Case Study: Design Agency Scales 3x with TaskRio

Company: PixelPerfect Design Studio
Location: Mumbai, India
Team: 12 designers, 3 project managers
Challenge: Coordination chaos killing growth
Solution: WhatsApp + TaskRio
Results: 3x clients, 0 missed deadlines, happy team

The Problem

March 2024: Breaking Point

Rahul, founder of PixelPerfect, was drowning. His boutique design studio had grown from 3 people to 12 in a year. Great problem, right? Wrong.

What was breaking:

Communication chaos:

Missed deadlines:

Team burnout:

Costs:

Rahul considered hiring 2 more PMs. Then he found TaskRio.

The Solution

April 2024: WhatsApp First Approach

Rahul noticed something: His team already used WhatsApp for everything EXCEPT work. Why?

"Because work is 'serious' and needs 'professional' tools."

But those professional tools were killing them.

The experiment:

Team's reaction:
"Are you serious? WhatsApp for work?"

Rahul gave them one week to try it.

The Setup (Day 1)

Created groups:

Added to each:

Set norms (pinned message):

This group is for PROJECT NAME work only.
Task Format:
@TaskRio [description] by [deadline] @[designer]
Daily Standup (async):
Every morning, post:
• What you completed yesterday

• What you're working on today

• Any blockers
Use TaskRio for everything.
Ask questions in chat.

Week 1: Learning Curve

Monday:

Rahul: Let's try this for real.
@TaskRio Create homepage mockup by Wed 5pm @Priya
@TaskRio Design logo variations (5 options) by Thu @Amit
@TaskRio Client feedback review by Fri 10am @Neha (PM)

Tuesday:
Priya (designer): "I'm 50% done with homepage. Need client's color preferences."

Neha (PM):

@TaskRio Get color preferences from client by tomorrow noon @Neha

Wednesday:
Priya replies to her task card: "done ✅"

TaskRio posts in group:
"Task completed! 🎉 Homepage mockup done by Priya"

Friday:

Rahul: @TaskRio list done

TaskRio shows:

Team sees their progress. Feels good.

Month 1: Momentum

What changed:

Morning routine:
Every designer posts in their project groups:

Yesterday: ✅ Completed button designs
Today: 🎨 Working on color scheme
Blockers: None

Takes 30 seconds. No Zoom meeting needed.

Task visibility:
PMs can check any project:

@TaskRio list open

Instantly see all pending work.

Client communication:
Client asks: "What's the status?"

PM:

@TaskRio list done

Shares completed tasks. Client impressed.

Results Month 1:

The Results (6 Months Later)

September 2024: The Numbers

Business Growth:

Operational Efficiency:

Team Happiness:

How They Use TaskRio Now

Morning (9-10am):

Each designer opens WhatsApp:

@TaskRio my tasks today

Sees their day planned out.

During work:

Completes design → replies "done" to task card.

New request comes in → creates task immediately:

@TaskRio Add email icon to header by EOD @AvailableDesigner

End of day (6pm):

PM in each project group:

@TaskRio list open

Quick status check. Plan tomorrow.

Friday (5pm):

Weekly team review:

@TaskRio list done this week

Celebrate wins. Ship projects.

Client meetings:

Client: "What have you done?"

PM shares TaskRio summary.

Client: "Wow, you're so organized."

Land next project.

Key Success Factors

1. One Tool Policy

Rahul killed all other tools. WhatsApp or nothing.

Why it worked:

2. Clear Task Format

Every task has:

Bad: "Someone work on the logo"
Good: "@TaskRio Design logo (3 variations) by Wed 5pm @Amit"

3. Async by Default

No more "quick sync" meetings that take 30 minutes.

Old way: 5 status meetings/week = 10 hours
New way: Daily async updates = 2.5 hours

Saved 7.5 hours/week per person.

4. Visible Progress

Everyone sees what's done.

@TaskRio list done today

Team feels productive. Clients see value.

5. PM as Coach, Not Nag

PMs don't chase people. TaskRio sends reminders.

PM focuses on:

Team loves their PMs now.

Challenges & Solutions

Challenge 1: "Too many notifications"

Solution: Mute non-urgent groups, check 3x daily (10am, 2pm, 5pm)

Challenge 2: "What if client is in the group?"

Solution:

Challenge 3: "How do we track revisions?"

Solution:

@TaskRio T42 revision round 2, update colors by tomorrow @Designer

Challenge 4: "What about complex projects?"

Solution: Break into phases

@TaskRio [Phase 1] Research & wireframes by Week 1
@TaskRio [Phase 2] Design mockups by Week 2
@TaskRio [Phase 3] Revisions by Week 3

Unexpected Benefits

1. Better Client Relationships

Clients see real-time progress. Trust increases.

Got 15 referrals in 6 months (was 3).

2. Faster Onboarding

New designer joins:

3. Remote Work Friendly

Team members in Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore.

@TaskRio [task] by Friday 5pm IST @RemoteDesigner

Timezone handling automatic.

4. Portfolio Building

@TaskRio list done

Export task history. Use for case studies.

5. Workload Balancing

@TaskRio list @Designer1
@TaskRio list @Designer2

PM sees who's overloaded. Redistributes work.

Rahul's Advice

For Other Agencies

Week 1:
"Pick your easiest project. Try WhatsApp + TaskRio. Just one project."

Week 2:
"Team will complain. Ignore them. They need 1 week to adjust."

Week 3:
"Team will love it. Add 2 more projects."

Week 4:
"Move everything to WhatsApp. Kill other tools."

Common Mistakes

Mistake: Keep using old tools "just in case"
Fix: Go all-in. Delete other tools.

Mistake: No task format standard
Fix: Pin the format. Enforce it.

Mistake: Sync meetings out of habit
Fix: Cancel meetings. Use async updates.

The Future

What's Next for PixelPerfect

Scaling to 100 clients:

New services:

Why it scales:
"WhatsApp + TaskRio isn't a tool. It's how we work. We can add 50 more people and it'll still work."

— Rahul, Founder

Key Takeaways

Try It Yourself

PixelPerfect's exact setup:

Cost: Free for small teams
Time to setup: 15 minutes
Time to see results: 1 week

Ready to scale your agency?

Start with one project today.