BotsCrew

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the principal at Cartland Law. I'm a tax lawyer by trade, and three years ago I started developing the artificial intelligence Ailira, [Artificially Intelligent Legal Information Research Assistant], which automates legal research and advice.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with BotsCrew?

I wanted to take some research algorithms that we had and put them into a conversational interface, that is, develop a chatbot. In addition, I needed to take what I've developed for legal and tax research, and have it consumer-facing, essentially automate consumer legal services through a conversational interface.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

There's a marrying of two things: We have legal information and the automation of documents. I've designed the system in what I would like it to look like, came up with the flows and structures, the documentation, and then I asked BotsCrew to make it into a chatbot. They have integrated various systems, including other systems that I had developed beforehand.

They have designed conversation experiences, trained NLP and provided advice on user experience. They have created a document generation system to fit in with it. They've put together the ability to chat with lawyers and then to switch interface between human to robot and human to human. They have created an administrative backend and associated tools. They've also engaged with us on marketing and provided assistance with a marketing campaign launch and social media.

They've developed a unique website that mixes that conversational interface and information. They've put together a lot of pieces.

What is the team dynamic?

We've worked with about 8 or 9 people from BotsCrew's team. I think it's even gotten to 10-12, but we've got 3 or 4 core people we've been working with. There have been others who have been brought in to push up sprints.

How did you come to work with BotsCrew?

I was looking for chatbot developers and found them through a site like Upwork. I had already developed it somewhat myself, but I was looking for some experts to finish it off, specifically Eastern European developers. I spoke to a couple of different companies, and I liked BotsCrew the most. We got an initial quote, we completed that work, and then I decided to channel much more work to them.

How much have you invested with them?

I've spent nearly $75,000 with them.

What is the status of this engagement?

I've been working with them since June 2017. There will be lots more work ongoing into the future.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Feedback has been that this is very natural and intuitive design and very easy to use. People didn't realize that there could be a chatbot to meet their legal requirements and service them in such an easy way. We are using the chatbot Ailira to power a law firm without lawyers. This is a law firm that has only a chatbot in there. We've got our official launch at the end of the month on that. Our testing from people has been very positive and they've been surprised by the concept of a law firm without lawyers.

How did BotsCrew perform from a project management standpoint?

They've done very well. We used a mixture of Skype, instant messaging and emails, but it's predominantly Skype.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I would say they have a very good client understanding. They are not just there to take my instructions and then churn up something and say, "I want to get paid. Here's what you asked for." They really look and go over what we’re after. We have conversations on how we can improve, do things better, come back with suggestions, and so on. They have created value in that way.

Advice for potential customers?

You'll be in safe hands.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

I am head of product at a wholesale mortgage company. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with BotsCrew?

We were trying to build a Chatbot, which then spun into a proprietary database to manage our marketing efforts.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their involvement in greater detail.

Our first contract, they built the Chatbot but we don’t really use it anymore. The customers weren’t really using it. We commissioned them on a second contract based job, which they did well on. Now we are engaged in long-term, ongoing, hourly work with them. The proprietary, marketing database has been their biggest involvement with us. They did pretty typical backend development work. They integrated across various systems from CRN to our loan origination system and then into kind of long term reporting analytic program. They get the contacts to work seamlessly across all of those services. They integrated a log-in portal into our current software. They had to create kind of like a fuzzy matching algorithm. They’ve had to do multiple integrations with various APIs and different read vendors and do a lot of data transformation and logging and manipulation within the database. 

How did you come to work with BotsCrew?

We worked with them through Upwork. They were a quality quote. We interviewed them and they seemed like a good fit from a quality and cost standpoint.

Could you provide a sense of the size of this initiative in financial terms?

Maybe $25,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in September 2016 and have been working together since. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement?

It’s gotten the job done. 

How did BotsCrew perform from a project management standpoint?

We kind of build stuff quickly and then change it. So they’re a very flexible team to accommodate our type of development structure. They use JIRA which integrates into Trello, and then we just work with them that way. We get a lot of conversation within Slack. They’re very responsive and deliver results in a timely manner. We work with Nazar [Project Manager/Owner, BotsCrew] and then Vasyl [Head Developer, BotsCrew] and he’s talented. We’ve worked with a couple others and they’ve all been high quality.

What distinguishes BotsCrew from other providers?

They work geared towards customer satisfaction. They were responsive and they had a good price point as well.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

I’m the President of a law firm based in Montreal that specializes in business immigration. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with BotsCrew?

We needed a firm that could build a Chatbot that talks about the vast majority of the immigration programs in Canada. We were trying to optimize the process of the first 15 minutes of conversation with a lawyer. It can be very time consuming when people call and ask a lot of questions about which immigration program they can apply for. We wanted to replicate the first 15 minutes to save time.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their involvement in greater detail.

BotsCrew basically built the whole Chatbot. They did all the programming, the design, and the landing page integration. They linked our Chatbot to Facebook Messenger, and it will be linked to our website as well. We provided the content, but they helped us with the presentation of the content and also the whole user experience. One part of the Chatbot is called Express Entry. It’s the immigration system in Canada. It’s a point system and the Chatbot calculates the points automatically with the answers. Version one is completed, but we’re still going to work with them for Version two, which hopefully will be out around September.

How did you come to work with BotsCrew?

We put an ad out to recruit a firm and BotsCrew proposed us a solution, they were the most professional by far. They pointed out some of our competitors in the United States that did something similar. They told us how we could do it better than our competitors and they were the only ones to do that. They proposed general ideas to help us. So they created value at the very first communication with us. It was very different from all the others and also our Skype conversation was very good. I spoke with Nazar. 

Could you provide a sense of the size of this initiative in financial terms?

Around $7,000-$10,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them around mid-February 2017 and have been working together since. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement?

We believe we’re the first law firm in Canada to build artificial intelligence aimed to navigate to the clients. There were some issues, but the issues we had were because of Facebook Messenger, it’s not because of their programming. There were some user experience issues at the beginning and people weren’t sure what to do. The Chatbot was kind of slow in the last few days, but I believe the issue has been resolved now. The comments are pretty good. We’re going to improve it constantly. We’re proud of the first product.

How did BotsCrew perform from a project management standpoint?

They were very responsive. We communicated via Skype and email and also Google Docs. I worked with four people at BotsCrew. One was Vova [Project Manager, BotsCrew]. The tech guy is Misha and there was someone for the landing page, Andrew, I think. Nazar is the boss, I spoke with him at the beginning and at the end. We would go on Skype and they were online and would respond within a few seconds with all our issues.

What distinguishes BotsCrew from other providers?

They’re very young, responsive, dynamic, and creative. Their price is reasonable. It’s really the kind of team with which we wanted to work. 

Is there anything BotsCrew could have improved or done differently?

There was some misunderstanding at the beginning as to the extent of the project. I think they thought it would be much more simple than it was. Perhaps we didn’t explain it very well or maybe they wanted to go too fast. I think they got very motivated by the project but didn’t understand all the details of the project. To be fair, we also changed the details on our side also within a few weeks. I think just making sure at the beginning they know the extent of the work is one thing to improve.

Do you have any recommendations for others considering working with BotsCrew?

I would recommend them to anyone, but I don’t want to recommend them too much because I don’t want my competitors to go see them. I would say to make sure at the beginning they know all the details of the work you’re involving them with.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Founder of Ronins

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Our mission is to be the most trusted provider of digital brand experiences, tailored and delivered to provide the best value to businesses and organisations seeking empowerment through creativity and technology.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

• Create a Prototype of an AI Therapist
• Get User Satisfaction Rate of 4 out of 5
• Be Available on a mobile

SOLUTION

How did you find BotsCrew?

Supplier

Why did you select BotsCrew over others?

• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from BotsCrew were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

To produce an AI prototype on a mobile app to see if we can get consistency in CBT therapy 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We achieved the user satisfaction score of 4/5

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

Yes all deliverables were clear and on time 

What was your primary form of communication with BotsCrew?

Virtual Meeting

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

Their knowledge, skills, and friendliness were impressive.

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

None

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am an executive at a healthcare company

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Supports trackable social media challenges to improve health, productivity and wellbeing.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

• Implement generative AI approaches to improve customer onboarding

SOLUTION

How did you find BotsCrew?

• Prior Relationship

Why did you select BotsCrew over others?

• Prior Relationshipi

How many teammates from BotsCrew were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

Details of this scope are not disclosed. In general the scope focuses on adding generative AI tools into a fairly complex customer onboarding process to reduce manual customer service and unpaid consulting.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Released first version of the product within 6 weeks of start.

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

They were very collaborative.

What was your primary form of communication with BotsCrew?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

How quickly the team came to understand our business, and how the solution could impact that business.

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

No

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am a manager at a chemicals & biotechnology company

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Genetic testing

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

• Create personalized, educational chatbot for genetic test results

SOLUTION

How did you find BotsCrew?

• Referral

Why did you select BotsCrew over others?

• High ratings
• Pricing fit our budget
• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost

How many teammates from BotsCrew were assigned to this project?

6-10 Employees

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

We worked with BotsCrew to create new chatbots that give users an easy-to-understand, scientifically vetted way to understand complex test results. Key deliverables included making key improvements to both the front- and backend, creating net new chatbots for a wide range of patients, setting up analytics, and monitoring bot performance.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

• Delivering products on time
• not going over allotted budget (in terms of number of hours and total cost)
• products functioning properly
• hitting user-facing KPIs

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

We have been extremely lucky to work with Nataly, one of the most detail-oriented, organized people I have ever had the chance to work with. She ensured delivery was always on time and of high quality, and was very responsive to changing business needs/priorities.

What was your primary form of communication with BotsCrew?

• Virtual Meeting

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

The team's communication and team spirit stand out as being very unique, and key to ensuring the success of our collaboration.

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

I don't think so!

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the founder of a financial services company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with BotsCrew?

I needed someone to help me with software development.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

I provided BotsCrew with documentation, and they helped me develop a software from scratch. They are now handling some technical AWS work.

What is the team composition?

There were 5–6 people in the beginning. We’re now working with the same number of people as we pick up from where we left off during the pandemic. 

How much have you invested with them?

My budget is $50,000, but we will be spending more as we gradually develop additional features. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working together in 2018, and it is ongoing. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The software BotsCew is developing looks great and works perfectly. The feedback from our customers and the internal team has also been very positive. 

We haven’t had any technical problems. We are dealing with one of the most powerful industries in the world, so we have business challenges rather than technical challenges. 

How did BotsCrew perform from a project management standpoint?

Our dedicated project manager has been very good, and the whole BotsCrew team has been fast-working and polite. They’re always on time, and they do what they say they’re going to do.

We usually communicate weekly, either through Zoom or email. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

I like their team. They are very friendly, polite, and tech-savvy. They know what they are doing. Each person that has been assigned to my project has been nothing but professional and excellent at their job. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, nothing comes to mind. I’ve been working with them for a long time, which means they’re a really good team.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Communicate properly and regularly with the team, and keep the ball rolling.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m a cloud solutions specialist at a cloud solution consulting company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire BotsCrew?

Our company engaged BotsCrew to build a bot for our business.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted BotsCrew to create an application that would provide services through Facebook messenger.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

BotsCrew is well-received and recommended online.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

Their team created a bot that uses Facebook messenger that helps our customers with various services.

What was the team composition?

We worked with a small team of three.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We are now able to help clients reach their customers easily and assist them at an affordable cost.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

The workflow between BotsCrew and our in-house team progressed smoothly. Their project management was impressive.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

I appreciate that BotsCrew delivers an excellent product at an affordable price.

Are there any areas for improvement?

There are none that I can think of.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am a project manager at a digital marketing agency.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire BotsCrew?

We contracted with them to build a chatbot for one of our clients.

What were your goals for this project?

They needed to complete a high-quality bot on an admittedly rushed timeline.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We found them through an IT staffing and consulting firm.

Can you go into detail about the services they provided and the scope of the project?

We drafted a contract for them to develop a button bot as the third-party vendor. They worked on the initial stages of development, but the engagement ended prematurely.

What was the team composition?

We worked directly with the CEO.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The project schedule was off course. They did not complete the tasks outlined in the contract. I will look elsewhere to have this project completed.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

They were unresponsive and underestimated the time required to complete the project. We had a disappointing experience, which included several miscommunications.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

They spoke English well.

Are there any areas where they can improve?

The capability of the entire team needs improving.