At any given time, at least a hundred companies around the world are embarking on their digital transformation journeys, with the main aims being innovation, growth and the optimization of their operations. In many cases, external digital experts are brought in to support with strategy, design and implementation.
We caught up with Dolly Dagher (DD), Managing Partner of Speedlane, to learn more about how they drive business and how their clients are thriving in the digital realm.
BDD: Why was Speedlane founded? What was the market gap that you identified?
DD: Speedlane is a boutique digital agency that helps businesses grow. Our clients are companies that need help with product, design, or engineering to ship high end, modern digital products. We feel there aren’t enough agencies that focus on a holistic approach with a bias towards action. That is how we help our clients thrive in the digital landscape.
BDD: Being an international force in digital business, what value do you bring to your customers?
DD: Many agencies specialize in engineering or design. Our strategic approach brings together product, engineering, and design to get things done. We focus on understanding a client’s needs and taking a product-centric view, shipping software quickly and iteratively. We also bring top tier talent in all of these areas, especially engineering.
BDD: What trends do you foresee in the realm of digitalization when it comes to businesses?
DD: The digital world has always been subjected to rapid changes and as an agency our clients and partners are always looking to us to help them navigate those changes.
Currently, everyone is talking about AI. Many people believe that AI will fundamentally change the way businesses do things. We believe that if implemented well, AI won’t put people out of work but will make many jobs much easier by automating rote tasks. It will also open up new ways to communicate. We’re talking with our clients about AI and working on projects for them.
Additionally, after COVID-19 we have seen a rise in remote work. This, combined with some challenges in the US tech industry, has opened the door for recruiting more skills and talents from different places in the world. This also means that these businesses are investing more in advanced collaboration tools. An old and clunky enterprise system that was once “good enough” now needs to work seamlessly for a distributed team.
BDD: Can you share one or two successful case studies that demonstrate your work?
DD: Sure, here are a few that come to mind:
- Aboard is a New York-based SaaS product that allows you to organize, save, and collaborate with data. It allows users to collect and organize links in a number of different ways, even using AI to help. Aboard needed to launch a high-quality product across web and mobile, fast. They came to Speedlane to get that done. Speedlane teams, working with Aboard engineers, built out the web version, the back end, and the mobile version. Aboard expanded our relationship and now Speedlane teams are helping with product management, digital marketing, and customer support.
- Probable Futures is a US nonprofit looking to change the way we talk about climate change. They wanted to create a digital platform to communicate a well-known story in a different way. The Speedlane team helped build probablefutures.org, a scalable CMS with custom data visualization tools that tell the story of our changing climate. We’ve continued to support probablefutures.org. Currently, we are building an AI-power extension of the site, continuing our innovative partnership.
BDD: Are your teams based in Beirut, serving international markets? Why have you chosen this setup?
DD: Speedlane is an international, remote-first team. We value diversity and recruit skilled professionals wherever they come from. We focus on clients abroad, especially in the United States, but our heart and soul are in Beirut. We’ve found that the exceptional talent pool and vibrant tech community in Beirut – especially at BDD – makes it an ideal place to find smart, talented, and passionate people.
Learn more about Speedlane and how they drive business, here: https://speedlane.co/
