Bison Agency

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the senior advisor for a joint venture with an entity in Southeast Asia. My work required sourcing various different resources, reading through approval processes, and getting new partners on board. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Bison Agency?

We needed a software company to provide development efforts for an entity we were working with in Southeast Asia.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They became the sole development house for three projects, two of which were built from scratch. One was an e-commerce platform and the other was a blockchain based platform. The third was a fantasy sports platform built by a different development house, which Bison took over in terms of maintaining, refining, and cleaning it up overall.

What is the team composition?

We worked with six developers and one project manager.

How did you come to work with Bison Agency?

I met them through a networking function. We actually pitted them against more local competitors, since the work was based in Asia and we wanted to work within the same time zone. The reality was, in terms of the technologies needed and the rates, Bison worked out to be our best option. Part of our decision took into consideration their high caliber developers in the blockchain sector, especially since those are not easy to come by.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working together in March 2018 and finished working together in April 2019.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The platforms Bison developed were all very technically advanced, so it took time to wrap things up. Everything was certainly delivered on time, especially given the complexity of the projects. The blockchain platform is probably the most impressive because we had to devise unique, never-before-seen, features for blockchain based platforms. It was quite impressive, at least from technical, logical, and delivery standpoints.

How did Bison Agency perform from a project management standpoint?

At first, there were a few hiccups because we needed to map out the correct path for the whole project before we began. That was a substantial part of the project overall, given how intense these platforms were.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They really went above and beyond and acted as our partner, as opposed to an outside agency

Sometimes they had to work nights and weekends to get the job done. For the blockchain project, especially, they were developing something where they couldn’t go online and find resources since they didn’t even exist yet. They had to have a clever brainstorming approach to even devise these innovative solutions and help the projects get off the ground.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, they refined the process along the way and the level of improvement was very acceptable. If you asked me at the beginning of the process, I would have said yes, but they actively worked to make things better towards the end of the project.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I would advise any potential clients to spend a considerable amount of effort in pre-planning. The most fruitful relationships come when you spend the extra time. The outcomes will be much more accurate and get delivered in a timelier manner in that case.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the CEO of a web development company that serves B2B clients. Our web projects include marketing, development, and graphics. We build websites, apps, and anything related to online software.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with GowithMagento?

We had a very important client that needed ongoing development work for a custom Magento site. We needed reliable developers to help them reach their goals. They needed a lot of 100% custom features with no existing plug-ins, so they had to be created from scratch.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We outsourced GowithMagento to this client for full-time development services. They worked on a PHP platform and built custom features. GowithMagento also helped them launch a website, providing ongoing support.

The client’s industry is heavily regulated, with a lot of rules as to where they can sell their product. GowithMagento created customer service features with an algorithm that identified the user’s location and loaded appropriate products to sell there, along with the correct tax. They also developed all the internal features for their call center.

What is the team dynamic?

The team has consisted of 14 developers, depending on the project.

How did you come to work with GowithMagento?

I’ve worked with one of their developers, who happened to be with GowithMagento, on another project for 2 years. When we were looking for an agency for our client, and this made it easy to establish a relationship with GowithMagento.

How much have you invested with them?

We have spent $10,000–$50,000 with them.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in August 2016, and they’ve since finished the work for that first client. We’ve now created an ongoing partnership where they’re available for any project we have.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

On a different project, we were able to get the website to grow from selling $50,000–$250,000 in one year. So we were putting our reputation on the line with our clients by outsourcing a company. Finding reliable developers and people we could trust was what was most important to us. We wanted to make sure that they took responsibility if there was a mistake, were effective communicators, and came to work consistently.

Those are the main reasons that the relationship has continued. It’s very much a partnership. They take responsibility for the client and don’t just check in at the end of the day.

How did GowithMagento perform from a project management standpoint?

They were excellent. We use Slack and Skype to communicate. We have daily meetings and phone calls. We’ve also met in person.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The manager, Piotr, is great. If there is ever a misunderstanding, he is quick to take action. We don’t have to go to the developers. The manager is very effective in getting them to perform properly.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There’s a learning curve with every project, and every client has different needs. We've worked with them on how to communicate effectively with our clients according to their needs.

We had a client that required the developer to check in every 15 minutes to report on progress, but he was used to working on his own. It caused friction, but we were able to quickly resolve the misunderstanding.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

During this project in 2013, I was working for a big retail sock and clothes manufacturer. I was the product owner, responsible for the e-commerce platform of the company.  

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with GoWithMagento?

We decided to outsource our development and IT processes, given that they weren’t a key part of the company. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

GowithMagento was responsible for developing our site using the Magento CMS. They provided project management and requirements analysis. The project had a finite scope, but maintenance was also provided for one year.

The website we built was extended, compared to the default Magento installation. We created numerous custom models for satisfying the specifics of our business, and local systems we were using. The functionalities implemented on it included integrating our local ERP system, which allowed our internal members to get order details without working directly with the site.

The frontend developers who worked on it were responsible for making the site responsive, working well on different devices.

What is the team dynamic? 

There were no communication gaps, and the work was done at a high level. It was always easy to communicate at business and technical levels with Piotr Sawicki, their owner, and his team.

We’ve worked with between five and seven resources, depending on the deadlines we had. The team was scalable, in part due to the good management.

How did you come to work with GoWithMagento?

We had worked with other providers in the past. I did some research online and found GowithMagento. We implemented a trial project and were satisfied with the results in terms of performance and quality. The price was also competitive for the IT market.

How much have you invested with them?

GoWithMagento was significantly cheaper than other companies in the Belarusian market, where my company operated.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in August 2013, and the project ended in March 2015.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The traffic on the site is standard for our market. Although the local IT business is on a high level, the general public isn’t used to making e-commerce purchases and was restricted to young people, even though our target market goes beyond that demographic. That’s why traffic has not been very high, but the general performance is standard and expected. There were budget limitations on our side, which weren’t solved quickly.  

How did GoWithMagento perform from a project management standpoint?

Project management was very good. Piotr worked as a manager on their side and communicated with the team. He was responsive at all times of the day and was very constructive in his feedback.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The key things I’d highlight is the scalability of the team, and the business orientation in determining our approach. They were able to understand what we were looking for quickly, and to address our limitation points, meeting our business idea and goal—for the most part. The number of specialists GowithMagento has, and the variety of their skills, allowed them to brainstorm effectively.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There is always something to improve. One example would be in terms of the communication skills of the team. They are mostly technical people, but I would also like to have discussions at a business level. I don’t know if this is possible, but it would help.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the founder of a store that sells coffee. The platform was built for people who love coffee. It offers a variety of coffee origins so that users can purchase directly from specialists on the platform, rather than from supermarkets or coffee houses.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with GowithMagento?

I’ve had multiple occasions to work with developers in the past, and made the decision to use Magento for my platform. I was looking for suitable candidates who could build the platform, delivering within my budget and with decent quality. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

GowithMagento developed my e-commerce platform. The product itself is coffee, which makes it a bit more complicated. As a startup, we didn’t want to spend too much on the technology side, which is why we went with Magento. It would give us the ability to build quickly, unlike if we built something from scratch.

I didn’t use GowithMagento for design. Given that this is a marketing platform, I wanted the design to be done by a group who was already working in the UK. Having a designer outside of the country would have risked building a gap between them and the market, and not really understanding the specifics of what the customers wanted.

What is the team dynamic? 

I used somewhere between 2 and 3 resources throughout the project. Skype is our main communication tool.

How did you come to work with GowithMagento?

I’ve used various different tools to find contractors and agencies in the past. When I found GowithMagento, I spoke with a few people on their team, and they made an impression. 

What is the status of this engagement?

I started working with GowithMagento in early 2017, January or February. The website is almost complete, but development is ongoing.  We hope to launch within the next 6-8 weeks, at which time GowithMagento will provide maintenance.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I’ve worked with other agencies in the past. This is by far the best experience I’ve had, and the reason is that GowithMagento has a team of people who know what they’re doing, especially in the Magento space. 

What I really like about them is that they can think outside the box and can recommend better solutions for the problem we’re trying to solve. This is a huge advantage for us, being a new company. We needed to find someone who really understood our challenges. GowithMagento has been skillful and has come up with solutions. I’ve been happy with what’s been done so far, as well as with the communication and how we work together.

How did GowithMagento perform from a project management standpoint?

GowithMagento has actually provided the best experience I’ve had. They’re qualified, skillful, quick, and efficient. I’m very happy about the work is done so far.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Compared to how I’d worked with other agencies, my struggle was in articulating the real problem. I don’t come from a technological background, but I know what needs to be done from a business perspective. There needed to be a technology platform in place, and cost and time were limited, so we didn’t want to overcomplicate things. I found the right mix with GowithMagento, and it has been great.

I had the feeling that they weren’t just doing the work for the sake of it but in order to provide quality deliverables. I’ve gotten this impression constantly during the collaboration, that my project was in good hands. The people I’m working with are willing to deliver quality work and are dedicated. Most of the work was done in a small time period, and they did great.

Are there any areas they could improve?

The work they’ve been doing, compared to other projects, is relatively small and not complicated. There is nothing I have to improve, but I don’t think I’ve seen the full range of their work.