Following recent awards at the State Department, and the Department of Energy, news of a subcontractor role on the Veterans Affairs Light Electronic Action Framework (LEAF) contract, and recognition on the Inc 5000 2024 ‘List of Companies that Put Their Employees First’, Mobomo CEO, Brian Lacey spoke with OS AI about the company’s deep expertise in customer experience, its proactive approach to industry challenges, and what is next for the growing business as it prepares to transition beyond the small business space.
From Mobile App Beginnings to Federal Expertise
Originally a mobile and application developer for the private sector, Mobomo transitioned to contracting with federal agencies, delivering support to Search.gov and developing GSA’s first responsive website for its app store market that was 508 compliant. Over the course of the next decade, Mobomo’s focus on delivering robust solutions to complex digital challenges for federal agencies expanded significantly to include NASA, NOAA, USGS, FERC and more. “As we pivoted from commercial into the federal space, we remained focused on human centered design and mobile first development, always addressing the end user’s needs and desires, as well as how they’re going to interact with the technology.”
Mastering Human-Centered Design
While focusing on large-scale public-facing digital transformation projects can be challenging, Mobomo has refined its Human Centered Design process, including an extensive discovery process that entails interviewing and gathering data on key users and deep diving on how they use systems and what advancements would enhance their experience. These interviews and system tests extend to site users, site administrators, content editors, and product owners. Sometimes this discovery process is conducted virtually, but Mobomo Design experts have traveled as far as Alaska and Hawaii to speak with fishermen that would be using a planned NOAA site. “The KPI we benchmark is based on customer satisfaction and user satisfaction. When the user experience is optimized, we succeed. Our designers are grounded by those discussions with a singular focus on mapping our technical plans to the customer needs.”
A Culture of Customer-Centric Innovation
Across Mobomo there is a desire to build things people love. “There is a shared culture of wanting to innovate, to solve problems, to meet high targets for customer satisfaction. When a customer comes to you with something that isn’t working, we get really excited to be able to solve that problem.”
The flip side of problem solving is innovation. Learning about challenges, the team seeks innovative ways for software to enhance the customer experience, working to help the agency better serve citizens as well as those who administer the agency site. “Knowledge transfer is critical within the Mobomo culture, so when our team solves complex challenges, we make sure they are recognized and able to share their solution with all the team members within Mobomo. That kind of sharing, motivation and inspiration binds us all together.”
Successful problem solving is never a straight upward trajectory. It’s the failures along the way and how a Mobomo team member navigates the process that has proven to be the true marker of whether someone is a great fit within Mobomo. “We have a robust recruiting process and part of our screening process is exploring how an individual responds when something goes wrong. Because very few things go according to plan, understanding how they feel about facing and solving challenges tells us a lot. When someone enjoys inspecting a problem from multiple perspectives and testing which solutions work and which don’t, this is a great indicator that we have a match for the organization.”
Empowering Growth and Career Development
Incentivizing those driven to do better doesn’t take a lot of effort but Mobomo actively encourages and pays people to upgrade, to add certifications, and to continue to grow in their knowledge and skills. “It’s about making sure people have the resources to further their education, expand their expertise, and on a deeper, more meaningful level, teach others around them about new things that are happening.”
“We encourage people to raise their hands when there are career opportunities they are interested in, when they want to try running a team, driving an initiative.” Mobomo is a company that views promotion from within as an important element of the culture. Both the CEO and COO rose through the ranks, and many of the developers have moved into senior/lead technical positions and even leadership positions within the organization. A critical component to fostering this type of tenure for employees is the focus the senior leadership team has on improving operations and corporate benefits. “We are always asking for and looking to identify things that frustrate our people, things they feel they didn’t have enough information about, or that made their jobs harder. We use a few different methods to gather feedback and where we see patterns, we take action for all employees.”
Building a Connected, Transparent Team Culture
Like many companies, Mobomo has gone through many iterations of remote, in-person, back to remote and now, starting to come back together through a small DC office. Transparency in communication, updates on progress, and internal Kudos reward systems are just some of the ways this team stays engaged. Mobomo’s monthly “State of the Union” events are an opportunity for everyone in the organization to gather for company updates and serve as a platform for demonstrating current project solutions that team members have developed. “The people that work for Mobomo want to be here. They are proud to be part of this team and often encourage people they know to apply. We play well with others and we’re good to work with. That attracts and keeps people who work well as a team and value being connected.”
Strategic Partnerships for Future Growth
Understanding that, in GovCon, you may be competing against a company one day, and the next, collaborating with them, Mobomo is deeply attuned to the relationships it develops. “In every interaction that you’re lucky to have with another company that’s going after work with you, you make sure that it’s of the highest quality. You look for teams willing to go to bat with and for you.”
As a small business, Mobomo offers distinct expertise, and a history of excellent performance across small and large agencies. Setting a goal of continuous growth, Mobomo values its existing agency relationships and has its ear to the ground seeking new opportunities within organizations or agencies in need of talented designers and developers who love devising unique solutions to complex challenges. “Knowing we are on a path to expand from a small to medium size organization, we are preparing now; thinking strategically about what that growth will look like over the next few years and the kinds of partners we will want to engage with along the way.”
Raising the Bar in Government Procurement
When responding to government procurements, industry needs to be confident enough to put their hand up, to ask questions, to share insights that will help agencies refine their procurement process. “When responding to solicitations, you need to answer what they’re asking for but also inform them of products, services, or processes they may not be aware of. If there is a chance to develop that relationship before the solicitation is published, all the better, because then they know what else to ask for – how to judge the responses more effectively.”
Other ways to engage include speaking up at industry days or open forums when government requests input and direction. Mobomo doesn’t fear tupping its hand, knowing that in the end, it is all about CX and customer satisfaction. “If you’re bidding, the rest of industry pretty much knows where and how you walk. You don’t give anything away by helping government identify what it needs.”
“Our differentiator as we move into that mid-tier market will be our past performance and how satisfied our customers are with our performance. Whether it’s a code challenge or an oral presentation, your team’s knowledge and capability sets you apart in any bid and that’s why you have to continuously be honing your skills, always be benchmarking.”
Next Steps
Mobomo’s journey from a mobile app developer to a trusted partner for federal agencies reflects a relentless commitment to innovation, customer satisfaction, and a deep understanding of human-centered design. With a culture that values problem-solving, knowledge sharing, and personal growth, it’s clear from this OS AI interview that Mobomo continues to elevate its impact across the federal space, delivering elegant solutions to complex challenges. As the company prepares for its next phase of growth, transitioning beyond the small business category, it remains steadfast in its mission: to empower agencies with innovative technology that enhances the user experience. With strategic partnerships, a proactive approach to procurement, and a team driven by passion and expertise, Mobomo is poised to redefine what’s possible in digital transformation for government agencies.
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