500Tech — Out of Business

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CTO of Geoquant, a geopolitical risk platform. We deal with geopolitical risk analysis.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with 500Tech?

We didn’t have frontend developers in-house and wanted a solution right away.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

500Tech worked on our main web app, an analytics dashboard. It’s UI rich and heavy on the graphic side—it shows a lot of graphs, charts, and all kinds of visuals. The app was already a working application and they helped us maintain and develop new features. They used React, MobX, and TypeScript.

On top of their development services, they helped us with our recruiting process and gave us two recommendations for developers to hire in house. They also helped write the interview questions and home assignments. After we eventually recruited someone, we terminated our contract with 500Tech.

What is the team composition?

We were introduced to the developer and a consultant.

How did you come to work with 500Tech?

I checked several companies, but we chose 500Tech because they’re quite well known and were highly recommended by some of our colleagues.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent about $80,000 in total.

What is the status of this engagement?

The engagement took place between December 2019-April 2020.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our developer worked quickly into the code base of the already existing app. Not all of it had been well written, but he learned rapidly and delivered ahead of schedule. The quality of the work is very high.

How did 500Tech perform from a project management standpoint?

We managed the project using Monday, where we had a shared board of tasks. I assigned the tasks and 500Tech prioritized them. The team required very little management at all. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Our dedicated developer was a high-level professional.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I have no complaints. It would’ve been nice if they could’ve worked onsite more, but they were still quite flexible. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I can’t see any way the engagement could go poorly. They have good quality resources. They even helped me with the equipping process for an in-house developer, which was against their own interest.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the co-founder and CEO of a software platform that helps farmers use fewer pesticides.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with 500Tech?

We were in the process of building our in-house team and needed help ramping up quickly. Recruiting is a timely process, and we wanted to work with a strong development team while we built up our internal capabilities. My company hired 500Tech to refactor our old codebase. We essentially wanted a carbon copy of what we had already built, just in a different coding language.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

500Tech helped us refactor our codebase from Ionic Cordova to React and React Native. My team provided them with requirements and an already-developed feature set.

What is the team composition?

We worked with a total of three 500Tech engineers, but most of the time, we worked with just one. My team also engaged with managers.

How did you come to work with 500Tech?

My company’s investor had worked with 500Tech and recommended them. We’d also heard of them because they have a solid reputation in the Israeli tech ecosystem for building quality products.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project lasted three months, from around August–October 2018. We stopped working with them once we’d built out our in-house team.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Utilizing their experience in React and React Native, 500Tech efficiently refactored our codebase. 500Tech worked well with our internal team. They helped us onboard new teammates and integrate them into the codebase, so that we could take ownership of it moving forward.

How did 500Tech perform from a project management standpoint?

From that aspect, we were satisfied. 500Tech stayed on schedule and within budget. They provided weekly summaries and updates and let us know of any challenges they anticipated.

What did you find most impressive about them?

500Tech was very professional and worked with us toward the common goal of getting this product out.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, we were quite satisfied overall.

Any advice for potential customers?

500Tech is at the top of their game; we trusted them to come through with the right solutions. Like anytime you’re outsourcing talent, it’s up to you as the client to manage your needs and expectations.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of engineering for VTS, an enterprise software-as-a-service (SaaS) company. We provide software primarily for landlords and brokers to track leases for the commercial buildings they rent out. I work with the foundation teams, including frontend and backend platforms and technical operations.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with 500Tech?

Our website hadn’t been updated in six years, and we wanted to migrate it from Angular.js to React.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We didn’t just want someone to do the dev work, we wanted a consultant and trainer, too. 500Tech brought an expert on site for a total of 40 days to work with our team and guide them in the migration. They made sure we avoided any delays or issues while also training our engineers in React.

500Tech went through our entire codebase and provided insightful recommendations to facilitate the migration and make it as smooth and quick as possible. They then sat with our frontend team and coded with them. They also provided training materials, such as a style guide and proof of concept.

What is the team composition?

We work with one main developer.

How did you come to work with 500Tech?

My boss already knew them and realized they’d be a great fit for our project.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent between $60,000–$70,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began in September 2018, and the partnership is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They provide solutions that we never would’ve thought of. They trained half of our engineering team in three days, and we’ve received good feedback about their coaching. Recruiting has been much easier now that we’re moving to React.

How did 500Tech perform from a project management standpoint?

500Tech works well with our team and has a sensible workflow and open communication.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’ve migrated companies from Angular.js to React three other times, so they have lots of experience. They tailored the process to our codebase, which we appreciated.

Are there any areas they could improve?

It took longer than expected to figure out the schedule and logistics, but everything else went well.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

Start off with a smaller engagement to see how well the partnership works. Trust their guidance and rely on them to both build and improve your product.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I was the senior product manager for an education technology company. I recruited resources to execute and develop our product.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with 500Tech?

We wanted to provide a development environment for students using Java and C++. The goal was to complete development as soon as possible, allowing us to do a pilot run at the start of the academic year.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

500Tech developed the first phase of our web app within a month. During the planning stage, we showed them the UX and the mockups. On the second day, they started building the environment. Our main product was built with React, and we wanted the developers to use the same technology to combine the main product later on with this new initiative.

What is the team composition?

We worked with a senior and a junior developer.

How did you come to work with 500Tech?

We looked for resources, and 500Tech had developers that were available immediately.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from August–September 2017.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

It was a great project. 500Tech delivered in time for a live pilot at one college. We also showed the product to our internal R&D staff.

How did 500Tech perform from a project management standpoint?

They used Trello because we already had it set up, and we used GitHub as well.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The developers had a can-do approach and made things happen. They were eager to solve issues and suggest solutions. Working with them was a great experience. They were quite professional and knew the material.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I believe their prices were pretty high compared to other companies that we looked at, but we had a tight schedule. Since they were available, we hired them even though they were quite expensive.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the former chief developer of a development shop.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with 500Tech?

We were looking for a team that had experience in React and React Redux. It was a new technology for our shop, and we needed help with development support.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We worked with 500Tech on two projects. First, we reached out to them to complete a review of our design and code standards to make sure we were using the program’s tools in the right way. The application was written in JavaScript ES6 and based on a React+Redux Webpack.

Following that, we needed assistance developing a project we had. Their team contributed to the product’s development speed, as we had less experience working with React and Redux.

What is the team composition?

We worked with one developer and then hired an additional one.

How did you come to work with 500Tech?

500Tech was recommended to us.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from February 2017 to August 2017.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’ve received positive feedback from customers. 500Tech matched our estimations and performed wonderfully.

How did 500Tech perform from a project management standpoint?

500Tech participated in our team stand-up meetings and planning sessions. They worked hard to meet deadlines and would communicate to us if there was an issue. Their knowledge allowed us to speed up development. We were delighted with them.

What did you find most impressive about them?

500Tech’s team was skilled in the technology. The quality of their developers made them a unique bunch to work with on any project.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, they were a great team.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Make sure you are communicating your needs.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of digital product development for a bioscience company. I’m in charge of all the software side of the commerce system, onboarding customer data into the system, and passing it onto manufacturing to make the DNA.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with 500Tech?

We had challenges in JavaScript React and we were looking for a consulting company to assist with them.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They started with some basic guidance on how to use React as we were moving from Angular to React. We went to some courses which they led and, following that, we moved onto code review. Ilya (COO, 500Tech) came onsite to our office many times and did some code reviews and consultancy on the way we were building and improving our system. We also attend their annual conference in Tel Aviv.

What is the team composition?

We worked with 1–2 people from their team.

How did you come to work with 500Tech?

We’d had another consultant prior that we weren’t happy with. 500Tech were recommended by another company that had used them. As they’re the best in Israel at what they do, it was the natural choice to approach them.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from June–August 2016.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

When working with consultants, I measure how reliant I am on them to move forward. They did their best to train us to be independent and helped us ramp up to a good point where we can be very self-sufficient. When I need experts in the future, I will know who to call.

How did 500Tech perform from a project management standpoint?

It was a challenge to schedule a time to meet each month for a review. As long as we had enough time to give them a heads up, it was fine. It wasn’t the easiest thing to do as they are an in-demand agency, but it was fine.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their motivation to get us to the point where we could work alone was impressive. They weren’t searching for job security; they made sure we’re independent, which is something I appreciate in a good consultancy company.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I think things were fine. Our internal developers reached a very advanced point.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Define your expectations, the scope of the project, and your needs. Their team is very reasonable as long as everything is well defined. They will either deliver or raise a flag if they cannot.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Wix is a website building platform. Our powerful technology makes it easy for everyone to get online with a stunning, professional and functional web presence.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with 500Tech?

We had started building our e-commerce solution and needed additional development help. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

500Tech helped us design and implement the e-commerce solution. We used AngularJS, Grunt, Sass and HTML5.

 
What is the team composition? 

One developer from 500Tech worked on our project.

How did you come to work with 500Tech?

My manager approached 500Tech once we started the project. He spoke to Boris (Board Member, 500Tech) who suggested that Adam (Co-Founder/CEO, 500Tech) could help us develop the system. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from September–December 2014. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The CEO is a skilled developer with strong abilities. His knowledge and methodologies gave our teammates a boost. 500Tech made a significant impact on our team. They taught us best practice methods to manage and share the code across the system. 

How did 500Tech perform from a project management standpoint?

We had project managers in-house. 500Tech completed all their work in a timely manner. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

I really appreciate the two founders. I know for a fact that they can recruit, manage, and grow employees into excellent developers. Those qualities are rare in this industry. 500Tech’s team features top developers in their field. They have a lot to contribute to companies that hire them. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

No. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Get to know the person or team that will be supporting your project. Understand their level of ability and act accordingly when you assign them tasks.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CTO at Backand.com as well as at Funzing. Backand provides developers with out of the box, server-side backends, and Funzing is marketplace for people to publish activities and lectures in their free time.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CTO at Backand.com as well as at Funzing. Backand is a service that provides developers with out of the box, server-side backends. Funzing is marketplace for people to publish activities and lectures in their free time.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The scope for Backand had two parts: consulting and development. The first part was getting our development team on board with Angular and building a basic prototype of the product’s UI. The second was making 500Tech a part of our development team and then building the rest of the product.

For Funzing, their scope of work was just consulting. We built a mobile application using Ionic and Angular so, as experts in Angular, they advised us on performance and scalability issues.

What is the team composition?

I worked with four different people.

How did you come to work with 500Tech?

Immediately after we interviewed them, they seemed to understand what we wanted to do the best. They left a lot of suggestions after the initial talk, so there was no doubt that they were the team to hire. It was a great interview.

How much have you invested with them?

I spent over $100,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from October 2014 until March 2016.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Before we contacted them, we worked with another consulting company and the results were so poor that we had to scratch the project. With 500Tech, the project was successful. We had tens of thousands of people visiting the site on a monthly basis.

How did 500Tech perform from a project management standpoint?

We managed the project for the most part. The first project was a relatively short—a few weeks of prototyping—so it was very much on deadline. They put in extra hours after work to meet the deadline, so they were dedicated.

What did you find most impressive about them?

All the people we worked with were the best in the field. They’re really smart and professional in their expertise of Angular and node.Js. They delivered great results at a very high standard, which is the reason I took them on the second time.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

It’s best to work with someone who’s an expert in the field you’re in. Make sure the deadlines are set up in advance so the expectation will be on both sides. We did that and they met expectations.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of Bits of Gold. We’re a cryptocurrency exchange company in Israel.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with 500Tech?

When we began the company, we needed to race into the market as soon as possible, so we needed help to create our website.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They built a fully functional website using Ruby on Rails. They developed back office admin system and a frontend. They also built a CRM that collects client data and is connected to the cryptocurrency exchanges through an API they developed.

What is the team composition?

We worked with three or four team members at any given time, although we did reach six at one point.

How did you come to work with 500Tech?

We originally found them through a friend. My father hired them to create his website as well and they did a good job on it.

How much have you invested in them?

We spent between $50,000–$200,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked with them from March 2013–April 2016.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They helped us build a successful company from scratch and the website up and running in under four weeks. We still use site too. They made us what we are today.

How did 500Tech perform from a project management standpoint?

They performed pretty well and were very responsive. We didn’t have a project manager but they planned everything we needed to make the website run.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’ve very hands on. They deliver really personal service and we felt very important to them. They understood our needs—everything we wanted to eventually achieve—and translated that into code. They got that we needed to have a product as soon as possible and worked hard to deliver it.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Looking back, I think the documentation could have been a bit better. We had a very short deadline, but I think I should have described what each part of the code was so that future developers knew how to refer to each code.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We are a gaming company developing a gaming platform and a UI/UX client side.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with 500Tech?

We needed to move from an obsolete Flash client to a modern, responsive multi-platform UI.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They helped us develop a new responsive front-end and created a methodology that we can use further down the road. This was achieved by using React.js. There is also Middleware with Node.js on the server side. All of this is communicating with our gaming platform.

What is the team composition?

We mostly worked with two developers.

How did you come to work with them?

500Tech provided some consulting services to us previously, so we knew them and liked the quality of their work. After we discussed our project with them and heard their recommendations, we decided they'd be a good fit.

How much have you invested with them?

This information is confidential.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in April 2016 and the project was completed in November 2017.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They helped us create a brand new user experience. They listened to us and came up with suggestions and solutions that met our needs. Because of the methodology they introduced us to, we are now moving forward with development, fast and smooth.

How did they perform from a project management standpoint?

Using Agile SCRUM methodologies, 500Tech's developers has become a part of our team, working side by site during the period they have been with us.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They're responsible, attentive, and professional.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can't think of anything that needs improvement on 500tech's behalf. There are a lot of things we didn't know about on our part, so if we did that project again, we'd probably take better shortcuts and achieve a shorter time to market target.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Trust them.