Cheesecake Labs

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the VP of Product and Engineering for a Layer 1 blockchain. We develop open source products, platforms, and web3 applications. Our platform is focused on financial services use cases- mobile wallets, payments, digital assets, and cash disbursement platforms.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Cheesecake Labs, and what were your goals?

I hired Cheesecake Labs to augment for multiple engineering projects, both client and server side. Cheesecake both served as staff augmentation for existing projects, and in the case of our digital assets business, they were the sole engineering team handling a variety of prototypes, proof of concepts, and new software development- working in conjunction with some of the largest financial institutions in Brazil and Latin America.

SOLUTION

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

Cheesecake was recommended to me by a colleague who had worked with them before. They demonstrated a high aptitude in working independently, being dynamic and flexible around staffing needs, and provided a good bench of engineers who had excellent communication, architectural and software development skills. They were able to spin up a blockchain vertical within their organization rapidly, and picked up core blockchain development practices around the Stellar network with ease. Also, their location in Brazil worked well with our timezones in PST and EST.

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

Stellar Aid Cheesecake provided an architect and principle engineer to help develop a cash out reconciliation and reporting feature in a piece of software we had customers run on-site. This feature included postgres schema development, financial transaction consistency modeling, and development in Go within a mature code base. The feature was delivered on-time, and was mission critical for our release.

Tier 1 Assets Cheesecake acted as the engineering vertical for a digital assets business in SDF. They worked closely with product managers and business development representatives to create new software products, digital asset securitization models, and asset issuance platforms. They also represented engineering in multiple CBDC challenges with major banks in Latin America.

They provided a full stack delivery model with a Stellar Architect, engineering, and product/project representatives Vibrant Engineering Vibrant is a mobile wallet developed in react native and GO.

We used CKL as staff augmentation to cover the GO backend, which was a piece of middleware that had an API layer and postgres database to store customer information, implement microservices like multisig, and integrated with our crypto payments protocols. Bridge UI CKL built a web3 front end for asset swaps using a bridging design that allowed for trustless, escrowed value exchange across different blockchains. This particular implementation interacted with an ETH smart contract into Stellar

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

There were 10-12 engineers. I primarily worked with the CEO and the Stellar achitect

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

CKL delivered projects on time, with a great deal of independence and creativity. They were able to look for reusable components in the services they built, and provide valuable architecture and software suggestions that helped with the overall technical strategy at SDF. The products they built were mission critical, and helped advance the business needs of the org.

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

We had weekly project management meetings, and projects always had a project manager assigned to review goals, dates, and status. Resourcing was well documented within spreadsheets, and it was clear how headcount was allocated, and what they were working on

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

I am impressed at the enthusiasm, genuine care for the customer, and strategic thinking of the team. CKL is not your typical offshoring agency, in that they provide much value added services above and beyond delivering code. They were very helpful with providing insight, feedback, and a customer perspective on the products they were developing

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

None!

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the VP of operations at FINN, an auto subscription company. We subscribe vehicles to customers based in Munich, Germany and New York City.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Cheesecake Labs?

We were looking to scale up our engineering team with a provider based in the same time zone as the US’s East Coast. The goal was to scale our US operations as quickly as possible.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Cheesecake Labs provides us with development services, mainly for our backend. They’ve helped us with internal tooling and database building. Most of the projects we’ve done with them have been built from scratch. The team uses TypeScript, though they’ve also used no-code tools like Integromat and Retool for a sizable portion of their work. 

The team has built a compound integration that allows a compound partner to relay us data live. From there, we ingest that data and make business decisions. Cheesecake Labs has also built our customer care tooling, which allows our customer care team to make changes to orders and deliveries. The Cheesecake Labs team has also rolled out our internal customer portal, enabling customers to make changes to their payment method or delivery address without calling in. 

What is the team composition?

My team has interacted with around 10 Cheesecake Labs teammates throughout the engagement. Currently, we’re working with five team members. 

How did you come to work with Cheesecake Labs?

My CTO found them; I believe they canvassed various potential partners before finding Cheesecake Labs. 

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent around $1.1 million. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in March 2022, and the engagement is ongoing. The project’s end date is in March 2023. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We wouldn't be able to operate as efficiently as we do without Cheesecake Labs. From a business perspective, one of our metrics is transactions processed per full-time equivalent (FTE), which refers to headcount per transaction. Thanks to Cheesecake Labs, we're scaling our team much more efficiently in the US than in our Germany office. Additionally, the customer care tooling they've built enables our customer care team to do their job more efficiently. 

How did Cheesecake Labs perform from a project management standpoint?

I would give them a high score for project management. We use Slack and Jira for communication and project management. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Cheesecake Labs operates very well within their abilities and ultimately delivers what we're looking for.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There's variability in the quality of Cheesecake Labs' engineers, just like with any other company. Certain engineers have been better at English or specific coding languages. However, this has never been an inhibitor to getting work done. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m one of the co-founders of an NFT marketplace. We’re a ten-person team in New York City.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Cheesecake Labs?

We needed additional support to develop the frontend of our web application.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Cheesecake Labs primarily focused on frontend development for our React, Next.js, and Typescript application. They worked on revamping the new pages to a real-time data flow. They took those things from end to end on the frontend side.

What is the team composition?

We worked with around five people. For the most part, we were in contact with a product owner, a tech lead, two engineers, and someone on QA.

How did you come to work with Cheesecake Labs?

We found them online.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent about $150,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We brought them in for four months, from May–September 2022.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The completion was our success metric. We still have 1–2 more items left, but Cheesecake Labs has delivered their part.

How did Cheesecake Labs perform from a project management standpoint?

We met every morning at 11:00 a.m. and were connected on a Slack channel. Also, we used Jira for project management.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their range of expertise and ability to come up with solutions for each problem were outstanding. When we were onboarding, they brought in a technical person to address how they’d come up with solutions and fully disclosed each team member's background. Also, the cost was reasonable considering the people they provide.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I can’t think of anything. We had a great experience.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Communication is essential. You should understand where things are going and give them a heads-up so they can plan accordingly.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of execution of a privately held mortgage company. We have a couple of main offices in Omaha, Nebraska; San Diego, California; and Lombard, Illinois.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Cheesecake Labs?

We were looking to create a mortgage application that would get into home search and combine some pieces into one.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We engaged with Cheesecake Labs and laid out what we were looking to accomplish. They picked up our concepts quickly and gave us an extensive overview and presentation of their plan to ensure we’d meet our goals. We wanted to do some fine pieces that we hadn’t seen in the industry, and they created them.

One of those pieces was a rewards program. They took the idea and ran with it, helping us to look at other companies to find ideas we could incorporate into the app. Initially, we provided some basic questions to help them create our mortgage flow and what the app should look like. Additionally, we suggested applications we liked, although they weren’t mimicked. They did some research and looked at the apps we suggested to incorporate those references and create our own version.

They did a proof of concept of our point of sale with the system that we’d plug into the application; they only did the design. However, Cheesecake Labs tested all the APIs to ensure everything was working. They also integrated other ideas and did the wireframes from scratch.

What is the team composition?

Four people participated consistently in our weekly meetings. We also met the company’s president and had a client engagement manager, a project manager, a chief product officer, and a UX/UI designer. They were the team members we worked the closest with. Beyond that, a bigger team would sit in with us every once in a while.

How did you come to work with Cheesecake Labs?

They were a referral, but we also did our due diligence. They designed and developed another home search for a company we’d worked with, and we liked their work. However, we looked around to see if they would fit us best.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent $75,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in December 2021, and they completed the project in April 2022.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We have the Figma files of everything they created for us. Moreover, they were willing to present to the larger organization in our place several times, which wasn’t part of our contract. They did it out of the goodness of their heart. Overall, they were fantastic to work with, and their communication was outstanding. They listened to our ideas and made them a reality. 

How did Cheesecake Labs perform from a project management standpoint?

We paid what they quoted us initially. We had weekly meetings, sometimes even more than once a week if we wanted to get something done. In general, the team was on point and pushed the project along. They always seemed to accomplish more than we thought was possible. Moreover, it felt like a collaboration; they didn’t force any ideas on us.

They gave us access to their Slack account so we could see the daily progress. Also, we used Google Meetings and back-and-forth emails for communication.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their communication skills, speed of development, and cost were incredible. They were a great company. Seeing them taking our ideas and making them a reality was amazing.

Are there any areas they could improve?

The only bummer was that we couldn’t use them for development due to some of our internal regulations. They were located in Brazil, and our company doesn’t allow us to work with vendors in that country. We would’ve loved the opportunity to build the application with them. It was on our company, not on them.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Use Cheesecake Labs. They’re fantastic. On your part, you just have to make sure that you complete the tasks they ask you.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of e-commerce at ACG Brands Inc., a consumer products company that creates a lot of different types of consumer products.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Cheesecake Labs?

We’re creating a brand new product category: Bluetooth-enabled, smart heating devices. The goal was to develop a mobile application to connect and control those Bluetooth devices.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Cheesecake Labs is doing mobile app development for us. We started with a discovery phase and came up with the scope of work and service agreement. They then developed and launched our mobile app for iOS and Android using Bluetooth and Flutter technologies.

What is the team composition?

We've worked with a project manager, a tech lead, a product manager, a QA manager, and a designer.

How did you come to work with Cheesecake Labs?

We found them on Clutch.

How much have you invested with them?

We've spent $360,000 with them so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in November 2020, and the engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The app works; we've tested it, and the feedback has all been positive. Also, they work rapidly to fix any bugs we find.

How did Cheesecake Labs perform from a project management standpoint?

Our project manager has been phenomenal and very communicative. Throughout the project, we've had weekly meetings to ensure the project is successful and to keep everything on track and within budget. Regarding tools, we use Jira, email, and Microsoft Teams.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their biggest strength is their ability to be flexible; their team meets us where we were at and adapts to the tools we use. In addition, they're excellent at teaching us about certain things and best practices since we're new to app development.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They're doing a great job, and the only potential constructive feedback would be that the project manager was a bit disorganized initially. Nonetheless, they fixed that very quickly, got a new project manager, and turned it around.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be open to their suggestions and expertise; they're professional at app development.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the head of product management for an aging wellness company in New York City. We have a studio location where we perform medical services, including cosmetic dermatology, hormone replacement, and more. We have a website that allows our customers to experience telehealth visits with clinical staff within the same category.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Cheesecake Labs?

We had a specific project around an assessment for our customers.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Cheesecake Labs built a particular part of our website; it was an assessment that our customers will go through. They worked with us on frontend and backend development and project management. They used React for the frontend.

What is the team composition?

We worked with a product manager, two project managers, 3–4 frontend engineers, and two backend engineers.

How did you come to work with Cheesecake Labs?

They came through a recommendation from our CEO.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent between $50,000–$100,000, maybe more.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from February–April 2022.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

It’s not live yet; we’re still working on things that we have to do ourselves. However, from a success perspective, we had a parallel program to give feedback, and our developers were able to read their code. We had issues, but they weren’t more than usual, and Cheesecake Labs hoped to solve them as we reported them. Also, their team did QA to ensure that the fewest number of bugs possible made it to our team.

How did Cheesecake Labs perform from a project management standpoint?

It was a tight project with a quick ramp-up time, and Cheesecake Labs delivered what we needed on time. Also, they were very communicative with us about the project’s progress.

We used Jira and communicated via Google Meet and Slack. We had a shared Slack channel to raise issues and talk asynchronously.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their communication and ability to ramp up quickly on a complicated project were their strongest points. They were able to hit the ground running.

Are there any areas they could improve?

It was challenging to work across time zones, but it was the nature of the development process. Although we had an impact on speed and delays, it was nothing material.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Give detailed specifications of what you’re trying to accomplish so they can run with it.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CTO of Volo and the American Dream TV. We’re a media and tech company in the real estate space. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Cheesecake Labs?

We were building a video-infused real estate search mobile app. Our team developed the concept for the app for about two years. Then, we built our MVP in-house — a software engineer and I collaborated on it. We needed a vendor to help us bring our vision to life much faster, so we hired Cheesecake Labs. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Cheesecake Labs has taken our vision and assembled a team of six people to work directly with us. Other staff members also join at times, but the six-member team executes our backlog and delivers the product to the market. In terms of technology, we use the Flutter and Firebase tech stacks. 

For core app features and functionality, the app serves as a video-infused real estate search platform. When looking at traditional real estate search platforms in the US, they mainly feature homes with photos and descriptions. Meanwhile, we believe that video not only enhances real estate searches; they’re also the best medium for selling and searching for homes.

As a result, the main feature of our app is integrating real estate data with our media technology. We’ve developed searchable index map and video upload features where real estate professionals can add videos to their local marketplace on the app. This platform is currently available on iOS and Android, but we intend to add a desktop element in the future. 

What is the team composition?

We work with two frontend engineers, one backend engineer, a QA specialist, a tech lead, and a project manager. 

How did you come to work with Cheesecake Labs?

I found Cheesecake Labs through Google and hired them after interviewing multiple companies. They were one of the touted companies that had Flutter development as one of their core competencies.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve invested between $300,000–$320,000. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We started in September 2021, and the engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Cheesecake Labs has managed to clear the backlogs we’ve given them before 2022 started. That’s the first milestone they hit. Currently, we work on a sprint schedule, and that’s how we monitor success. We develop the sprints and then prioritize backlogged items before scheduling our releases. Against this process, the team always hits our release deadlines. 

How did Cheesecake Labs perform from a project management standpoint?

Their project management is good. In fact, we’ve had an issue with our project manager and communicated it to them. They’ve been receptive and responsive to the matter. Within three business days, we’ve acquired a new phenomenal project manager. From there, the project management throughout the engagement has been great. 

In terms of tools, we use Jira to manage the project. Our teams also use Slack for daily communications. We do daily standups on Google Meet.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Cheesecake Labs’ talent is impressive. Their resources are all based in Brazil, and working with Brazilian developers has been a new experience for me. Their work ethic has been unmatched. On top of that, they’re highly educated and serve as experts in the field. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

It’s hard to scale down the team that Cheesecake Labs provides. We’re a small company, but we eight get 5–6 developers from them or we get none. Overall, the ability to easily scale up and down the team would be a good improvement in their services. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Voice your concerns. Cheesecake Labs’ leadership is highly involved if you engage them. They’re willing to step in if you have any issues, so be vocal to them — they’ll make things happen. Don’t let your concerns just reside on the project management level. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Our company is Bemis Manufacturing Company, a family-owned and private company. We’ve recently celebrated our 100th year anniversary. Our brand has over 60% share in the toilet seat market — if customers go to Walmart or Target, they’ll most likely find a Bemis toilet seat. I lead all of our organic growth opportunities and manage our partnerships. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Cheesecake Labs?

I led an investment that resulted in the need for a smart device for toilet seats. We then engaged Cheesecake Labs to develop the app for that.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We weren’t familiar with IoT — it wasn’t our sweet spot — but we wanted to take our toilet seats to the next level. As a result, we asked Cheesecake Labs to design an app that allowed users to control their seats better using their smartphones. We initially introduced our company and told them what kind of help we needed.

At present, we’re still developing the app, which will be available on both iOS and Android app stores. The app lets users use various smart toilet features, such as finding information about how long they’ve been on the seat and how many times they’ve used their toilets. 

What is the team composition?

We work with a project manager as our single point of contact.

How did you come to work with Cheesecake Labs?

One member of our team had used Cheesecake Labs before, and that was how we found them. We then used Clutch to search for their reviews, along with other development companies. Then, we interviewed Cheesecake Labs, and they did a fantastic job. It was important for us to find a team that was patient enough to guide us through the development process. Our company eventually decided to engage them.

How much have you invested with them?

Our budget for this project is $220,000, and we’ve already spent around $180,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Cheesecake Labs in June 2021, and the project is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Cheesecake Labs has been a valuable partner to us. They’ve guided us through the journey, and the team has been proactive — this is truly important for a company like ours. As first-timers in the IoT world, we’re glad that they approach the project from our perspective. They consider what we don’t know and our challenges, and then they anticipate issues and find solutions for us.

How did Cheesecake Labs perform from a project management standpoint?

Cheesecake Labs does a great job of keeping us under budget. Every week, we know where we are in terms of our budget. We’re absolutely glad to be working with them because of this. Moreover, their scheduling is truly impressive, and their resources are always on time — we’ve experienced no delays so far, which is great. 

Their communication has also been fantastic. They keep us on task every week. Our teams have weekly calls, and it’s easy to communicate with the project manager. Overall, our communication is great. We mainly use Slack, but we also use Teams for conference calls. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Everything good that I’ve mentioned about them has been impressive. As a client, when we reach out to companies, we need to know who’s more responsive and organized — the Cheesecake Labs team has been extremely proactive and organized even from the beginning. In fact, before giving us a quote, they’ve already spent time understanding our product. Overall, their proactiveness and general communication skills set them apart from competitors. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, there aren’t any. Everything is going well, and we’re quite satisfied with their work.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be clear about what you want, and communicate often. Work with their project manager — this is your go-to person, and this person is amazing.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the CTO of a fast growing US based startup.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Cheesecake Labs, and what were your goals?

Our project brief was to create a mobile application for users to shop from their phones. We had written a detailed project brief and produced a low-code prototype before contacting Cheesecake. Our mandate for the work was to take the project brief and prototype and deliver a fully functional working application for both iOS and Android within a tight timeframe.

SOLUTION

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

We solicited multiple proposals from multiple agencies, and reviewed costs, timeframe and staffing to make sure that the deliverables would be hit. Then we conducted in depth screeners to asses agencies on multiple points, both technical, design, management and process.

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

As we had done significant up front work in producing a detailed brief and low-code prototype we had a quick start. We had an initial short design phase that included creating new assets for screens that needed revisions. Then we moved directly to the app build, which was specced to 4 different phases.

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

Our main contact was a Project Manager, followed by a Tech Lead. The UX designer had a lot of contact initially and we had 2 meeting per week with the entire team.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Within the timeframe the team was successfully able to deliver against the 4 phases of the project, ultimately releasing the app.

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

We relied heavily on JIRA to track against timelines and the phased project delivery. Once in place this was run well, and we were able to track progress against our timeline.

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

Cheesecake were able to work with us and towards the end of the project we had to prioritize a key change in the user flow of the app. This was accomplished well and with oversight we were able to deliver the changes.

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

Given the tight timeframe we were happy with the work provided and the management of that work. It took a few weeks for the team to run smoothly and work with us and as the project progressed this became much better, so ideally we would have liked that from the start, but given how these engagements go and of the fast start that we asked for we were more than satisfied with the outcome of their work.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of a company that builds lending technology for underserved populations.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Cheesecake Labs?

We had a new website design that we needed help implementing. They were brought on to develop the frontend code.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They worked in React and Gatsby.

What is the team composition?

We worked with 3–4 people, I believe.

How did you come to work with Cheesecake Labs?

We interviewed a number of firms in our process and found them to be a great combination of professionalism and capacity for our given timeline. They were also transparent.

How much have you invested with them?

The total cost was around $50,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from November–December 2021.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We haven’t had a chance to fully integrate the code yet, but our technical team was very pleased with Cheesecake Labs coding practices and frameworks. We’re in a good spot to implement the deliverable later this year.

How did Cheesecake Labs perform from a project management standpoint?

The communication was very strong. They were upfront about specific items that would take longer than expected. They prioritized what we needed and provided extra resources as required.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They were perfectly fine.