Unicorn Road
Developing Custom Websites and Apps for Accelerating Entrepreneurs

Speed is a critical and differentiating factor in building a successful business. Every entrepreneur knows that speed is of the essence when it comes to disrupting industries, getting real customer feedback, and staying ahead in a hyper-competitive business world.

Unicorn Road is built on this notion to empower entrepreneurs and startups with the specialized knowledge to design and develop custom and low-code websites, MVP web apps, and MVP mobile apps quickly without sacrificing quality. Founded three years ago, it is making waves in the entrepreneurial community by accelerating speed to market and paving the way for successful brand building.

Navigating the intricacies of building, testing, and continuously improving novel ideas, Unicorn Road creates testable models of websites or apps at breakneck speeds leveraging industry expertise and usable design patterns rather than engaging in lengthy research processes.

“Within 60 or 90 days, we will have something ready for our client,” says John W. Ostler, founder and CEO of Unicorn Road. “It won’t be a prototype. It will be the fully functional website or app that enables our clients to collect real-time customer feedback.”

A mental health startup that Unicorn Road helped design, prototype, and build has gone on to become the winner of Google Play’s Best Apps for Good in 2022. Only 10 to 12 apps are featured per year for this distinction. The client Unicorn Road worked with on this project went from rough sketches and consumer insights to a fully functional social network with video and audio capabilities.

Unicorn Road launched four versions of the core concept within five months working side by side with the client team testing each version with real users. The first version, which was launched on the web to make the design work easier, took six to eight weeks to develop. Once it was completed, the team launched an updated version every four weeks. Each iteration had a new set of functionalities and refinements.

Due to the speed of the process, they were able to quickly gather user feedback and act on recommendations. Users were engaged because they had a new version customized to their feedback and riddled with behavioral insights. This helped quickly grow the user base and garnered interest from investors, allowing the client to raise significant capital.

One of the reasons Unicorn Road helps teams go fast is that different disciplines simultaneously work on various aspects of the project. For example, the content strategy will be developed in parallel with the design system. Development starts on day one with all the aspects of the project that are unlikely to change. All these functions are layered on top of each other. All processes are tailored to speed, using quality tools and frameworks, and in turn, keeping costs low.

Within 60 or 90 days, we will have something ready for our client. It won’t be a prototype. It will be the real website or app that enables our clients to collect real-time customer feedback

Speedy processes are supported via clear communication and transparency. Team members constantly share updates and collaborate so everything progresses as expected with no bottlenecks.

Unicorn Road elevates a client’s team by equipping them with the tools to reach their full capacity. Its philosophy and the key to its success can be summed up in its whimsical name. “We’re here to empower teams to find their inner unicorn,” Ostler says. “We provide them with tools and processes to make decisions quickly, leverage their consumer insights, and set their companies up for hypergrowth.