Want to boost your competitive advantage, or have a project that could use a kickstart?

Are we the right team for you?

The projects we like most are helping companies kickstart a project you don't have time or resources for, saving projects that are in danger of going sideways, or helping you and your team to do great digital work yourselves.

We're also open to talking if you don’t have a particular project right now, but want to brainstorm about something we could do together.

These are the kind of projects we'd love to help you with:

• That proof-of-concept you’ve been dying to make. Maybe all your resources are tied up. Maybe you’re at a crossroads and can’t figure out what direction to go. Whatever the case, we’d love to help you get unstuck.
• Getting your new app idea off the ground. Sometimes you just don't know where to start or how to get that idea out of your head and into reality. Don't sweat, we're really good at that kind of thing. We'll help you imagine and/or envision how to make that idea into a product people love.
• Helping your product and/or design team up their skills. Our teams boast some of the best minds in the industry. We’ve shared some tips and tricks with even the savviest internal teams about everything from design process to code libraries to performance gotchas and more.
• Projects that need some political magic. We love going to bat for good ideas and have no problem building a business case with you. We can help a CEO see the long-term value of doing things the right way, even if it might cost a little more in the short-term. We don't take projects unless there's a strong business case.

And since time is valuable, here are some good reasons to NOT work with us:

• You’re funding the project from your 401k. Unless you’re independently wealthy or have strong financial backing, we’d rather not take your money. We prefer working with startups who have at least $1MM in professional investment or companies with enough revenue to support the project without jeopardizing the financial health of the business. We’re happy to introduce you to some angel investors and early-stage VCs who might help. You can come back to us when you’ve raised some money.
• You’re shopping around for the lowest price. We don’t compete on price. We compete on value. We work with our clients to find a scope and budget that’s right for both sides. We’ll only take on work if we’re confident that it’ll eventually make you more money than you spend.
• You need something done right away. While we never say never, our teams are typically booked well in advance. The chances of being available immediately are pretty slim.
• Your legal team likes to nitpick. We believe relationships should be mutually beneficial and the terms of our agreement should be equally accommodating for both of us to feel excited about working together. That said, we’re pretty flexible when the budget permits. For an example of the type of relationship environment we strive for, feel free to read our standard Master Services Agreement.
• You “just need it built.” If you have it all worked out already, we probably can’t add much value for you. We love helping our customers work through problems they can’t solve on their own.

Still With Us?

Great! We like you better already. You might be the perfect type of client for us. Just send a note to hello@ninelabs.com and or schedule a time to talk and let us know what’s on your mind.

Psst. If you’re having trouble starting, here’s the kind of email that gets us all excited about working with you (feel free to copy it and modify to your liking):

Hey Nine Labs,

My name is [Elaine Benes], and I’m a product manager at [Delta Air Lines]. I’d love to talk to you about a project.

We’ve been thinking about making [a mobile app] that [helps people manage their frequent flier miles and get upgrades]. We’re looking to partner with a team that can [help us plan things out and get it built]. I asked a few people and my friend [Jerry Seinfeld] said I should talk to you.

We’d like to launch it by [the end of the year] so we can [announce it at the big trade show in NYC]. Let me know if that sounds reasonable.

You’d be working directly with me and my team, so we could move pretty quickly. We’d like to keep the price to about [$250k], though we could probably go up to [$400k] if you help the team understand why additional investment would be smart.

Full disclosure: I’m talking to 2 other agencies about this work: [Acme Agency] and [Vandelay Industries].

Happy to provide any other detail you need. If you’re interested, let’s set up a time to chat.

Thanks,

Elaine

Ready to talk?

If you write emails like that, we’d love to hear from you. Just send a note to hello@ninelabs.com and or schedule a time to talk and let us know what’s on your mind.