BEON.tech

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the Website Marketing Manager for a SAS company, specializing in MarTech software.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire BEON Tech Studio, and what were your goals?

I inherited a site, from the original agency, that was launched prior to my start with the company that greatly missed the mark not only on MVP at the time of launch, but also some basic functionality that anyone would expect a modern website to have in terms of UX, SEO, and security.

We requested BEON partner with us to start to clean up the redundant mess that was the backend code of the website, as well as make drastic improvements that better showcase our company story and technology.

SOLUTION

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

We looked for vendor partners that would be able to commit resources to our project in a timely fashion, as well as for a partner our internal team didn't feel was going to take advantage of our budget.

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

We required ongoing Website Development assistance from a BEON resource, full-time 40 hours per week. As the project has continued to evolve, BEON has been a fantastic partner that will not only do what is asked of them to support our team, but also bring new ideas to the table.

While onboarding to and updating our custom CMS hasn't always been the easiest project, the working relationship has been the ideal "Work Smarter, Not Harder" scenario.

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

Originally we brought on 1 single full-time website developer to partner with us. With the success of the project with BEON, we've recently been approved for a second full-time developer to help us speed the process up even more.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Thanks to the partnership with the BEON website developers we've been able to increase productivity to our website with an additional 140 hrs+ of work each month compared to our previous agency, as well as compared to some others we'd spoken with.

While we are still in the process of digging out of the coding errors from the previous agency, the amount of work the development team has done has exponentially increased the usability of our website CMS as well as started marching us toward better SEO performance.

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

We started with two meetings per week during the initial project onboarding period. Then will move down to one meeting per week after the team feels comfortable working together. We use Slack for chat, and Teams and Google Hangouts for meetings.

Outside of meetings, with everyday conversations about the project, the response time from the developers has been nearly instantaneous (no more than 15 minutes at most). They are willing to meet at a moment's notice to put out any "fires" and can be trusted as a true member of the team if and when they need to provide backup support.

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

They have been very knowledgeable about the coding language required for the project, and do not hesitate to bring their own ideas to the table. Unlike some other agencies we've worked with previously, BEON is not an agency or vendor partner that is out to take advantage of your time or budget.

The ROI you get from the partnership far exceeded the expectations of myself and the leadership team.

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

With how fast-paced our project can be at times, the team could have worked toward being better about honest timelines to complete certain tasks. There was a fair amount of timidness when more daunting tasks were being done.

However, they were open to feedback about managing timelines, giving project estimates, as well as providing more detailed reviews about project status.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the CTO of a tech-enabled small business lender. We lend $150k-$3M USD, usually on a revenue-based finance model, to growing tech/SaaS businesses in the US, Canada, and Australia.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire BEON Tech Studio?

We were looking to expand our multinational engineering team to support our existing business as well as growth both internal and into adjacent product offerings.

SOLUTION

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

I have worked (and continue to work) with multiple agencies, representing resources from many different geographical regions. I receive multiple inquiries (a day) from agencies offering everything from "digital transformation" to project-based work to contract recruiting (not to mention "fixing yur websight" (sic)). I liked BEON's straight-forward offering, as I was really only looking for staff augmentation in price-competitive regions (Seattle is quite expensive).

Describe the project in detail and walk through the stages of the project.

Not exactly applicable, since we hired engineers for multiple projects on a staff augmentation basis, not for a specific project. Our project range from maintenance and upgrades of existing systems to building new systems from the ground up. They are all related to providing web-based systems for both internal and external customers of our lending business.

Describe the recruitment process in detail.

We provided job descriptions (two different ones so far, with a third coming soon). BEON provided candidates. I reviewed and provided feedback. BEON continued to provide increasingly relevant candidates. I interviewed a few, had my team review a couple of those.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

So far we've hired two (one hasn't started yet). The one that has already started came up to speed and provided value very quickly.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

We view these engineers as first-class team members, just like directly-employed engineers, or those provided via other agencies. therefore there is now "workflow between your team and theirs". We are completely remote, and so far no two engineering team members live within a couple hundred miles/kilometers of each other, so there is no disadvantage in terms of geography or timezone.

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

They provide highly-qualified candidates, take feedback and quickly incorporate it into their screening, and are proactive about communication in general. They have been a pleasure to work with.

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

No issues.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there

I’m the CPO of a technology and fintech services startup.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenges were you trying to address with BEON Tech Studio?

We needed help to develop our mobile app.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They’re developing s a mobile app for both Android and iOS. Also, we are now updating our app every couple of months, and they are also in charge of that.

What was the team composition?

We work directly with 2–3 people from their team.

How did you come to work with BEON Tech Studio?

They were referred to us. We reached out, and they made a proposal that was simple but good. We liked it and started collaborating with them.

How much have you invested in them?

We’ve spent about $40,000 with them so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in February 2021, and the engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They allowed us to have the first version of our app and did it quickly — it’s already available to download online. We’ve been having a great experience with them.

How did BEON Tech Studio perform from a project management standpoint?

Having a project manager assigned is great and useful. The link between our requirements and the developers has made it an easy partnership — everything works smoothly.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re great at delivering the code very quickly and having concrete deliverables in record time so we could move forward with the project at a good pace. Also, we had to make some changes on the team, and they allowed us to participate in the hiring process of a new developer, which was great.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They could offer UX services — that would be useful.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the Founder and CEO of CSR Innovations. We market a natural supplement effective in the prevention and treatment of cold sores, under the brand name CSoreX.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire BEON Tech Studio, and what were your goals?

We required customization of a subscription back-end to accommodate a 30-day free trial offer.

SOLUTION

How did you select BEON Tech Studio and what were the deciding factors?

A former colleague referred me to BEON.

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

We use a Shopify template for our website, with a subscription app provided by Bold Commerce. The subscription app does not have the capability of offering a free trial, but BEON was able to build a custom workaround to sequence the customer order sequencing in alignment with the terms of our free trial offer.

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

Two engineers, one in a project coordinator function, and the other performing the actual development work.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

BEON delivered the required functionality in a timely manner, and were diligent in testing and validating the accuracy of the functionality. They were helpful,  responsive at all times, and exceeded the expectations. I fully expect to engage BEON in future projects.

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

We communicated by phone and (primarily) email. BEON communicated well, keeping me in the loop at all times in terms of progress and timing.

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

BEON impressed me with their commitment to and ownership of the project, as though they were partnering with me to find the best solution, versus just delivering the minimum functionality.

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

No. I was very pleased with my entire experience of BEON, and expect to engage them again on future projects.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of a software company. We are a startup building an application called Stalgia, a collaborative journaling platform for people who want to share their journey with others.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with BEON Tech Studio?

We hired BEON Tech Studio to develop our MVP.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Since we didn’t have the in-house capabilities to create our mobile app, BEON Tech Studio helped us from the brainstorming stage up to the product implementation stage. It was us who defined the scope, and their team sped up the process after the first ticket.

We started by putting our designs together and sending these to them for review. After that, they collated our ideas and created the final prototype. We had a freelancer who worked on the actual design of the MVP, but we still needed BEON Tech Studio’s expertise to review the design and make suggestions when it was necessary. They then proceeded to develop an Android and iOS-enabled app, our startup’s MVP.

What is the team composition?

We mainly worked with Damian (Co-Founder), Su Veng (Project Manager), and two app developers. Additionally, their design team assisted us in reviewing our freelancer’s work.

How did you come to work with BEON Tech Studio?

One of our mentors introduced BEON Tech Studio to us during an incubation program at Colgate University. We spoke with a few other companies, but their team really stood out. We decided to work with them because their services were reasonably priced, and they had a great working culture.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent about $60,000–$70,000 in total. Over the course of the project, we paid their developers $6,500 per month.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project ran from September 2020–March 2021.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

BEON Tech Studio built the app according to our preferences — their performance met our company’s expectations. Since they executed what we needed, the members of our internal team, including my co-founder, were simply impressed. The product worked well and there weren’t a lot of issues to fix before its release.

How did BEON Tech Studio perform from a project management standpoint?

The communication was fantastic. We mainly used Slack to reach out to their team. BEON Tech Studio’s turnaround time was generally good, and they were helpful in speeding up the entire development process.

Su Veng was an effective project manager — he worked as one of our team members. He was really sharp, and he responded promptly whenever there were areas that we needed them to fix.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We were a startup with sparse members, and this was really our first attempt at creating our own product. BEON Tech Studio shared their expertise and experiences with us — they simply guided us throughout this project. We thought it was unique and exemplary for a company to go above and beyond just to help beginners like us.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I really couldn’t think of anything off the top of my head. Everything was really great.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Take the time in making sure that your values align with theirs. People might skip over that just to get results right away, but it’s an important aspect. We communicated this well with BEON Tech Studio’s team, and we were happy that they shared the same enthusiasm for our ideas.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the webmaster and tech advisor for a vehicle recovery company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with BEON Tech Studio?

Our company has training components, hardware components, and we wanted to add a third component — an app. We previously developed the app through a developer whose relationship soured, so when we needed to update the app we looked for a new developer.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

There was no vehicle recovery app on the market. We developed a pay calculator that calculates the total resistance for recovering a vehicle. We wanted to expand the app to include a customizable tool for vehicle recovery with training.

We shipped what we had code-wise, but I think they dismissed it before they could really develop it. They essentially started the project from scratch. The key features that they developed are that you can input the gradient that your vehicle is on to the degree, the angle, the number of wheels that are stuck, the weight of the vehicle, the terrain type, the weather, and more. It’ll give an output on the recorded recovery configuration and how strong they need to be, as well as training videos.

What is the team composition?

We initially connected with Damian (Co-Founder) who served as our entry point. We ended up working with a manager named Julian (Project Manager) and a graphic designer.

How did you come to work with BEON Tech Studio?

We didn’t know much about app development, so we went with the recommendation of a friend who said they did a great job. We reached out to them after that recommendation and reading their website.

How much have you invested with them?

I like that they bill us differently for graphics, an hourly rate, and the development of the app, which is a flat monthly rate. I think we spent $8,000 to $9,000 in total.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began in June 2020 and the bulk of the project is done, although we retain access to them for critical local issues. We’ll revisit the app when we get a month’s worth of work that fills it up, but for now, it’s completed.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The feedback thus far has been very positive. We’ve already sold more than 100 copies of the app, primarily at Apple. Android has been slower, but that’s because of the Android marketplace. I have no issues though and am very happy with the outcome.

How did BEON Tech Studio perform from a project management standpoint?

We used Slack as a project management tool to communicate, as well as phone calls here and there. They did a great job of keeping us informed.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They were incredibly organized. They’d show us the screen and talk through an idea — capturing what we were talking about very quickly and very accurately. They’re also incredibly efficient at capturing data, incorporating it into the process, and resolving all issues.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don’t think there’s anyways they could improve — the slow parts were on us.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Anyone going into an app development process should have a general understanding of what they want. Come in with a vision or concept as opposed to asking them to do something. They did a great job of capturing what we wanted from the start.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the Regional Director of Business Development at Zetech S.A., the company behind TuRecibo.com, the most complete portal for the dispatch of all processes in the Human Resources area, especially the digitalization of payslips.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire BEON Tech Studio?

We tried to build the native apps to let our users access their payslip in a digitalized way, and we struggled to find the right resources for the project. As soon as BEON jumped in, things started to progress smoothly, helping us to achieve a key milestone for our business.

What were your goals for this project?

Develop TuRecibo APP, our Android and iOS apps.

SOLUTION

How did you select BEON Tech Studio?

It was a friend of ours that made the referral.

Describe the project in detail.

BEON provided the resources and management to build our Android and iOS apps. Our backend was already in place, so they seamlessly interfaced with our team to make use of our APIs to bring this product to life.

What was the team composition?

BEON provided a project manager and a Senior mobile developer that knew both Android and iOS, making it super flexible and easy to work with.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Everyone in our team was pleased to work with the different resources BEON provided along the way. Our app reached over 20.000 installs, and that number is consistently growing. They helped us take the app in the direction we strategically needed and recently came back to them with new plans of building a new native app, embedding part of our web features in it.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

BEON provided a project manager who oversaw everything and helped us with specs and planning, implementing SCRUM when we needed it. It's good to know that there's a role involved in the project that helps us cross the technical bridge. Sometimes it's hard to understand the technical language, so having a good communicator always increases the throughput and quality of the work. We really liked how this was structured.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

They find outstanding talent in Latin America, and you can tell that on the first days of work. We got different resources assigned, and each of them was amazing to work with. It's good to know that you can get a team ready to start making good progress as there is a large pool of resources, and it's hard to be able to find this type of talent.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Not out of the top of my head. Everyone was pleased to work with them.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the co-founder of Legal Decoder, a legal invoice analytics software company. Our offering is a SaaS software solution that takes invoice data and runs it through a rules engine.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with BEON Tech Studio?

We were looking to build the third version of our engine that includes external-facing APIs, and needed additional development resources to achieve that goal.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

BEON is developing the pieces that go around the version-three engine. We use a fully Microsoft stack: it’s a C# application hosted in Azure that uses Azure SQL as its backend database. We’re in the process of moving that database to Azure Cosmos DB, one of Microsoft’s cloud offerings.

We’re changing the technology for scalability. In addition, many customers want to work with us programmatically without any humans in the process. We also want to open the API to the public and let clients pull data into their own internal systems.

BEON does development in C#. They have been building more backend processes and how the APIs will interact internally. Now they’re working on the client-facing UI that will control and run the engine.

What is the team composition?

We started with one developer who has been fantastic. Then we brought in a second developer to help us and to start the UI work. There’s also a project manager.

How did you come to work with BEON Tech Studio?

It was a referral from another entrepreneur of a startup I was familiar with.

What is the status of this engagement?

The partnership began in August of last year and is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The quality of work is fantastic. BEON is pretty much our development team. One of our in-house teammates is leading the effort, but BEON’s project manager works with me and our VP of development to define each two-week sprint and stay on schedule.

The backend developer researches the technologies that we’re using, which involve brand-new materials as well as proprietary technologies. He brings up a lot of valid concerns around our decisions and recommends different paths we can take. The team is very smart and driven and can deliver stuff on time and of high quality.

How did BEON Tech Studio perform from a project management standpoint?

Our project manager is great. She set up stand-up calls three days a week and drives the scheduling, taking a load off my plate. She has no problem with reaching out. When there are different ideas, she’s a great mediator to keep the discussion going.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The competence and intelligence of BEON’s developers are better than any outsourcing company I’ve worked with in the past. They can speak clearly and concisely about issues and have no problem raising any concerns. They also get our industry, which is not a common one. They’re even helping our summer intern get up to speed on the work he’s doing.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I’m overall incredibly pleased. I’d recommend BEON to anyone who asks.

Any advice for potential customers?

Having a project manager in place has definitely been a big help for us in making sure we don’t go off the rails.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the COO of IonSupply, a supply chain tracking platform.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with BEON Tech Studio?

We were working with another outsourced development agency that was developing too slowly for us. BEON stepped in and got us the right kind of development process for our company’s stage and corporate growth.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

BEON works for us on a time and material basis. They provided development resources at first, but that grew into project engineering with support to product management. They also supply QA resources and UI/UX expertise.

They develop in the Angular framework, Goa, and Golang for the backend.

What is the team composition?

We work with seven people.

How did you come to work with BEON Tech Studio?

We considered other companies with good references. BEON came to us through a successful entrepreneur that has launched several startups that have made it to a positive exit.

How much have you invested with them?

We currently pay about 1$5,000–$20,000 per month. That rate’s increased since we first started, and I expect it will go up to $40,000–$50,000 per month as we continue to work together. I estimate we’ve spent about $175,000–$200,000 on their services since the start.

What is the status of this engagement?

We made introductions in December 2018 and started development in January or February 2019. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We have a very large customer that’s come in because of the functionality BEON helped us develop. We’re also pursuing an even larger customer because of their help. BEON helps translate our vision into firm requirements and then execute on them with minimal rework needed, whether that’s due to bugginess in stack or an incomplete scope. We usually nail everything within 1–2 sprints.

How did BEON Tech Studio perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re always punctual and willing to stretch to meet their commitments. If BEON is falling behind because a sprint had a larger scope than we expected, they’ll push and work overtime in order to meet the full commitment. They also do very well in leverage the philosophy of story points in order to create realistic scopes of work that are not full of fat or cushion. They still can get pretty ambitious but tend to meet them by executing efficiently or stretching to meet it.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I appreciate the commitment they show as a team along with the full range of services they provide. The strength of their project management is also a supplement to higher-level management functions in a startup.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, there’s nothing I would call out. The stability of the team is excellent. We’ve had the same developers for the whole time we’ve worked with them. 

Any advice for potential customers?

Communicate openly with their project management personnel. The people are well versed in taking the product vision and turning it into project structure.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder of a software development studio.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with BEON Tech Studio?

I was looking for a Reactive Native developer and mobile engineering expertise. They provided me with an engineer as a staff augmentation service.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They provided the engineering resource to our team, making sure that the individual was the right resource for our company before passing them to us. Once the engineer was selected, they integrated into the team pretty simply. They joined our Slack channel and project management tools. That person functioned as my employee for this project. 

What is the team composition?

I had two main points of contact for this project. 

How did you come to work with BEON Tech Studio?

I found them on Clutch. After reaching out to hear more about their services and pricing, they seemed like a good fit. 

How much have you invested with them?

I’ve spent about $13,000 on their services so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project began in February 2020 and is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They were able to find a resource relatively quickly. To meet our client’s expectations, we needed a React Native developer pretty fast. After reaching out to them and explaining my need, they provided me with someone in a short turnaround time and at a good rate. Additionally, they went out of their way to make sure they were the right resource for us.  

How did BEON Tech Studio perform from a project management standpoint?

The developer himself has been easy to communicate with. They’ve conformed to project management tools and mediums that I require to communicate properly. We communicated through Slack, Jira, video chat, and in-person. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

They provide high-quality customer service and are trustworthy. I knew I could count on them.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I can’t think of anything.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

During an early call with them, communicate your needs clearly. That will allow them to take the time to find the right candidate for the project.