GOAT RODEO SOFTWARE, LLC
PALM BEACH GARDENS, FLORIDA

We've been making software and solving IT problems for a combined 70+ years, which we think is right in the sweet spot- we're young enough to be innovative and flexible but experienced enough to know how to actually finish jobs. We're a full service end-to-end shop; we'll help you figure out your problems, give you options to solve them, and see the solutions all the way through deployment. There are two very obvious ways that we're different from other software providers: we offer fixed prices up front (that can of course change but only at your discretion), and we only take half the payment up front- the other half is only paid after your solution is working in production and you're happy. Some people think that we're likely to be taken advantage of with this arrangement, but our process has so far ensured that such a thing hasn't happened yet. It's very important to us that we establish exactly what is expected of us and our customers before we start any project, and we make these agreements measureable. We can't agree to make your website 'look better' or to make an app that will get your users' attention. We can, however, show you several templates for a new website and let you choose the one that you like best; we can create an app that will download in less than two minutes on a 3G connection and require fewer than five interactions to get to your coupon book. Everybody will say this but you'll see we mean it: we are partners with you for the duration of our project. You might notice that we expect a little more of you than other vendors do. We expect you to know your business and your customers. We have no idea if your customers would be happier with a complex multiple-page web application featuring high-bandwidth videos and high-resolution pictures or with a simple three page app. We consistently work with you throughout the life of the project to decide how best to take the next step and how to deal with the inevitable changes of mind or business process discoveries we'll make together as we try to model or promote your business. Our way of doing things isn't the only way, but it is the best way to get you what you want. We'll also give you one year of free bug support- unheard of in our indusry. We do this because we stand behind our product more than they do. When we deliver your project, we'll give you a way to verify that it's working and that it's meeting your standards, and we do that both to impress you and to allow you to work with other vendors down the road if you want. When a problem occurs, we want to be able to quickly tell you exactly what the problem is, and if the problem lies in our court, we'll fix it immediately. A goat rodeo is a situation with all the risk and none of the potential beneift. If you're in a rodeo, sure it's dangerous but you'll look pretty cool doing it. If there are goats instead of horses, however, you're stuck with all the danger but none of the cool factor. It's in our name because we want to remind ourselves to never let it happen. Lots of software teams say they're agile, but many of them aren't. We deliver small completely functional pieces of software, test the entire product to make sure it does what we want and only what we want, and involve the customer during discovery, development, and testing. Testing is crucial to us- we live in the age of high quality dependable software and act accordingly. We use automated testing as we develop to make sure our code works and doesn't break other code and we use manual testing when we're all done to make sure we didn't accidentally break something with what we added on to make sure your product works well and reliably. We make sure that our customers know where we are every step of the way. In between frequent incremenal product releases, each customer gets his or her own customizable Team Foundation Server portal- the very portal we work off of. You have overviews of our progress and goals and can drill into as much detail as you want. Very different from what I'm used to, but very professional. They've figured out what other people are doing wrong, and they definitely do things in a different way, but it works. I expected to have a well done product when they were done, but I didn't expect to be kept so thoroughly in the loop. It's nice not having to chase them down for status for a change.