Xhilarate

I’m the president and CEO of ProFresh. We manufacture and sell mouthwash internationally.

We needed to rebrand and redesign our website.

To start off, we went through a discovery phase, during which Xhilarate and all other necessary parties worked together in conducting quantitative and qualitative research to learn more about our company and product. Once we gathered and filtered the results, their team used that information to develop our new branding. We had multiple back-and-forth meetings to narrow down the messaging, making sure it aligned with our mission and vision. Once that was established, we started with the implementation.

We work with several people from their team, including Russ (Partner) and Michael (Founding Partner).

We found them through online research, and they were recommended to us.

We’ve spent around $100,000.

We started working together in May 2021, and our collaboration is still ongoing.

At the moment, our growth on Amazon is at 30%, which is 8% higher than the previous year.

They always meet our deadlines and stay within budget. For communication, we mainly use Zoom and email.

They really work well with us. Their team understands the fact that we’re a small business, and because of that, we’re able to prioritize what needs to be accomplished and get to our ultimate goal. Overall, they’re great to work with.

Make sure that you know what your goals are and work with them as best as you can.

I'm the COO at Axon Collective, a software consultancy specializing in cloud and data engineering. We help mid-market and enterprise clients leverage their data at scale to generate tangible value through software engineering.

Our original website was a weekend project done by our CEO in need of replacement. We hired Xhilarate to design a brand-new site from the ground up, along with a new look and feel, plus a brand guide. We had a logo and not much else beyond that.

We'd met one of the Xhilarate founders through our network in Philadelphia and immediately hit it off. Over the next few months, we talked through design principles and our needs, and eventually moved forwards into an engagement. We loved Xhilarate's work and their portfolio, plus they were reviewed extremely well.

The first step in the process was a branding and values meeting with a third-party resource from Xhilarate - Maura. Maura walked us through a 3-hour exercise about our company, and from that generated a target customer and sales journey deck that proved invaluable as we moved forwards. From there, Michael provided a variety of initial design directions, and as we narrowed in on final choices the team never waivered in keeping us involved and meeting frequently.

All three of the Xhilarate founders - Michael, Zave, and Russ. A branding consultant - Maura. A third-party web development agency, Markations.

Our target go-live date was a large convention and hackathon where we held a primary sponsor booth. We were able to use a TV to display our new site (and an awesome giant LED logo sign) to attract by far the most attention of any exhibitor there. We have gotten consistent complements on our branding, design, and color choices.

We met with the team at least once a week, and they were (and are) extremely responsive with email. Maura also joined our Notion workspace and helped edit web copy in real time, above and beyond her contract. The development team was also prompt on email and calls.

Xhilarate has managed to toe the line between exciting design and traditional professionalism. Their portfolio simultaneously feels sleek and modern while managing to look like an innovative design from an cutting edge studio. And above all, they have the experience, skill, and genuineness to back it all up.

We should have been more involved on the technical implementation side - a few glitches had to be tracked down after the fact. The implementation shop was very communicative and helpful, as was Xhilarate (and that's a totally normal and expected outcome of greenfield design), we just could have been more integrated into the implementation process (this was probably a side-effect of our preparation for the above conference dictating our go-live date).

I’m the co-founder of RevolutionX Asset Management, an asset management and alternative real estate advisory firm. We specialize in assisting high-net-worth families and entrepreneurs with all aspects of their personal and business planning.

We went through a change of broker-dealer and a rebranding at the same time, which was very comprehensive, so we engaged with Xhilarate to assist us with the rebranding process.

I was initially introduced to Xhilarate as a website design firm. However, I explained to them that I was looking for a complete rebranding and naming of our company, and they were pleased to assist us with that.

We started working with a group of 4–5 people from Xhilarate led by Russ (Partner, Client Relationships) on the naming process. Then, we worked with a team of 5–6 people actively involved in the development. This team included technology people, graphic designers, and a person who collaborated with me on the website’s script. We also worked with photographers and other people from Xhilarate’s team at different points.

I don’t remember exactly, but I heard their name somewhere, Googled them, and was impressed by their website. They also had a lot of good reviews online.

We spent around $40,000–$45,000.

I first reached out to Xhilarate in October 2020, and it took us 1–2 months to bring them up to speed. We named the company in early December 2020 and started with the website development and branding immediately. We ultimately wrapped that project up in May 2021, but we’re still talking to them about some additional projects. We also ask them for recommendations on tweaking our site and developing our brand every couple of weeks.

We’re very happy with the results — they did a nice job. Our website is top-notch, and it stands out compared to others in our space. We have the site, and we’re ready to go, so now, we’re just figuring out how to drive more traffic to it.

Xhilarate’s project management was great. This was a very long project, but they held me accountable, defining all the deadlines and structuring our meetings several times per week. I felt that they were very organized, and they helped me slowly check off all the boxes of what we needed to do in a timely fashion.

Our website design’s storytelling was impressive. Xhilarate gave us a unique look and feel while understanding our business well. I don’t think that they had worked with someone from this industry before. However, they did a great job.

There was nothing in particular that Xhilarate could have improved on. They were really good at their work. Although web design was their main focus, I asked them to go outside of their comfort zone, and I don’t think that they could have done anything better.

Keep an open mind about what Xhilarate tries to do. I really believed in certain things, but they didn’t agree with me on some ideas. Sometimes, I listened to their advice when it really made sense to me, so I changed my mind. Ultimately, everything worked out.

I’m the managing partner of AEGIS Advisory Partners, a strategy management consulting firm. Another partner and I founded the firm effective January 1, 2021, and we focus on providing senior-level advisory services to, predominately, financial services companies, but also to other industry verticals.

We’ve worked with them from the very beginning of our company on branding, market positioning, and website development.

We’ve worked together on everything involved in creating an internet presence and a brand identity. On the branding side, we came up with the name of our firm. This involved concept work and then iterating on possible alternatives. From there, we progressed into thinking about and developing logo concepts. We talked through the concept of strategy and management consulting and shared our thoughts around what could represent that. Ultimately, we concluded that we have an interest in chess and that a chess piece could be strategic. We chose the knight as our logo. Xhilarate came up with a custom design of a chess knight that combines its strategic connotation with a modern twist.

The lead is Russ (Partner & Client Relationships). He manages us on the account level and heads thought leadership discussions. Michael (Founding Partner) has done most of the conceptualization. He acts as the hands on the keyboard, creating a lot of the concepts and bringing ideas to light. There is also a third person who deals with a lot of the logistics and makes sure everything comes together. We’ve also worked with a terrific web developer.

My partner has some associates who run their own businesses, and Xhilarate was a recommendation from them. We interviewed several firms and felt good chemistry with Xhilarate.

We’ve worked together since November 2020.

We’re pleased with their work, and the feedback we’ve received has been 99.9% positive. As a new company, we wanted to get our work out as quickly as possible.

We’ve maintained our timing and budget, and when we ask for changes, Xhilarate talks through them. We’ve eliminated a couple of tasks from the original scope of work, as well as added some new ones. If we need a financial change order, we work it out. Everything was transparent.

Once we went live at the beginning of May, we did a press release and polled people that weren’t part of the development process to gain feedback. One point that came across was that we should add video to the site. To Xhilarate’s credit, they told us two months earlier that we’d want to add video. They are on top of everything.

Xhilarate should continue with transparency in communication. As things come up or as issues are identified, bring them out sooner rather than waiting until the scheduled meeting structure.

The customer needs to have a good perspective on what they’re trying to achieve. If you’re working on branding or website development, a statement of that is important to have going into conversations. Xhilarate may not know your specific industry or your business, so bringing a starter forward will help tremendously.

I manage the legislative affairs portfolio for the Bertelsmann Foundation. We’re a US and European think tank.

We had a public policy report and didn’t want it to be dry. We had to take a complex topic — AI — and explain it in a visual way that would entice the reader.

Xhilarate illustrated our publication. We published the report ourselves, but they created all of the designs and layouts for it. We didn’t give them much guidance, so their team did it all from scratch.

I worked with three people, including two graphic designers.

I searched online for different agencies. We wanted an agency that could handle complex projects because the politics of AI isn’t an everyday subject. We also sought a partner to engage long-term that had the creative authority to portray these topics in an understandable way. Xhilirate appeared to be the only qualified agency.

So far, we’ve spent about $15,000 on their services.

We began our partnership around August 2020, and it’s ongoing.

Our report will be physically printed. The person who will print it said our book's a standout showpiece over his 36 years in the industry. That says a lot about their work.

We communicate via email. It's easy to communicate with them.

Xhilarate is easygoing and professional, which is unusual because it’s typically one or the other with agencies. It's easy to work with them. They had a creative, out-there sense for the project’s direction.

No, we've had a great experience.

It's easy to work with Xhilarate, so hire them.