CASoft Seattle

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the co-founder of Kamville International LLC. Our mobile app is going to be for landlords who want to monitor properties.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with CASoft Seattle?

We hired them to develop our application for us.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Brian (Founder & Owner) has been responsible for leading development. From top to bottom, he has worked on the mobile application along with the administrative website. The site is used to monitor and maintain the app, as well. We’re expecting to go into testing within the next month.

What is the team composition?

Brian works as the coach and lead on the project, communicating with the developers behind the scenes. 

How did you come to work with CASoft Seattle?

One of the main things that we were looking for was passion — we didn’t want to work with a developer who was just in it for the money. We wanted someone who was interested in our idea. 

We interviewed several developers. In our discussions with Brian, we felt that he understood it. He comprehended the idea and, beyond that, he was very passionate about it and innovative about how to bring the idea to life. 

How much have you invested in them?

We’ve spent in the range of $15,000–$20,000, so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began around January 2019 and we are still working together.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They’ve done a great job — I’m happy with where we are. 

How did CASoft Seattle perform from a project management standpoint?

Their management is great — Brian is very detailed. We have a call at least every other week regarding development updates. Any progress is applied to meeting notes and we have set agendas for our discussions. All of our communication is very transparent. They usually respond within 24 hours and they’ve been accommodating about communicating via text and phone. 

Overall, they’re very flexible and efficient with their work. There have been some delays, but myself and my partner both have full-time jobs outside of the app so life gets in the way.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Brian is able to align himself very well—he’s not as introverted as others I’ve worked with. He’s aligned himself with our ideas and we feel like he’s part of the team. 

We’re having discussions of what we’ll do after development, thinking of how to keep using him in the long-term. He has done a very good job of representing himself well within our company and it feels like we’re all in this together.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There’s always room for improvement with anyone. Perhaps improving proactiveness and being more prepared for every aspect of a call, like having the right tools ready and in place. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Know what you want to do and be transparent and realistic about your goals. Doing that will be important and Brian will do a good job of keeping you aligned with that. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there. 

I’m the founder of a startup that’s creating a B2C platform. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with CASoft Seattle?

We needed a local development team to build our platform, from the design to the coding and implementation.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement? 

CASoft Seattle handles the full-cycle development for our product. Without going into too much detail, it’s a B2C platform that connects small businesses and service providers with consumers. A key feature is the ability to coordinate between schedules.

Initially, we met with their team to go over our vision. They listened to our requirements and came up with a few designs for us to choose from. After we selected the best one, they proceeded to development. So far, we’ve completed Phase 1 and are now starting Phase 2.

What is the team composition? 

I mostly work with Brian (Founder, CASoft Seattle) who translated what needed to be done to the team.

How did you come to work with CASoft Seattle?

We found them through a Google search and interviewed them. Although we did consider development firms across the country, it was important for us to work with a local agency. We landed on CASoft Seattle and have been working together since.

How much have you invested with them? 

We’ve spent between $35,000–$40,000 up to date.

What is the status of this engagement? 

Their work started in July 2018 and is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’ve just finished Phase 1, so we don’t have any hard metrics yet. But what they’ve done so far looks great. The coding is reliable and functions well. There are a few bugs that need to be worked out, but everything has been excellent overall.

How did CASoft Seattle perform from a project management standpoint?

Brian manages his team really well. While we have the option of using a project management tool, I prefer to meet face to face, and they accommodate that.

What did you find most impressive about them?
Not only are they organized and on time, but they also really care about the product. It’s more than just another contract to them.

Are there any areas they could improve? 

Everyone can always improve, but I can’t think of anything specific that they could do better. As long as we continue working like this, everything will be great.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Communicate consistently, whether that means talking through online tools or having in-person meetings. This depends on the individual, but I prefer that personal interaction, which is why we decided on a local team.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO and Founder of Weple. We’re a social streaming app built around group navigation and privacy. Users can upload live or prerecorded video and control who’s able to see their content.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with CASoft Seattle?

Another development team started to build our platform from scratch, but ran into difficulties once our CTO had to leave the company. I hired several other development firms to finish the platform, but we weren’t getting the results we paid for. We hired CASoft Seattle to overcome the challenges other developers weren’t able to solve.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Our custom iOS platform was already up and running with group navigation, but the overall system still needed significant improvements. CASoft Seattle installed a tipping functionality so users can donate money to their favorite content creators. They also fixed some major coding issues within the platform’s backend.

What is the team composition?

I primarily worked with Brian (Founder, CASoft Seattle), but we often communicated their lead developer as well.

How did you come to work with CASoft Seattle?

I posted our need for iOS developers on LinkedIn and they messaged me through there. I started discussing the project’s budget and financial constraints with Brian and he felt confident that his team could deliver.

What is the status of this engagement?

The majority of their work took place from October 2016–March 2017. They occasionally offer support, but that’s not on a daily basis.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We haven't done a lot of promotion for the app because we were a little late getting to market and it requires a lot of cloud storage. That being said, all the feedback we’ve received has been positive. CASoft Seattle implemented a lot of features to make the tipping functionality as user-friendly as possible. Everything they’ve done looks and works great.

How did CASoft Seattle perform from a project management standpoint?

I talked to both of our contacts regularly. We’d email back and forth multiple times a day and had phone conversations to clarify items if necessary. Whenever there was an issue, Brian would quickly tackle the problem and resolve it. They tried to keep everything on schedule and openly communicated if they weren’t going to meet a deadline. Overall, they did a great job.

What did you find most impressive about them?

After working with some of the highest rated development firms, I appreciate how CASoft Seattle does business. Their ability to communicate and work within a partnership is second to none. They had a lot of issues working with the original code but were ultimately able to succeed where other companies failed. They aren’t as well-known as some of their competitors, but they stayed true to their word and honored our contract. For example, they once encountered an unforeseen challenge that delayed the development process and put them behind schedule. In response, they worked through the issue and eventually resolved it without charging an additional fee. Other firms would’ve increased the cost of development, so I’m thankful for their approach. They deserve all the accolades I can give them.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

My experience with CASoft Seattle is likely different than their usual client because we hired them to work on an existing platform. However, I explained in great detail the challenges previous developers have faced while creating the platform and that proved useful to them. I suggest that new clients of CASoft Seattle give them the opportunity to help out and trust in their ability to deliver.