Brainhub

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am an executive at a fintech company located in the UK. We build financial modeling software for financial institutions.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Brainhub?

We use Brainhub for additional development. We have our own internal development teams but have various products and wanted short-term resources to help us with those.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement? 

Brainhub provides a small React and Node.js development team to help us deliver a project to an end customer.

What is the team composition?

We’ve worked with a delivery and project manager and developers from Brainhub. 

How did you come to work with Brainhub?

I believe I found them on Clutch. 

How much have you invested in them?

We spend about €50,000 (approximately $54,000 USD) a month. 

What is the status of this engagement?

The engagement began in October 2022 and is ongoing, with 3–4 months to go.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We measure Brainhub’s success by whether the developers have the skills and expertise we need, whether they pick things up quickly, and whether they drive the project forward. Brainhub has met these benchmarks, so our engagement has been successful so far. 

How did Brainhub perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re good at project management and can provide additional resources if we need them. At the same time, we don’t have any resources we don’t need. Overall, Brainhub has been very flexible and has good communication through email and video conferencing. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

I’m most impressed with Brainhub’s flexibility and ability to deliver. The team is really good; everyone we’ve worked with has been competent. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

We haven’t been unhappy with anything — Brainhub has been great. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the co-founder and CEO of a startup that develops marketing technology products.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Brainhub?

We needed their team’s expertise to help develop the backend of our software solution.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

In the beginning, we had a discovery phase where the Brainhub team learned about our product. We shared our goals, the audience we were trying to reach, and our value proposition. We provided UI mockups and a prototype. We gave them our requirements for the database structure and entity relationships. After that, they prepared the boilerplate of the technology on the AWS cloud and started developing it according to our tickets. 

They’ve created a SaaS product using Node.js that connects with databases and customer listings from other platforms. The tool generates automated digital campaigns and integrates with advertising platforms. There’s a mobile application written in React Native, a dashboard, and a settings panel.

What is the team composition?

There are two senior developers working on the project.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent $150,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been working together since September 2022, and we’re still in an active contract.

How did you come to work with Brainhub?

We researched companies that provided software development at a high level. We had 10 candidates and disqualified those based in Ukraine due to the instability resulting from the Russian Invasion. From the remaining six, Brainhub seemed like the best fit for us; they appeared to be detailed.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The app already has 180 users, and, amazingly, there have  been no crashes or bugs. The code is very organized and well-structured. Brainhub’s support has impacted our company in a positive way. After several months, we were able to successfully launch our product.

How did the company perform from a project management standpoint?

They estimate how long each task will take in Jira, and they meet the deadlines. If they don’t, we help them catch up, but generally, they deliver features on time. None of the delays have been Brainhub’s fault; we’ve had to submit extra tickets as a result of change requests from our marketing department and other unplanned factors have come up that always occur when launching a product.

Everything is well-documented. Documentation can cause tasks to take longer than expected, but I think it’ll be worth it in the future.

We host morning calls on Google Meet.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They want to fully understand the project; they take the time to learn the purpose of every feature so that they can do the best job. I think that’s unique. Other agencies sometimes make mistakes because they don’t understand what they’re developing. This can cause a need to restructure, but this hasn’t happened with Brainhub.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, we’ve had retrospectives, but there’s nothing major I’d change.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

Provide as many written details as you can.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am an executive at a software company

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Cello is a User-led Growth platform for amplifying word-of-mouth for B2B SaaS.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

• Development of our platform, user experience and services

SOLUTION

How did you find Brainhub?

Referral

Why did you select Brainhub over others?

• High ratings
• Close to my geographic location
• Pricing fits our budget
• Great culture fit
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from Brainhub were assigned to this project?

6-10 Employees

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

Brainhub worked along in-house teams to provide full stack development for a B2B SaaS developer platform that customers embed into their own products. The product uses React, TypeScript, NodeJS and is built on AWS cloud services using S3, Lambdas, Cloudfront, Docker, Kinesis, DynamoDB. Additionally, the platform is built as 'infrastructure as code' CI/CD from the ground up using Terraform and automated unit and E2E testing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

• Our product is now seeing significant traction and growing quickly. To achieve this we delivered regular weekly releases that allowed us to quickly iterate on our product offering through close collaboration with customers, both in terms of functionality and scaling.

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

Our teams collaborated through a fully agile process that allowed for rapid, weekly releases using Kanban to deliver continuous value to our customers. Functionality was not only delivered regularly on time but also at a high level of quality. Additionally, we have an experienced team and Brainhub was always responsive in providing an overall process that met our needs and high bar for quality and continuous improvement.

What was your primary form of communication with Brainhub?

• Virtual Meeting

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

Brainhub injected a high level of energy and its own company culture to the project, which helped in building a strong partnership delivering our unique product offering from an early stage. This allowed our teams to work together with a high level of trust through close collaboration on every aspect of our product and execute as a single team.

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

While Brainhub provided resources and processes that allowed us to hit the ground running, we eventually were able to streamline some processes of these based on our own experiences a few months down the road. Nothing significant here, but perhaps we could have taken some of these steps earlier on.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a producer at an entertainment company that has a video game.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Brainhub?

Most games these days require a launcher system to initiate, so we needed someone to help us develop our game’s desktop launcher.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Brainhub is in charge of our desktop launcher development needs. When they joined, the product was already in place, so we provided them with all of our existing documentation. Ours is an ongoing project with no end date, so they basically work as our development team, handling the tasks and projects within the scope of that product.

Our launcher executes our game on desktop devices and pushes updates. We update our game regularly, so this product notices when there’s an update and patches the game for the user. Additionally, it helps us communicate news to those users. As for the technology stack, Brainhub uses Electron, React, and Node.js to develop our launcher continuously.

What is the team composition?

We work with two software developers from Brainhub.

How did you come to work with Brainhub?

I had worked with Brainhub before at another company, so I was already familiar with the developers and their skill sets. I also had a good rapport and sense of trust with them, so when our needs arose for this project, they were the first ones we went to to see if they could fit our needs. It turned out that they did, so we hired them.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together around June 2022, and our engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We measure the success of our engagement by the number of rollbacks needed after our releases and whether Brainhub finishes their tasks on time. Thus far, everything has gone well; we haven’t experienced significant issues requiring major rollbacks, and Brainhub has delivered as expected.

How did Brainhub perform from a project management standpoint?

Brainhub has fulfilled our expectations regarding their work pace and communication. The project management is handled entirely in-house, so Brainhub’s resources aren’t directly responsible for that. We communicate via email and biweekly calls, and we collaborate daily with their developers.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The quality of Brainhub’s developers is very high, and they know how to take ownership of their work. Their resources don’t simply deliver upon requirements; they’re active participants in the technical design process.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No. I’m satisfied with Brainhub so far.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Trust them with technical ownership. They have great ideas, so if you let them share those ideas and participate in the technical design process, you’ll get better results.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

CTO of recruitment marketing agency

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Brainhub?

We hired Brainhub to conduct a UX audit and implement changes to the application to improve the ease of use of our system. Ease of use is one of the main values that our application must have. We knew that our app still had confusing points for users. The aim of the audit was to find them and implement solutions to optimize the time users spend at these points and ultimately reduce the user churn rate.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We wanted a company that has the resources of UX Designers and Web Developers. We created a list of 4 companies with whom we started discussions. We chose Brainhub because of its business approach to executing projects

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

We started our cooperation with a strategy workshop. We wanted Brainhub to understand the needs of our system users. The next step was a comprehensive analysis of our system in terms of the usability of our application. The goal of the analysis was to find points of user leaks and confusing points, which were characterized by, among other things, too much time spent on a particular tab and a high rate of return to the previous tab. During the audit, we were in constant contact with Brainhub so that we were on the same page. We were impressed that Brainhub was able to list multiple recommendations in a short period of time, with a prioritization of each recommendation and the projected impact on the churn rate of our app users. It was the perfect introduction to the entire project, which defined the project's implementation plan. We then moved on to the development phase. The project was carried out smoothly, with no delays. We are very satisfied with the process of carrying out the project and the quality of the final product

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

In the initial phase of the project, the team consisted of two UX designers. Their influence in the initial phase of the project was crucial, as they defined the plan and the tasks needed for the implementation phase of the project. Two JavaScript developers and a scrum master joined the team in the development phase. The project also involved a Technical Advisor and a Business Analyst. This selection of the team guaranteed smooth implementation of the project. Each successive functionality implemented by the developers had a business basis. In other words, both the project team and we were on the same page. Each of us knew what the functionality was supposed to contribute to the final product

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The project had no delays. We are very satisfied with the final result. We appreciate the fact that Brainhub paid great attention to the business functionality of the proposed solutions. As a result, we believe the implemented functionalities have a business basis, which should increase customer satisfaction with our product. Unfortunately, it is too early to assess with certainty the impact of the new functionalities on user satisfaction. However, we expect increases in metrics such as NPS. The lack of project delays has allowed us to continue developing the product as planned

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

We met with the team once a week for a planning meeting, during which they showed us the results of their work. There was an atmosphere of transparency and we were fully informed about the progress of the project. The project was well scheduled. We had direct contact with every member of the team. Each sprint brought the implementation of new functionality that was usable and had business value. In addition, the project team was flexible and open to our suggestions. I appreciate Brainhub employees for their business knowledge. We spent a lot of time in discussions and workshops.They made sure that each functionality implemented had business value.

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

I was impressed by the business approach to the project. Brainhub did not wait for the tasks we gave them but had a huge influence on feature planning. You can see that Brainhub has a lot of experience and a lot of business knowledge. Because of this, they didn't just focus on making sure we implemented a new feature, but also that each feature had business value. All that Brainhub proposed were designed with end-users in mind. A large number of consultations and workshops made it possible to develop a good model of cooperation and design an optimal product. We are very satisfied with the cooperation with Brainhub.

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

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BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a senior product manager at a fashion media company. We specialize in journalism about the fashion industry. My role involves looking after our mobile app, which is a tool for our subscribers to engage with our content. 

The app’s content includes members-only articles and briefings which educate our members on the history of the fashion industry and about what’s happening in relevant events today. The app also helps them with their careers in the fashion industry, whether they’re students starting out or CEOs of large corporations.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Brainhub?

We hired Brainhub for mobile app development. From working with various partners in the past, we knew that looking at mobile app development specifically and not in lots of areas of development would be beneficial for us. We wanted to get our app to a good place technically and have that expertise to ensure our app would be an industry leader.

Although we’re in a great place in our industry because there aren’t many competitors that have their own mobile apps, we wanted to ensure that ours was great and that we could service the needs of our users. Our internal team had done some work moving our website to a better technical place, so our mobile app had to follow suit. We needed someone with that expertise in building the platform away from a native experience and could own that and work themselves without us having to work on both our website and our mobile app simultaneously.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Brainhub provides us with mobile app development. Since our internal developers had worked on the mobile app, we had the foundations already in place at the start. We used to have a native mobile app built with Swift, but we decided to move away from that to align with how our website is built. Initially, we provided documentation on what we had previously built, and Brainhub helped us take the project forward. 

At the start of the engagement, the project was 70% of the way complete, and the team helped us complete it. They rebuilt the mobile app, making sure the development was done correctly. The team has helped us release the new version. Due to our client base, the team has only developed an iOS app for us.

Since the new version was released, we've worked with Brainhub on building a roadmap of new features to ensure the app is technically sustainable and crash-free. We've scaled down the app's development over the last couple of months, and the team is now focused on maintenance. They help us ensure the app is sustainable for the future. 

How did you come to work with Brainhub?

I believe they reached out to us in an email, though I'm not 100% sure. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in September 2021, and they released the new version of the app in November 2021. Our engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Since we were working with a critical release at the start, our first measure of success was getting the mobile app out and making sure our features were performative and without bugs or issues. The app’s features are super performative and 99.9% crash-free, which is all down to Brainhub. 

Before working with them, our previous native app had bugs due to the development we’d done on the website, and Brainhub resolved all of those issues. Whenever we release a new version, we get worried that there might be an issue that creeps in even when we’ve tested it thoroughly. However, that’s never happened with Brainhub. The team has been great at achieving our goals; thanks to them, we have a well-performing mobile app. Although there have been small bugs, that happens with any development work, and they’ve jumped on those issues really quickly without waiting for us to identify them.

How did Brainhub perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re excellent at communication and meeting our deadlines. Specifically, their developers are great at communicating. The team is collaborative and super friendly — they’re a pleasure to work with.

What did you find most impressive about them?

When working with third parties, sometimes engagements can be contractually-based agreements without emotion or friendship even though we speak daily. With Brainhub, this is different. Moreover, I’m impressed with their quality of work and ability to meet deadlines, which they’re great at. They’re organized and super collaborative, which enables them to achieve our timelines. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

We’ve had such a great relationship that it’s hard to identify something they need to improve. Instead of improvements, they should keep doing what they’re doing;  being as collaborative as possible, speaking up, giving their opinions, and keeping up their great ways of communication.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

My advice would be to treat your work with Brainhub as a collaboration. They’re such a collaborative company that offers so much great insight that it would be a disservice to your own company if you don’t jump in and explore that partnership as much as possible. Asking for their advice and getting their insights and input on your product roadmap would also be beneficial.

We learned early on when scaling down our app development that Brainhub works in a project-based way, so they don’t really have contracts on retainers. For example, we explored having one developer working with us for a couple of hours a week to fix bugs or do small iterations to our mobile app, but they don’t work that way. Be aware of that, and make sure that you’re happy with a project-based approach so that it’s more of a collaboration rather than a contract.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the co-founder of a startup developing a crowdshipping app.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Brainhub?

We were developing our mobile app for iOS and Android, and we needed help with its UI.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Brainhub helped us design and develop the UI of our app. Their main goal was to make it simple and easy to use — they’re very experienced in those kinds of projects. Additionally, they integrated a smart analytics solution to help us determine the customer's needs.

It is a crowdshipping app that works similarly to a car sharing app but for packages. Users can send things from one place to another using our solution.

What is the team composition?

We worked with a full team of around 10 people, including a project lead, four iOS developers, four Android developers, and a scrum master responsible for all the agile development process. This person also took care of the sprint cycles.

How much have you invested in them?

We spent around $100,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked with Brainhub from January–December 2021.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Brainhub delivered a user-friendly interface, and our first impression was that users already knew the app's features without a manual, which speaks volumes about how simple it is.

How did Brainhub perform from a project management standpoint?

Brainhub was really agile, and they were very responsive to the timelines and milestones we established. Throughout the project, we had scheduled agile meetings, as well as daily sync-in meetings. We also had some meetings to overview the project, see what was good and bad, and see what we could improve in the future. We used Trello and Jira to manage the project and Slack for communication.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Brainhub has a lot of experience and a very strong team. Additionally, they offered a very personal experience, as opposed to larger development companies. They asked us very specific questions strongly related to our requirements, and they worked collaboratively with us and not for us, which was great.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No. They even provided us with recommendations for us based on their experience and knowledge, which was really helpful.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I strongly recommend working with Brainhub.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the engineering manager for the mobile and desktop applications of an e-health platform.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Brainhub?

We needed help with the development of our desktop application. We didn’t have any knowledge about it.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Brainhub has helped with the development of our desktop application. They’ve used the Electron framework. They initially took the legacy project to improve it.

What is the team composition?

We have a project manager as the bridge between two developers and us.

How did you come to work with Brainhub?

They were already working with us when I started working here.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent €100,000 (approximately $104,000 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in March 2022, and our relationship is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The engagement has been great. They onboard quickly and are efficient. Moreover, they’ve improved the legacy code.

How did Brainhub perform from a project management standpoint?

Project management is good. We give them tasks every week, and they complete them seamlessly. We communicate via Slack and Google Meet and use Jira for project management.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They know Electron. It’s hard to find developers who do, and their developers are excellent.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They could be more involved in the project.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

You can work with them without any problems.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the head of delivery for DACH and Italy for a wealth management platform solution. We’re a utility provider and provide services to banks, insurances and asset managers.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Brainhub?

We hired them to do frontend development for projects in Germany and Italy.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Brainhub did frontend development on a website using React, Redux, and TypeScript. We had created the wireframes with the design team and had our own developers. About 8 developers from Brainhub joined our individual Scrum teams. They participated in planning meetings, daily calls, retrospectives, and development.  

Additionally, they supported us in implementing a test automation framework called Cypress, helping us set it up. After the initial setup, the project team took over the framework.

What is the team composition?

We worked with an account manager and about eight frontend developers from Brainhub.

How did you come to work with Brainhub?

I found them on Google while looking for a company who provides staff augmentation for top notch React developers. When searching on Google, Brainhub showed up in the top 10 results and through the entire vendor selection process. they presented themselves very professional. Although we issued an RFP to look at alternatives, Brainhub was the clear winner.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent roughly £500,000 (approximately $613,000 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

The project lasted from May 2021–April 2022.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Brainhub was very engaged and provided the best service possible.

How did Brainhub perform from a project management standpoint?

We had weekly check-ins through Google Meet, and they addressed any performance issues we found. They also shared very good feedback when they felt we were missing something or that something could be improved. I could raise issues with them when needed, too. Overall, the experience was very positive. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Brainhub was very proactive and acted as a cohesive company instead of a group of individual contractors. They worked together and really took care of their people. Additionally, we appreciated that they had a key person managing the project who wanted to ensure they were providing the best results possible. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, they were excellent. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

My advice is to be really clear in regards to what you want. Brainhub will tell you if you’re not explaining what you need with enough clarity because they want to be successful.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of a B2B SaaS company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Brainhub?

We needed fast and flexible scaling for our engineering department.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We initially described our requirements and needs, and Brainhub was quite fast in delivering a project proposal with a framework on how we could work together. Their proposal addressed all of our concerns, questions, and needs. Based on that, we started the collaboration.

Now, we continuously ramp up and extend the work.

What is the team composition?

We work with around eight people from Brainhub. The most significant part of the team is the software engineers, but we also have business analysts and UX designers.

How did you come to work with Brainhub?

We found them online, through my network, and a referral. We got to know them and started with the collaboration.

How much have you invested in them?

We’ve spent about €150,000 (approximately $158,000 USD) so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

The partnership began in January 2022, and it’s still ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The best metric we can give is that we just finalized our funding rounds and a company evaluation of $12 million based on their work, and we don’t have any internal engineers. We have product management and engineering managers, but no one is writing the code internally.

How did Brainhub perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re professionally set up. Also, they’re flexible in how we can work with them. 

They have multiple clients with different working modes, so they’ve adjusted to our preferred way of collaborating. Overall, it’s working quite well.

We use Jira, Notion, and GitHub as tools and Slack and email for communication. We also have video calls on Google Meet.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Brainhub can build up a high level of trust, and they continue to earn it. The quality of their work is based on our internal stakeholders, and it’s good. In the end, it all comes down to trust, the way we work together, and the quality and speed of work — all of which have earned our trust over time.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They can improve the availability of resources. It’s a scarce market, so that’s probably where everybody could improve.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Trust their experience and best practices in consulting and building the product.