4IRE LABS

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Ambiotex is a producer of smart apparel which monitors heart rate and other relevant parameters. I am the CEO.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Seductive Mobile?

They were brought in to implement our Android smartphone application. The company we were using at the time specialized in iOS, and was also quite expensive, relative to the service and results we received. It’s convenient for German companies to work with developers from Ukraine, so we started working with Seductive Mobile.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Seductive Mobile developed an Android version of our app, based on the iOS version we had in place. They got screen designs and user experience from the existing app. No enhancements were made for the Android version.

Our product communicates via Bluetooth Low Energy. The device collects data from that channel, stores it into a local database, and allows people to start and stop activities, as well as view statistics like calories burned.

We plan to implement a synchronization feature between all smartphone apps with our web dashboard and backend. This will be the toughest implementation task to undergo.

How did you come to work with Seductive Mobile?

We found them through a personal recommendation. The initial contact and project acquisition phase were handled professionally. This, combined with the recommendation we received, gave us a very good feeling.

How much have you invested with Seductive Mobile?

The cost of Seductive Mobile’s work has been around $10,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Seductive Mobile in late December 2016. The first version of the app was supposed to be delivered by the end of March 2017, but it was delayed until April 20th.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement?

We have used a couple of testers for assessing the builds we’ve received so far. Seductive Mobile has delivered apps which crashed in the beginning, which might be because of differing devices, but, as soon as we give them feedback, they are quick to resolve problems.

How did Seductive Mobile perform from a project management standpoint?

The performance of our first project manager was not very good. He was exchanged, and, since the new manager was brought onboard, everything has been very smooth. We have used the Atlassian suite, including JIRA and Confluence. Seductive Mobile was always available and provided clear communication. The initial estimates differed quite a lot from the realistic efforts made during the project. The initial quote was for between $10,000 and $15,000 for the whole application, but we’ve already spent that budget, working on just the initial version of the app. Sometimes, this is how software development is.

The responsiveness of Seductive Mobile’s project manager and team was on par with our expectations. They provided detailed communication. We didn’t have any direct interactions with their developers, but we have communicated with the management team from Seductive Mobile. This was fine for us, since their principal has a deep understanding of software development.

What did you find most impressive about Seductive Mobile?

They have performed quite well in building a complex product. Seductive Mobile studied the iOS build, understood the functionalities of the app, and started on the Android version quickly.

Are there any areas Seductive Mobile could improve?

Not really. Their tools and project manager are very professional. I’ve had a good feeling up to now, and I’m looking forward to the first finalized version of the app. When we’ve started testing it with a bigger user group, we might find some issues, but we’ve been happy to work with Seductive Mobile so far.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Massabee is a massage on-demand application. Our company is based in Dubai.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Seductive Mobile?

I needed help to develop the application. I originally hired a different team but had to cancel the contract because of delays.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The idea for the app is mine, but the design and development were handled by two companies, one of them being Seductive Mobile. When they were brought onboard, some of the design had already been done, but not much of the development. Seductive Mobile finalized the design and took over development for Android and iOS in parallel, using 2 separate teams. We've also modified certain features of the application.

How did you come to work with Seductive Mobile?

I searched Google and looked at rating websites including Clutch.co. Seductive Mobile was mentioned as a top developer.

How much have you invested with Seductive Mobile?

The cost of Seductive Mobile's work has been around $20,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Seductive Mobile in April 2016. We are still fine-tuning the project and developing certain features. The iOS side has been ahead of schedule, while Android has needed some catching up.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement?

The project is still in development, and we're still trying to understand its niche. The quality of Seductive Mobile's design is good, as are the functionalities they've built and the quality of the code.

How did Seductive Mobile perform from a project management standpoint?

I acted as project manager, with hands-on involvement in every aspect of the work. I kept in touch with Seductive Mobile's project manager and development lead. For any problems regarding scheduling or budget, I had the opportunity to talk to their principal. Seductive Mobile has a good team. They usually delivered on time and were not very expensive.

What did you find most impressive about Seductive Mobile?

I'm overall happy with Seductive Mobile.

Are there any areas Seductive Mobile could improve?

Seductive Mobile should put more emphasis on the design since that is currently one of the most important aspects of a product. Some of their work was not up to standards and needed additional guidance. From a development point of view, Seductive Mobile has good skills.

We have moved away from sprint-based development, where each segment was 7 days long. Seductive Mobile currently has an hourly rate. I cannot say which one is better, but I was happy with using the sprint methodology: it was quick and allowed me to track daily progress.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Our company does web widgets and native iOS and Android app development. We’re essentially a booking platform that is starting out by offering services for hair stylists, yoga instructors, etc. I am the founder and CEO.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Seductive Mobile?

We built the Android app, the API, and database, basically the Android backend, and we needed someone to build the iOS version, so we hired Seductive Mobile to do that.

SOLUTION

How did you come to work with Seductive Mobile?

It was a referral from a referral. I was referred by a friend here in Sweden to a web development company in Ukraine when I contacted them about doing the iOS version. The Ukraine company referred us to Seductive Mobile. I guess they work pretty closely together. We had decided to give them a chance early on, and then we followed up with sprints. We were happy with their progress after the first sprint, so we decided to continue working with them.

How much have you invested with Seductive Mobile?

We’ve invested about $15,000 or $16,000 with Seductive Mobile.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project isn’t complete yet. We started working with them around July 2016, and we’ve been working on it for about six months. We have about a month to go, so it [the initial engagement] is nearing completion. Then we'll work on a continuous basis.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement?

It’s a fairly complex product, but we haven't yet found anything that Seductive Mobile hasn’t been able to solve. We’re confident they can execute all the functions we want and in an expedient manner. They’re also quick to understand what we want.

How did Seductive Mobile perform from a project management standpoint?

Very well. I think they’re very organized. We say what we want to accomplish, and they divide the work into sprints. They have a lot of freedom in doing that, and it’s worked pretty well for us. It’s convenient for us too, because we don't need to micromanage them. I mainly interact with their project manager in signing contracts, paying bills, and setting sprints, but my CTO works closely with their developers via Skype.

What did you find most impressive about Seductive Mobile?

When we sent our nearly complete Android version to them, they took a look at it and improved some of the solutions we had envisioned for the iOS version. They understand what we’re aiming for and improve upon our ideas, and we appreciate that. It’s not just a mechanical thing for them. They’ll think outside the box and make sure that you accomplish your goal and not just the pure metrics of it.

Are there any areas Seductive Mobile could improve?

If I have to say something negative, and I don't know how unique this is to Seductive Mobile, but it’s a little confining to work in a sprint structure. You set the stuff you need for the next two weeks or so, and then they go ahead and build it. But sometimes, you think up new ideas and want to change things midstream, and that’s not as easy to do if you don’t have the guy who can do it sitting next to you in your office. In that sense, it’s a little rigid. That has more to do with doing long-distance work as opposed to something specific to Seductive Mobile.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We provide a sales management tool designed to increase productivity, closing ratios, and revenue for the merchant services field in the US. With just a few mouse clicks, our solution provides access to vital information for making the best management decisions in real-time.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Seductive Mobile?

I had a patented idea for our mobile application and needed help making it better.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Seductive Mobile has built the iOS version of my app. We're planning to expand its features and also build an Android version, but the scope has been kept low in order to stick to my budget.

The app can interface with Salesforce AppExchange but it's not featured on the actual store. Given that my app requires a large number of customizations, I couldn't see it sitting on a shelf as a ready-made solution.

How did you come to work with Seductive Mobile?

I used another development company initially, but I actually had to get my money back. They didn't know what they were doing. I made a Google search for top application developers and found an article from Forbes magazine listing 10 to 20 options. I called 3 to 4 and decided to hire Seductive Mobile.

How much have you invested with Seductive Mobile?

The cost of Seductive Mobile's services has been close to $10,000. I plan to spend another $10,000 on enhanced features.

What is the status of this engagement?

I started working with Seductive Mobile in April 2016. I'm currently in negotiations with a company interested in using our product, so we've been developing specific changes to the product based on their requests. I am planning to expand the product by a large extent, but I need time.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement?

Seductive Mobile has been night and day compared to my previous developer. Based on the demo I showed them, Seductive Mobile was able to make my idea much better. I have reached out to a few potential clients and found someone interested in moving forward based on our demo.

How did Seductive Mobile perform from a project management standpoint?

We communicated a lot through Skype video conferences and via phone. Seductive Mobile was always available for my calls. I was included in the team's conversations, allowing me to request changes quickly. Seductive Mobile has moved very fast, finishing the initial phase in 30 days instead of the original quote of 2 months.

What did you find most impressive about Seductive Mobile?

I like Seductive Mobile's team; they're a pleasure to work with.

Are there any areas Seductive Mobile could improve?

Not based on my experience.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the founder and CEO of Vork, Inc., a mobile app developer. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Seductive Mobile?

Our challenge was building the MVP [minimum viable product] of the app, a working product I could go to market with. The app is for business social networking, LinkedIn meets Tinder. I've designed technology that can turn any piece of content into something like a Tinder card, but not just people matching used by dating apps. It has a machine learning system that automatically matches up people to requests for help, information, or projects, etc. You get a stream of cards that come at you, then you can say yes or no. I needed to have a UX mockup about how the app would function and what the screens would look like. Then I need to have the app built to work on iOS and Android.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Seductive Mobile built the native iOS and native Android app. They used Node.js as the development language, Postgres SQL as the database, and Google Cloud as the hosting platform. That was what they had committed to me in the proposal.

How did you come to work with Seductive Mobile?

One of my colleagues recommended them since he had worked with them for 2 years. I was recommended them next by a Ukrainian venture capitalist who had work done for one of his companies and was very happy. Seductive was 1 of 8 vendors that I sent a request for proposal to, and their response was the best. The price, even for Ukraine, was very reasonable and was lower than other prices that had been quoted from that country. Their UX person and the chief technology officer were accessible and had good language skills. They follow Agile and used tools like Atlassian's JIRA and Confluence. These gave us confidence in their ability to manage the project. Also, we started off with a first sprint that was a very low price for doing UX design. That gave both of us an opportunity to work with each other for very low risk.

How much have you invested with Seductive Mobile?

We’ve paid $65,000 for their services.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project started in July 2016. In 2017, we are changing our relationship with them, moving from a fixed price sprint model to a dedicated team.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement?

So far, I was able to use the UX model they had developed to raise money. We stuck to the budget. We're not too far off the time, as well. We expanded the scope slightly, so we're pretty much on track for time. We're in alpha version in December, according to plan. We're finishing off the bugs, and it will go to our alpha users imminently. We'll see very quickly how people are using it.

How did Seductive Mobile perform from a project management standpoint?

Seductive Mobile has done very well. They're very responsive and open to suggestions. They're also organized and they deliver. We're following the Agile method, which means we're following Scrum. They've attended the daily stand-up where everyone says very quickly what they're doing. We aren't physically in the office. It's very inconvenient for me because I need people working in totally different time zones to be on the call at the same time. When we realized that we were missing information we shared on the calls—it was causing us more work because we weren't aware of what they were just about to do—they put their stand-up information into our shared Slack channel. We get the same content as the people in the room get as soon as it's available.

What did you find most impressive about Seductive Mobile?

They were able to translate the entrepreneur and team vision into working products. These products were built within the time and budget.

Are there any areas Seductive Mobile could improve?

Not particularly. I'm an experienced entrepreneur, so any area that had an issue was pretty much fixed immediately. The fix has remained in place. They're still very proactive, so there's nothing bad that they're doing.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

The company I work for is in graphic design services. We serve people that send in their personal photographs, primarily selfies. I have a team of designers that can do any custom changes they want. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Seductive Media?

We built an app that allows people to send in their photos digitally.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Right now, it’s a native iOS app. Seductive Media pretty much did it soup to nuts. We had pitched out rough specs and hand drawings, really rough wireframes, while they did the detailed wireframe. They were responsible for the design and the development of the app and the backend system which the designers use to access the app.

How did you come to work with Seductive Media?

We looked at quite a few companies. We looked at a lot of review websites and I think I found them through Clutch. Clutch was one of the sites that gave us the opportunity to do a quick screen of a lot of different companies and filter it to 4 or 5. Then we had conversations with each of them and got quotes from each of them.

One of the reasons I chose them is they seem to have pretty good reviews. I wanted someone that was in the right price range—they weren’t the cheapest, but they’re pretty well priced. I’ve had apps built in India before and had a very bad experience with that, so I wanted someone based in Europe and they fit that profile. Another thing is because we’re a startup, we wanted a company that wasn’t too big. We wanted to be meaningful enough that we would get the proper attention. They checked all the boxes of our criteria.

How much have you invested with Seductive Media?

We’ve spent $20,000 to $30,000 on this project.

What is the status of this engagement?

We only just launched the first version of it a couple of weeks ago. We’re continuing to work with them now on a second version.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement?

We were very satisfied. In terms of speed and pragmatism, they’re very good. They got stuff done in a well-designed way without too many bugs off the bat. I think they’d be good to work with. The app worked pretty well. There were a couple of small hiccups along the way, but not major things.

How did Seductive Media perform from a project management standpoint?

It was very good.  We don’t have any complaints there. They’re quite responsive and they stick to timelines. It probably went a little bit over, but not drastically. I think the timeline was 2 to 3 months and it probably took around 4 months.

What did you find most impressive about Seductive Media from other providers?

They are pretty pragmatic and solution-oriented as opposed to some of the experiences I had working with Indian developers. If you tell them what you’re trying to achieve, they might suggest an alternate way of doing it.

Are there any areas Seductive Media could improve?

They probably don’t invest quite enough in bug testing post production. I think they dedicate 2 days as their standard user testing. I felt like they hadn’t found a lot of the bugs that my team found when we used the app ourselves. Perhaps they’re doing more testing but the customer is not aware of it. It would be worthwhile showing customers what’s going on in terms of the bug fixing. If you don’t see what’s happening, you assume it’s not happening. Perhaps they’re finding thousands of bugs and we’re finding the last 10% that they didn’t find. I never really witnessed any bug testing. It would be worthwhile if they did a half-week or weeklong bug testing that the client was privy to and involved with. That way, we’re confident that the app is 100% bug-free before release.

There was also 1 tiny issue we had over the summer holidays; everyone was out at the same time. We were trying to launch right when everyone was on holiday. And it was a bit frustrating for a week or so. But it’s unfair to criticize them for that because they were very good normally on the whole. They’re a small company and sometimes they don’t have the bandwidth to take on projects when you need them to. That’s understandable.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We are an IT services company that specializes in customer communication management systems. Our primary product is called SmartDocuments. I am the Chief Executive Officer of the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Seductive?

We wanted to make it possible for our clients to create template-based documents on a mobile device. The practical business use would be when a worker visits a customer site, he/she would be able to add data and signatures on site, instead of having to do all that back in the office.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We asked Seductive Mobile to develop the app first for the Android platform using Agile project management techniques. After the success of the Android project, we asked them to move on to the iOS version.

How did you come to work with Seductive Mobile?

We selected a few companies for mobile development and visited them. We had the best meeting with Seductive Mobile. They are young, have good experience, and speak excellent English.

How much have you invested with Seductive Mobile?

For a native mobile app on two platforms with an interactive website, the cost was between $50,000 and $100,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

Both projects lasted around 6 months. The Android version took the second half of 2015. The iOS version was slightly faster and was completed over the first four months of 2016.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement?

Our test consumers have been enthusiastic about the project. However, the majority of our expected clients will be government agencies, who are not too fast in their decision making. We’ve spent the last three months marketing the app to them, and are planning to start with our first two customers in the summer [2016]. The apps are an add-on to our server software and enable client workers to go to their customers’ homes, fill in some details, and let the customer sign. No printing or scanning is needed. This will ultimately save our customers time and money.

What did you find most impressive about Seductive Mobile?

This was one of my first true outsourcing projects, and I have to say Seductive Mobile really impressed me. I liked the flexibility and speed of their communication; they also have rockstars in design and usability. All of these areas are some of the most difficult to find in foreign companies. So we are very happy.

Are there any areas Seductive Mobile could improve?

I can’t think of anything.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

We are a software development house based in Germany that specializes in building powerful OCR [optical character recognition] and ICR [intelligent character recognition] software kits. Our technology can easily be integrated into mobile apps to allow us to recognize a user's handwriting.

What is your position?

I am the CMO [chief marketing officer] of the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with Seductive Mobile?

Our expertise is in developing OCR and ICR technology. We do not have much expertise in more common development languages, such as Java or .NET. This is why we chose to work with Seductive.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their involvement in detail.

There were two main challenges that Seductive helped us with. The first, and most important, was to assist us with building a framework that could integrate our product into a mobile app. It was a framework that would connect our software with the iOS platform.

The other task was to design and develop a simple iOS app that we could use as a test app to demonstrate our product to potential clients and investors.

How did you come to work with Seductive Mobile?

I found them online. I'm not sure how exactly.

Could you provide a sense of the size of this initiative in financial terms?

It was around $10,000.

What was the timeline of this engagement?

It started maybe around the middle of January [2016]. Seductive's portion of the work only lasted about two weeks. They were very fast.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any results or success metrics from this engagement?

The project only wrapped up in the last few weeks, so while I can verify the quality of Seductive's work and that it was delivered on time and on budget, I can't share any success metrics or anything like that.

What distinguishes Seductive Mobile from other providers?

Seductive Mobile is a young and smart team, and because they're trying to grow their business quickly, you feel like you're getting their best all the time. They are very responsive in terms of answering questions and making changes. There were no problems in terms of quality of work or documentation.

Is there anything Seductive Mobile could have improved or done differently?

They have done a quite good job, so I'm not sure where they can improve. I suppose they could increase the number of languages and platforms they're able to develop on, but they're a young team, and I'm sure that will come with time.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

SwipeIn is a mobile app that allows software engineers to notify technical recruiters that they are available for a new job.

What is your role at the company?

I am the chief executive officer and founder.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with Seductive Mobile?

I needed to find a team that would provide me with excellent mobile app development services at competitive prices.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their involvement in detail.

The scope of the project was to build a mobile recruitment app that would use real-time data streams to allow both candidates and recruiters to interact with each other. The primary technologies used were Swift, Objective-C, and Parse.

How did you come to work with Seductive Mobile?

I contacted a few companies and shortlisted three – two from the Ukraine and one from India. I had a few chats with each of them to understand what their approach would be to my project. Seductive struck a chord in me because they were very professional and knew the recruitment industry quite well.

Could you provide a sense of the size of this initiative in financial terms?

I've spent somewhere between $15,000 and $25,000 working with Seductive.

What was the timeline of the project?

The total project took about 90 days.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement?

The results were absolutely great. The mobile app is very stable and rarely crashes. The functionality of the app is complex, but Seductive built it very quickly on time and budget. They always provided a very close, friendly, and professional approach throughout the whole project.

How did Seductive Mobile perform from a project management standpoint?

Seductive gets things done very quickly. Their knowledge of cutting-edge mobile technologies is just superior to other companies. They have a superior technical team, and their project management team is very professional and informative, making sure the project is on time and budget. They always put the customer first.

In hindsight, are there areas in which they could improve or things you might do differently?

Not really. I have not had a single bad experience with them. From day one until this very day, their level of professionalism and technical skills has been outstanding.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

We are a spinoff company from a university and work on basic technology in the areas of computer vision and augmented reality. Unlike major players in AR software framework development, we work on niche solutions that are not addressed by the mainstream solution providers.

What is your role in the company?

I'm the chief executive officer.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with Seductive Mobile?

We wanted to develop mobile applications that would serve as marketing tools for us, helping us enter the market and become more widely known.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their involvement in detail.

The scope was to develop mobile applications around a core technology provided by us. We wanted to make a compelling product for our intended customers. Seductive provided the application design, testing, prototyping, and user interface design competence to achieve this goal.

How did you come to work with Seductive Mobile?

I got their contact through a colleague and simply contacted them with my idea.

Could you provide a sense of the size of this initiative in financial terms?

I would guess that personnel work hours were in the range of 300 to 400 hours. Regarding money, the project cost somewhat less than $10,000.

What was the timeline of the project?

The project took about a month from start to completion – with a couple of weeks out for the Christmas holiday season.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What distinguishes Seductive Mobile from other providers?

They were very professional and reacted with amazing responsiveness, something I had not encountered previously. This responsiveness was great because it helped us move forward quickly.

In hindsight, are there areas in which they could improve or things you might do differently?

Honestly, any shortcomings we encountered should be attributed to our own lack of planning. But, overall, those problems were minor and did not cause much harm.