AscentCore

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Founder of Hilltop

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Hilltop is an AI-powered civic engagement platform that gives citizens a direct line to their lawmakers while providing leaders real-time insight into what their constituents think and why.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

• Build MVP
• Add new features

SOLUTION

How did you find AscentCore?

Referral

Why did you select AscentCore over others?

• High ratings
• Pricing fit our budget
• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost
• Referred to me
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from AscentCore were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

AscentCore serves as Hilltop’s principal technology and AI development partner, responsible for scaling the platform’s core architecture, enhancing product performance, and accelerating the launch of new features across both the Hilltop Connect (citizen engagement) and CivIQ (advocacy analytics) products. Their work spans full-stack engineering, AI integration, and data infrastructure development, ensuring Hilltop’s systems are secure, scalable, and optimized for high-volume use by citizens, advocacy groups, and legislators.

Scope of Work
1. Platform Architecture and Engineering

Refine and expand Hilltop’s core architecture (React frontend, Firebase backend, AWS infrastructure) for scalability and reliability.
Optimize database performance and implement data pipelines to support millions of user interactions and message transmissions.
Integrate backend services to support real-time analytics, user authentication (Clerk), and push notifications (Firebase).
2. AI and Natural Language Processing Development

Build and refine Hilltop’s AI message generation engine, which uses GPT-based models to generate unique, bill-specific constituent messages.
Implement AI-powered bill matching and automated classification systems to link user-submitted messages to specific pieces of legislation.
Develop and train NLP models to analyze message content, extract sentiment, and generate dashboards of real-time constituent insights.
3. Dashboard and Analytics Development

Design and build CivIQ, Hilltop’s real-time data dashboard for advocacy organizations and policymakers.
Deliver key analytics features such as campaign performance tracking, user engagement metrics, demographic breakdowns, and exportable reports.
Create filtering, sorting, and data visualization tools for clients to segment insights by geography, issue area, and engagement level.
4. Integrations and Security

Enable direct CRM integration with legislative offices for automated message delivery via approved APIs and fallback email systems.
Conduct ongoing security and reliability audits (SOC-2 readiness baseline).
Manage authentication, permissions, and privacy frameworks to ensure compliance with data protection standards.
5. Continuous Improvement and Feature Expansion

Support Hilltop’s 18-month roadmap by iterating on product functionality, launching new campaign management tools, and expanding mobile app capabilities (iOS + Android).
Provide ongoing QA testing, debugging, and product enhancement cycles.
Collaborate on UX/UI refinement to improve usability and retention across customer segments.
Key Deliverables
AI-Powered Constituent Messaging Engine (unique, personalized, bill-matched messages)
CivIQ Dashboard for advocacy analytics and campaign management
Automated Legislative Message Delivery System (API + email fallback)
AI Bill Classification + Sentiment Analysis Models
SOC-2 Security and Reliability Baseline
Full Mobile and Web Platform Optimization (for scale, speed, and reliability

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

1. Platform Performance and Scale
100,000+ messages transmitted to Capitol Hill through Hilltop’s systems — demonstrating reliability and throughput at scale.
40,000+ unique users successfully onboarded across iOS and Android platforms, enabled by AscentCore’s mobile and backend engineering work.
>99.9% system uptime since launch, supported by AWS optimization, Firebase reliability improvements, and Datadog monitoring implemented by AscentCore.
Average message generation time reduced by 60% through backend optimization and AI caching logic.
 
2. AI and Product Innovation
Successfully deployed AI-powered bill matching and automated classification for user-submitted messages — restoring a feature that now classifies thousands of messages per day.
Launched the AI-generated message engine, producing unique, high-quality constituent messages with near-zero duplication across large-scale campaigns.
Built and deployed sentiment analysis models that power Hilltop’s CivIQ dashboards, enabling real-time visualization of constituent opinion on legislation.
 
3. Dashboard and Data Infrastructure
Developed and launched the CivIQ analytics dashboard, now live with real-time campaign tracking for advocacy clients.
Delivered exportable campaign analytics and message filtering tools, used daily by client partners to segment and report on engagement.
Created a data pipeline architecture capable of processing 1M+ engagement datapoints, laying the foundation for future data-licensing and AI insight products.
 
4. Reliability, Security, and Compliance
Implemented SOC-2 baseline security framework and completed foundational reliability audits, preparing Hilltop for enterprise-grade compliance.
Integrated Clerk authentication and user management, improving security posture and reducing unauthorized access risk by 90%.
Strengthened error monitoring and alerting through Datadog, cutting incident response time by 70%.
  

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

AscentCore’s project management for Hilltop has been professional, collaborative, and highly adaptive to evolving product priorities — a key strength given the complexity and speed of Hilltop’s early-stage growth. Their approach combined agile sprint cycles, structured communication, and rapid iteration to consistently deliver against milestones.

 
Project Management Approach
Operated on a bi-weekly sprint cadence with detailed sprint planning, backlog prioritization, and retrospectives led by a dedicated product manager.
Maintained an integrated Slack + Jira workflow, enabling real-time coordination across Hilltop’s internal team and AscentCore’s engineers.
Held weekly stand-ups and milestone reviews to align priorities, manage dependencies, and reallocate resources quickly as new opportunities or technical needs arose.
Provided transparent progress tracking and clear documentation of deliverables, sprint outcomes, and next-phase planning.
 
Delivery and Timeliness
Delivered all major contractual milestones on or ahead of schedule, including:

The launch of the AI-powered message generation system (delivered 3 weeks early).
The first version of the CivIQ analytics dashboard (delivered within the planned quarter).
Backend reliability and AWS scaling updates (completed one sprint ahead of schedule).
When encountering blockers (e.g., API changes from external legislative CRMs), AscentCore responded with rapid alternative solutions to avoid delays — such as implementing the email fallback system for message delivery.
 
Responsiveness and Collaboration
Demonstrated exceptional responsiveness to Hilltop’s evolving needs, often incorporating new feature requests or changes in campaign priorities within the same sprint.
Adopted a “co-creation” mindset, proactively proposing technical improvements — for example, introducing data caching to reduce AI message generation time and suggesting Firebase optimizations that reduced load times by more than half.
Maintained flexible team resourcing, scaling engineering capacity up or down based on Hilltop’s fundraising and product roadmap.
Provided ongoing QA and bug support post-launch, often resolving critical issues within 24 hours.
 
Overall Assessment
AscentCore has been a reliable, high-performing partner, consistently delivering on time, adapting quickly to shifting product needs, and taking ownership of outcomes. Their technical leadership and responsiveness have been critical to Hilltop’s successful product launch and early traction, and they continue to serve as a trusted long-term development partner.

What was your primary form of communication with AscentCore?

Virtual Meeting

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

What stood out most about AscentCore was their rare combination of technical excellence, proactive problem-solving, and true partnership mentality—they didn’t just execute on specs, they thought like co-founders building for long-term success.

 
Key Strengths That Were Most Impressive
1. Deep technical and product intuition
AscentCore’s team demonstrated a sophisticated understanding of both AI architecture and user experience. They could translate Hilltop’s vision for “AI-powered civic engagement” into tangible, scalable systems—from complex GPT-based message generation pipelines to real-time sentiment dashboards—without needing excessive direction.

2. Proactive, solutions-oriented mindset
Rather than waiting for requirements, the team routinely anticipated challenges and proposed better approaches. For example, they introduced caching strategies that cut AI response time by over half and built fallback delivery logic that ensured zero message loss during API outages. Their engineers consistently surfaced ideas that made the platform faster, smarter, and more resilient.

3. Speed without sacrificing quality
They delivered enterprise-grade code and infrastructure on startup timelines. Each sprint produced usable, tested features—culminating in a stable platform that scaled to 100,000+ legislative messages with 99.9% uptime. Their velocity was matched by strong documentation and QA discipline.

4. Genuine partnership and adaptability
AscentCore operated as an extension of Hilltop’s internal team. They were available across time zones, adjusted sprint priorities overnight when campaign deadlines shifted, and treated every issue with urgency. Their engagement felt mission-driven—fully aligned with Hilltop’s civic-impact goals.

5. Strong AI and data capabilities
Their ability to operationalize large-language-model workflows, implement automated bill classification, and architect real-time analytics pipelines set them apart from typical development firms. They brought advanced AI expertise and practical engineering execution under one roof.

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

While AscentCore delivered working, well-tested code, early documentation was occasionally light, making it harder for Hilltop’s internal team to onboard new engineers or fully understand dependencies.

Improvement opportunity: Establish standardized handover and documentation protocols, including architecture diagrams, environment setup guides, and annotated code overviews for each major release.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of HybridAI. We focus on data center infrastructure optimization and leveraging predictive AI.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with AscentCore?

We needed help with the MVP of our product.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We’ve brought on various resources from AscentCore to deliver our B2B SaaS platform MVP. They have several resources capable of AI and software development, including their CTO. We also work with a couple of teammates who are strong from a backend and infrastructure perspective.

We’ve provided them with scoping documentation and had several meetings to detail the project. They have limited involvement in UX/UI design; most of their work is predominantly done on the backend, infrastructure, DevOps, and AI/ML.

What is the team composition?

We’ve worked with their CTO, a project manager, a data scientist, and a couple of backend and DevOps people. We’ve also worked with one UX/UI teammate, but they’ve only been there for a month. Overall, we’ve worked with 5–6 resources, including David. 

How did you come to work with AscentCore?

I found them online. They came up on Clutch, so I looked at their reviews. We contacted them, interviewed them, and asked them to demonstrate their work. 

What is the status of this engagement?

The engagement started in September 2024, and it’s ongoing. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The AI model they’ve built is quite strong and good. David has also done backend tasks quite efficiently and with good quality. 

As part of the MVP, there are always bugs; you can’t build a perfect piece of software. The team addresses bugs quickly, raising tickets to ensure that the issues are logged and addressed.

How did AscentCore perform from a project management standpoint?

They’ve done a good job managing the project. We communicate daily on sync-up calls and use Jira for software development. They all have connectivity with our organization from an email perspective. We’ve also done several video sessions for these meetings. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their CTO is knowledgeable and capable from an end-to-end perspective. They also work within our constraints.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, there aren’t any. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be very clear about your requirements and scope. Be definitive about the time you need certain things delivered so that there’s no scope creep. The customer needs to be accountable for scope creep, but AscentCore needs to be accountable for the scope definition or the timelines that have been provided.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the engineering manager for a two-sided marketplace in the pet services space.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with AscentCore?

Our company aimed to expand globally and required engineering assistance in Europe. However, recruiting full-time employees posed a challenge. Therefore, we decided that collaborating with an outsourcing vendor in Europe would be an ideal approach for us.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement? 

Our company has partnered with AscentCore for software development and staff augmentation services. We have an in-house development team. AscentCore has an office on-site, but they also work remotely.

It started with our CTO and AscentCore's CEO discussing a potential partnership. The option to build a team in Romania and acquire the team for a secondary office was also on the table. We decided not to go that route but wanted to build a team to augment our existing one. 

Our initial project involved using Django to enable international relations and ensure our platform supports multiple languages. Currently, we primarily use Django and JavaScript. 

I onboarded a few folks from AscentCore onto my team. I was pre-screening and interviewing the candidates they were about to hire. We went through the same onboarding procedure for a full-time staff member. The onboarding process involves various procedures, including code reviews. Things went smoothly, and we didn't have to change much from our normal onboarding processes. 

What is the team composition?

Initially, our team consisted of five members. However, as of now, we have expanded our workforce to include 15 engineers, one technical manager, and one delivery manager.

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

I want to highlight Raluca (Technical Manager).

How did you come to work with AscentCore?

We were referred to AscentCore through our network and ultimately selected them because of their expertise in the same technology stack that we utilize. 

What is the status of this engagement?

The engagement with AscentCore began in January 2018, and it is ongoing. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

AscentCore surpassed our expectations with their initial project, so we have continued collaborating with them. Our projects reach the market faster due to the provision of turnkey employees, saving us time that would otherwise be spent on hiring.

We evaluate the engineering team's performance using the same criteria as our in-house engineers. In case anyone fails to meet performance expectations, we address the matter through discussion. While we don't have a traditional reporting structure, we still provide feedback and address performance concerns similarly.

How did v perform from a project management standpoint?

The project management is a shared responsibility between the engineering and product managers. The engineers are fully integrated into all other teams. There is one independent team that AscentCore manages. For that team, it is probably Raluca, with whoever is the product manager on our side. They consistently deliver work on time and keep up with the rest of the company. 

Our team manages projects using Jira, holds standup meetings, and communicates through Google Meet. We also share documents via Google Docs and use Confluence for technical documentation. For real-time communication, we rely on Slack.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The support they provide us is always exceptional and goes beyond our expectations. During our afternoon, I notice that some of their technical leads are active on Slack, despite being in a different time zone that's 10 hours ahead. They are checking on things and ensuring everything is running smoothly. I highly appreciate their level of commitment.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Initially, there was some tension, but we overcame it and worked together. We noticed various inefficiencies and worked with their leadership to find solutions. There isn't anything to complain about at this point. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I recommend openly communicating and setting clear expectations, but these are standard business practices. Depending on the client's location, one of the challenges that may arise is a difference in time zone and working around potential inefficiencies in that process, such as turnaround time on code reviews and things like that. Discussing those things and creating strategies to mitigate the risks beforehand would be helpful. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the COO of a logistics solutions company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with AscentCore?

We needed to expand our engineering capacity. We engaged with AscentCore to provide engineering talent and resources.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

AscentCore fundamentally provided software development services. Their tasks included code development as well as project management. Additionally, they managed the interaction between our internal product team and AscentCore. There were some elements of design, but they mostly took care of the backend software. 

To get started, we identified a couple of areas where AscentCore could help us accelerate our development. On an ongoing basis, we implemented a standard product development process. We provided the requirements and specifications from our product team in the form of user stories or strategy documents. AscentCore engaged with those documents to then develop the software.

The software is proprietary to our company and more like a freight execution system. The features are linked to the execution of freight in the US. This typically involves steps such as booking a load, executing the load, tracking the load, and other things.

What is the team composition?

There was a team of 3–4 people. Our main point of contact was Catalin (Managing Partner). At a lower level, there was ongoing contact with their technical staff and CTO with the VP of engineering on our side.

How did you come to work with AscentCore?

They came highly recommended.

How much have you invested in them?

We spent around $35,000 per month.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked with them from April 2022–March 2023.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The feedback from our internal engineering team was positive. Our team was happy with the level of service that AscentCore provided.

Our focus was on quality and delivery time. Throughout the assignment, both metrics were good; they delivered on time and within budget.

Despite the fact that there are occasionally defects or bugs associated with this complex technology, I'm not aware of any interruptions in production linked to the work AscentCore did.

How did AscentCore perform from a project management standpoint?

I communicated with the general manager. I wasn’t involved in the more technical details around the tools and progress on a day-to-day basis. We used Jira for project management.

What did you find most impressive about them?

AscentCore's desire to get a deep understanding of our needs and create a setup that would meet them impressed me. In general, they demonstrated interest and availability to add value across multiple levels. Aside from providing developers, they also enlisted more senior resources to assist us with architecture and product development.

AscentCore’s willingness to shape a solution that would fit the needs of a client but also adds value in a creative way was impressive.

Are there any areas they could improve?

In general, we were happy. There weren’t any pain points. We discontinued the relationship because we no longer needed additional capacity. The engagement would have continued had we required a similar level of capacity.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be receptive to exploring or evaluating all the opportunities to create value together beyond the baseline team extension. A key capability of AscentCore's team is their ability to think strategically about things like product architectures or product options. Consider those options, because they are a sophisticated team extension provider. They will not only provide developers; they can also provide thought leadership and product strategy advice.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the former director of engineering for a reliability management platform. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with AscentCore?

We had aggressive timelines that we needed to meet but realized we couldn’t hit them without assistance. We hired AscentCore for staff augmentation services. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

AscentCore collaborated closely with our principal engineers to determine our approach and assisted with technical design. AscentCore put together a team of individuals for us and onboarded them like we would any other employee. 

AscentCore participated in our sprint process as an independent team and worked with us on various projects; this included low-level work on Linux machines and Java backend services that coordinated our clients across customer installations. AscentCore also worked on the frontend React web application that spoke to the backend via APIs. 

What is the team composition?

We worked with a five-person team with one manager and four engineers. The four engineers had skills that complemented each other and worked as a cross-functional team. Later on, we also brought in a QA individual.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in March 2021; I left the company in June 2022, so I’m not entirely sure what the engagement status is. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We saw a reduction in spending because AscentCore cost 30% less than working with a US company for the same quality. We were also able to complete more with AscentCore’s help because we were a small team, and AscentCore doubled the number of people we had. Their assistance made a big impact on our ability to ship features.  

How did AscentCore perform from a project management standpoint?

They had great leadership on their end that went beyond just writing the code. The team worked remotely in an Agile process, and we aligned on the pieces of work that needed to be the same. We worked together to figure out user stories, but they managed everything after that. 

They were communicative throughout the engagement and would present their progress at the end of sprints. The budget was never an issue and was easy to manage. We primarily used Jira and Slack for communication and project management. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

They had a very impressive network of talented people and were able to put together a team very quickly for us. The engineers they brought in were smart and easy to communicate with. The team was available when we needed them and very independent. Overall, we were impressed with the quality of people AscentCore brought in.  

Are there any areas they could improve?

Any time we had issues, AscentCore resolved them quickly. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Treat them like a part of your team and with the same respect you give to everyone you work with. They’re good at what they do, so just create a place where they can thrive like any other person on your team. 

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the VP of Engineering of Loadsmart

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Loadsmart is a technology company that provides an online logistics platform to streamline and optimize the shipping process for businesses.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

• Development features for our real-time tracking solution
• Development features for our drayage business product

SOLUTION

How did you find AscentCore?

Referral

Why did you select AscentCore over others?

• Referred to me
• Company values aligned

What was the size of AscentCore’s team?

2-5 Employees

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

1. Implementation of features for our real-time tracking service, such as integration with 3rd party providers, geofencing, design of API endpoints, etc.
2. Implementation of feature for our Drayage offering and everything that touches the process of shipping Full Container Loads.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

• Feature Releases

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

Very responsive despite the fact that we were working from very different timezones. They had one manager being the central point of contact that would make sure everything would be delivered on time and with the quality that our team expects.

What was your primary form of communication with AscentCore?

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

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

We were impressed with their ability to jump into the problem and come up with creative solutions.

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

They were absolutely amazing. Each one of their team members that worked with us. During the entire project, our team felt like they were part of our team. Everyone worked very well together.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the VP of product development for a radio station. I handle our third-party software contractors and help our technical leaders by liaising between contractors and our internal team. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with AscentCore?

We were looking for quality resources and low-cost centers of excellence. Our team also wanted to diversify our third-party contractor portfolio to achieve geographical diversification. These were the key reasons we hired AscentCore. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Initially, we gave AscentCore small contained projects to get a feel of their capabilities and personnel. That first engagement lasted for about six months. We turned that into a one-year engagement in which we put them directly on some of our business initiatives, including software development and validation. 

At present, we’re expanding the engagement again and entering into another one-year agreement. We’re using more resources and building them up to help us in other parts of our business.

For specific projects, AscentCore works on a product that we offer to our original equipment manufacturers and the general automotive ecosystem. For context, our business delivers hardware and software to OEMs. 

As we move forward and gain more experience with them, we’re planning to involve them in direct development. Moreover, AscentCore resources are also starting to work on the iOS and Android sides of our business, where we offer our services through mobile apps. 

What is the team composition?

We work with a team of 10 people right now, and they’re mainly doing software development. They have senior software developers. A delivery manager oversees everything that they’re doing, while a couple of resources do the documentation for our customers; they’re software developers that also do technical writing. 

How did you come to work with AscentCore?

A local contact of mine introduced me to AscentCore. He understood our business and needs, and he happened to be affiliated with AscentCore. That was the start of our engagement. 

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent around $1 million.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our agreement started in May 2020, and the engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

AscentCore has made our team more efficient through the tools they've created for product development and delivery. They’ve also moved into our mainline development activities, and we’ve decided to give them more responsibilities. All of these are indications that their performance is what we need it to be to expand our business with them. 

How did AscentCore perform from a project management standpoint?

They’ve been great at project management. Their delivery lead does a great job in terms of ensuring we’re communicating effectively. Multiple team meetings occur, although it’s not possible for us to meet face-to-face yet because of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

However, we’re hoping that they’ll have the opportunity to travel to the US in 2022 and meet us in person alongside our engineers. This will help them further advance their knowledge and understanding of our business; it will accelerate their ability to contribute to our business at a high level. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

AscentCore has great communication skills. On top of that, they have access to a pool of talent that’s in line with our business needs; they bring good talent for us. Overall, they’re performing well, and the team is attentive to our feedback and needs. They adjust accordingly, and all of these are evidenced by the fact that we want to grow our business together. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, there aren’t any. They’ve been doing a  great job at establishing themselves and building our relationship. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

When you’re working with an international third-party developer, establish good lines of communication not only around the business but also on your technical needs. Beyond that, you should build a long-term relationship with the vendor. 

In our case, we have a unique proprietary technology, and it takes some time to build institutional knowledge about it. As a result, we’ve built a long-term relationship with AscentCore. To do that, we communicate well and discuss things that aren’t going properly — we discuss issues and course-correct.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm a Director of Engineering at an online two-sided marketplace. We connect service providers with people in need of their services via web and native mobile applications.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

As a strategic bet, our company wanted to expand from the USA into Europe. To do so, our code base needed to be internationalized and localized. We hired AscentCore to provide engineers familiar with our tech stack who could perform this additional work while most of our established engineering team remained focused on the pre-existing software and roadmap.

SOLUTION

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

We sought out vendors having both experience in our tech stack and favorable recommendations from our professional network. We chose AscentCore for their combination of positive referral, availability of experienced software engineers, and competitive pricing.

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

We needed to internationalize and localize a large and mature Python and Javascript code base Early sprints focused on solving key technical / design challenges, e.g. how to manage string translations or multiple currencies. The long middle of the project was a methodical scrub through every file, tagging strings for translation and adding localization hooks / wrappers. The final phase of the project was a focused push to find and fix bugs throughtout the project before our scheduled launch date.

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

Our pilot internationalization project team consisted of 5 engineers, with one in a tech lead role. With the success of this project, we've expanded the on-going enagement to several teams including engineering managers and engineers across backend (Python), frontend (React), and mobile (Swift, Kotlin, React Native) code bases.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We successfully expanded our service from the USA into Europe, launching on schedule with no major technical issues across 7 different European countries and languages.

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

We worked in an agile / scrum process using a CI/CD pipeline, with code shipping behind feature flags throughout the project. We used Jira for ticketing work and planning / executing sprints, and Slack for virtual standups and ongoing communication.

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

They are competent, dedicated professionals who are invested in building a high-quality product and a mutually beneficial long-term partnership.

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

When the quality or quantity of output from an engineer did not meet our expectations, they worked with us to coach the engineer. Either performance improved, or they rotated in another developer.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the chief product officer of a local news media startup.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with AscentCore?

We were trying to establish a brand presence by building our first website.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

AscentCore redesigned and redeveloped a website for our business using WordPress, PHP, and JavaScript. They applied their expertise to take product requirements and designs to translate them into a live working platform. Their team also helped us find our hosting provider.

What is the team composition?

We worked with three members of their team, including a technical project manager that was our main point of contact, a backend developer, and a frontend developer.

How did you come to work with AscentCore?

I worked with them on a previous project. I decided to partner up with them again because they did an outstanding job.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from December 2021–January 2022.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The project process was very smooth, and we didn’t have any problems, which is unusual in software development. They also delivered a high-quality product within the established deadline. Additionally, they handled all of our requirements and unexpected issues gracefully and professionally, even if they were late at night.

How did AscentCore perform from a project management standpoint?

They were excellent with project management; we had clear communication and our meetings were always on time and well-structured. Also, the flow between my team and theirs was seamless. In terms of tools, we used Google Meets, Slack, and emails.

What did you find most impressive about them? 

Their organization and smooth communication were outstanding features of their work.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don’t think there’s anything they can improve on — they were the perfect partner. 

Any advice for potential customers?

Take your time to communicate your requirements upfront and respond to their questions quickly — the more information you can give them about your project, the better service they can provide.