Symbrosia relied on Google Sheets data collection, but as production grew, managing multiple sheets became impractical. Data analysis required manual aggregation from each sheet, leading to frequent errors and lost time. Given the unique nature of their aquaculture operations, Symbrosia needed a highly customizable data collection system to streamline processes and scale with their growth.
Leveraging GoFormz's Open API, online forms, and automation features, Symbrosia centralizes record-keeping, automates communication with customers and colleagues, encourages data input, and streamlines processes.
Purchase Orders
Packaging Form
Inventory
Symbrosia is a clean tech aquaculture startup based in Kailua-Kona, Hawai'i. Their mission is to reduce livestock methane emissions through the use of a unique red macroalgae known as Asparagopsis taxiformis, or limu kohu. By harnessing the natural properties of this algae, they aim to make a significant impact on the environment and promote sustainable practices in agriculture.
Prior to GoFormz, Symbrosia used Google Sheets as their data collection tool. “When we were at a super small scale, it was fine,” explained Claire Goloja, Data Lead for Symbrosia. “But as we started growing and expanding our production, we realized it was not doable for us to have multiple Google Sheets.” This made data analysis challenging. “If we wanted to do any data analysis, we would have to go into each Google Sheet and manually aggregate the data,” explained Goloja. “That led to a lot of manual errors and it was very time consuming.”
Symbrosia realized they needed to find a solution that met their specific needs. “We knew we needed a robust data collection system but since our aquaculture operations are really specific to what we do, we knew we needed a program that was extremely customizable,” explained Goloja. Symbrosia tested a variety of data capture solutions to ensure they found the right tool for their needs. “When we found GoFormz, we knew it was the perfect fit, but the main reason why we went with GoFormz was because of the customizable features,” explained Goloja. “The other solutions were too generic for what we needed. We needed to be able to customize the platform to exactly what we were doing and because we’re a start up, things can change all the time and we needed it to change and grow with us.”
“When we found GoFormz, we knew it was the perfect fit… the other solutions were too generic for what we needed. We needed to be able to customize the platform to exactly what we were doing… we needed it to change and grow with us.”
– Claire Goloja, Data Lead, Symbrosia
Goloja was the point person to get GoFormz up and running for Symbrosia. “I was the one to get going with templates and learning how to create PDFs,” explained Goloja. “It was pretty straightforward, we created our own PDF background and then we went into the template editor and added all the fields.” With time, she became comfortable in the platform. “We figured out how to utilize the default value formulas and the data sources to auto-populate data. The learning curve for GoFormz and the template editor was pretty quick. Over the past two years, we’ve created 33 GoFormz templates.” Goloja also highlighted the usefulness of the GoFormz resources available to their team. “The GoFormz Help Center and the online resources have been really useful to learn new features and do more complex things.”
“The learning curve for GoFormz and the template editor was pretty quick. Over the past two years, we’ve created 33 GoFormz templates.”
– Claire Goloja, Data Lead, Symbrosia
As with any new tool, onboarding users can take time. “At first, I think they had a certain perception about data input because of the chaos of Google Sheets that we went through. People weren’t too sure about bringing in a new tool for data input,” explained Goloja. Symbrosia was dedicated to making the data collection process work, so they made it a collaborative effort to fine-tune their digital form process. “Over the past two years, we’ve really worked with each team directly and they would give me GoFormz edits. So we would make a form and tell them this is the first version, test it out, and they would let me know what changes they would want to make it easier on them.”
Since adopting GoFormz as their data collection tool, Symbrosia has embraced the platform. “Since then, we’ve really optimized the forms to meet the needs of our production team. They were like, ‘Oh this is cool, you can just auto-populate this and then I don’t have to type it in. I don’t have to remember certain things,’” explained Goloja. “Once we got into the more advanced features, everyone’s idea of data input wasn’t as overwhelming as before.”
“Once we got into the more advanced features, everyone’s idea of data input wasn’t as overwhelming as before.”
– Claire Goloja, Data Lead, Symbrosia
While Symbrosia has 33 different digital form templates, their online purchase orders are the most impactful. “The most complex form that we use in GoFormz is our public purchase order form where we can prefill a PO form, send it to a client, then use template events to send automated emails to route the information,” explained Goloja. “It has made the workflow a lot easier for our business development team and made everything smoother and automated.” Using online shareable forms, Symbrosia can have customers fill out and complete forms even if they don’t have a GoFormz license. “That’s been really helpful for us because when we’re sending out product we want to make sure clients know exactly what product we would recommend to them,” explained Goloja. “We have our animal scientists do some research and get to know the client and that’s when they send a suggested PO form with the specific product they would need or reduction levels they can choose from.”
“...we can prefill a PO form, send it to a client, then use template events to send automated emails to route the information… that’s been really helpful for us because when we’re sending out a product we want to make sure clients know exactly what product we would recommend to them.”
– Claire Goloja, Data Lead, Symbrosia
While these purchase orders are pre-filled with customer data, additional information is still captured on the client side. “They’re providing the delivery address where they are located so we know where to ship the product,” explained Goloja. “That delivery address is then automatically sent to our product and processing guy who is the one that actually packages the product.” Automatic email notifications are an excellent way to quickly transfer data to teammates. “He’ll get an automated email with their delivery address and the actual amount and quantity.” Automatic calculations are used to eliminate opportunities for human error. “It automatically calculates the number of days the product is needed, the animal type, and the required amount of product, which is then sent to our production and business development team.”
All of the data captured in GoFormz is automatically routed to an external database using the GoFormz Open API. “We have a packaging form that we use for inventory and it helps us with our external database. In that database, we’re able to aggregate all of the forms and then we have an actual inventory dashboard,” explained Goloja. “Without GoFormz, we definitely would not have been able to create that inventory dashboard where it's automatically updating on its own.” When data is captured in a digital form, it is automatically routed to their database to update in real-time. “We utilize the GoFormz API feature and therefore we can have our data update every few hours, which is super nice for the whole team because we know how much product we have at any given time.”
As Symbrosia has grown and evolved their processes, the flexibility of the GoFormz platform has supported their growth. “We went this route because it provided us with so much flexibility and since we started two years ago there have been so many changes,” explained Goloja. Template Versioning has provided an audit trail for Symbrosia. “Being able to make all those edits and also go back and look at the template history in GoFormz has been amazing because if we change something, we can go back and see what was done before,” explained Goloja. “That has been amazing being able to track everything that has been done in the past but GoFormz as a whole for our external database has allowed us to have really flexible data and has grown with us as we scaled.”
“...GoFormz as a whole for our external database has allowed us to have really flexible data and has grown with us as we scaled.”
– Claire Goloja, Data Lead, Symbrosia
Symbrosia’s top benefit has been the automation features. “It’s really exciting to be able to go, ‘Hey everyone, this is automated now. You don’t have to do this anymore,’” explained Goloja. “Nobody likes spending time on tedious tasks that are the same thing every day or week.” In turn, automation has improved data integrity and input. “This has improved all the production team’s willingness for data input, which has been awesome,” explained Goloja. “At Symbrosia, we are really dedicated to making data-driven decisions, and with GoFormz, inputting this data on a daily basis we are able to make those decisions very quickly.”
“At Symbrosia, we are really dedicated to making data-driven decisions, and with GoFormz, inputting this data on a daily basis we are able to make those decisions very quickly.”
– Claire Goloja, Data Lead, Symbrosia
Symbrosia’s product, SeaGraze®, is USDA-certified organic. “Every year we have to go through a recertification process and one of USDA’s requirements is they ask for clear data tracking,” explained Goloja. “There are two different things they ask us for that we need to provide and this year, it went super smoothly and I would contribute that to the organized data that we’ve been able to create with GoFormz.” She continued, “They even highlighted that our systems of traceability were incredibly clear, which was very nice to hear after all the time we spent creating this process.” This gave Symbrosia the confidence in their newly digitized processes. “Hearing an outsider's perspective that we have a good system, and being able to demonstrate it, answer their questions, and provide all the data they wanted, reassured us that we have a great setup in place.”
Since adopting GoFormz as their data collection tool, they have felt well-supported by the GoFormz team. “The help feature where you can ask a simple question has been so nice for those instances where you get stuck,” explained Goloja. “Sometimes you don’t know if something is an option or how to do something and GoFormz will send me an example of how to go about my problem or they’ll send me a link to a website in the chat.” GoFormz prides itself on providing stellar customer service and support. “The response times are fast and I never feel lost or alone with GoFormz. I definitely feel supported.”
“The response times are fast and I never feel lost or alone with GoFormz. I definitely feel supported.”
– Claire Goloja, Data Lead, Symbrosia
Goloja went on to highlight how having everything in one place has made a significant difference with onboarding, “It’s all in the same program instead of separate Google Sheets. It would have been absolute chaos to onboard.”
Additionally, Symbrosia has experienced significant time savings. “The amount of time that people actually input data with all the optimizations and automation in place has definitely decreased our time spent.” This used to be a very manual process with Google Sheets. “Before we would have to aggregate data from Google Sheets which was chaos trying to figure out. Then you have manual errors from copying and pasting that data over,” explained Goloja. “With GoFormz, we know we’re inputting all the data, we know what data is being recorded, and everyone knows who’s inputting the data and what data analysis they can ask for.” In return, their data analysis has been completely streamlined. “In our external database, we can analyze data in a matter of minutes whereas before I would say it would take days to aggregate data,” explained Goloja. “It’s so nice that we have a whole history of data in one location versus before we would have Google Sheets and then the Google sheet would get too large to use.”
“In our external database, we can analyze data in a matter of minutes whereas before I would say it would take days to aggregate data.”
– Claire Goloja, Data Lead, Symbrosia
Symbrosia plans to further explore the GoFormz platform, discovering additional features and functionalities as they become more familiar with its capabilities. “We plan on exploring more of those automation features. As more people hear how we have this automated form that sends an automated email and you don’t have to write the email out every time it catches everyone’s attention,” explained Goloja. “All the teams have been coming to me with ideas. So hearing out their ideas that they have since they’re the ones actually inputting the data and then expanding GoFormz across our entire company is the next step.”