How is Blue Label Labs different from its competitors?

First, we live and breathe cutting-edge/bleeding-edge technology, so your app will similarly be cutting-edge/bleeding edge with a long “shelf-life”. Second, with a perfect mix of local, domestic and international talent you are guaranteed to get the optimal mix of a high-quality product and a fair price. Third, you will be assigned a dedicated Program Manager (PM) after we’ve established a contract who will be your single point-person for all of your needs and questions. This PM will stay with you for the duration of your relationship with Blue Label Labs and is your conduit to all of the resources we have to offer, thus streamlining your communication and preventing you from having to repeat your message to multiple resources or play air traffic control. Our PMs are the best in the business and we’d be happy to introduce you to a projected PM (and project team) once we’ve got an estimate on the table to discuss. Fourth, the size of Blue Label Labs team (now 64 people strong) means you don’t have to worry about the “single point of failure” issue that exists at smaller shops of just one or two developers, nor the burden paying for the high overhead cost associated with larger shops. Fifth, we have a stronger focus on design than most other shops. We split our design team into two specific functions—Product/User Experience and User Interface. It’s a rare unicorn designer that is good at both thinking through flow and product decisions, as well as branding, colors, logos and overall User Interface. To that end, each project team has both a UX Designer and UI Designer staffed to ensure top notch design. Sixth, with over 7 years of operation and over 250 apps completed, we have both the experience and extensive re-usable code base to ensure your app is built as efficiently and as inexpensively as possible. Seventh, our QA and Testing methodology is rigorous and as important to us as the actual development—meaning your app will be as bug free as is possible. We have a dedicated QA Engineer staffed on every project. This engineer is not the original author of the code ensuring the highest quality results from the QA process. Please see the below sections for more details.

How does Blue Label Labs work with clients?

Blue Label Labs Labs begins most projects with a Discovery, Planning & Design Phase (Phase One). First, we determine the proper technologies and development schedule. Second, the Design teams inherit the User Stories that were drafted during the sales process. User Stories are simple one-liners that outline the activities your users will need to be able to accomplish within the app. These User Stories then get grouped together into meaningful features and feature sets. The Design teams work with the client to finalize the User Stories. Third, our design team sets out creating greyscale wireframes to illustrate how a user will move through the app (i.e., the user experience, UX). Fourth, we transition to full color illustrations/designs that have the final look and feel of the app (i.e., the user interface, UI). Fifth, the app designs are then uploaded into a prototyping platform called Invision that allows our team to create tappable and swipeable “hotspots” so that you can show the app on your phone or via a mocked-up phone in a web browser. At the same time, we draft a Functional Specification document that details the technical hows and whys of the project for the development team. Once that work is complete, we them move on to the Development Phase (Phase Two). The Agile development/engineering team works hand-in-hand with the Program Manager and follows the wireframes and the Functional Specifications to build the app. Our first development goal is the First Deliverable milestone—we call this D1; this is a highly functional build of the app that contains a subset of features agreed upon by Blue Label Labs and the client. We then begin an iterative process of finalizing the remaining features. At the same time, a QA Team builds a full test plan for the app. The QA Team continually performs functional and regression testing on the app, reporting issues to the Project Manager. Learn more about our process here.

How long does it take to complete the average app?

Typically, for our average 4 to 5-month project, the Phase One: Discovery & Planning and Design lasts for approximately 4 to 6 weeks, with Phase Two: Development and Testing Phase occupying the remaining 3 to 4 months. At the end of the Phase Two, the final app is prepared for Deployment. Deployment involves moving any web services and server side components to a production environment and submitting the app to the relevant app store(s).

How much does the average app cost?

If we were in full-swing on a new project, a client can estimate a cost of between $10,000 and $30,000 per two-week sprint ($20,000 to $60,000 per month) for the effort—typically billed bi-weekly. If Blue Label Labs is handling everything from Discovery, Planning & Design through to Deployment in an app store, total app costs average about $120,000 for one “platform”–iOS, Android, Web, etc. That said, it very much depends on the complexity of the design and development required for each individual app, we’ve completed full apps at costs of between $50,000 (a bare-bones, simple MVP/prototype) and $2,000,000 (a full featured, enterprise apps). We provide free, no commitment estimates to clients. After the app is submitted to an app store(s) or pushed live on the web, the Blue Label Labs team monitors the app store and customer reviews and deals with any issues, questions, delays or approvals that arise. We have a great track record with app submissions and make sure that the app submitted is highly likely to be approved without issue. Post approval, a maintenance agreement can be put into place to cover and small issues, minor app edits (e.g., color, image or text changes) and any bugs that might linger. At the end of the project, we will transfer all source code and project files to you and you will remain the sole owner of all IP in the app. After that time, we provide our services at an hourly rate of $120/hour for ad-hoc updates or at an hourly rate of $100/hour for a mutually agreed upon set number of hours in a 6-month retainer. The monthly maintenance cost for the average app is $2,000/month: in other words, a retainer of 20 hours per month at $100 per hour equals $2,000/month and guarantees expedited service vs. ad-hoc requests.

What is the difference between a Native App, a Hybrid App and an HTML5 App?

Native App: A Native App is an app written for a specific platform like iOS or Android—in other words, the app is written in the coding language used for development on that specific platform (Objective-C or Swift for iOS and Java for Android). When you build a Native App, you get access to all the hardware features exposed by the native code APIs and SDKs. For example, Apple iOS Push Notifications are one example of a feature that cannot be supported by an HTML5 App. The graphics and user interface of a Native App are far superior to any Hybrid or HTML5 app. You would choose this option, if you want to use the user interface components from Apple’s proprietary user interface libraries (i.e., the usability is better); you want full device hardware access—cameras, microphone, and geo-location; you want peak performance with no lag; you want users to be able to access the app off-line (i.e., without Internet access); you want access to push notifications and in-app purchase; and you want your app to de discoverable in the app store. On the downside, your code is less portable across operating systems and it is often the most expensive development option. It is our recommendation that if you plan to start a true, revenue generating, app-based business, this is the only viable option. Hybrid App: A Hybrid App is a form of web app that is deployed to a native platform like an iPhone or Android phone inside a native shell. This shell is usually little more than a web browser view (to display the HTML5 content) and some other hooks to allow your web app to potentially access some more hardware features that are not available inside a typical mobile web browser—e.g., push notification and in-app purchases. It improves code portability because if you want to port your app to another platform, you only need a native shell on that other platform to run it, the HTML5 content of the app is directly portable. These shells can be hand written, but can also be generated automatically by tools in the marketplace like React Native, PhoneGap, Cordova or Xamarin. These tools allow a developer to push the app out to multiple platforms (e.g., iOS, Android, Windows Mobile) quickly by generating the shell and packages required to do so automatically. This sounds powerful, and it is, but clearly creators of these third-party platforms have a lot of configurations and hardware to support, and thus, the solutions do not always work the same across all devices, and in practice, testing and hacking of special cases will be required by the developer to get proper functionality. You would choose this option if you want a balance between cost and usability; you want access to some (but not all) of the phone’s native APIs/SDKs and hardware; you want to be able to quickly deploy across multiple device types; and you’re not worried about high-end graphics. On the downside, because these third-party hybrid platforms (e.g., React Native, PhoneGap and Xamarin) need to support so many device types there are always implementation and usability issues to workout. In addition, you will only have access to the features of a new operating system 6+ months AFTER it is released by Apple, Google or Microsoft. In this way, your app will never be able to cutting-edge technology. While we are fully capable of building Hybrid Apps, it is our recommendation that this option is only viable for simple, lo-fi apps that are heavy on text and images, but don’t need much in the way of functionality or user interface. An HTML5 Web App: An HTML5 app is essentially a website with JavaScript code written to allow the app to perform dynamically, as opposed to a static website that you need to refresh to see the changes. It works interactively to make it feel like an app, but it is actually running in a web browser. It is essentially a website, which will support multiple viewports or screen sizes so that it works well on mobile. Because it is running in a browser, it is confined to what is possible within a mobile web browser. You would choose this option if you want to support multiple platforms with the same app/codebase; you want to deploy it on the web; you want the widest possible support across multiple device operating systems and manufacturers; and you want to be able to update your source files on your server and have them immediately deployed to all devices (i.e., removing the need for the app approval process). On the downside, your app is not discoverable in the app stores; it will never look and feel like a true mobile app; and you will have limited access to some of the software and hardware functionality of the phone (e.g., push notifications and cameras). It is our recommendation, that this option is only viable for view-only content where users are not expected to interact in any meaningful way.

Has Blue Label Labs ever transitioned an app the firm has built to a client’s internal development team? What is the typical process and how long does it usually take? Is there a fee for this?

Quite often Blue Label Labs transitions an app to a client’s in-house development team. As part of our regular transition for any client, we transfer all functional specs, wireframes, UI design resources, screen flow maps, passwords/certificates/credentials and source code to the client. We also have extensive experience working in tandem with a client’s existing engineering team. For example, Blue Label Labs will build the front-end experience of an app on top of a client’s existing backend web service and databases. These transitions are the quickest, averaging only a few days, since the Blue Label Labs team and the client team have already been working hand-in-hand for months. If we are handing over a complete project with no prior engagement with the client’s development team, then the transition can take a little longer depending on the support needed. This can range from a few days to a couple weeks. The transition is typically free of charge unless engineering resources are needed to facilitate the transition or the Program Manager is required to spend more than a week on the transition and training. We’ve even helped companies to interview potential new technical team members—e.g., developers and CTOs.

How does Blue Label Labs provide training to a client’s development team so that they could make app enhancements and how much would that training cost?

Along with all the project documentation and support outlined in the answer to the question above, we are happy to provide hands-on training to in-house developers/team members as part of the transition. There is typically no extra charge for this if only a few hours are required. If ongoing training is necessary, for example an in-house developer is not familiar with app development and requires a crash course, then we can offer our services at our hourly rate of $120/hour for training. We’ve even aided our partners in their hiring of their own technical/development team if/when the time is right.

How many designers and developers does Blue Label Labs have on staff? How many work on each client project? Where is the team located? Can the client talk directly to whomever will work on the app?

The Blue Label Labs team is comprised of 64 individuals across its UX Design/Product, UI Design, Development, Program Management, Quality Assurance, Sales, Marketing and Leadership teams. We have 6 Designers, 10 Program Managers, 35 Developers, 3 App Marketers—the remainder of the team is comprised of the Sales, Marketing, Operations & Leadership Teams. Depending on the size of the project, a team of at least 7 Blue Label Labs staffers will work on your project: 1 Program Manager, 1 UX Designer, 1 UI Designer, 1 Technical Architect, 1 Front-End Developer, 1 Back-End Developer, and 1 Quality Assurance Engineer—in addition to the technical and strategic oversight provided by Blue Label Labs leadership. The majority of our Design and Program Manager teams is based in New York City, Seattle and San Francisco areas. The Developers and Quality Assurance Testers are also based in the aforementioned cities, in addition to India-based team members. The Development, Design and QA Teams are managed directly by the Program Manager. The Program Manager is your primary point of contact and the liaison across all other Blue Label Labs team members associated with your project. That said, clients are welcome to speak directly with any individual team member as is needed.

Are projects priced based on “time-and-material” (i.e., hourly) estimate or a “fixed-price” quote?

Projects are priced on a “time-and-material” basis. With 7 years and 250+ apps of experience to our credit, we are able to produce very accurate estimates. We do our best to stay within budget or provide you ample warning if we think we may exceed our initial estimate so we can coordinate how to move forward together with you. Prior client references can vouch for the accuracy of our estimates and can be provided to you upon request.

Is Blue Label Labs able to guarantee that our app will be published in an app store?

Unfortunately, no application can be guaranteed for app store approval. However, Blue Label Labs has successfully built and deployed over 250 apps for the Google Play and Apple iTunes stores. We have a solid understanding and insight into what these stores will typically approve or disapprove of. We will warn you well in advance if any particular aspect of you project poses an approval risk. We have had a handful of instances where an app store has rejected an app for publication; not due to technical issues, but due to legal/business/terms of use issues; however, we successfully appealed ALL of these rejections and these very same apps are now in the app store for download today. We led these appeals on behalf of our clients at no extra charge. If your app is rejected due to technical reasons, we will make all necessary corrections needed to get approval at no extra charge. We are happy to connect you with some of our clients who did face some app store pushback to tell you about the rejection and our successful appeal.

What is Blue Label Labs’ policy regarding correcting defects and publishing an update in the app store?

We provide our services at a blended hourly rate of $120/hour for ad-hoc updates or at blended hourly rate of $100/hour at a mutually agreed upon set number of hours over a 6-month retainer. For example, a retainer of 20 hours a month for $2,000/month guarantees expedited service vs. ad-hoc requests. Ad-hoc requests are handled on a first come, first serve basis across all of our clients and development is based on our team’s earliest availability. The monthly retainer of hours functions much like an extension of the warranty period; issues are addressed within 24-48 hours and development will start as soon as the scope of the issue is defined. For those clients wanting a guaranteed 24 to 48-hour turnaround time on maintenance issues, a 6-month retainer is suggested.

What level of Quality Assurance is included and provided by you in your proposal?

A Quality Assurance (QA) Engineer is assigned to every project and builds a custom test plan for every project during the Discovery, Planning & Design Phase. During the Development & Testing Phase the QA Engineer continually tests the app using functional and regression testing. We test on a wide array of physical devices as needed for a given project. If we are building a backend web service and databases as part of the project, we will also have a set of automated unit tests that are run regularly to verify functionality.

What is Blue Label Labs’ quality assurance (QA) and testing methodology?

We believe that Blue Label Labs’ QA and testing methodology is part of our competitive differentiation. The fact that we dedicate resources to solely this function is something that sets us apart from other development shops for whom testing is simply an afterthought. At Blue Label Labs, QA is handled at all levels of development. There are generally 3 layers of QA/testing that happens for every project: 1.) Internal Development Team Testing Each Development Team has an internal QA Tester along with the Developer Lead who perform basic validation on bug fixes prior to builds being released to the broader Project Manager and QA team. Their validation is to ensure that items within JIRA, which we use alongside Trello, to coordinate team efforts and communicate with clients—are properly remedied according to their descriptions prior to “checking-in” or committing code. When items are resolved by the Development Team they are pulled into the “Testing Done by Dev Team” stack of Trello cards and/or within JIRA. When developing new projects, the Blue Label Labs Development Team will also be responsible for creating “unit tests” for our code so that we can quickly run a basic set of verifications. The dev team does the majority of their testing using iOS and Android app simulators. 2.) Dedicated QA Engineer Each project has a dedicated QA Engineer who sits independently from the Development Team who is responsible for: a.) Drafting a milestone based test plan which outlines a list of black box scenarios to verify and the expected results; b.) Performing smoke and full test pass runs against weekly and milestone builds; c.) Verifying and closing bugs that the Development Team has marked as complete; d.) Working with the Development Team to report issues and regressions; and d.) The QA Engineer takes items from the “Testing Done by Dev Team” Trello stack and verifies whether it is actually fixed. If it is, the Trello card is moved to the “Done (Verified)” pile, or sent back to the “Weekly Priorities” or “Product Backlog” stacks, as appropriate. The QA Engineer will generally perform their tests on 2-3 devices, depending on project requirements. 3.) Project Manager (PM) Testing The final QA gate is the PM who is responsible for quality of the entire product. They will also work with the QA Engineer to verify items have been fixed properly in addition to triaging new issues coming in from the client and the QA Engineer. The PM will appropriately schedule issues to be resolved based on their severity and importance. The PM’s testing is done on actual devices.

Can Blue Label Labs help me with Marketing and PR?

Absolutely. We aim to be your full-service app partner. Our Marketing & PR Offering is designed to help you launch your app and gain marketing exposure. Learn more about our Marketing & PR Offering here.

Experience you
can trust.

The right tools wielded by the right people make anything possible

Bobby Gill

Co-Founder & CEO

Jordan Gurrieri

Co-Founder & COO

Zack Drew

Head of Client Solutions

Parvathy Harilal

Business Operations

Stewart Skrondal

Director, Client Solutions

Bruce Morrison

Director, Technical Client Solutions

Terri Lavelle

Head of Program Management

Danny Deserto

Creative Director

Melissa Wolff

Program Manager

Jigar Patel

Lead Developer

Rajendra Padhiyar

Lead Developer

Tanya Junell

Director, Product Management

Dulio Denis

Director, Engineering

Darell Toney

Program Manager

David Ray

UI Designer

Kelly Harkins

Program Manager

Ashkan Eskandari

Director, Client Solutions

Leah Kasten

Product Designer

Roxanne Taghavian

Designer

Jim Manion

Program Manager

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Bobby Gill

Co-Founder & CEO

Prior to founding Blue Label Labs in 2009, Bobby was a Program Manager at Microsoft within the Servers & Tools division. Together with co-founder Jordan Gurrieri, Bobby co-authored “Appsters: A beginner’s guide to app entrepreneurship”.

At Blue Label Labs, Bobby’s role as CEO entails providing strategic and technical oversight for all apps we produce.

Bobby graduated from the University of Waterloo with a Bachelor of Mathematics and Computer Science and completed his MBA at Columbia Business School.

He loves crepes.

Jordan Gurrieri

Co-Founder & COO

Prior to co-founding Blue Label Labs in 2009, Jordan worked in a variety of business process, systems engineer and product management roles within Microsoft. He worked on products like the Hotmail (Outlook), Messenger (Skype) and SkyDrive (OneDrive) mobile and cloud apps.

As COO of Blue Label Labs, Jordan leads all of the strategy, design, product management and operational processes required to deliver highly polished apps on-time and within budget.

Jordan graduated from the University of Toronto with a Bachelor of Applied Science in Computer & Electrical Engineering.

He loves spending time with his wonderful wife, adorable son and beautiful daughter. He introduced Bobby to crepes.

Zack Drew

Head of Client Solutions

After graduating from college, Zack worked at both Fidelity Investments and LPL Financial in “intra-preneurial”, new business development roles at the C-Suite Level. In NYC, Zack was a part of two ad tech start-ups (Thinaire and Kneon) both in Business Development, Operations and Fundraising roles. Just prior to joining Blue Label Labs, Zack led Business Development for software development shop Pith Studio and was CEO of a SaaS platform for co-working space owner/operators called OffOps.

At Blue Label Labs, Zack is charged with finding those who need apps built and helping to scope the effort.

Zack graduated from Brown University with double concentrations in Business Economics and International Relations.

Having grown up in the wilds of the Maine woods, Zack is far better at climbing trees than pulling lobster traps.

Parvathy Harilal

Business Operations

Originally from India, Parvathy moved to the U.S. to pursue her Bachelor’s degree. She graduated with a major in Accounting and a minor in Finance. Upon graduation, she realized her passion for the minutia of bookkeeping and understanding how the financial health of a company is determined by good record keeping.

At Blue Label Labs, Parvathy handles all things accounting-related: from client invoicing and maintaining vendor relationships to day-to-day administrative and operational work.

During her free time, she loves to travel and explore new cities and restaurants. She secretly prides herself in being called a Grammar Police!

Stewart Skrondal

Director, Client Solutions

Before joining Blue Label Labs, Stewart was the Director of Marketing, Innovation and Product Development at IntegraMed where he was primarily responsible for supporting digital marketing, customer experience and relationship management for IntegraMed’s network of clinics. Previously, Stewart held multiple global roles at MetLife, where he was responsible for identifying ways to improve the the shopping and buying experience through online and retail channels. Stewart began his career in Online Marketing, where he balanced the roles of client manager and marketing analyst at a leading digital agency.

At Blue Label Labs, Stewart connects innovative brands with innovative developers coming up with and collaborating on mobile app ideas and bringing them to life.

Stewart graduated from the University of California, Santa Barbara, double majoring in Philosophy and Law & Society, and minored in English. Stewart completed his MBA from Fordham University’s Graduate School of Business.

Stewart loves music and is an avid collector of vinyl records. When not attending concerts, he is constantly on the prowl at record stores in search for rare second-hand LPs. He also enjoys the meditative power of playing with Legos, and is not afraid to admit it.

Bruce Morrison

Director, Technical Client Solutions

After graduating from college, Bruce worked as a Developer and Senior Producer of Xbox 360, Mobile, Mac and PC games at Freeverse, ngmoco :), gloops International Nexon Mobile, and Man Up Time. Bruce has won a number awards for his gaming work, including an Apple Design Award, a MacWorld Eddy Award and an IGN Best of E3 Award.

At Blue Label Labs, in his role of Project Visionary, Bruce helps those looking to build apps by fully committing to the vision and goal of the project at hand.

Bruce graduated from Clemson University with a degree in Marketing.

He has lived and breathed gaming ever since he first played Marathon on his LCIII.

Terri Lavelle

Head of Program Management

Before coming to Blue Label, Terri was the Head of Production at AD:60, where she was in charge of the Production, Client Services and QA teams in launching businesses in the digital medium. She’s been working in the digital space since e-books were just PDF downloads and has been involved in all aspects of the product lifecycle from back of the napkin sketches to global launches. Clients have included Facebook, Sunovion, Pfizer, PepsiCo, Christies, AIG and non profit work for the UN and The Sheth Sangreal Foundation.

At Blue Label, Terri helps lead the Program Management department, making sure projects are on time, on budget and fulfill the clients creative vision and showcases the tremendous talent of the Blue Label teams.

Terri graduated from Binghamton University with a degree in Literature/Rhetoric, spending time abroad working for Amnesty International and also getting her masters in social work.

Terri is a bibliophile and always in the middle of three books, a sci fi nerd, lover of blues and classic rock, and fan of anything Sherlock Holmes and Harry Potter. When not listening to Sarah Vaughn and finishing the latest novel on multi-verse theory, Terri is actively involved in the animal rescue community, with a fondness for senior animals in need and partnering with local rescue groups and Susie’s Senior Dogs.

Danny Deserto

Creative Director

Prior to joining Blue Label Labs in 2014, Danny was a serial entrepreneur, successfully fundraising and launching Bottle, a lifestyle app which was featured by Apple. Prior to that, Daniel Vice President at Advanced Precision and a Senior Member under Arch Global, a successful Manufacturing and Health-Tech company where he lead business development, design, and engineering. Working with well-known brands such as Bayer, Stryker, and Synaptive Medical. Daniel’s dynamic experience helps deliver innovative and human-centric mobile designs built on a strong business and engineering foundation.

At Blue Label Labs, Danny applies his expertise to delivering rich, user-centric digital experiences. Combining beauty and utility for interfaces, brand identity and beyond.

Daniel graduated from the University of Hartford with a BS in Biomedical Engineering.

Melissa Wolff

Program Manager

Prior to joining Blue Label Labs as a Program Manager, Melissa was the Director of Client Services and Marketing at Tierra Innovation, a leading software development firm in NYC, whose clients include CBS, Warner Brothers and The New Yorker. As a marketing executive, Melissa has extensive experience building brands and devising integrated marketing campaigns for entertainment and digital media companies, including Showtime, MTV, Nickelodeon and Oxygen Media. She is also an actor, writer and producer.

At Blue Label Labs, Melissa is a Program Manager helping to guide projects from start-to-finish.

She is a graduate of Yale University.

She is currently learning how to play the ukulele.

Jigar Patel

Lead Developer

Rajendra Padhiyar

Lead Developer

Tanya Junell

Director, Product Management

Product Strategist, Manager, UX Designer. Bringing Design Thinking to an End-to-End Product Development Processes.

Dulio Denis

Director, Engineering

After graduating from college Dulio went to Cupertino to work for his favorite fruit company. He returned to New York to start his own firm and worked on Wall Street managing large fintech projects. But the iPhone lured him back to his beloved Apple and he has not stopped creating mobile apps first on iOS and then on Android.

At Blue Label Labs Dulio oversees and leads all design, development activities and resources. He ensures that clients have a single point of contact throughout their partnership with Blue Label Labs.

Dulio graduated from the Columbia University School of Engineering and Applied Science with a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science.

He is currently in the casting stage of his next short film.

Darell Toney

Program Manager

David Ray

UI Designer

David Ray is a digitial product designer with experience designing more that 30 apps for mobile and web in industries such as consumer, SaaS, healthcare, FinTech, AdTech, and many more. He is incredibly passionate about helping businesses create outstanding experiences for their customers.

David grew up in the San Fransisco Bay Area.

Before becoming a designer, David played bass and sang in an indie-rock band in Los Angeles. When he is not designing at work, he is designing as a hobby. When he is not doing that, he is spending his time listening to music, cooking, or handing out with his puppy Watson.

Kelly Harkins

Program Manager

Kelly is a high performing Senior Project Manager with a strong work ethic that led to the successful production of 11 award winning campaigns. Kelly has skillfully led large cross-disciplinary teams through an array of challenging integrated program initiatives. Kelly is extremely detail-oriented; well-versed in project executions; approaches problems strategically and pragmatically; and overall is a very kind and caring human.

Kelly is a philanthropist and an activist. She’s dedicated her time to helping those in need while also getting involved in her community and movements to bring about change. She’s founded 2 nonprofits. Her first nonprofit raised awareness, support and funds for survivors of abuse. Her second nonprofit focused on raising awareness and funds for men’s cancer research, to help improve early detection and recovery.

When she’s not working at Blue Label Labs, she loves to explore different worlds and adventures through the magic of reading. She’s currently interested in investing time and efforts into sustainable farming, animal advocacy and saving the planet.

Ashkan Eskandari

Director, Client Solutions

Before joining Blue Label Labs, Ashkan was the Head of Product Strategy over at Appster. There he helped navigate clients through the process of understanding what what the first version of a product should consist of. He’s still doing what he does best, helping companies bring world class apps & websites to life. With a keen business mind and an enthusiastic approach, he brings loads of experience to the team. He is often reading up on what’s new in the tech world and exploring various apps. “Mastering the art of communication is priceless” and “We never stop learning” are up there with some of his favorite quotes to go by. He strives to continuously grow as a professional and teach others what he knows. When not in the office, he can be found enjoying the sights, playing FIFA or just watching some sports. Oh what the heck…one more quote. “To improve is to change, to be perfect is to change often” Winston Churchill said that one. Ashkan said the first two.

Leah Kasten

Product Designer

Leah is an artist turned product designer. She is a skilled traditional painter and sculptor, and delights in creating beautiful things. Leah worked as a painter and 3D Designer for the renowned American artist Jeff Koons before joining the Blue Label Labs team. Leah draws upon her diverse experience in the visual arts in her work as a product designer.

At Blue Label Labs, Leah is able to utilize her skills to create delightful and impactful interfaces. Leah has a BFA in painting from SUNY Purchase and certification in UX/UI from the Pratt Institute.

Roxanne Taghavian

Designer

Roxy is a multi-disciplinary creative who brings her colorful background to the table. Before joining the Blue Label Labs team, she worked in tech as a UI/UX designer building a SaaS product in the insurance tech space from the ground up. Prior to that, she worked as an ACD and art director at media startup Brit + Co where she executed hundreds of native advertising campaigns for companies like Coca Cola, Chex, Fedex and Home Depot, as well as up-leveling the Brit + Co brand. She also has game design under her belt, having worked on experiential activations for companies around the globe at The Go Game.

Outside of work, she enjoys reading in sun spots, wandering around new cities, thinking about hair-brained schemes, and ‘80s music sing-a-longs.