The Outcome
When we first met Kate Mortenson, founder of iPondr, we knew we had found an extraordinary vision. We choose projects by a simple motto — be the change you want to see in the world — and few opportunities create more impact than helping build businesses that want to improve society. iPondr’s mission is among the noblest: publishing honest news on topics inspired by and aligned with the UN Global Goals.
We partnered with Fantasy, a creative agency we’ve collaborated with since 2018. Their brand and UI creativity paired with our ability to rapidly build complex WordPress sites took iPondr from concept in June 2020 to market in January 2021. In that time we created more than a product — we helped build a business, and stayed on as advisors beyond launch.
“We hired you to build a website, and instead, you built a business!”
Media Technology
The iPondr website is one of the best case studies for what WordPress can do as a publishing platform. We dialed in the admin experience, tailoring it to the complex workflows of a media company. From brand and user experience to admin processes, we cut complexity across the site — proving WP can power experiences that feel like a product, not a blog.
On the backend, we built custom plugins to match the company’s operational workflows:
- Custom data and analytics integrations synchronizing events to HubSpot
- A reactions plugin to enhance engagement and sentiment
- Custom content types based on a robust schema and ERD
- Business logic for subscriptions and access controls
- Integration with Stripe and ChargeBee for payment controls
- Database optimization and indexing for fast rendering and search
React Frontend
On the frontend, beyond a custom theme, we developed a wide range of components for granular control over performance, motion, aesthetics, and user experience:
- Proprietary media player for mixed-media playlists of audio and video
- Responsive, native-feeling controls across web and mobile
- Optimized and progressive rendering for improved site speed
- Robust navigation and search tools
Methodology
Throughout the journey, Unicorn operated as a full incubator — from pitching investors to owning the product. Leading up to launch, we ran the entire process from beta testing to market. The final week was an incredible push between the Unicorn and iPondr teams, including all-nighters and last-minute optimizations to squeeze extra features into launch. Our responsibilities included:
- Beta and testing strategy
- Training on and managing Agile/Scrum methodologies
- Pitching investors alongside founders as interim CTO
- Quality assurance and user acceptance testing
- Development of operational, editorial, and publishing processes
- Consulting on and integrating marketing tech
- Triaging issues, bugs, features, and tasks across all teams
Success
After launch, we consulted on an expansion that positioned iPondr in corporate education, delivering Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion training. We also authored patent applications for collecting sentiment data and using artificial intelligence to map human sentiment around journalistic media — helping shape and improve that media.