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X Company needed to bring their large, inspiring vision to life. They thought big, and they needed a partner that was aligned with their holistic vision. Read how Foxbox was able to help.

How Foxbox Digital Powers The X Company

 serves residents who prefer the live-work-play lifestyle, but with a twist—all done from home.

The X Company provides a state-of-the-art living space and social club with incredible amenities, including a rooftop pool, gym, neighborhood bar, private workspaces, as well as professional and social events.

It’s safe to say: The X Company is different.

The X Company is currently active in six markets and rapidly expanding with 5,000 beds in their current portfolio and over $1B in construction activity.

They wanted a digital platform that improves upon the industry norm of the disconnected, poor experiences between residents and property managers.

Foxbox was perfectly positioned to help them. And that’s what we did.

"You can tell that Foxbox cares. That they really wanted to understand what we’re building. The app has a lot of technical complexity. We tried, and failed, building it before with another app developer prior to Foxbox. 

."

- Ben Brichta, Partner, The X Company

Here’s a little behind the scenes of how we made it happen.

It’s Not an App, It’s a Business Platform.

The X Company app is much more than a beautiful, convenient, and easy-to-use app for members. The custom-built platform powers the everyday business of their growing residential buildings.

The ability to easily scale with every new residential community construction.

When The X Company builds a new residential building and community, their digital-first platform allows them to easily expand to support the new local community within a few weeks.

Support members faster, with greater impact.

With this platform and some technical magic, we were able to allow The X Company community managers to use one platform, not 10.

We built an experience where a community admin can create a new residential user in their dashboard and automatically give proper permissions throughout all of the systems in one click, instead of the five screens and systems they would have done before.

Dashboard reporting that helps community managers and leadership understand how every service is being utilized.

With an ever-increasing amount of units becoming available, reporting how the residents are using the services becomes an important part of analyzing and improving core services.

We built a dashboard analytics view into how the residents were using their digital services along with their physical space experiences. This dashboard allows community managers and leadership to understand exactly how their services are utilized, when they're utilized, and what locations utilize them.

It’s Beautiful. It’s Powerful. It’s Secure. It Gives the Comfort of Modern Living for a New Type of Workforce.

The X Company, clearly different from the rest, wanted to make sure their residents’ experiences were digitally enabled.

"Your apartment building should be more than a dull stack of boxes. That’s why we don’t build apartments. We build social living communities for awesome people to thrive together."

- The X Company

Grant and revoke resident access in an instant, securely.

The X Company platform is secured by multi-factor authentication, with additional back-end security protections that protect residents when they lose phone access.

Mobile/Keyless entry that works online and offline.

The X Company App allows every resident to access every door from their bedroom to the garage and shared spaces. For common entries, the residents simply need to wave their hand in front of the sensor, as long as their phone is near them or in their pockets.

The app can grant temporary and secure access to friends, family, dog walkers, and more, all from within the app.

Real-time communication between residents and community managers.

Most platforms have an email-based or portal-based communication system which de-prioritizes response times. Our custom-built platform allows residents to speak with community managers in real-time through a chat-based support system integrated directly into the app.

Residents can use the app to find and book available conference rooms in addition to reserving and inviting friends to carefully curated social events. Entrepreneurial events, financial planning, and Yoga—you name it, they have it.

A Digital-First Community, Powered by Top-Notch Engineering, Design, and Product Teams.

The last thing The X Company needed was an app or development partner. They needed a firm to bring their large, inspiring vision to life. They thought big, and they needed a partner that was aligned with their holistic vision.

With our product strategy, visual design, and engineering sessions all running through our human-centered design process, we acted as a true digital transformation partner.

"Foxbox didn’t build requirements as a pass-through developer. The team really dug in and fit into the ecosystem and questioned what added value. They came to the assignment with a holistic understanding outside of the original scope of work. We enjoyed that."

- Ben Brichta, Partner, The X Company

We were the first company to implement two of the major digital lock platforms in one app (Avigilon and Salto KS).

The technical complexity of this cannot be understated.

Avigilon (formerly OpenPath) and Salto KS are digital access control platforms for apartment locks and common doors that are traditionally used as white-labeled platforms.

But we needed an experience that was seamless for community managers and residents, so we went the custom route. This allowed users to not only access their personal apartment locks but also amenities and remote unlock features.

Not only were we the first team to implement both Avigilon Mobile SDK and Salto KS in a single app, we were the first team to implement the Avigilon SDK.

"Foxbox Digital did an amazing job with implementing our SDK. As our first commercial user, we were delighted to see how well of a job they engineered the solution while providing a great digital experience for The X Company’s residents. Foxbox Digital is an engineering powerhouse, and they are the real deal."

- James Segil, OpenPath CEO

We integrated 11 platforms in the name of customer experience:

Avigilon and Salto KS - Digital Access Control Systems

Mixpanel - Product Analytics and Marketing Automation

We developed the X platform using these technologies:

React Native - cross-platform mobile framework for iOS and Android

Native iOS and Android bridges to support digital access control

Elixir - backend API powering the platform

Docker & Kubernetes - reliable, scalable cloud hosting infrastructure

The X Company Digital Platform Is the Future of Work and Play Residential Communities.

The X Company is one of the most innovative, if not the most innovative, residential buildings on the market. They are constantly pushing the status quo of what living, working, and playing should look like.

When we had the opportunity to work with The X Company, we jumped at the chance. Together, we were able to build a digital solution that transforms their current and future residential buildings.

How Foxbox Digital Powers The X Company: A Rapidly Expanding Residential Community With Over 5,000 Units and $1 Billion in Construction Activity

Foxbox is excited to announce the hiring of Doug Lampe as VP of Engineering. He will help Foxbox’s high-growth clients modernize their technology solutions and deliver world-class digital experiences.

Foxbox Digital Hires Former Deloitte and Lockheed Martin Technology Executive as VP of Engineering

Foxbox Digital, a leading digital product agency, is excited to announce the hiring of Doug Lampe as VP of Engineering. As part of his role, he will help Foxbox Digital’s enterprise and high-growth clients modernize their technology solutions, and lead an international team of Foxbox engineers delivering world-class digital experiences.

“After 20+ years of building software and leading engineering teams, I am extremely fortunate and excited to lead a world-class engineering team at a company dedicated to building software,” says Lampe.

Throughout Lampe’s career at Deloitte and Lockheed Martin, he’s gained significant experience in engineering, manufacturing, business finance, FinTech, M&A, cloud managed services, as well as expertise in full SDLC management of SaaS/IaaS/PaaS solutions, systems, and applications.

He’s led technology teams and initiatives through early-phase/high-growth, post-merger, and late-stage/cost-reduction environments, including geographically diverse teams and off-shore resources.

At Deloitte, Doug led the OpenCloud platform supporting over 150 clients for Deloitte Cloud Engineering and Cloud Managed Services (CMS). Deloitte CMS was recognized by Gartner as the worldwide leader in the 2020 Magic Quadrant for Public Cloud Infrastructure Professional and Managed Services.

Doug had functional responsibilities for 80+ members of Deloitte’s Cloud Engineering practice and managed the bench for the several hundred Orlando-based practitioners supporting Deloitte's Core Business Operations portfolio.

“Doug brings decades of experience in modern, enterprise engineering and helping Fortune 500 clients achieve key business outcomes. He has the energy, maturity, and professionalism that positions Foxbox Digital as a true advisor and innovation leader for our enterprise clients. We’re excited to have him join our growing team!” says Rob Volk, Founder and CEO of Foxbox Digital.

Foxbox Digital clients include Fortune 500 healthcare and retail organizations and many others across various industries.

Foxbox Digital is an award-winning digital product agency headquartered in Chicago. We are a team of engineers, product people, designers, and entrepreneurs that Move Purposely to build and launch successful digital products. From Fortune 50 brands to successful startups, we arm best-in-class businesses with innovative solutions for an increasingly digital world.

Foxbox Digital Hires Former IBM and Accenture Technology Leader, Steve MacKinnon, as Chief Digital Officer

Foxbox Digital, a leading digital product agency, is excited to announce the hiring of Steve MacKinnon as Chief Digital Officer.

MacKinnon joins Foxbox with over 20 years of experience in management and technology consulting at Accenture, Avanade (an Accenture & Microsoft joint venture), and most recently with IBM.

“The Foxbox team has done some amazing things and worked with some remarkable clients, including helping to change people’s lives during the pandemic by building an AI-enabled mobile telehealth product. I am excited to join such a brilliant team at Foxbox, and I’m looking forward to expanding our Foxbox Innovation Team (FIT Lab), Product Strategy, Data, Analytics, and Artificial Intelligence solutions,” says Steve MacKinnon.

He has deep experience leading Digital & Business Innovation teams for Fortune 500 companies, delivering customer solutions across e-Commerce, mobile, machine learning, analytics, artificial intelligence, marketing automation, loyalty solutions, and digital innovation strategy.

“Steve brings decades of enterprise experience across technology, business development, marketing, and innovation. He has an amazing ability and track record of helping clients drive real value and impact. We’re so excited to continue building on our success, and Steve is the perfect fit for Foxbox Digital,” says Rob Volk, Founder and CEO of Foxbox Digital.

Foxbox Digital clients include Fortune 500 healthcare, media, retail, and many other organizations across various industries.

We’ve grown from 0 to 60 team members in 3 years. It’s been an incredible run, and we just got started. I wanted to share three things that I learned along the way.


0 to 60 Team Members in 3 Years -- What We Learned

I started Foxbox Digital 3 years ago. We’ve grown from 0 to 60 team members in 3 years. It’s been an incredible run, and we just got started.

Here are three things that I learned along the way. Most of this advice is geared towards consulting / digital agencies, but I’m sure can be replicated across other industries.

1 → Know each team member’s strong suit and do everything in your power to make sure they’re on projects that match their skill set.

I’ve lost several people because I didn’t do this properly. It’s painful. Great talent wants to grow and they want to be challenged. Embrace it and never lose focus on what makes your best talent tick.

2 → Hire great people, give them clear direction and let them run with it (while supporting them along the way).

At some point, you have to let go of managing individuals. It’s not possible. It’s hard with 1 person, harder with 5 people, and around 10 people it basically becomes impossible.

I learned the hard way that there's a fine line between autonomy and abdication, and the key is in providing support when your team needs it.

We spend a lot of time internally and coaching our team to give each team member as clear a direction as possible.

3 → The best way to hire more senior talent is to hire senior talent.
Sounds confusing but it’s simple. “A” talent doesn’t want to work with “B” talent, and so on.

So, when you hire great talent, it naturally attracts more great talent through referrals. Also, during the interview process, “A” talent will also do their due diligence to see who’s on the team and who their co-workers will be.

That’s one thing we did right from the start and it’s paid off in dividends.

Lastly, the most important thing I realized is that the growth of this business is compounding and so hard decisions need to be made up front for the sake of growth 1-2 years later.

Hiring full-stack engineers seem like a "best of both worlds" scenario, but from my experience, it's the T-Shaped engineers that drive the biggest impact. Learn more about how we discover and hire amazing engineers.

Why We Hire T-Shaped Engineers

The single piece of advice I can give about hiring amazing engineers is that you should hire for their strong suit, not just because they are full-stack engineers.

Hiring full-stack engineers seem like a "best of both worlds" scenario, but from my experience, it's the T-Shaped engineers that drive the biggest impact.



T-shaped engineers are experts who have deep experience in a single skill while being capable of understanding related subjects.

For example, full-stack developers are a great asset, but what we're really looking for is someone who specializes in the front- or back-end, and if they can also handle the other side, that's a huge bonus.

Now, I’m not saying I-shaped or generalist candidates aren’t good at what they do, but I’ve seen our t-shaped engineers perform in great ways.


Foxbox Digital is now 3 years old! Looking back, a lot has happened since my last update. I'm excited to tell you about the highlights of the past few months, and give you a preview of what's next.

Foxbox Digital 2021 Q2 Update - Anthem, Growth, & Leadership

Foxbox Digital is now 3 years old! In just three years, we've grown to 44 people and I'm simply honored to be working with such an incredible team, and the most amazing clients. Looking back, a lot has happened since my last update Q3 of last year. I'm excited to tell you about the highlights of the past few months, and give you a preview of what's next!

We Helped Anthem Launch a Mobile Telehealth Product During a Pandemic

On January 1st, 2020, just as the spread of COVID-19 was gaining momentum, Anthem, Inc., a leading health benefits company, launched a virtual care app, Sydney Care.

We collaborated with the Sydney Care team as their lead mobile app development partner, because of our experience and deep knowledge of React Native.

I've previously announced our partnership with Anthem, but until now I wasn't able to name them. You can read all of the details of the 

We've added three incredible people to our 

, one new and two promotions from within:

Steve MacKinnon - Chief Digital Officer

Rebecca Le - Head of Operations

Matt Chen - Head of Delivery

Looking Back on 2020 & What's Next for 2021

Last year was tough. We had a period of survival mode, but we persevered through it, and now I am happy to say we are flourishing. Even through the pandemic, 

last year we grew our team from 26 to 36, and our revenue by 44%. Today we're 44 people!

Effectively recruit the best people when our clients need them

Have a happy, cohesive team who loves working here!

We’re committed to delivering the best digital solutions possible for our clients, while making the biggest impact. We’re investing in our talent, our delivery, and expanding our capabilities to get there.

 across engineering, product, and delivery.

I could use your help with some of our key hires: