Rebuilding Apprentice's platform in 45 days to distribute 370M life-saving vaccines

The Challenge

As the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020, a new manufacturing software company called Apprentice emerged to produce critical drugs and vaccines more effectively. But in 2021, as the global effort to distribute vaccines ramped up, Apprentice discovered it would need to build an entirely new version of its product — in just 45 days. 

An ambitious total revamp on such a constricted timeline went far beyond the capacity of Apprentice’s existing staff. Plus, software for pharma manufacturing is some of the most highly-regulated in that world — which means constant compliance audits. It seemed like an impossible task. But then Apprentice’s CEO, Angelo Stracquantanio, got introduced to A.Team CEO Raphael Ouzan, and “the whole world opened up in terms of talent.”

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“We had a 45-day window where we had to build something that was impossible for our current staff,” said Angelo Stracquatanio, Apprentice’s co-founder and CEO. “So we reached out to Insight [our investors]. They were kind enough to introduce us to A.Team, and I’m glad they did because there’s no way we’d have pulled this off without them.” 

The Build

Making things more complicated, Apprentice works with manufacturing systems that run across several different tech stacks: the back end, the front end, and mobile on native iOS. Plus, they use augmented reality headsets for teams involved in the actual fabrication process. 

With A.Team’s help, Stracquatanio assembled a dream team of engineers who could build a new version of Apprentice’s platform in record time. The A.Teamers integrated directly into Apprentice’s existing technical team and got to work:  “A.Team engineers blended in with our core tech team—at this point it’s hard to tell them apart.” 

A.Team's seamless integration into Apprentice's core team led to a quicker, more productive workforce. “The engineers A.Team brought in were able to get onboarded fast and up to speed to move forward with us. There’s no way we would have been able to build what we’ve built without having a partner like A.Team,”  Stracquatanio explained. 

“Within two weeks, we had close to 20 engineers that, to this day, are all still with us. I refuse to let them go because they’re just too talented,” said Stracquatanio. “That group came in and their talent level wasn’t just high, it was extreme.” 

Ultimately 50 engineers from A.Team integrated with Apprentice’s core tech team, working from within their organization to ramp up efficiency. Their combined skill sets — IoT, intelligent batch execution, augmented procedures, and immersive training — allowed Apprentice to build a new version of their platform within 45 days. 

Outcomes

With the new version of Apprentice’s software, the company was able to power vaccine distribution of 370 million doses across the world, saving thousands of lives and propelling the company to a new level. 

For Stracquatanio and Apprentice, this experience was a revelation. A.Team wasn’t just a way to accomplish a short-term project; it represented an entirely new way to approach talent and build better products, faster.

After the platform rebuild Apprentice became one of the healthcare industry’s most promising startups. They raised a $100 million Series C led by Insight Partners – a material vote of confidence in the company’s bright future.

As the immediate crisis abated, Apprentice continued to expand its A.Team to more than 50 builders, plugging in expert build teams across the company. Working with A.Team is now a critical piece of their technical hiring framework. 

A.Teamers are fully integrated into Apprentice’s core team: “We treat them as full-time employees. They join all of our standups. They have effectively become our team—there's no difference. They come to our holiday parties,” Stracquatanio said. In fact, a group of A.Teamers recently built Apprentice’s new website.

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