Aloa

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Senior Vice President, Digital & Strategic Initiatives of a real estate company

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Our company is an innovative investor, developer and place-maker committed to applying a customer and community-centered approach to building properties, services, and products that create enduring value for all stakeholders.

Headquartered in New York with a national platform strategy, our company is a 500+ person, vertically integrated operating and development company with expertise in a wide array of value creation activities, including ground up real estate, infrastructure and industrial development, uncovering value in underperforming properties, repurposing well-located iconic properties, incorporating cutting edge technologies and value-added lending.

The platform manages 93 commercial real estate properties and investments with an aggregate gross asset value of approximately $20.7 billion, comprising approximately 30.5 million square feet of commercial properties, a multi-family residential portfolio of approximately 8,800 units under operation or development, and control of development rights for an additional approximately 3,500 multi-family and for sale units as of December 31, 2022. Gross asset value compiled by the company in accordance with company fair value measurement policy and is comprised of capital invested by the company and its partners, as well as leverage.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

• Build an internal project management collaboration platform

SOLUTION

How did you find Aloa?

• Online Search
• Referral

Why did you select Aloa over others?

• Close to my geographic location
• Pricing fit our budget
• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost
• Referred to me

What was the size of Aloa’s team?

1 Employee

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

Software platform that allows users to manage and collaborate on tasks related to real estate asset management.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

• Completion of work against milestones and budget

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

Aloa generally did a good job delivering items on time. Most delays were caused by an internal lack of alignment on our side (as the client).

What was your primary form of communication with Aloa?

Virtual Meeting

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

They had a high-touch level of customer service—we are working with Aloa because Dawei is a fantastic account manager.

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

n/a

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m an executive at YOVI, a mobile app development company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Aloa?

We needed help with UI/UX design for our mobile app development project, so we hired Aloa to help us outsource an offshore partner.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Aloa has helped us match with UI/UX developers to help us complete an MVP development project. These developers have provided us with a lot of suggestions regarding the best process to build the MVP. Given that this type of project is new to us, these resources have prepared us for everything the project entails from start to finish, including wireframing and deployment.

As for Aloa’s role in the collaboration, they’ve been the liaison between the developers helping us with the MVP project and us. They organize everything, manage our communication, and advise us on different things we can do with the product.

What is the team composition?

I’ve mainly communicated with one of the founders at Aloa throughout our engagement. Still, I’ve also had interactions with around three other members of the team.

How did you come to work with Aloa?

We found them through a referral.

What is the status of this engagement?

We had our initial conversations with Aloa in early 2020, but we didn’t start the actual engagement until early 2021. Our engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We measure success based on the quality of the MVP development and the fact that everything is working. Aloa has helped us ensure that what the UI/UX developers are doing is working well. Thus far, the product is meeting our expectations.

How did Aloa perform from a project management standpoint?

The developers that Aloa has provided us with have delivered on time and within budget.

Aloa has a management system to ensure that they align with them nicely and check when some areas of the app are not working. Through that platform, we can also report bugs, provide feedback, and communicate with the developers.

We’ve mostly had a virtual collaboration. In addition to using the project management platform, we’ve had various Zoom meetings. We also communicate regularly through a Slack channel, where we message each other whenever we have questions.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Aloa is very good at outsourcing developers, which can sometimes be difficult. Moreover, those resources have done a very good job.

Are there any areas they could improve?

It would be great if Aloa started helping clients and founders with sales, marketing, and other areas they might also need help with.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I highly recommend working with Aloa. If you do so, ensure to communicate what you want and need.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder and product designer of a new educational technology (EdTech) startup that’s creating a web-based product for students with disabilities.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Aloa?

I needed an outsourced development company to create my product. However, I didn’t have any experience in vetting or selecting outsourced teams. At the same time, my product’s design requires a high amount of communication and collaboration with developers — it was a real challenge. As a result, I hired Aloa to help me find an outsourced team and facilitate the project with them. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Aloa initially interviewed me to learn about my project-specific needs, determining my pain points prior to the development of the platform. Then, they vetted their network of outsourcing partners to locate and recommend a good match based on our needs and requests. We then had meetings and discussions with the outsourced team about estimates and contracts. 

Once I decided to hire the developers, Aloa monitored the engagement and acted as an adviser for me. They also provided us with a communication platform, which we used for the development of milestones. That platform also had a payment portal so we could pay the outsourced developers easily.

At present, we’re still working with Aloa and the outsourced developer. The project is scheduled to finish in March 2022.

What is the team composition?

I work with three people from Aloa. I mostly work with the strategist, who advises me and monitors the project.

How did you come to work with Aloa?

I heard about Aloa through word of mouth within a tech business incubator in Chicago. 

How much have you invested with them?

Our budget for this project is around $70,000. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Aloa in October 2021, and the engagement is ongoing. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The product isn’t done yet, so I don’t have any success metrics. However, I’ve been happy with the process so far; the milestones are being met, and our communications are good. I’m also happy with the way Aloa has helped us find a development partner. They’ve asked the right questions, so the outsourced team is a good fit for me. Moreover, the project itself is going well. There’s transparency in the process, and I enjoy working with all the people involved in it.

How did Aloa perform from a project management standpoint?

This project isn’t an easy one; the platform has unusual features since it’s for a special population. Aloa’s way of organizing the project has had a positive effect on it. 

To communicate, we use Aloa’s portal called Aloa Manage, which tracks the project’s schedule, deadlines, coding logs, fields, and feedback. It has a Daily Standup section where the outsourced team writes a summary of what they’ve done and plan to do. That way, we’re kept in the loop, and I know what’s going on without even asking. Aloa’s strategist also monitors the whole process, and they help me with any issues. We also use Slack and Zoom. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

The people at Aloa are honest; they tell us what we need to know without a sales pitch and in a friendly and emphatic way. In other words, they’re truly trustworthy. Their resources have a great blend of life and technical skills, which is important in their work. They also have great transparency in everything they do. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, there aren’t any. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

If you’re a startup and need help finding a good partner to work with, then you should pick Aloa. they have a highly developed system of communication. You should follow their strategies and get the most out of them — they will help your project run smoothly. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the managing director of Big Shoulders Fund, an educational funding nonprofit.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Aloa?

We were launching a new scholarship program and needed a website that allowed interested families to log in and answer a survey to determine if their children were qualified for a grant.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We’ve launched a scoping phase to discuss our vision and development needs with Aloa’s team. Our team has provided Aloa with most of the site content, and they’ve relied on that information and our requirements in building the platform from scratch. We’ve also needed them to create both English and Spanish versions of the website to cater to our broad demographic.

At present, Aloa continues to support us with web maintenance services to ensure that all updates and bug fixes are deployed seamlessly into our system.

What is the team composition?

My main point of contact is David (Partner).

How did you come to work with Aloa?

My colleague recommended Aloa’s team and introduced me to David.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent above $20,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our ongoing engagement started in February 2020.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We have high hopes for this website as we’ve wanted to reach as many families as possible and help them fulfill their children’s educational needs. Aloa has met those expectations by building a comprehensive platform that addresses our design and functionality requirements and provides users with seamless navigation and survey experiences. 

I’ve tracked our metrics, and more than 20% of our users have reached out to their preferred institutions, and another 20% rely on our site calculator. Having these high-yielding results as early as now convinces us that we’re on track to meet the goals we’ve set.

How did Aloa perform from a project management standpoint?

We mainly communicate via Slack, Zoom, and Google Meet. Aloa is a feedback-oriented and accommodating partner that addresses our concerns to ensure an issue-free engagement.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We’re most impressed with Aloa’s top-notch communication skills. They’ve pulled off the project and collaborated professionally with us despite pandemic-related restrictions.

Are there any areas they could improve?

The development process has taken longer than we’ve expected. Apart from that, Aloa has performed fantastically by taking ownership of the project.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Prioritize transparency to determine if they’re working towards your goal and maximizing your budget.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of LoanShout, which enables loan officers to send updates to their clients.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Aloa?

We needed developers.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Aloa screened possible candidates that could support us, and they reached out to us for feedback. They didn’t stop until we were satisfied with their candidates. In the end, we landed on a group based in South America, which was a good fit for our needs.

Their front- and backend developers are providing full stack development services. They’re in charge of processing projects from our design team. Most of the work they’re in charge of are hosted through AWS Lambda, JavaScript, Node.js, and more. 

What is the team composition?

We’re working with their two developers and project manager.

How did you come to work with Aloa?

We found Aloa through word-of-mouth referral. They shared with us how they worked, and they told us that they’d seek out a team that fit our needs.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent $140,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working with them in March 2021, and we continue to collaborate.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We now have to pay more designers to keep up with the speed of Aloa’s development. They also offer cost-effective services.

How did Aloa perform from a project management standpoint?

They finish their deliverables ahead of time, even before we’re ready to provide them with new projects. They’re a dedicated team, and they're always available to us. We communicate through Slack.

They’ve been very flexible, too. At first, we could only afford one developer, but we needed both front- and backend development support. Due to that, they brought on a senior developer who could handle our needs. Overall, we probably wouldn’t have had access to a good resource if anyone else had been in charge of the company.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their willingness to see their clients succeed has been impressive. We think they believe our success will get them more business.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I don’t have anything I’m particularly disappointed about.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be honest with Aloa, and clearly describe your needs and expectations. In addition, share with them your current challenges or constraints.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the founder of a digital marketing agency. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Aloa?

I needed help with custom web development. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Aloa developed a custom website for one of my customers from scratch. Their team used React and MongoDB for the development.m 

What is the team composition?

I worked with 5–6 teammates from Aloa. 

How did you come to work with Aloa?

I was referred to Aloa by a friend, and they seemed to have a lot of experience and a good business model. They also had high quality standards for their deliverables, so I hired them. 

How much have you invested with them?

I’ve invested $40,000–$50,000 with Aloa so far. 

What is the status of this engagement?

My engagement with Aloa began in June 2019, and it’s ongoing. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I don’t have any specific results because this project was part of a larger project for my customer. 

How did Aloa perform from a project management standpoint?

Aloa had good project management; their team was organized, delivered on time, and very detail-oriented. Typically, we communicated via their project management platform. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Aloa’s talent vetting process, communication, organization, QA, and attention to detail set them apart from the competition. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can’t think of anything for Aloa to improve. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I’d advise customers to be as detailed as possible when working with Aloa. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We have a personal CRM that works as customer relations management software. I’m the owner of the app.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Aloa?

We had a React website, and we hired Aloa to help us with our iOS app.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We already had a simple app before we worked with them. When we started working together, we guided them to add and build various features and functionalities on our app. One of the features they integrated was allowing people to take notes on the platform and enabling them to group contacts together. Users could also set reminders using the app.

What is the team composition?

We collaborated with a Swift developer and a backend developer. 

How did you come to work with Aloa?

Aloa was referred by someone in our company, and we thought they’d be a good fit because their mission really resonated with us. We appreciated that their goal was to make outsourcing as accessible as possible.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent $60,000–$80,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our partnership ran from June–October 2021.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The fact that they finished our project within our agreed timeframe was a good indicator of our project’s success. A lot of developers we worked with before usually went over our agreed deadlines. We had a great experience with Aloa. As a result, I’d probably outsource more projects to them in the future.

How did Aloa perform from a project management standpoint?

The project ran smoothly without needing a lot of project management intervention. We appreciated that the team quickly responded to our inquiries. On top of that, they ensured that there was no miscommunication between our teams, and if there were conflicts, they made sure to correct them efficiently. We communicated through Slack and Zoom.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They had excellent custom tools and processes, which ensured that matters were smoothly handled.

Are there any areas they could improve?

It would be great if we could know how much we’d spend on future projects because we worked together on an hourly basis for this engagement. It wasn’t really their fault, but it was just easy to lose track of everything.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Follow Aloa’s process. There's a higher chance of success if you use their tools and process.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a co-founder and CEO of a payments company in the sports gaming space. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Aloa?

We needed help with a software development project. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Initially, Aloa helped us develop modules within our website. They’re currently helping us with some front- and backend development tasks, working on payment services and gaming functionalities. 

First, we went through user stories and discussed how flows would go. After that, they formed the team that would be supporting our projects. They use JavaScript, Node.js, MongoDB, and Angular for our development tasks. They also do API development and use MongoDB Express, React, and PHP. 

What is the team composition?

We’ve worked with 3–4 resources depending on the project. 

How did you come to work with Aloa?

We interacted with Aloa on a trade show, and we also had mutual connections. 

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent around $100,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve started working together in April 2020, and our partnership is ongoing. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We measure their success in terms of hitting our set timelines and the quality of their deliverables. Aloa meets our expectations. 

How did Aloa perform from a project management standpoint?

Aloa is good at project management — we haven’t had too many issues. We use Trello and Figma to collaborate, and we communicate through email, Slack, and Microsoft Teams. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Aloa’s communication skills are impressive. If they encounter an issue, they are communicative.  

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can’t think of anything. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be open with communication. 

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Mike is the co-founder and COO of VideoBomb, which is a web-based augmented reality middleware platform that enables users to create digitally immersive experiences in minutes!

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

coordinating and managing all project work, including admin, contracts, scoping, progress, issues and risks, burn, progress, roadblocks, exploration, roadmap, cutover, technical compliance and credentialing.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

One senior leader is based in Nashville and works at Entrepreneur Center frequently, as do we. The deciding factors were: credibility, responsiveness/reliability, engagement, positive attitude, flexibility, openness to change (which is critical when working with startups), knowledge in the tech development space, connections.

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

They have project-managed our web AR platform MVP. They used their internal website for project management -- including milestones, burn, issues, risks, deliverable approval, and payment. Although we were not familiar with their website tool/platform prior, it was very easy to learn quickly. We also use Slack for daily communication/collaboration. The project lead (Aloa employee) has been extremely responsive to our needs, updates, and requests.

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

One; senior strategist, Nashville office lead.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

All project deliverables promised by Aloa were provided on time. While the platform development (coding and testing) took much longer than expected, this was due to external factors beyond the project management performance of Aloa.

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

Aloa is highly collaborative, primarily via Slack, and also very timely with updates, documentation of risks, issues and summaries, roadmapping, and ongoing engagement of partners/developers to keep the project on track.

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

I have worked with over a dozen project management firms in my career. What I appreciate most about Aloa's project lead, Dawei, is his attitude, flexibility, and very effective oversight/engagement in our project. There have also been a few unplanned development issues and roadblocks, and Dawei has been extremely accommodating, keeping communication lines open always and even getting creative on how best to approach said challenges. Perhaps most of all, they have always had a very positive attitude and are extremely cordial.

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

Vetting of partner credentials and skill levels prior to finalizing agreements (i.e., prior relevant development experience). This is absolutely critical for managing expectations and keeping a project within budget.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder of Gaggle, an online apartment rental search startup analogous to Zillow and Apartments.com. However, the platform is specifically made for roommates. We offer our users specialized tools and other attributes that help them make the process smoother and easier for group searches. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Aloa?

We hired Aloa to handle the initial MVP of our website. To do that, we needed to outsource vendors since we weren’t familiar with the space. Aloa served as a middleman and connected us with a firm that in turn helped us develop our technology.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Aloa essentially worked for us as consultants. They also provided technological tools for project management and helped us interact with our outsourced software developer. Initially, I came to Aloa with a basic outline of what we wanted to do. Our representative and Aloa had meetings to get a grasp of the project. They then went back to their outsourcing partners. 

Based on our project description, the Aloa team recommended 2–3 outsourcing partners who they deemed to be well-suited for the engagement. From there, we help preliminary discussions with the partners and talked about their capabilities, teams, and pricing. Based on those discussions, we made a business decision and chose a partner. 

What is the team composition?

They assigned one client relationship partner to us. That partner spearheaded our interaction with the rest of the Aloa team and our chosen outsourced developer. As we got deeper into the project, we were also teamed up with a QA analyst from Aloa who helped us with debugging and providing secondary checks on milestones from the technical side. 

How did you come to work with Aloa?

Aloa was referred to me by a friend who worked on a smaller scale project. I heard great things about the team. We were looking for a true partner as opposed to someone who’d just connect the dots and step away, and Aloa was able to provide that pseudo-consultancy relationship. Simply put, the partnership that they offered was super important to us, so we made the decision to hire them. 

How much have you invested with them?

We spent somewhere between $10,000–$15,000. Our team paid milestone fees that partially went to Aloa and partially to the outsourced developer. 

What is the status of this engagement?

The development process lasted from February–October 2021. The engagement is over, but our communication lines are still open in case we want to do more work with Aloa.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

While Aloa didn’t do the technical work — they served more as an intermediary — they were extremely responsive. If I had a question and reached out to them within 30–45 minutes ahead, we’d get not just a response but also a dialog around how we could go about solving the issues we were facing.

How did Aloa perform from a project management standpoint?

Aloa used their own proprietary project tracking software called Aloa Manage. That was the main platform where our communications and milestone tracking took place. Our team, the outsourced development team, and Aloa all had visibility on that platform. For less formal tracking and day-to-day communication, we used Slack — all three parties were also on the Slack channels. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Aloa took so much of our worry and anxiety out of outsourcing. We didn’t know exactly what we were looking for and what issues we might run into, but their team completely cleared those things up for us. They worked with providers that had passed their baseline tests, so we were comfortable working with those teams. We were also not taken advantage of because we had a partner in Aloa who watched out for us, making sure that everything was delivered. 

Meanwhile, the outsourced team was responsive, too. We had another fighter in our corner, which was extremely helpful. It made the entire experience much more comfortable, so I trusted it. 

Moreover, the pay structure that they offered was highly convenient for us. It made us feel more secure about what we were doing. We paid by milestones, and that was how they contracted the outsourcing partner. As a young startup with minimal experience, we didn’t want to put up thousands of dollars to the engagement without knowing if any work was ever going to get done. Luckily, the way Aloa structured the fees allowed us to see real-time progress; we only paid when we had signed off the work, which gave us a lot of confidence. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

Aloa can build greater relationships with service providers in the preseed startup community. A lot of their clients are new companies that want to get out there, and if they have contacts available for small, early-stage startup firms, then that will be a great value add for them.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I recommend working with Aloa. During the initial scoping period, push your team to truly define the scope of work. This will help them keep the outsourced team committed to the project.