A.Y. Technologies

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of a veterinary software company. We’re developing a product for internal and external job matching for veterinary clinics.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with A.Y. Technologies?

Our concept was done through a local firm in Bend, Oregon. Being a startup, we needed to be price-conscious but also had to have a solid software foundation — something we could sell. We were cognizant of needing to go with software developers who were using modern platforms and correct methods, ones that could also get us into the market affordably.

The firm that did our discovery work was great and we loved them, but they were horribly expensive for a startup, so we started shopping around.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

A.Y. Technologies checked the discovery-phase documents and developed a beta product based on them. It took several months of work to implement the matching engine and to get everything stored on the servers properly. We’re dealing with people’s personal information, so we needed to make sure we had the correct cybersecurity in place.

A.Y. Technologies ensured that we were starting on a platform that was scalable. The beta product would have really low usage, but, as we ramped up, the capacity could ramp up seamlessly, without any glitches. They implemented processes for the development, testing, and production servers.

Their team put the whole package in place, developing the beta product and walking alongside us as it turned into a version one, two, and three. We continued development based on user feedback. The first iteration was a beta, so it wasn’t as pretty as I would’ve wanted. I asked A.Y. Technologies for some design work, and they assigned someone to us.

What is the team composition?

Our in-house product manager communicates with them several times a week, especially with Amin (CEO) and the person who oversees the software development. We’re also working with one of their designers.

How did you come to work with A.Y. Technologies?

Our product manager lives in Vancouver, and we asked him to source some local IT companies that could develop this for us. We interviewed three firms there, along with some in the US. A.Y. Technologies was recommended by a couple of companies, and they gave us some good references as well. They came back with really competitive pricing and had the best depth of a development bench. Their team gave us the flexibility to contract for 10, 30, or however many hours per month.

We liked another company in British Columbia, but A.Y. Technologies was more competitively-priced and had a deeper development bench. That was important to us, as we didn’t want to be with a company that, if they lost two developers, they’d lose half their staff.

How much have you invested with them?

The initial beta was around $150,000 CAD (approximately $119,000 USD). Since January 2020, we’re spending $15,000 CAD (approximately $12,000 USD) per month for maintenance and continued development.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with A.Y. Technologies in September 2019 and launched the beta product in January 2020. We’re contracting them for 15 hours a month for ongoing development and maintenance.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’re 13–14 months old and will have a purchase offer in the next 30 days. The prospective buyer did a check of the software, and they were really impressed with what they saw. That’s a really good testimony to the quality of the product.

Our user feedback has been super positive as well, and that’s mainly due to the software design and features. We haven’t had glitches or unpleasant user experiences due to the software not working properly, which is huge. Part of that is due to our product manager working closely with A.Y. Technologies. We’re very careful about the testing methodology and not releasing anything that’s going to be glitchy.

We work in two-week sprints, so we’re releasing features really quickly at this phase. Everything’s gone without a hitch. We haven’t been in the spot of having to roll back an update, and that’s a great testimonial to A.Y. Technologies. I love the designs that A.Y. Technologies put together. We haven’t had to change anything since we first worked with their designer.

The greatest testimonial to the quality of their product is that we have a buyer in the final stages of evaluation. The first phase of looking at this was to evaluate the tech piece, and they wouldn’t have been interested in us if our tech stack was undesirable. The product passed with flying colors. We put together some tech documents for them, and we made sure that Amin and the tech lead were on the call. They answered any questions that we might not have been able to. They were hugely supportive there.

Most software is being developed to sell, and that’s where a lot of startups can get themselves in trouble. We can go to a sketchy but cheap development option, and the product won’t necessarily be developed in an appealing way, such that it can be bolted on to other modern systems. Our product was built so that it can accommodate that.

How did A.Y. Technologies perform from a project management standpoint?

We have a lot of development in queue, and they’re always great about reprioritizing a feature. For a startup, that’s key. We have a dedicated product manager internally, just for working with the development company. They meet twice a week to go over the Trello board.

Every now and then, we’ll have something in the development pipeline that ends up taking three weeks instead of two, but A.Y. Technologies is very flexible in those situations. They meet most of the deadlines, but when they don’t, it’s never a surprise. Their team always tells us when they’re falling behind. It’s not something that we have to draw out of them.

What did you find most impressive about them?

It’s definitely the cost. A.Y. Technologies has made it very affordable to continue developing the product, which is something that a lot of startups ignore. It’s never a case of “It’s going to cost this much to develop a product, and that’s that!” There’s always ongoing maintenance and development that happens afterward, and A.Y. Technologies has made this very affordable. With the other companies we’ve worked with, the cost would probably be about twice what it is now.

A.Y. Technologies has been super professional throughout the process. They’re open to all the changes we make. Even if we ask for something out of the realm of what they’ve done in the past, they’re okay with it.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, nothing comes to mind. From my standpoint, the engagement with A.Y. Technologies has been nothing but super positive.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

With any product development, the client needs to be fully committed to being part of the process. The development team can be off doing their thing, but we have to make ourselves available for questions. We’ve made sure to have a full-time person available so that things don’t sit for very long.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m the founder of a fin-tech startup. I had more than 7 years of experience in the field of banking, me and my colleagues had an idea about producing an App for delivering financial services to offshore banks which have one or two branches.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire A.Y. Technologies, and what were your goals?

We wanted to work with A.YTech to help us build a web application for administrative purposes and a web application and a customizable iOS and Android application for customers. We wanted to get to our MVP as fast as possible and with acceptable performance and design.

SOLUTION

How did you select A.Y. Technologies and what were the deciding factors?

I personally know the founder and their project manager from back in university and heard positive reviews over the years. I was happy to work closely with them.

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

In the beginning, they held a Roadmap workshop for us, in order to determine the scope of the project, during these sessions we realized that the project is bigger than we anticipated, and we can’t afford all the costs they estimated.

Their team started to learn about the idea and business model; regarding the importance of security in financial and banking services, all of our platforms should be safe enough.

They decided which technologies to use. we decided to develop our apps by Java, Oracle, React Native, and React Js. Afterward, they worked with us to create a schedule for development and testing.

Because of the financial and business appeal of our idea, they agreed to give us a good discount for sharing a portion of the project’s profit. A.Y.tech started by designing our UI/UX and after reaching a desirable design they built an MVP of our android app besides our web application for customers and administrative.

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

We worked with a project manager, a designer, and 2 developers on this project.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The idea is complex and needs a good understanding of the banking business. They have vast knowledge in the field of banking from their previous projects, so at the beginning, we had an easy job to demonstrated the idea and the business model behind it.

Their team then build a deep understanding of the product’s twists, which surprised me. And with their deep knowledge and experience in software building, they started to give us ideas and soon our first meeting turns into a brainstorming session.

Everybody in our team is pleased by our Apps and so far we have presented our MVP to one potential customer and they are so eager to buy our services, the only drawback is about our UI/UX which they asked us to change based on their brand book.

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

Regarding our distances and epidemic disease, our communication was mostly through Slack and Zoom.

We communicate with the project manager and after deciding on details, he specified the tasks and gave them to the team, and if the team had a corrective opinion, they would discuss it with us through the Slack channel and we would reach a final decision, and then the tasks would enter in the Jira, and we could track their progress through Jira.

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

We use most of their services in this project.

Besides their knowledge and experience in software and app development, they have good design and project management skills. we’ve been happy so far with them and we plan to take advantage of their services in order to add other modules and features to the App.

One of their strengths is that they offer a roadmap workshop before the project, which made it crystal clear to me what I was facing during the project.

They were confident about their ability to deliver exactly what was promised, and it appears to be so, our MVP delivered at the exact time with decided features.

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

They could’ve held more session regarding the UI/UX design of the project, I’m not unhappy with the final result, but it could be more user friendly.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the product manager at Responsive Veterinary Resources. We’re a company that is writing web applications for veterinary medicine. So, the first product we’re working on helps veterinary hospitals message their staff and their relief pool about open shifts.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with A.Y. Technologies?

We hired them for development. We don’t have our own team, so we needed to outsource that.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

It’s an online, mobile-friendly web application. There’s a web page and then a cloud-based app. The frontend that we started with initially is a WordPress site for the landing page. In the app, I believe it’s React and the backend is JavaScript and Node.js.

What is the team composition?

In total, we’ve had seven people working with us on-and-off. The work is divided between architects, frontend, and backend developers.

How did you come to work with A.Y. Technologies?

We worked with another company for fact-finding and design, then we wanted someone local to do the development work. We thought that would help us manage the work a little better.

I met with them with the layouts and what we wanted done, user-stories, what the app should look like, how it should behave, the colors we wanted to use, and the functionality of the site, and protections. Then I asked ten local companies to provide us with a quote I found a few of the companies on Clutch, including A.Y. Technologies. In a selective bidding process, we selected A.Y. Technologies.  

How much have you invested with them?

It was around $80,000 for the initial development work. Since then, we’ve been working in sprints, which is $15,000 per month.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in August 2019 and its ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’ve built a good product at a good price. I do all the QA and have been pretty happy with the result.  

How did A.Y. Technologies perform from a project management standpoint?

We do track everything we want them to do on Trello. We do two-week sprints, and we found that’s successful. We lay out what needs to be done, then they work to complete those cards, and then we test them.

I regularly speak with one person about the direction of the product—we speak about twice a week, once online and once in person. The chief architect comes to one of the two meetings as well.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their strength is in their flexibility. We’ve pivoted a number of times, and they’ve followed along with those and allowed us to make changes as we go. Their ability to change direction is a major bonus.

I also think that compared to other companies we looked at, they offered a reasonable cost and were still able to complete everything efficiently.  

Are there any areas they could improve?

There are a few features we didn’t get into. The QA testing would be nice so we can make improvements. Still, we’re getting good value because I’m doing QA work. I suppose other companies with different backgrounds would not expect that they’d have to do QA themselves.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Take advantage of their flexibility. That’s their strong point, so talk over how you want the product to function and behave.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Yave Inc is a software technology company that connects the coffee supply chain through a blockchain-enabled marketplace. I am co-founder and COO.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire A.Y. Technologies?

We hired AY Technologies to provide the look & feel for the initial launch of two of our Web-based modules. The design included everything from font, format, and colour, to custom icons and end-user experience workflow.

What were your goals for this project?

We needed quick turnaround on a cost-effective set of Webpage designs. It was imperative that the tools our tech team use were incorporated for smooth back-end integration.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

I am grateful to Amin and the AY Tech team for their sponsorship of a Women in Tech event for which we won a sizeable credit for their services.

Describe the project in detail.

Yave team provided a design brief for a series of user stories. Through several conflating sessions we determined an appropriate scope of work to match our budget and still achieve our goals. Fernanda provided us with a tool kit on Zeplin and was extremely responsive with some last minute additions to design product labels for a promotional event.

What was the team composition?

CTO and I worked with Amin and Fernanda from AY Tech. Amin provided valuable initial scoping guidance and Fernanda delivered the designs.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

AY Tech delivered an effective design tool kit which we have leveraged for ancillary development.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

There was fantastic collaboration and communication between the teams.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

By taking the time to consult with us at the outset, Amin and Fernanda were able to provide an accurate scope / quotation / timeframe. On time and on budget to the agreed scope!

Are there any areas for improvement?

At one point months after this project, our designs were archived in Zeplin. However, with one email the account was made available again.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the co-founder of a small automation company that services the bookkeeping industry.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with A.Y. Technologies Inc.?

We engaged A.Y. Technologies to build an MVP of a software involving workflow automation.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

A.Y. Technologies developed a platform hosted on AWS, including the backend and frontend design, coding language selection, resourcing, budgeting, scheduling, and QA testing. We provided wireframes and requirements for certain features.

What is the team composition?

We worked with a project manager and a 2–3 developers.

How did you come to work with A.Y. Technologies Inc.?

A mutual friend of mine and the head of A.Y. Technologies referred them to us.

How much have you invested with them?

We've invested around $55,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started talking to them around the end of August 2018, went into development in October, and wrapped up the initial scope in November. We continue to work with them to update and modify the app after receiving some feedback from users.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

A.Y. Technologies has been instrumental in getting our application off the ground. They successfully met our requirements and delivered an MVP with little to no bugs. We haven't received any negative feedback from users thus far.

How did A.Y. Technologies Inc. perform from a project management standpoint?

In terms of meeting deadlines and staying within budget, they've performed very well. They're responsive and check in with us regularly through weekly video calls.

What did you find most impressive about them?

A.Y. Technologies delivered a reliable MVP in a short timeframe. They also met our budget and deadline, which is rare in software development.

Are there any areas they could improve?

It would've been nice to get some face time with other team members working on our account.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of a bookkeeping software company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with A.Y. Technologies?

We wanted to automate internal bookkeeping and accounting processes. We hired A.Y. Technologies to create a proprietary process.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They developed the web app from scratch and executed a QuickBooks integration. The cloud-based solution automated processes to ensure accuracy when entering data.

What is the team composition?

We worked with three people including a project manager and developers.

How did you come to work with A.Y. Technologies?

I met Amin (Director of Technology, A.Y. Technologies) through a mentorship program. He was diligent and a very good listener. We didn’t consider other agencies.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent $60,000 CAD ($44,940 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked with them between October–December 2018.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’re currently testing the app. There are no bugs to date.

How did A.Y. Technologies perform from a project management standpoint?

They scoped everything out well.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I had a great relationship with Amin; he listened to us and understood our team. Amin wasn’t an accountant, but I could still trust him to understand my requests for accounting software.

Are there any areas they could improve?

We made changes during the project, but there wasn’t anything the team could have done differently. Most challenges related to the APIs, particularly the one for QuickBooks. But they fixed that problem quickly.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

We would highly recommend them.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I co-own Siumailand, a poker software company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with A.Y. Technologies?

We were creating a new way to classify poker hands, but we didn’t know how to code the web application.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We had an idea of what we wanted to do and A.Y. Technologies did all the work. They took our poker knowledge and formalized it into algorithms via Java to automate the number of different hands. The team finished the app in May 2018, and now does updates and integrations while we work with another poker training site.

What is the team composition?

We work with the owner and he has about two team members working behind the scene.

How did you come to work with A.Y. Technologies?

My partner in Canada found them.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent between $50,000–$60,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in January 2018 and the partnership is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

People love the app because it’s unique and useful for playing online poker. Users make money from playing and they’re happy. We haven’t had any functionality problems.

How did A.Y. Technologies perform from a project management standpoint?

We get a lot of attention from the owner, even when he’s on vacation. The team has impressed me by delivering everything on time in a smooth process. We communicate via email and video conference. My partner sometimes meets them at their office.

What did you find most impressive about them?

My partner and I enjoy our positive experience with A.Y. Technologies.

Are there any areas they could improve?

The team didn’t have any poker knowledge but still made the project work.

Any advice for potential customers?

Just tell them what you want and they’ll deliver.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO and originating designer of a software startup that specializes in medical applications, specifically emergency surgery applications. We target the Canadian healthcare audience.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with A.Y. Technologies?

I wanted to create a mobile app for emergency surgical scheduling. Although I started the initial development myself, I needed a Canadian partner that could guide me through the process and build the app.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

When I first met them, I signed up for their four-day roadmap workshop, which introduced me to the development process. We also completed an entity-relationship (ER) model, and they learned more about our business.

Afterward, they started developing the app on Google Cloud Console for iOS, providing the overall infrastructure and some design support. Currently, they’re still building the app, and we’re preparing for a clinical trial in a few months. The app will feature multi-priority scheduling to help manage emergency surgery.

What is the team composition?

I primarily work with Amin (CEO and Director of Technology, A.Y. Technologies) and another person. Amin does the design work and manages the app development. The other person supports the artistic components.

How did you come to work with A.Y. Technologies?

I found them online and was impressed by their reputation. In particular, I liked their roadmap approach because it helped introduce me to the development process in an accessible way.

How much have you invested with them?

I’ve spent $65,000 CAD ($50,094 USD) thus far.

What is the status of this engagement?

Their work began in February 2018 and is ongoing. We’re still halfway through the development process and have a clinical trial in October 2018.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

While I don’t have any concrete metrics, from a qualitative point of view, working with them is delightful. They’re easy to work with, and they add a tremendous amount of value to the whole development process. In terms of our current product, its met all of my standards so far.

How did A.Y. Technologies perform from a project management standpoint?

We communicate through email to manage our expectations and coordinate. Because I’m not based in Vancouver, it can be difficult to meet in person, though we do occasionally meet.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Amin has a strong grasp of the overall app development process. As such, the ER model is key because it allows him to understand my business. It was important to me that they took the time to learn about us.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, nothing comes to mind. They do everything the way we need them to do, and so far it’s been great.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

In the long run, it’s worth it to set aside the time to go through your ideas before starting the development. Establish a roadmap and some wireframes to structure the process. This has been a salient aspect of their workshop.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m developing an online poker platform.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with A.Y. Technologies?

We needed to create an online education application that trains users how to play poker. Although I have a degree in Computer Science, I don’t have the software development experience needed to map out the scope of a project like this.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

A.Y. Technologies created a software roadmap for a web-only app (in HTML), including the frontend, backend, timeline and cost of the project. After a couple months, however, we changed the scope, nearly doubling the size of the project. As a result, they’re catching up to the changes we’ve made and will finalize the project later than originally planned.

After the initial prototype was provided, we decided to hire another vendor to redesign some of the cosmetic components (i.e., color palette). Although we wanted to go in a different direction for the design, we’re still working with A.Y. Technologies to implement those changes.

Beyond contracted services, the team has provided some business advice due to the online nature of the product (i.e., Facebook ads, analytics, etc.), but this does not include marketing.

What is the team composition?

I’ve mostly worked with the founder and one designer. It’s a relatively small development company.

How did you come to work with A.Y. Technologies?

I posted the job on multiple platforms and googled software development companies locally in Vancouver. After interviewing about 15 different developers, I decided to work with A.Y. Technologies based on their competitive pricing and timeframe estimates and proximity.

How much have you invested with them?

About $35,000 CAD.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been working with them since September 2017, and the project is ongoing. We expect to launch the app in February 2018.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The quality of their work is satisfactory. The timeline has been pushed back (to no fault of their own) due to the changes we made after they began the initial phase. They’ve met smaller milestones along the way, but their initial prototype was subpar. In order to improve the first design, we’ve reviewed additional demos after requesting adjustments to fonts and animation.

How did A.Y. Technologies perform from a project management standpoint?

They managed my expectations well. When I changed the scope of the project, they gave me a reasonable timeline despite increased complexity of the project.

Most communication happened through email, but I was also able to visit their office in downtown Vancouver to discuss the project for a couple hours every couple weeks.

What did you find most impressive about them?

This is the first software development company I’ve employed, so I don’t have anything to compare my experience to, but I’m happy with their work thus far. I especially like being able to drop by their offices. They’ve been quick to respond to requests for changes to the project as it progresses.

Are there any areas they could improve?

The cosmetics of design elements could use a little bit of work.

Company Responses

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the owner of Blank Canvas Design Co. We specialize in brand strategy and design for businesses and design websites as well.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with A.Y. Technologies?

I had an idea for a new business and needed help figuring out to how to get started.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

I went through their 2-week roadmap workshop, which consisted of six 2-hour in-person sessions with the ultimate goal being to establish if the business was viable. The director and one of the designers guided me through the process by asking relevant questions. They suggested I change the product to custom software in order to be more accessible to potential clients. I agreed and as a result, conducted necessary research, provided numbers on potential clients, and figured out cash flow projections. That took place in the first week of the workshop.

Building on what we found out in the first week, the second week focused on the technical details of how the software would be created, how it would function, and what it would look like. This was done through brainstorming sessions and additional research. They did some UX design and produced the software’s wireframes, as well as a complete list of features I wanted to include.

Once the workshop was over, they produced a low-fidelity, clickable prototype that showed how the software would function for users. Additionally, they gave me a 30-page document that included business planning, technical execution, cost, and revenue projections.

What is the team dynamic?

I worked primarily with the company owner and a designer.

How did you come to work with A.Y. Technologies?

I know the owner through a networking group we're both a part of but hadn't actually worked with him before I started the workshop.

How much have you invested with them?

The workshop cost $8,000 CAD ($6,231 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

The workshop took place in November 2017. Development is on hold while I do additional research and get funding. Once that’s done, I plan to hire A.Y. to build out the full software.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Their consultation and expertise were valuable to me as they helped decide if my idea was good enough to move forward. It’s important for any entrepreneur to figure that out before moving forward with product development. After working with them, I feel I’ve done my due diligence.

Additionally, the prototype and closing documents they provide are concrete assets that assist greatly with acquiring funding from investors.

How did A.Y. Technologies perform from a project management standpoint?

They were always responsive when I reached out. We used email, Asana for project management, and InVision to display prototypes.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They wanted my business to succeed and to be effective, trustworthy partners.I was pleasantly surprised to see just how thorough they examined all angles of my idea before they ever started talking about technical design. They’re invested in every project they take on and bring integrity, expertise, and value even if they don’t build your software.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Look for partners that ask the right questions and are invested in your success. A.Y. takes on a limited amount of clients in order to dedicate more time to the ones they have.