Who are the people behind Thingealogy? In this interview, we’re introducing you to the team that developed the app. Keith Shields and Josh Tucker are the founders of Designli, the product development company that built and maintain the Thingealogy app. In this interview, they share their experiences helping to bring Thingealogy to life.
Can you share a little bit about Designli — what you do and who you work with?
We’re a product design and development company that helps non-technical startups and entrepreneurs launch the first version of their software product.
What would you say sets your company apart? Why do your clients choose you over your competitors?
One thing that clients often tell us is that they appreciate our focus on clear, regular communication to make clients comfortable — this is missing from a lot of product development companies. And our SolutionLab process helps clients hash out the details of their product before starting development. We build a roadmap together so they know exactly what they’re getting into.
If you had to pick one thing, what would you say is the most important thing that app developers can bring to the table when a customer is building an app?
Be fully bought into the vision of the customer, understand the problem they’re trying to solve. And help the client think through the lean startup approach — what’s the best MVP? This is foundational to the success of a startup.
Describe the process you used to understand and assimilate Kathy’s vision for the app.
The process happened through the SolutionLab — we asked pointed questions to get an understanding of how we could help make her as successful as she could be.
Security is an ongoing concern for everyone who uses technology. How do you protect users’ information from being hacked?
The app uses private user accounts, which are protected by security best practices. The application database is also projected from the internet which keeps data safe. We build on Amazon Web Services, which has powerful security features, and, of course, we also use SSL.
How do you ensure information won’t get lost?
We back up all user data, first. Second, we give users complete control of their data, so they can download all their data at any time as a ZIP file.
How do you protect users from having their possessions targeted at home?
All information users put in the app is completely private and shared only with the people they want to share it with. No addresses or personal data are ever stored in Thingealogy, and the app doesn’t use location services, so there would be no way to associate a collection with a location anyway.
What’s your favorite feature of Thingealogy?
The QR code feature is unique and adds a lot of value. Being able to create custom “talking” gift labels and artwork labels is a concept we haven’t seen elsewhere.
Anything else you’d like to share with Thingealogy users or people interested in the app?
Kathy was featured in our Founders Series recently — a series of posts where we showcase our clients. Check out the post here.
Thingealogy® is a free story-telling app that helps you organize and preserve the stories behind your collections and artwork. Download the app, and try it out for yourself!
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