Using a Curated Network

Our Approach

Our Experts Are An Extension of Your Team

Identifying, qualifying, hiring, and managing a team of super-talented designers, developers, and engineers is an expensive, daunting, and exhausting endeavor that only the largest companies can even think about justifying. Add to this the current climate of a remote and global workforce, having access to proven talent is a matter of survival these days. This is where the importance of a curated network comes into play.

The reality is that in today’s environment, talented resources can pick and choose what projects, companies, and teams they want to work on. The power dynamics have completely flipped from companies to talented resources.

In order to enable our clients to have the best possible product at the best possible price and timeline, Friends of Commerce has embraced leveraging the curated network that we have built over the last two decades of working in the eCommerce space.

  • eCommerce Platform Evaluations

    We’ll evaluate your existing platform, compared to the challenges you’re experiencing to determine if it’s still right for you.

  • ERP Platform Evaluations

    Is your ERP platform built to scale? Have you outgrown, etc.

  • 3rd Party Systems / Services Evaluations

    When it comes to the systems and processes your business utilizes every day, it’s vital to ensure you’re using software that can grow and scale with you. Let’s take a look at where you’re at, where you’d like to be, and how we can make sure everything is as streamlined as possible.

What is a Curated Network?

At Friends of Commerce, we’ve spent the last two decades working with some of the most talented resources in the ecommerce industry. We have come to learn that no two developers are alike. Every person has a knack for something specific. A particular interest in one subject, or an innate knowledge of a certain platform.

We are able to provide our clients with the best resources for the unique needs of their specific project. We utilize specially curated networks of people to work on each individual project. We search our network for the talent your project requires, and staff accordingly. No two teams are the same, because no two projects are the same.

What is a Curated Network?

At Friends of Commerce, we’ve spent the last several years working with some of the most talented resources in the ecommerce industry. We have come to learn that no two developers are alike. Every person has a knack for something specific. A particular interest in one subject, or an innate knowledge of a certain platform. 

In our quest to ensure that we are able to provide our clients with the best of the best, we utilize specially curated networks of people to work on each individual project. We search our network for the talent your project requires, and staff accordingly. No two teams are the same, because no two projects are the same. 

Why Our Curated Network?

Fractional staffing is not a new concept, but is now becoming the preferred way progressive companies are winning in this market. A lot of small companies utilize gig websites to find developers, designers, writers, because they’ve heard they can find cheap labor on those sites. While that may be true, that’s not what we’re doing here. Our approach allows you the chance to have your project completed by some of the top talent in the industry, without having to pay a full-time salary, taxes, and benefits, without having to manage the project, or assume the risk of hiring an unknown developer.

You cannot outbid the likes of Google, Facebook, Amazon, or super-funded start-ups for top talent. Some smaller companies have resorted to gig websites like Upwork to find resources. Though that could appear to address the cost side, it comes with substantial risk. How is that developer going gel with your team, who is going to manage them, are they really any good, what other projects are they working on at the same time, and on and on.

Friends of Commerce gives you the best of fractional staffing, access to great talent at a very reasonable cost, plus we only work with people we know, and trust and we manage to the final product. So even if we have to switch out a resource, there won’t even be a bump in the road for your project.

  • Access to Inaccessible Talent

    We have developed a large network of extremely talented people. From designers to copy writers, project managers, developers, quality assurance specialists, and so much more. Talented people more and more prefer to work on a project by project basis rather than at a traditional 9-5. We have built strong working relationships and friendships with our network. They enjoy working with us, know that our projects are going to be managed well, and are de-risked for them as we manage the client relationships so that they can do what they do best, their work. Regardless of the circumstances, we provide the best “bang for your buck”, and we call upon this network for each project we dive into.

  • We Manage the Nuances

    We lead and manage our teams from strategy and project kick-off through and past project launch. You will reap all the benefits of a large, experienced team without the cost and risk. There are tons of moving pieces to track, map out, organize, and execute. We stay on top of those details, and you can dive-in as deep as have bandwidth for or we will share just what is most important to you. We believe in both “an ounce of prevention” and “measure twice” sayings 🙂

  • We Manage the Risk

    Not only have we identified and validated resources that do great work, we know they’re good people and committed to the project. But if something happens, it’s on us to ensure the work continues uninterrupted. Since life happens, unexpected circumstances do come up occasionally. In the old-school model if a team member were to drop mid-project, you’d be on the hook for finding, hiring, ramping, and managing a new person who could hopefully jump in and pick up where the previous person left off. We remove that risk because we have the elastic resources necessary to adjust to conditions as needed. We allow you to sleep well at night and just focus on your job while we take care of ensuring the project has highest level of success.

Ready. Set. Let’s Grow.

Learning & Discovering

First things first, we’ll give you a chance to tell us what you’ve been up to. What makes you unique? What’s your vision for the future? What solutions have you been struggling to bring to life?

Then, we’ll work with you to clearly define the requirements necessary to make your vision a reality. We’ll dig deep to get aligned with your goals and determine the solutions you need to meet and exceed those goals.

From complex B2B2C hybrid enterprises all the way down to newly funded start ups, we have a wide range of experience in just about every industry you could imagine. We’ll use this experience to show you what you can expect from a partnership with us.

Planning & Creating

Leveraging all the details we’ve gathered, in this stage, you’ll get a roadmap of what your future will look like as well as what we’d recommend and why.

We’ll put together a blueprint for exactly how your new web store or application will work. We’ll think through all the functionality, integrations, and tiny details together to ensure a flawless product.

We’ll focus on your users’ experience so that your customers are happy to convert time and time again. It’s no secret that when your customers are happy, your bottom line is happy.

You will also have a timeline of how long each phase will take. We leave out no details when we create our project plans so you know exactly what to expect.

Building & Growing

Now, it’s time to get to get to work!

We utilize industry leading tools and time tracking methodology so that you know where we stand at any point in the project. We’ll also stay in frequent communication to track progress, budget, and any challenges that have arisen so we can talk through solutions with you.

You’ll have the opportunity to test each phase of the project and make sure you love it before we move on to the next. You get to see all the pieces come together throughout the duration of the project, so there won’t be any surprises at the end. Except for maybe just how much you love it.

Our work doesn’t end there. We’re with you for the long haul to support you and cheer you on as you grow.