It's easy to think that massive organizations have everything it takes to innovate. But often, it's their success that leads to their stagnation. When you have core products and services that need to be maintained, that's where the time and money goes. The idea of a new feature, integration, or technical renovation seems like it might come at too high a cost of internal focus.
In 2021, AARP had an innovation problem.
Their Foundation Property Tax-Aide (PTA) program helps low-income older adults stay in their homes and communities by providing access to property tax relief programs. At the core of PTA's offering is a suite of custom digital fintech tools that older adults, with the support of volunteers, can use to navigate state-specific property tax refund and credit program applications.
The PTA team had concerns about the quality and scalability of the tools, so they decided to bring in new technical partners. Our audit of the existing codebase revealed a number of concerns - no integrated testing, security vulnerabilities, lack of continuous integration and continuous deployment, inconsistent frontend components, UX/UI complexity, and user interfaces that weren't compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) regulations. These tools weren't built in a scalable way, so making changes was nearly impossible.
AARP needed an innovation SWAT team. An expert agile group to quickly stabilize the existing tools while rebuilding more scalable versions - all with minimal internal handholding. But more importantly, they needed a team that could act as thought partners, not just order takers. That's how The Gnar got involved. In their own words, AARP needed the "highest level of expertise." And while we're not Seal Team Six, that's exactly what they got.
We provided a dedicated product team with the following roles:
- Program Manager
- 3 Software Engineers
- Business Analyst
- Quality Analyst
- UX/UI Designer
- AWS/Infrastructure DevOps Engineer
We immediately took ownership of the codebase and tools, stabilizing them so they could be used securely while gathering requirements to rebuild them (with improvements and additional tool features) over time. The complexity of the task required more than technical skill; it demanded that we become experts in AARP's programs to make informed decisions that would shape the future of these tools.
And we moved fast. In just four months, we took the apps from initial engagement to full rebuild, delivering robust, scalable solutions at speed.
In total, 14 tools were rebuilt with React for the frontend and Ruby on Rails for the backend and business logic. We also added new features including automation, user accounts, identity management, a Yellowfin BI software implementation, and a more intuitive UX/UI that reduced the number of required clicks by 40%, on average.
Since our team dropped in, these digital tools have helped 28,000+ people apply for and obtain over $10M in property tax relief. And while that helps AARP push forward their mission, the bigger win is their ability to make progress on new initiatives while maintaining focus on their core offerings-all without having to hire full-time teams. Large, complex organizations need the ability to make long-term bets without making long-term commitments.
We're proud to play that role for AARP and many other innovation-minded organizations by continuing to help them build and launch new tools, features, and integrations with minimal risk and optimal execution. The Gnar doesn't just deliver products-we partner deeply, ensuring the right problems are solved in the right way.
Innovation is about ideas, but those ideas require worthy execution and communication. The quality of the revamped tools spoke for themselves and, as for communication, our contact at AARP said, "Gnar is the most responsive vendor I've ever worked with."
Pete Whiting is the Head of Growth and Client Service at The Gnar Company, where he leads business development, marketing, and client service activities to help companies build high-quality custom software. With over a decade of experience at the firm, Pete specializes in driving revenue growth and ensuring high utilization of development teams through strategic go-to-market and product marketing initiatives.
Prior to joining The Gnar Company, Pete held executive roles in operations and marketing at firms such as Dispatch and MeYou Health. He also spent five years at Vistaprint, where he served as Director of Product Marketing and Strategy for the Asia Pacific region, accelerating annual revenue and gross profit growth through data-driven planning and multi-channel marketing. Pete’s career began in engineering and management consulting, including seven years at Deloitte Consulting leading growth strategy and post-merger integration for global industrial and high-tech clients. He holds an MBA with honors from UCLA Anderson and both a Master’s and Bachelor’s degree in Materials Science and Engineering from Brown University.
