CEO, Symposium Creative Agency
Sam
Sam leads the vision and direction of Symposium Creative Agency. In addition to running the nitty gritty details of the business, he is a talented photographer, videographer, and designer.
About Us
Acolyte is built by a small team that cares about clear software and real parish needs.
Acolyte Scheduler is a product of Symposium Creative Agency LLC. We build practical digital tools that replace clutter, chasing, and guesswork with systems people can actually use.
Software Developer
Fin
With a degree in Software Engineering, Fin is Symposium's lead developer for all web and mobile applications. He is passionate about building clear, user-friendly software that meets real needs.
The company behind Acolyte
Symposium Creative Agency
Symposium Creative Agency is the company behind Acolyte Scheduler. To learn more about us and our work, visit symposio.io.
History of Acolyte
How did Acolyte come to be?
In the beginning... was the spreadsheet. And the spreadsheet was a mess. Acolyte Scheduler was born out of a desire to replace the chaos of volunteer scheduling spreadsheets with a calm, clear system that actually works for parishes and volunteers.
01
The Beginning
Partnership with San Carlos Cathedral in Monterey, CA
Symposium Creative Agency begins working with San Carlos Cathedral, providing the parish with a fresh new website and digital tools. During this partnership, the need for a better volunteer scheduling solution becomes clear, planting the seed for Acolyte SCC.
02
Early concept
Work begins on Acolyte SCC
It became clear that the best platform for Acolyte SCC was a mobile app that volunteers could use to sign up for events with one tap. The first working version of this workflow is built and tested with real volunteers at San Carlos Cathedral, confirming that the concept is on the right track.
03
Prototype
Testing with real volunteers
We didn't just throw Acolyte SCC out into the world and hope for the best. We built a prototype and tested it with groups of volunteers at San Carlos Cathedral. This early testing phase was crucial for refining the user experience and ensuring that the app truly met the needs of both volunteers and parish admins, especially when it came to meeting the needs of non-tech-savvy volunteers.
04
Launch
Acolyte SCC launches in the App Store and Google Play
After months of development and testing, Acolyte SCC is officially launched in the App Store and Google Play.
05
Refinement
Iterating based on Volunteer and Administrator feedback
The launch of Acolyte SCC was just the beginning. We continued to gather feedback from volunteers and administrators, using their insights to refine and improve the app. This iterative process ensured that Acolyte SCC evolved in a way that truly served the needs of its users.
06
Growing
Expanding Acolyte SCC to multiple parishes
Acolyte SCC was designed specifically for San Carlos Cathedral, but we knew that we could help other parishes facing similar challenges with volunteer scheduling. We began development on Acolyte Scheduler, a version of the app that could be easily customized and deployed for multiple parishes, allowing us to extend the benefits of Acolyte SCC to a wider audience.
07
Development
Building Acolyte Scheduler for multiple parishes
We learned many valuable lessons from our work on Acolyte SCC, and we applied those insights to the development of Acolyte Scheduler. We focused on creating a flexible, scalable solution that could be easily adapted to the unique needs of different parishes, while still maintaining the core simple features and user experience that made Acolyte SCC successful.
08
Launch
Acolyte Scheduler launches for parishes nationwide
After extensive development and testing, Acolyte Scheduler is officially launched and made available to parishes nationwide. We continue to support and improve the app based on user feedback, with the goal of making volunteer scheduling as simple and effective as possible for parishes across the country.