Materialize Labs

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the CEO of WQ Revenue

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

We are a revenue optimization consulting firm that leverages data-driven strategies to drive sales growth.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Materialize Labs to accomplish?

• To design and develop an AI-driven sales enrichment tool for automating prospect enrichment using LLMs and web scraping.
• To integrate the tool with existing CRM systems seamlessly.

SOLUTION

How did you find Materialize Labs?

Referral

Why did you select Materialize Labs over others?

• High ratings
• Good value for cost
• Referred to me

How many teammates from Materialize Labs were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

The scope of work involved creating an AI-driven sales enrichment platform that leverages generative AI and web scraping technologies to provide comprehensive lead data enrichment. Key deliverables included a robust web application with a user-friendly design, AI agents for automated data gathering, and seamless integration with popular CRM systems.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

Working with Materialize brought a notable boost to our sales operations. The AI-driven sales enrichment platform they developed transformed how we gather and use data, eliminating extensive manual processes. This tool empowered our sales team with enriched prospect data, enhancing our ability to reach out with precision and relevance, ultimately improving our sales outcomes and efficiency.

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

Materialize Labs proved to be excellent in project management. They were consistently on top of deadlines and demonstrated adaptability in addressing our evolving needs. Their clear and frequent communication ensured that we were always aligned, making the process smooth and predictable.

What was your primary form of communication with Materialize Labs?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

What truly set Materialize apart was their depth of expertise in AI technologies and their ability to propose creative solutions to complex problems. Their proactive approach in predicting challenges and addressing them ahead of time made them a reliable partner who guided us expertly through the development journey.

Are there any areas for improvement or something Materialize Labs could have done differently?

While we were highly satisfied with the project, one area for potential enhancement could be more frequent in-person touchpoints at key stages of development. While virtual meetings were generally effective, occasional face-to-face sessions might enhance collaboration and the shared understanding of the project's nuances.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of a packaged consumer goods company. We produce an energy shot.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Materialize?

We needed them for custom software development. I hired them to develop a responsive B2C e-commerce website for my company, both for mobile and desktop platforms.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Initially, Materialize went through all the materials, and Alex, the CEO, introduced me to his team. Afterward, we went into the development phase.

Materialize has developed our website from scratch, based on my own designs. At first, I provided them with the design files, and they made suggestions on what we could improve; they were also involved with the design work and color scheme layouts as well. Later on, they replicated my design and even caught a compliance color contrast issue and promptly solved it, which was a great help to us.

They then developed the website on Shopify and created a fully custom frontend, since I didn’t want my website to look like a template. The team also integrated the Klaviyo and ShipStation platforms and connected our merchant bank. They also worked on implementing features like shopping carts. 

So far, they have set up the hosting since I didn’t have any, provided a functionalities testing schedule, and ensured everything worked. They have provided additional maintenance to the website to ensure it matches what I need and taught me how to use Shopify to manage it properly.

What is the team composition?

We work with Alex, the founder and CEO, a senior project manager, a design lead, and a development lead.

How did you come to work with Materialize?

I found them through a referral. I shared my previous experiences with other companies, and a friend I trust recommended Materialize. Then Alex, the CEO, got in touch. We had an initial video call and talked about the project and what I needed regarding budget and schedule. We finally came to an agreement when he sent me an extraordinarily thorough and detailed proposal and I approved it. I wouldn’t have pulled the trigger and initiated the project without him.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent between $25,000–$30,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in October 2024, and the engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

Materialize has exceeded our expectations. They’ve perfectly replicated my designs pixel by pixel, and there have been no issues, so I give them kudos for that. They have just done it right on the first try, which is extraordinarily rare in my experience. My website functions as intended. Now, I can seamlessly run my entire business online and use my own email marketing to work on capturing my audience.

Materialize has been highly communicative and has shown us how to use the website. We haven’t launched yet because we’re a brand new company, but I’m confident the website will work as intended. We expect our product’s soft launch to happen next month.

How did Materialize perform from a project management standpoint?

The senior project manager has taken the lead, and that’s why I always know who to talk to. Everything has been done online, and the team frequently shares items with me, like the checklist for testing. I can quickly approve everything myself at my leisure. This has made our communication seamless, smooth, and easy to handle.

Their team has delivered everything within budget and on time, respecting their 12-week schedule. Even when our merchant bank delayed us for several months, Materialize stayed on top of it. Everything has played out as they said it would, which is something extraordinarily rare.

Throughout the project, we have communicated using Figma, Google Meet, Zoom, and email and worked on Google Docs. Materialize has been very communicative and flexible and has used the tools I want to use.

Are there any employees from the service provider's team that you would like to give a shout-out to in this review?

Jasmine, the senior project manager, has been amazing. She has made the process such a joy and helped us overcome little problems and hurdles. Overall, she has been a great collaborative partner and face of the company. Alex has also been fantastic; he’s been straightforward and done everything he promised without trying to glam it up. This is very rare in web and development areas in particular.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Materialize has done everything right the first time without making excuses. I have actually received my project. I’ve had bad experiences with companies before, with teams that were frustrating to work with. They just received my design files, slapped it together, and plugged it in, making excuses along the way for why they couldn’t do things. That was my typical experience with a development team.

This project has been the opposite experience. That's why I'm happy to give them a really good review, because Materialize is far head and shoulders above from other agencies. I am really impressed by how they handle their business.

They have done exactly what they promised, at the price they promised. They have presented none of the excuses typical of other companies in their field.

I like long-term relationships and loyalty. If a company does a good job, then I, as a client, will never go anywhere else, and that’s what they did: a good job. I hope they stay in business for a long time so that I can do more projects with this team because they've been great.

Alex has been a fantastic guy to work with as well. He’s been honest and caring, shown a thoughtful entrepreneurial mindset, and put on a good face. That's not always the case when you work with CEOs or owners. Sometimes, they glam things up because they want your money, and he was not that way at all.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, this has been one of the best experiences I’ve had in a long time. That’s the only reason I have agreed to do a review.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be organized and clear about what you want because if you are, they’ll give you exactly what you need.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the creative director of Salt and Air Studios.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Materialize?

We wanted to create a live streaming app that could go live for 24 hours a day and allow users to watch live surfing events from all over the world. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Materialize has helped us build a live streaming app for both Android and iOS. We initially came to them with the idea of what we wanted, and then they laid out some ideas of how the app would look and feel. From there, they worked closely with us on the design process to ensure everything was made the way we liked it.

Additionally, their team went through the process of setting up all the accounts so that we could stream live effortlessly. They also created a whole backend network so that we could easily upload videos and start streams.

The app has already been completed, but we’re still working with Materialize on maintaining it and developing a few new features.

What is the team composition?

We’ve worked with quite a few designers from Materialize, but we mainly work with Sandy (Project Manager).

How did you come to work with Materialize?

I worked with Alex (Founder & CEO) on a previous project and knew he specialized in app development. I knew he could build the live streaming app we wanted, so I reached out to him, and he and his team were instantly ready to work with us.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent about $100,000 on this project.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Materialize in March 2024, and our engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

We haven’t launched the app yet, so we don’t have any specific metrics to share. From a content standpoint, we’ve shown the app to multiple surfing industry executives who are very interested in it and may invest more money, which is always great to hear.

How did Materialize perform from a project management standpoint?

They always deliver on time and within budget. We mainly communicate using Slack and email.

Are there any employees from the service provider's team that you would like to give a shout-out to in this review?

I want to give a shout-out to Alex for helping us make our dream a reality. I also want to give a shout-out to Sandy, my right-hand person, for getting things done. Sandy’s been amazing to work with — she really tries to understand our requirements to make sure the app looks exactly how we want it to. Moreover, whenever we want to make changes, she always responds and makes the changes herself or gets somebody else to do it. Overall, the entire process has been effortless thanks to Sandy.

What did you find most impressive about them?

It’s very easy to work with Materialize. Their process is very straightforward, and they walk us through every step so that we never get confused.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can’t think of anything Materialize could improve on.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

Make sure to have all your creatives and other requirements in line. This will streamline the entire process and allow the Materialize team to work efficiently.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder of DeepNeed.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Materialize?

We wanted to build an MVP of our product, so we hired Materialize to provide custom software development services.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Materialize provided us with custom software development services. They helped us build the MVP of our product, handling both the development and design work. They used various key technologies for development, such as Python.

What is the team composition?

We worked with four people from Materialize: a product manager, an AI engineer, a software developer, and a project leader.

How did you come to work with Materialize?

We found out about Materialize through a Google search. Before choosing them, we interviewed 5–6 different vendors. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked with Materialize on this project from May–September 2024.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

We just finished the project recently, so we don’t have any specific metrics yet. However, we couldn’t be happier with our decision to work with Materialize; it was definitely the right call, and their team was worth the investment.

How did Materialize perform from a project management standpoint?

Their project management was exceptional. They delivered everything on time and within budget, and it was very easy to communicate with them. Their team provided us with constant updates and maintained an open dialogue to ensure we were kept in the loop. We communicated using Slack and email.

Are there any employees from the service provider's team that you would like to shout out to in this review?

Alex (Co-Founder & CEO) and Sandy (Project Manager) were great to work with. Alex ran his business with integrity, speed, and quality. Meanwhile, Sandy made the entire development and testing process feel like a complete vacation compared to all the previous projects we had worked on. She took care of every detail and took so much work off our plate.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The quality of Materialize’s work was extremely high. They used a very modern technology stack, wrote high-quality code, and fixed every bug identified without hesitation. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can’t think of anything Materialize could’ve improved on.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a creative producer and video editor at a small design and content creation company.  We mainly focus on film and television content, brand marketing, and main title sequences.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Materialize?

We often engage clients who require web services, so we frequently use Materialize to manage the web portion of the services our clients enquire.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Multiple clients of ours run live events. In addition to the marketing materials we create for them, Materialize helps us create a website potential customers can visit for ticket sales or event bookings. The marketing materials my company creates typically direct to a landing page, so Materialize also helps us track user engagement.

In addition to web development and analytics, Materialize also advises us on SEO best practices, and they sometimes manage SEO for us. Basically, they manage everything related to our clients' websites.

What is the team composition?

We typically work with 3–4 teammates from Materialize on every project.

How did you come to work with Materialize?

Several years ago, Alex and I met at a social event, during which he mentioned he would start this company. We kept in touch since then, and over time, we found opportunities to work together.

How much have you invested with them?

 We’ve spent over $50,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our first project started around April 2020, and our engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

The most impressive success metric is that we continue to go to Materialize for our website needs. As for actual metrics, I don't really see my clients' data, but I know that they're always happy with our work. Overall, I'm also satisfied with Materialize's work.

How did Materialize perform from a project management standpoint?

Materialize's project management is perfect. They're great, attentive, and communicative, and they deliver on time and within budget. As for communication, we've created a shared Slack channel, so we have immediate access to Alex (Founder & CEO) and his team.

Are there any employees from the service provider's team that you would like to give a shout-out to in this review?

Alex is very reliable. I can text him or email him anytime, and he takes care of my problems within one hour. He's one of the most reliable service providers I've ever worked with, and I'm always confident that he'll get back to me any time of the day. When dealing with live events, things can get very urgent as the event approaches. Thus, Alex is an incredible resource for us to have and to provide to our clients as well.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Materialize's consistent communication and accessibility are impressive. We've had customer requests come in late at night, and the team has always been available. We never have to chase them or send them emails because we're always able to get answers and get in touch at any time. Moreover, I completely trust Materialize with our clients. We can bring them to client conversations and trust that they'll represent us well.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can't think of anything Materialize could improve on.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

Bring them early in the process and communicate frequently with them.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a project manager at Bay 101, a card club. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Materialize?

When I was hired in Bay 101, I was tasked with building a new website. The company had an outdated website that hadn’t been updated in a long time. They didn’t have anyone on staff who could handle it, so they were using their IT department. However, the job was outside the scope of the department. Ultimately, I was assigned to lead the project, so I searched for agencies and hired Materialize. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Materialize developed our new website from scratch. We did have an existing website, but they didn’t use any of it. They built a brand-new site using Webflow; for designs, they used Figma. 

For core features, the product was an information-focused business website. It had an events calendar feature that showed all of our tournaments. Users could click on those, and the information was updated every day. There was also a link to restaurants that showed menus and items for users. On top of that, the site allowed users to fill out applications for employment directly on the platform. 

Knowing that we didn’t have in-house engineers, Materialize built a feature where we could show updated rankings on our tournaments and similar information without requiring an actual developer. They integrated the site with Airtable and other microservices to automatically take our Excel Spreadsheets and upload them seamlessly to our website in a way that it didn’t look like a simple attachment. 

What is the team composition?

I interfaced with a designer, Melissa (Project Management VP), and Alex (Founder & CEO). 

How did you come to work with Materialize?

We found Materialize on Upwork. 

How much have you invested with them?

Our investment was around $50,000. 

What is the status of this engagement?

The project lasted from August 2022–May 2023. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement? 

All of our tournament directors, HR, and other people who used the website were extremely happy with it. The site was a huge improvement from what we had before. Our company had a huge screen where the tournament was displayed directly from the website, and it looked great. Our HR director was happy with the feature where applications could be filtered on the website for hiring. This was an easier process than before. 

Overall, I received nothing but positive feedback from users. Materialize did top-notch work in terms of delivering a modern and clean design for our website. We wanted to compete with other casinos in the Bay Area in terms of websites, and the team delivered high-quality work. 

How did Materialize perform from a project management standpoint?

Materialize’s project management was great. They met our deadlines. The date of launch was a bit later than what we had agreed upon in the beginning, but that was because of me. I took a long time approving things and meeting with stakeholders to get the approvals. The delays were from our side. For costs, they didn’t go over our budget. 

For communication, we initially used Zoom and Google Meet, where all of our initial calls happened. We used these for the interview process, kickoff calls, introductions, and discussions to ensure they understood what we needed. Our day-to-day communication for tasks was done through Slack. 

The entire team was great. The designer helped me with a lot of things, while Melissa was amazing. She was extremely helpful in answering my questions. We had a Slack channel, and she was extremely responsive anytime I needed anything. Meanwhile, Alex was accommodating. For instance, we had an issue where a payment got lost in the mail and didn’t make it to them. He didn’t stop the work while he waited for the refund of our payment — he was truly understanding. 

The Materialize team remained helpful even after our contract ended. There were plenty of times when we needed help on some things related to the website. They helped us, and Alex said it wasn’t a big deal; they didn’t even charge us. In these instances, we weren’t dealing with simple bugs — they were feature updates that we realized we needed after the project ended. 

In fact, Alex offered to leave our Slack channel open instead of closing it after the engagement. That way, whenever we needed them to do something small for us, they’d receive the message and wouldn’t even charge us for it. If the job was a little more time-consuming, they could tell us the time it would take to finish it. We’d asked for several things over a few months, and they’d always delivered within two days of my asking. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

When I was interviewing agencies, I wanted a team with a good eye for design that could capture what I needed — Materialize’s design was great. Apart from that, I was also impressed with their ability to accommodate requirements on the fly. They were great at addressing additional requirements and feature requests. They’d research the best tools to give us what we wanted, trying several things until they got everything right. 

In other words, they went above and beyond to provide us with a product that we could be proud of, so we were truly happy with them. I never felt like I was pushed or the project was rushed, and working with them was extremely easy. Their members were friendly, professional, and great at their jobs. They were a truly great team to work with — I couldn’t say enough good things about them.  

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, there weren’t any. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be well-prepared. Materialize works extremely fast. They can do whatever you need fairly quickly. Given that, you should have your requirements ready. Gather everything from your stakeholders before you meet with the team. 

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the CEO of JDAQA

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

JDAQA is a scalable quality assurance testing agency specializing in delivering high-impact software testing solutions for Custom Software and SaaS solution providers.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Materialize to accomplish?

• To design and develop an Automated Test Case Generator tool, for efficient generation of test cases based on the given software requirements.
• To provide an intuitive UI/UX design for the application.

SOLUTION

How did you find Materialize?

Referral

Why did you select Materialize over others?

• High ratings
• Good value for cost
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from Materialize were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

The scope of work involved creating an Automated Test Case (ATC) Generator, a mobile application built with React Native and AI capabilities. The purpose was to simplify the process of generating test cases based on the given software requirements. Materialize also worked on the UI/UX design of the application to ensure a user-friendly experience.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

Our collaboration with Materialize led to the development of the ATC Generator, an automated tool ushering significant advancements into the way we handle the process of generating test cases. Before, the generation of test cases was a time-consuming, often tedious task. With the arrival of the ATC Generator, we have redefined this process. We successfully automated it, not only making it faster but also remarkably seamless.

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

Materialize’s project management was efficient. They made sure to meticulously scope every feature of the platform and when scope changed, they made sure to present the timeline and cost changes as well.

What was your primary form of communication with Materialize?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

The uniqueness of Materialize lies in their effortless fusion of AI, ML, and conventional technologies in custom software development. Their team, consisting of true specialists, brings to the table vast knowledge gained from an array of diverse projects. What truly sets Materialize apart from other firms is their proactive anticipation of potential challenges, effectively addressing them even before they emerge. 

Coupled with their deep-seated mastery in technology, this approach makes them more of a trusted partner, guiding us through innovation and growth.

Are there any areas for improvement or something Materialize could have done differently?

There were no significant areas for improvement, we were completely satisfied with their service. They could offer formal training or workshops after project completion. This could help clients better understand and utilize all aspects of the solutions built. This in no way detracts from their exceptional service, but is merely an opportunity to extend their customer service excellence.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the president of a company that specializes in providing meals to schools.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Materialize?

We recently launched a new product line that was aimed at a subgroup of children at charter schools. We needed to create an online ordering system so schools could place their orders ahead of time and we could plan and produce the meals they ordered.

To create the system, we needed someone with extraordinary capabilities, particularly because we change the menu items every day. On top of that, we wanted to have reporting and analytics to help with purchasing, production planning, and logistics. In summary, we needed a custom solution.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Materialize developed our MVP. They mainly used Linux, Apache, MySQL, and PHP (LAMP) as the stack. Beyond the software development, they handled a lot of data and analytics about how users used the system and what was happening inside the application. Also, Materialize took time to design a deeper layer of understanding within the software.

We had a multi-phase launch. Our first goal was to create the MVP; we’ll go forward with two other phases in the future.

What is the team composition?

Our main contact was Alex (Founder & CEO). Additionally, 4–5 team members worked on design, coding, and project management.

How did you come to work with Materialize?

A friend referred them. He’s been in technology for many years, so he’s worked with different service providers. Ultimately, we decided to go forward with Materialize because they emphasized the right things and understood the MVP and scope control.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent $75,000 on the project.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in August 2022. They finished the MVP in November 2022, and we launched phase one in January 2023. However, we plan to continue developing other software capabilities with Materialize.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

We’ve rolled the product out to 45 schools; we’re collecting thousands of orders every day. Moreover, the MVP is excellent; we use all of its features, and it has had minimal errors or bugs.

How did Materialize perform from a project management standpoint?

We had to go back and re-scope some things, but Materialize was great with their estimates. They delivered on time and asked timely questions throughout the process. Overall, it was great to work by their side.

We communicated via Slack, Google Meet, emails, and phone calls.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The honesty in their communication was what we liked the most about Materialize. Secondly, we were impressed with the emphasis they put on quality. Instead of prioritizing turning over the project, Materialize focused on delivering a clean product.

Are there any areas they could improve?

We would’ve liked to have more design reviews to give feedback. Although the project was under time constraints because schools had already started, a few more design meetings probably would’ve helped to cut down some of the cost and time.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Speak with Materialize about your vision and let them come back with their ideas. They’re a creative team; they don’t devise a solution and run with it. They do a deep analysis to solve your problem.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Food and Beverage company VP Product

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Materialize, and what were your goals?

We needed to 1) gather and keep track of all the data we generate (including lots of unstructured data) from R&D through to Ops, 2) organize/move/store/make accessible all that data (local and cloud), 3) be able to perform analytics on the data. Materialize provided the frontend web app to enable these.

SOLUTION

How did you select Materialize and what were the deciding factors?

I had been working with a backend database and infrastructure company and they referred me to this frontend company. After two meetings with the owner and the team that would be assigned to us, we were impressed with their technical knowledge, professionalism, enthusiasm, and mental flexiblity.

Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and technologies used.

We are scientists and operations people and needed something both intuitive to pick up easily as well as be usable across many device types (laptop, tablet, phone). Materialize created a bespoke web app served from GCP that interacted with a mysql db.

How many people from the Materialize team worked with you, and what were their positions?

I primarily connected with the project manager every week who managed a team of devs and QA folks.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables?

Since we were building something brand new, there isn't anything "old" to compare against. Materialize spent the time to get it right: incorporating feedback, confirming and fixing bugs, super communicative and responsive throughout. "Here's the plan." "Here's what actually happened." Love it.

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timeliness.

We had weekly zoom calls and used a simple google doc to track work items. Everything else was email and slack. Materialize integrated very well with our internal software preferences.

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

Super great attentiveness to the customer. Always available for the weekly calls even when needing to reschedule. Listened to feedback and presented several options for us to choose among. The team has always been upbeat and enthusiastic throughout the workflow.

Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?

In the beginning, there wasn't a predictable cadence to when staging got pushed live, but we ironed that out and it made bug reports and suggestions a lot more predictable.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the co-founder of BriefMe LLC, a railroad protection briefing application.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Materialize?

The railroad industry has historically been very stubborn when it comes to technology. They like to use paper and pencil. Their job briefings were no different; even to this day, they still give people pads of paper to use for the briefings. I saw an opportunity to digitize and improve the process and make it safer and faster for everyone involved.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

I hired Materialize to design and develop a cross-platform mobile application. We had to develop a couple of custom algorithms for one specific part of this application. Other than that, it was just pretty straightforward app development. 

They built the app from scratch. They have a pretty decent frame of reference when it comes to railroad work, but not enough that they could have tackled this just on their own. So I brought them the product requirement and user stories. I was a part of the development through the whole process, making tweaks, changes, and adjustments as needed and acting as a point of reference for them.

They also built the website for this application as well.

What is the team composition?

I’ve primarily worked with Alex (President). I also worked briefly with two of his senior software engineers.

How did you come to work with Materialize?

I heard about them through a mutual friend in the industry. I reached out to them, and we talked about some previous work they did in the railroad space. I liked what they did, so I decided to go with them for this project.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent around $250,000 so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in December 2021, and the engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

We're live. We have approximately 1,500 users, and that's phenomenal for this niche of an application. The app is also very responsive. We do have minor bugs, but nothing that's show-stopping. We've never had a crash yet.

How did Materialize perform from a project management standpoint?

Materialize has performed well in terms of project management. They’re incredibly professional and responsive. They did a really good job of understanding what I was trying to do, so I really couldn't be any happier with them. 

We use Jira for the sprints and Slack for communication.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I’m most impressed with Materialize’s customer retention. They provide us with very dedicated attention — it really feels like I am the only customer they have. That's obviously not the case, but whenever I needed something, somebody was always there. I’ve never had to wait a long time. I would say equal to that is their quality of work. 

They're also very diverse in what they do. These guys should be charging more than what they are. I don't believe I’m going to find anybody better, especially at this price.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I would like to see them have dedicated design designers. I felt like if there was an area of a little bottleneck, it was with design.