July 22, 2020
Featured

Partner Spotlight: An Interview with White Rabbit Group's Adam Weil

Written by Jeff Gaines

For over 10-years, Interlaced has been providing outsourced IT Services to design and creative agencies across California.  Over that time, we’ve observed a shift where design firms now need access to high-cost engineering resources to deliver client projects (a necessity, not a luxury).  Chris Eames, Interlaced’s Head of Growth, recently sat down with White Rabbit Group’s Adam Weil,  to learn how they help agencies of all sizes bridge the gap between design and engineering to take on more and more complex client projects, providing outsourced engineering support tailored specifically to the needs of agencies:

CE: Adam, before we jump in to discuss White Rabbit Group, could you tell me a bit about your background, and how you arrived at the company?

AW: Lead by my love for design, I started my own design studio in 2012. It was small. Just a handful of people consisting of designers, project managers, and marketers. Over the years, I struggled to find and retain reliable development resources. As a non-technical founder, I didn’t have the expertise to hire or train developers in-house. So I tried several offshore teams through UpWork and Freelancer. Nothing worked long term. But in 2017 on one bright sun-shining day, Mark at White Rabbit reached out to me via email. Eventually, I started our partnership out with a single development project. Right away it was clear they checked all the boxes. Their communication, timeliness, attention to detail—they were everything we were looking for. After our first few projects together, I stopped working with all my other developers and White Rabbit became our exclusive development partner.

3 years later White Rabbit acquired my company and I joined their team as Partner and Creative Director. I couldn’t have been more excited to join such a talented team and family. Since joining, we’ve continued to optimize our development and UI/UX services, ultimately serving the ones I know best; the creative studios, the marketing agencies, the ones who have the vision but don’t quite have the technical backbone to consistently deliver for their clients.

CE: That’s great – it sounds like the experience of starting a studio, trying lots of different things, and letting go of what is not working all led to the big pivot of joining forces with White Rabbit Group.  It also seems that your unique experience helped give you ultimate empathy for the clients you serve – you’ve had the same challenges of trying to find high-quality, design-focused engineering talent and know-how crucial it is to growing your design practice.  Ok, so what is White Rabbit Group, and what do you do?

AW: We build web and mobile apps for creative studios and agencies, letting them focus on what they do best, while we focus on the build. This means UI/UX design and development.

CE: Makes sense – in a digital world, great design enables digital experiences, but you still need someone to turn those designs into ones and zeros. We get asked about these capabilities all the time, but we don’t do development.  What is your role at White Rabbit Group?

AW: As one of three partners at White Rabbit, I wear several hats. Primarily, as Creative Director, I head our UI/UX design team as well as lead our marketing and sales teams.

CE:  Who is your ideal client?

AW: Anyone looking for a reliable development partner is a good fit for us but our ideal partner is a premium agency or creative studio who is frustrated with their existing development resource. This agency or studio is concerned that they can’t support their clients with the development services their clients require, which ultimately affects their bottom line. Our ideal partner demands a reliable development team that’s available when needed and always capable of getting the job done right, on time, and on-budget.

CE: Wow, that’s very similar to how we think about our client base. What markets do you serve – are there any geographies you focus on?

AW: Our target geographical area is currently the United States. We plan to expand beyond the U.S. in the future but for now, our focus is on the states.

CE: How do relationships with your clients generally work?

AW: Our partnerships typically start with a Zoom call. Once we learn about an agency’s business we can start to propose solutions that fit with their needs and processes. Our client retention rate is 92% so we’re happy to start a partnership at whatever level they’re comfortable with.

CE: Are there any projects that you are most proud of?  What was the impact you had on the client?

AW: Due to the nature of agency partnerships, most projects are under NDA but we’ve been fortunate to work with some amazing brands such as FedEx, Microsoft, SAP, Volkswagen, and Spotify.

CE: Is there anything else our readers should know about White Rabbit Group?

AW: If you’d like to know more about us, check out this article from our CEO that sheds more light on our brand story.

Jeff Gaines

Jeff Gaines

Jeff has served as an operating executive at Interlaced since 2016. He is deeply passionate about driving impact for Interlaced, for his community, and for his loved ones. In his spare time, Jeff loves spending time with his wife and son at the world famous San Diego Zoo, enjoying tacos on the beach in Baja, cheering on the San Diego Padres, adventuring outdoors and playing music with friends. Jeff’s top 3 films of all time are Point Break (the original), Road House and Field of Dreams.