Altar.io

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of a company called Quartal Financial Solutions. We are a provider of revenue and expense management and software, and our clients are mostly banks and asset managers.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Altar.io?

We were looking for a company with experience in UX/UI design to help us with the refresh and redesign of our mobile application.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The process started with a 2-3 month analysis phase in which we were gathering requirements and prototyping different proposals for what the new UI would look like. After that, we went into implementation, in which their team worked with us to build the architecture and designs for the new frontend, followed by the implementation of the product.

What is the team composition?

They were recommended to us by another IT company that had been collaborating with them and was very happy with their work. When we met with them, we were impressed with their niche focus on UX design, so we decided to move forward with them.

How did you come to work with Altar.io?

We work with a team of people from their company, but our main contact is Daniel (Co-Founder).

How much have you invested with them?

Our total investment in the project was around $180,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project lasted from February 2019–February 2020.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We were very pleased with the cooperation as a whole. The outcome satisfied all of our expectations, meaning we now have a prototype of our new application that meets all of our demands with regard to usability and design.

How did Altar.io perform from a project management standpoint?

The project was delivered on time and in budget, which was definitely a big win for us and is not always the case in IT projects. We communicated with them through a combination of WebEx, Microsoft Teams, and in-person meetings.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The level of engagement and communication with their founders is very high, which makes them much easier to deal with than some larger companies. They gave the project a very personal touch that made it enjoyable to work with them.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, there’s nothing in particular that I wish they did differently.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Audapio is the Open Banking platform for accountants which puts an end to these outdated methods, both easing the burden on clients and putting accountants’ minds at rest knowing they are working with complete and accurate bank transactions obtained directly from the clients’ bank. By offering a suite of advanced analytical tools, the platform drives time savings and better audit quality across multiple areas of the audit file and allows auditors to move away from sampling and test 100% of transactions.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Altar.io?

Software Development, UI Design, Maintenance

What were your goals for this project?

Full analytics platform design, build and maintenance.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

Created a shortlist of agencies from online searches and called 10+ agencies before selecting one.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

When we approached Altar.io we only had an image in mind of what we wanted our analytics platform to be capable of. Altar.io took this and provided recommendations on how to improve this in terms of functionality and UX. They provided a range of designs for various budgets and once we agreed on which design suited our needs, Altar.io took on full responsibility for all aspects of the platform build.

What was the team composition?

We have three main points of contact however we are aware there is a wider team in the background who worked on this project. The main team is made up of a Product Manager, Project Manager and Senior Software Engineer.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any information that demonstrates the impact that this project has had on your business?

Altar.io built Audapio which is now being used by some of the largest accountancy practices in the UK.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

Altar.io's English is perfect so there were no language barriers. We mainly communicate via video calls, emails and WhatsApp.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

What sets Altar.io apart is the team and their experience. My main point of call has recently set up his 7th startup so to be able to tap into that knowledge and experience is very valuable.

Are there any areas for improvement?

I think Altar.io could set up an alumni program of all of the startups that have been built with Altar.io.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the managing director of AlixPartners.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Altar.io?

We needed web development done, mostly related to financial services.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They worked with us on new ideas and development of new settings and applications, including an internal dashboard for our own use. They also worked as a supplier in some engagements with clients.

How did you come to work with Altar.io?

I knew some people there, and I reached out to them.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working with them in 2017, and it is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I’ve been tracking and monitoring with them over the entire course of our engagement. I’ve liked the qualitative measures from a technological and business perspective. The feedback from clients has been good as well.

How did Altar.io perform from a project management standpoint?

They are good, very responsive.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The founders are smart and entrepreneurial. They mix IT and business perspectives in their approach. I like that they come up with new ideas and are easy to work with. They’re a very agile company.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Optimal solutions were difficult to find sometimes due to some time constraints.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I believe they would be a good partner for startups, as well as more traditional companies.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the co-founder and CEO of Apiax, a fintech company that provides regulation as a service for financial services companies. We have employees in Switzerland, Portugal, and London. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Altar.io?

The relationship with Altar.io started at the beginning of our journey when we needed help with product and frontend design. It wasn’t just a matter of building something but also getting help with the user journey. We had backend expertise in-house but not frontend. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Altar.io worked with us on the frontend of an MVP. The scope was to get not just clickable mock-ups but a working application that integrated with our backend. They developed the frontend using AngularJS and used IBM LoopBack on the backend.

What is the team composition?

One of their founders was our project manager. We had one point of contact. 

How did you come to work with Altar.io?

Altar.io reached us through their content marketing. They had published content on how to create an MVP within a budget. They seemed to have a lot of digital product know-how in terms of shaping the customer journey.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent €25,000–€50,000 (approximately $28,000–$56,000 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked with Altar.io between January–August 2017.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

With the MVP developed with Altar.io, we won a pilot project with a global financial institution. The other success story was that we were able to put together a seed round using the MVP. Our further development wouldn’t have been possible without it.

How did Altar.io perform from a project management standpoint?

Their process included multiple interviews and an iterative approach with design thinking. They were responsive and proactively warned us about delays. We had daily exchanges during the project phase. We built a relationship of trust quickly, so I never felt that they were charging us too much. Our simple contract, which didn’t go into much detail, was based on trust, and it worked out well. I’d work with them again anytime.

What did you find most impressive about them?

It all comes back to their people and founding team. They’re fantastic at what they do, they’re trustworthy, and they keep their promises, all traits that we highly value. They deliver on their promises and to start projects exceptionally quickly. They put together a delivery team in no time.

Altar.io also helped us establish relationships to form our frontend team in Portugal, which was generous of them.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Everything they provide is good. I don’t think they’re doing more than they promise. 

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m the co-founder and CEO of Audio Test Kitchen, the world's first online, unbiased, audio product sound-comparison showroom.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Altar.io?

My team hired Altar.io to lead ground-up development of our virtual online platform.

What were your goals for this project?

We needed to scrutinize and stress-test our prototype and UX concepts, with the ultimate goal of building a great product.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We found Altar.io through an advertisement and spoke with Paolo (Co-Founder, Altar.io) and Daniel (Co-Founder, Altar.io). My team partnered with them because their positivity, skillset, and client-centric views represented great value to us.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

The project began with an in-depth product study, the goal of which was to ensure we would be building the right product. Altar.io improved the UX and UI beyond the prototype, then architected our website in parallel to ongoing UX/UI iterations. They provided clickable UI prototypes to help with iteration. The team deployed working versions and executed testing and bug fixes. Our partnership is ongoing.

What was the team composition?

We have worked with a project manager and other dedicated team members.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any information that demonstrates the impact that this project has had on your business?

Although our website has not yet launched, Altar.io’s product development and design have fostered successful pre-sales.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

Altar.io’s team is composed of excellent leaders that take the initiative in communication and product development. Their team is personable and dedicated to our success. They have scaled their team to our needs throughout the project.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Altar.io has gone above and beyond to build a great product. They remain invested in our success. The team always puts our vision and business goals first.

Are there any areas for improvement?

The overseas partnership is not ideal; however, Altar.io has always overcome time and distance challenges with great scheduling and flexibility. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Our organization works with intelligence and innovation procedures. I am the Project Lead.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Altar.io?

We hired Altar.io under a consortium with another company for creating a communication plan and a marketing plan for an energy management platform for offices. They were responsible for creating a strategic plan to disseminate the final platform, which was a digital platform, to the maximum number of offices possible. Their main tasks were related to creating a video. They did an animation that would have a potential viral nature. They also were responsible for managing our Facebook campaign and generally give us advice on how to proceed relating to capturing users for our platform. We were trying to address head officers and Chief Executive Officers of small and medium companies.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The main task was to create an animation video that would describe how the platform would be used. You can actually see the result on our website that they were responsible for. It was an animation with some comedy and some teasing in order to make the users of these companies try our platform.

How did you come to work with Altar.io?

I found them through a network I belong to. It’s a network of people in Portugal that have been working abroad. I asked for companies that would do animation films with viral potential, and people gave me a bunch of options. I went through all the websites and asked for proposals, and Altar.io presented the most interesting one.

How much have you invested with Altar.io?

I was not the one dealing with the hiring, but I think it was about $30,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project is still active. We are still in the last phase because the project included an award and an event throughout the year. We are concluding it in December, but the role of Altar.io in this part is now very small. They completed their tasks successfully.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Feedback was very positive from everybody. Everybody had a very good response to the video and to the part of the work that they performed. I would say it was very satisfactory.

How did Altar.io perform from a project management standpoint?

They are pretty organized, and they are very serious with their deadlines. Maybe the only negative point was some inflexibility in the negotiation in relation to payment terms, but apart from that, they are pretty straightforward, clear, and have a very efficient method. I would say that they have a very good project management approach.

What did you find most impressive about Altar.io?

These guys are very into understanding the problem of their client. They had an initial meeting to understand what we really wanted and needed. That was their starting point, and not many companies do this. Many people want to sell their preconceived product, and they didn’t do that. That was very important for the success of this job with us.

Are there any areas Altr.io could improve?

Yes. I think some flexibility would be good because after the terms were set, we had some events in which they could have been a bit more flexible in giving us a hand, advice or changing what was arranged in the beginning. I can imagine that can be a problem for them, but still, we felt some inflexibility when the project was running.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the CEO of CLAi

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Digital-self platform

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Altar.io to accomplish?

• Product Scope
• UI/UX mockup

SOLUTION

How did you find Altar.io?

• Referral

Why did you select Altar.io over others?

• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost
• Referred to me
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from Altar.io were assigned to this project?

6-10 Employees

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

Product strategy and UI/UX development delivered on an detailed Business Plan and on a interactive Figma mockup-up/prototype-

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We were able to align our strategic priorities and develop a strong brand vision and mission, which manifested immediately in our capacity to clearly set a short/medium term action plan.

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

On time, with great flexibility to accommodate our needs and requirements.

What was your primary form of communication with Altar.io?

• In-Person Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

Altar's capacity to identify untapped market trends & potential, and to create simple, straight-to-the-point products to seize those opportunities effectively.

Are there any areas for improvement or something Altar.io could have done differently?

They were great

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Founder / CEO of an educational institution.

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

We enable schools to shift from a siloed course-centered paradigm of education to an integrated skills-centered paradigm.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Altar.io to accomplish?

• Get crystal clear on user stories for our application.
• Define the scope of the MVP.
• Assess the technical feasibility of the application.

SOLUTION

How did you find Altar.io?

• Online Search
• Clutch Site
• blog / content

Why did you select Altar.io over others?

• High ratings
• Company values aligned
• creativity of product design

How many teammates from Altar.io were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

Altar.io engaged in an in-depth, in-person product scope spanning three days. The product scope started from the ground up and led to the generation of novel ideas that were integrated into existing ideas for the software. Following the product scope, Altar.io finalized and delivered the following over the next month: 

• UI/UX key screens 
• User Stories
• Customer Personas

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

1. Robust set of user stories recorded
2. 10+ key screens developed
3. New data visualizations and workflows are defined
4. Tech stack defined

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

The team at Altar.io is exceptionally welcoming and delivers on time and to a high standard. Communication channels were robust. The in-person sessions are invaluable for building relationships and a shared understanding of the project. With this base of shared understanding, all future communication flows much more easily.

What was your primary form of communication with Altar.io?

• In-Person Meeting
• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

What I found most impressive was the depth of their process during the in-person product scope. Breaking it down into first principles, extracting all of the insight that the founder has to offer, and then collaboratively rebuilding it from the ground up leads to very good results. Most development companies simply take the existing ideas of the founder and then develop the UI/UX and tech stack to match. 

The ideas around what the product can do and how it will function changed dramatically with their team's input. The initial design is crucial as iterations on that design can only go so far in changing the product. Altar's superpower is making sure that the initial design is fully thought through from the start.

Are there any areas for improvement or something Altar.io could have done differently?

If I had one suggestion, it would be to involve the founder more after the intensive 3-day product scope. More micro-iterations between scope and final key screen design could have aided in getting to final mock-ups faster.