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What’s in a Name?

by on August 18, 2014 in So Meta

[Pumba:] And, oh, the shame
[Timon:] He was ashamed
[Pumba:] Thought-a changin’ my name
[Timon:] Oh, what’s in a name
[Pumba:] And I got downhearted
[Timon:] How did you feel
[Pumba:] Ev’rytime that I…
[Timon:] Hey, not in front of the Kids

Oh, What's in a Name?

Oh, What’s in a Name?

“That’s a really cool company name”.
“Is that really the name of your company? That’s awesome”.

These are some of the phrases people say when they hear our company name. So in case anyone out there is wondering how we came up with the name for our mobile development company read on…

In 2010, Edwin and I both worked at the same company, when management wanted to explore a BlackBerry app. Edwin and I were tapped to develop the project. While working on it we developed a great working relationship and that’s all she wrote.

From there, we started working on smaller apps. These apps never saw the light of day but they were great learning experiences. Fast forward to 2012, we made the decision to form our own development company called Bromance Labs. The name “Bromance” seemed perfect for 2 guys who work very well together and at the same time crack jokes and make each other laugh until our sides hurt. And we felt like we were working on so many experimental pieces of tech we envisioned ourselves as scientists working in a “Lab.”

So the first app we released commercially is called SleepLab. We worked on and off that project for about a year while keeping our day jobs. There were many highs (when the program didn’t crash) and lows (integrating in-app purchases) along the way. During the development process we hired Corbie the great Pixel Monkey who does outstanding artwork. He turned all of the 1s and 0s into wondrous tapestries or art. We kept plugging away at SleepLab and it was successfully released on both iOS and Android phones and tablets in 2013.

So that’s how our company was named and formed. We’re currently experimenting in the lab on new projects. One said app is going to be really useful if you play board games and you’ve lost your dice or want to brag about your score. Another project that we’re working on is going to be extremely useful for companies that want to have an app presence and don’t have the full resources to do it in house.

I’m afraid we can’t divulge any more information, you know… top secret stuff going on here. If you pry too much, I can’t be responsible for what our minions might do. With that being said we can’t wait to release our experiments out onto the public and for you all to start using them.

Do you have a favorite company name? Let us know!

Have a great week everyone!

Hey Bromance Labs Audience, Who the Heck are You?

by on August 11, 2014 in So Meta

Dear Audience,

It was a dark and stormy night when… No wait, it was totally a cool, crisp summer night when I decided to call El Señor Joel Reeves. I was having this existential crisis for our little operation here. You see, we’ve been working on so many wonderful things that we have forgotten about why we started this adventure to begin with: you.

We are not marketing guys, that’s a given. We don’t do everything necessary to put out the word about what we’ve been up to and by our own admission, not the greatest communicators to our community. Well, we decided to change that. We want our community to grow, feel included, get excited when we do, and geek out over new things together. But as Joel and I contemplated the inclusion of everyone, we kept getting stuck on something: who is our audience, anyway? Who were we trying to get excited and about what?

So tell us in the comments below, on Twitter, or Facebook where you fall. How did you hear about us? or what do you consider yourself now?

Future Employers/Investors – Standard Membership

We figure there are a few people that casually come across our site, apps, etc that are interested in learning more about who we are and what we do. Heck, we have the data to prove that! We like jiving about tech trends, and what we are up to. We also enjoyed handing out our really awesome business cards made by the great Pixel Monkey, Corbie Summers:

Programmers – Platinum Membership

A Programmers Life – we love what we do!

Meetups, Hackathons, Coding Horror Weekends, oh my! Some of our best ideas and conversations happen at these events, in forums, on our favorite programming subreddits, and so much more. We really love talking real geek talk and learning from so many people that have been programming for years. So much so, we are thinking about starting a GitHub channel for some projects that surface from these events!

SleepLab users – Sapphire Membership

If one thing is for certain, we find users of SleepLab all over the place! In the unlikeliest places typically. When we first started this project, it was just our little adventure to find out what it was like to put an app on the App Stores! Well, little did we know how much we would learn about sleep patterns and how much people love using our app. Yeah, we love you too!

Old or Current Colleagues – Diamond Membership

Look at your suits.. you’re so fancy

Some people that we have worked with/or currently work with are some of our biggest fans and critics! We love your feedback and we love how we end up talking about the future of what we are doing. We love sharing that excitement with you all. Keep us grounded and humble.

Friends and Family – Ultimate Membership

The heart and soul of Bromance Labs.

Our absolute favorite user base! You guys are the soul of our drive and we adore you. You are the first to beta test, the first to tell us when something sucks and the first to give us high fives. You’re also typically the ones that have to listen to us drone on and on about technical stuff that is typically reserved for those with a Platinum Programmer Membership! Thanks for all you do!

So tell us, who are you? We’re dying to know!

What’s the holdup?

by on November 2, 2012 in So Meta

Hey Everyone,

Summer has come and gone and we’ve been quiet.

…Or have we?

We’re getting things underway and haven’t been sitting on our hands. We’re excited at what’s to come and we hope you are, too. So hang in there, be patient, and get some sleep.  If you can’t sleep, remember, SleepLab is coming with a whole new design to help you out with that.

Enter The Self Appointed Pixel Monkey

by on July 25, 2012 in So Meta

Making an app is a lot like building a car.  There are a lot of cool things that make a car function.  For example, the hydrophonic pistons that control steeri—okay, wait, I don’t know anything about cars…  How about this: making apps is a lot like constructing a home.  You take the big metal thingy and hit the smaller metal thingies into the wood parts—

Clearly, these analogies don’t work for me.  I’m not a car guy or a handyman.

The same goes for people perceiving how an app is built.  Not everyone can understand the intricacies of building a car or a home.  People can relate to a beautifully designed car interior or a wonderfully decorated home, but how did it go from metal, nuts, bolts and nails to eye candy?  The answer is beautifully well-thought-out design.

We decided to expand by adding the position of Creative Director.  Our own personal Don Draper inspired visionary: Master of the Inventive, Dreamer of the Imaginative, Visionary of the Fantastic!

Enter the self-appointed Pixel Monkey, Corbie Summers.

Why Pixel Monkey?  Simple: he prefers to be compensated with crates full of bananas.  (We try not to judge the creative; after all, Van Gogh cut off his own ear.  Who are we to judge the methods of a creative genius?)

As Pixel Primate—er, Monkey—Corbie will be responsible for taking our 1’s and 0’s and making them all pretty and usable for you.  After all, everyone likes gazing at classy car consoles and admiring marble countertops. With Corbie’s app designs, it’ll kind of be like that.

Read More about Corbie on our About page.

Hello world!

by on June 18, 2012 in So Meta

As programmers, we may as well begin with the most well know words in all of programming. But honestly, hello! We are still well into the infancy of this site, our apps, our community and Joel and I couldn’t be more excited to share that with you. Throughout this journey we hope to make some apps that help you be more productive, enhance your life, or just help you unwind. We don’t know what’s in store in the lab, but we hope that you’ll have just as much fun experimenting as we will.

-Edwin