Client selection criteria

As with any relationship, both parties must be interested in one another before engaging in something serious.

You wouldn't get married on Saturday with a random person you met the previous night at the bar, would you? First, you go out for a few drinks, have dinner maybe, and date for a while until both of you finally realise there's a good match.

We and our clients are the same thing. Companies looking for agencies like ours (should) scout for a diverse range of companies before settling on the best fit. In return, we also have the opportunity to evaluate our compatibility with them and then decide whether or not we want to collaborate.

Who do we like to work with, then?

We like to collaborate with people we would hire. People we would like to hang around and discuss with. People (or companies) with whom we share the same ethical and moral values.

In our experience, we found that the projects with the best results (by far) were the ones whose stakeholders we had a good relationship with. These were the projects where collaboration really flowed because we shared the same principles.

Feeling comfortable around someone nurtures open communication. This fosters motivation because you know there's someone who is compassionate, interested, humble, and willing to share the good and bad times of the relationship with you. Not someone who's unleashing their wrath after the first hiccup has occurred.

So naturally, we want to work with clients who share the same values: those who trust us, understand that we know what we're doing, don't micromanage, and are willing to share accountability with us.

We want to work with people who know we are not pixel pushers. Those who realise we are building their product, nurturing it with them. Not for them. Those who accept this is a two-sided relationship where respect and trustworthiness reign. Those who don't expect miracles but instead know that quality software takes time and effort to design and develop.

Speaking of quality, we want to work with companies who prioritise it above everything else. We seek companies who value premium work, who get a kick out of excellence, and great-looking, long-lasting user experiences, leading to the development of solid and scalable products.

We say there are three variables to any project: scope, time, and budget, but quality ain't one.

In return for all this, clients get our undivided commitment to an open, honest, and transparent relationship that aims to help them create the best possible product.

Who are those we don't want to work with?

First and foremost, we don't want to work with those who don't match everything we’ve written above.

But not less important, we don't want to work with jerks, and, for the most part, we've been lucky enough to stay away from these over the years. When we didn't? Oh my! They were like weeds that spread out across the team, killing morale and motivation.

Besides moral and ethical values — which, as with quality, we will not compromise on — there are no other criteria we value as highly. Of course, the budget can be a major obstacle, as well as timelines and our team's capacity, but we have often found that when there's a will, there's a way. We will offer support on how to best proceed, facing these challenges together.

When companies reach out, it's usually because they were referred to us, sought additional information, or had already familiarised themselves with our Handbook or our website. Likely, they already know How we collaborate, how we budget, or how big our team is. This filters and organically triages the companies interested in working with us, which, by default, sifters out the undesired lumps.