative Hack Baltimore and our in-kind startup investment competition SmartVentures. This past fall we also partnered with our friends at Fearless to donate a total of $20,000 to four local nonprofits as part of our annual giving efforts.