Chetu, Inc.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

We provide training and development services and human performance technology products to corporate and public sector clients.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Chetu, Inc.?

We hired Chetu to help us complete an iOS baseball training application that used video recognition software to provide athletic training to users.

What were your goals for this project?

The goals were to pick-up where our previous development company had left off and develop our product as quickly as possible to help us bring it to market.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We had met Chetu at a conference where we were both presenting and after some exploratory phone calls, we were ready to sign on. We have worked with them on several projects since becoming clients.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

Chetu was contracted to step in and complete and an iOS baseball application that leveraged video recognition functionality to assist with training.

Using the foundation created by another development company that was unable to meet our needs, Chetu programmed the application to not only upload and store video files, but analyze the files using our proprietary algorithms that would allow trainers to compile players stats – such as swing speed, bat angle, precision, and trajectory.

They also added a section within the app to manually analyze videos using slow motion, as well as added a user login portal, a coach login portal, and a video library to the interface using AVFoundation framework.

What was the team composition?

Our team was comprised of two developers, one team lead, and one project manager.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

When Chetu joined, the project was already behind schedule. Thanks to their professionalism and efficiency, we were able to not only meet our ultimate deadline but were able to scale the team to meet both our project and budget needs. Without our development team at Chetu, there was no way this project would have been brought to market in the time needed.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

Given the nature of our project prior to bringing on Chetu, we wanted to be more involved in the daily operations to ensure things were being completed on schedule. The project manager was more than accommodating and provided us with daily reports that both put us at ease and allowed us to monitor the progress. This was a well-managed project, to say the least.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Previous work with other outsourcing companies left little to be desired, but with Chetu, we were able to work directly with our development team during our hours of operation, meaning no late night or early morning calls. That and the efficiency of the developers with their great communication left our team thoroughly impressed with their work.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Our development team was highly effective and saved our overall project. I see no areas for improvement to discuss.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

We are a leading provider of interactive retail solutions that brings online e-commerce concepts to brick and mortar retail outlets. Founded in 2014, we have a team of over 70 technology and retail experts and work with some of the largest brands and retailers in the world.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Chetu, Inc.?

We hired Chetu to enrich our current iOS kiosk application to further optimize its functionality and user experience.

What were your goals for this project?

The goal of the project was to enhance our current iOS kiosk application by resolving current issues, improving the dashboard, and implement additional enhancements to optimize device management from remote locations.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We found Chetu at a retailer’s tradeshow in 2019 and after several calls and interviews decided they were perfect to handle our software needs.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

Chetu went through our original source code and adjusted certain issues we were facing with the application’s functionality. They are also improving the remote functionality of the application on iOS devices through the use of mobile device management (MDM) providers and using command-line tools to provide commands for device handling and the app when working remotely.

They are also using Firebase to improve the app’s unit testing and storing application logs. Lastly, Chetu has been assisting in the UI/UX of the app, including application design and graphics.

What was the team composition?

The team consists of one project manager, one developer, one technical leader, and one director of operations.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

So far all previous issues with the application have been resolved and the introduction of additional functionality is continuing to be implemented by Chetu. We are looking forward to seeing results, but as of right now, the greatest benefit we have seen is the fiscal impact on our company. Chetu’s professionalism and affordability have allowed us to improve our software without bringing on additional resources to complete internally.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

We receive daily updates, and weekly reports from the team as well as executive calls every six to eight weeks. We feel very involved in the development process and have a firm understanding of where the project currently stands on a daily basis. Additionally, the current composition of the team has been highly effective and we have maintained a great pace to complete this project in a timely manner.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The pace at which the team works is incredible. We have improved the content of the application dramatically over the last year thanks to them. Despite any tough deadline we may have given them, they were able to deliver a quality product on-time. The processes the Chetu has in place are so smooth that we are confident that this project will be a success.

Are there any areas for improvement?

The team has absolutely fantastic. The work has been elite and they have shown nothing but professionalism this entire time. I have nothing to say with regard to improvements.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

We are a leading provider of online courses for the preparation of students for undergraduate and graduate studies, as well as the certification of educators for ACT, SAT and regional standardized testing. Founded in 2016, we have a dedicated team of educators specializing in the latest standardized tests and online training.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Chetu, Inc.?

We hired Chetu to develop our new learning management system that could integrate with an e-commerce platform.

What were your goals for this project?

The goal of the project was to build an intuitive e-learning management application using React JS/PHP framework and leverage the latest in UI capabilities for iOS and Android operating systems. We wanted to create a new user experience for the entire application that would support multiple courses and users, provide detailed analytics, allow for direct messaging with participants, and support video and audio files. Additionally, we needed them to roll over our entire e-commerce platform from Shopify to Magento and ensure seamless integration for improved sales capabilities.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We found Chetu doing some preliminary research online and had several interviews and phone calls with them to ensure they could deliver what we needed.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

Chetu built our new interface from scratch and integrated updated sign up, login, and password reset features, as well as creating new course dashboards for students, teachers, admins, and resources. The team leveraged the latest in UI/UX technology and created easily editable and functioning learning paths for all of our key courses. Lastly, they helped bridge the gap between our e-commerce platform and the e-learning management application by rolling us over from Shopify to Magento and ensuring seamless integration.

What was the team composition?

The team consists of one project manager, one development team leader, one developer, one graphics team leader, and one graphic designer.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our application is so much more user-friendly and intuitive. Not only has the overall experience improved for our users, but the integrated e-commerce platform has created a smoother transition for sales. From an investment standpoint, Chetu’s experienced team members and affordable rates have allowed us to not only improve our return on investment but complete this project in a highly expeditious manner.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

We received daily, and weekly reports from the team as well as regular executive briefings so we were well informed during the entire development process. The team certainly went above and beyond to accommodate our team’s needs and schedule. Overall it was a highly effective process that we couldn’t be happier with.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The expertise and overall professionalism of the team were truly remarkable. Their superb communication kept me the loop the entire time, and the company’s rates made this large investment incredibly affordable and valuable to our company.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Currently, no. The team has been excellent, and we are excited to see the final product of their efforts.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the CTO of an audio technology company that is committed to improving and accelerating the use of acoustic signals in communicating and optimize the audio experience on devices that utilize sound.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Chetu, Inc.?

Our company required a new user interface for our application that optimizes audio-video output in real-time. We needed assistance in developing a completely new interface on a tight schedule as we were approaching a project deadline for an automotive manufacturer.

What were your goals for this project?

We needed a brand new user interface to be created from scratch using the original application framework that could recognize audio signals. We wanted to drastically improve the UX to allow for a more intuitive feel, as well as enhanced navigability and UI graphic development.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We have used Chetu for other projects in the past and were very happy with their previous work. Given the restricted schedule we had to finish this project we knew that Chetu would be the ideal partner to help us complete our goals.

Describe the project in detail.

Chetu developers took the application's original framework and created a brand new interface that could recognize audio signals and integrate with our original music libraries that were built using C/C++.

The engineers enhanced the design process, UI graphic development, and usability features including the navigation, which leverages internal memory that assists users in selecting multiple options when scrolling through music tracklists. The team also optimized the application for both Android and iOS development.

What was the team composition?

One developer, one manager and one project lead

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Chetu's work on this project was instrumental in helping us meet our deadline and completing a much larger project for one of our automotive manufacturing clients. The application works flawlessly, and we have received great feedback from multiple users and competitors that compliment the mature solution due to the new user interface.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The daily updates, and weekly calls were perfect for maintaining active communication between our teams and were instrumental in ensuring that everyone was on track.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Having worked with Chetu on multiple projects, I am consistently impressed with the company's professionalism, productivity and communication. Their developers and managers are well-versed in the latest solutions and maintain consistent communication that was adjusted to my schedule.

Are there any areas for improvement?

No. Our experience working with them was exceptional.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the CEO of a firm that creates video apps for the automotive market.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Chetu, Inc.?

We started a project that would auto-generate a compelling voiceover when customers were creating videos on the apps. We hired Chetu, Inc. to create the UI for the backend which would allow us to manage this voiceover system.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They created the frontend using Laravel. They recommended this software because it quickly generates frontend screens and connects them to the database. 

What is the team composition?

There were two full-time developers and a project manager.

How did you come to work with Chetu, Inc.?

We noticed their exhibit booth at an automotive conference that we attended. After talking to Chetu, Inc, we decided to work with them because they touted that they were developers with automotive experience. They also told us that they had worked for a lot of other companies at the conference.

How much have you invested with them?

Over $100,000 for the project.

What is the status of this engagement?

Although the project was only supposed to last three months, we ended up working with them from January 2019-January 2020.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Describe the impact this engagement had on your business.

They had no experience in the automotive industry or using FFmpeg for video and audio manipulation, they were learning on the job and it caused a lot of fumbling around. The engagement was disappointing.

How did Chetu, Inc. address the challenges that arose?

They were incompetent and unprofessional. We had to deal with one issue after another and there was no accountability whatsoever. 

How was project management handled?

The project management was horrible. They promised us a full-time project manager, but we couldn’t even get hold of him when we needed to. When we first started, we provided them with all the requirements but they failed to create a project task list with deadlines and timelines.  It was only after I made a suggestion that they began using a project management tool. I had to tell them how to do their job.

In what specific areas can they improve?

We had a very hard time communicating with Chetu, Inc. Sometimes, we spent hours trying to explain what we wanted to accomplish. When they finally understood, they were able to do the work, but it was very frustrating.  The work was also very buggy which leads to numerous iterations which is why it took so long to complete the project.

UPDATED REVIEW

This review was updated by the client on August 4, 2020. The original star ratings were:

Overall - .5
Quality - .5
Schedule - .5 (It took over a year when it was supposed to be three months.)
Cost - .5 (It was way over budget.)
NPS - .5. (I’d never recommend them and people should stay away. They were one of the worst companies we’ve ever worked with.)

New content is below:

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Chetu?

We brought Chetu on for backend development of a voiceover generator.

SOLUTION 

What is the status of this engagement?

The project is completed. It wrapped up in mid-June 2020.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

How did your relationship with the vendor evolve?

Before, we worked with two developers and a project manager. They put additional resources into the project, so we worked with three different developers that were more senior. Because they were more experienced, they were able to finish the project faster. They also implemented a project task list and worked with us to follow that more closely.

How did Chetu address the challenges that arose?

They didn’t do a very good job with project management, and their work took a long time because they didn’t provide the correct resources. However, what’s important is that they took corrective measures. They were willing to come to the table and try to rectify the situation, which allowed us to finally finish the project. It would’ve been very disruptive for us to find another development firm to pick up the work.

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

The project just wrapped up, so we don’t know what the business impact will be, but we at least have something that we can use.

How did Chetu perform from a project management standpoint?

Previously, there was basically no project management. They didn’t adhere to or follow a project task list.

The project management vastly improved, and they also put in three people rather than two who were more experienced. They put a certified project manager on the project. They didn’t charge us more for these changes. 

They used Microsoft Project to create all of the task lists. They created a timeline of when each task needed to be finished, and they adhered to it, which allowed us to finish the project. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

I’m happy with the end result; I just wish it was done in this way to begin with. 

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

We are a retail POS software company developing solutions for SMB retailers. I am the president of the company, managing sales and strategic direction and software development initiatives.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Chetu, Inc.?

We had a large legacy software product that we have built over the years and we needed assistance refreshing the POS interface into a new programming language

What were your goals for this project?

We needed to speed up our development time and reduce internal costs while accomplishing a major refresh of our core products.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

Interviews, recommendations, and reputation.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

Chetu took our existing application and with our direction, built a new version in .NET to bring the application onto a modern platform as well as add enhanced features that we developed.

What was the team composition?

1 developer, 1 manager and 1 project lead.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The project helped us get the refresh done without bringing on an additional senior developer and Chetu helped us do this project much more quickly than we would have otherwise. The overall cost is lower than we could have achieved on our own, and the quality is very high. We also got documentation and supporting structures that would have been difficult to produce in-house.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

We had weekly calls and quarterly review meetings. Overall it was effective.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The speed of bringing a new developer on board to the point that they were producing production level code for us was great

Are there any areas for improvement?

We probably could have used a little more guidance at times on what they needed to proceed, but overall it was very smooth.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the COO at a company that provides B2B language services for the L&D, Market Research and Web conferencing organisations.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Chetu, Inc.?

SalesForce and off the shelf business management platform

What were your goals for this project?

Integrate a new platform with our business management platform and improve existing integrations.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

This was a referral after a colleague met the sales rep at DevLearn (an event). Following a pitch which they stressed delivery and customer service was their strong point.

Describe the project in detail.

Initial project was for SalesForce to our business management platform with a secondary platform connecting two systems via API.

What was the team composition?

Project Manager initially based in Chicago but due to incompetence replaced with somebody in Amsterdam Development team based in India.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Terrible customer service and a faceless team who lacks any empathy. Following months of development work (SalesForce and other API connectors) we have ended up with no usable integration and when trying to make complaints not a soul that will listen. I do not recommend you go anywhere near this company. If I could give zero stars I would.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The workflow was not effective. I felt the Project Manager assigned did not attempt to understand our needs and why we needed certain things. The weekly calls with the development team were unproductive due to language barriers.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Nothing.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Every aspect of business from customer relationships through to delivery.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Fixoul is a company that raising donations for kids in need, users download our app and for each time they pray for a sick/injured, a donation is given in their name by the sick person to kids in need.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Chetu, Inc.?

developing an app using React-native language and admin backend platform using Node JS

What were your goals for this project?

Finishing basic features both in the app and the backend

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

Met representatives of the vendor in one of the conferences I attended in Europe.

Describe the project in detail.

the project was a simple one with straight forward goals and a reasonable budget.

What was the team composition?

managing the entire project with daily calls that included all Chetu devs and their project manager

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

real bad, the app was not good because simple features were not completed and other was completed poorly

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

the workflow was poor because their manager didn't provide transparency

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Nothing, the cost was reasonable but because we received a half-backed app, we consider it to be a waste of money

Are there any areas for improvement?

Yes, making sure that there is transparency and when you agreeing on Node Js backend and provide a backend on Net, that's a big NoNo. also, they are refusing to give the project noncompleted code and hold the code as a ransom.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the founder of a seed round start up.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Chetu, Inc.?

Chetu was hired to develop a mobile app and database that would feed the mobile application, as well as some graphical and UX work.

What were your goals for this project?

To deliver an MVP to begin user testing and proof of concept to the marketplace ASAP.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We looked for North American software development companies and they appeared on some of the searches.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

As listed above, mobile app, UX, some graphical work, and dbase to feed content to app.

What was the team composition?

The project was for a number of developers who were billed based on time worked. All of these were overseas, and there was a case manager based somewhere in Florida as well.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Chetu consistently missed deadlines and routinely took longer to perform tasks than the estimates they provided to us upon launch of the project.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

There was a twice weekly call to review work done and provide feedback and direction moving forward. To give some credit where it is due, the programmers seemed to try hard, and case manager was pleasant. However, the team shifted workers several times and was not effective in delivering something ready for the marketplace.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Their marketing and sales pitch was much better than the actual work done.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Honestly in my opinion its a disingenuous and deceitful company. They need to be much more transparent that it is just another outsourcing software company, with the exception that they have a sales office and team of lawyers in Florida.

Had I done better due diligence, I would have seen the lawsuits between them and unsatisfied clients which are public record in the Broward County website. I imagine they also have some satisfied clients or they would be closed by now, but caveat emptor.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of North American sales for Lisega. We manufacture pipe hangers and supports for the power and petrochemical industries.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Chetu, Inc.?

Many power plants and petrochemical plants require replacement parts and hangers that our company can provide. We wanted a platform that would make it easy for a plant operator or maintenance person to size and select a replacement hanger from our stock as needed. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

This was the first platform of its kind in our industry. No other company in our market has a mobile app like the one Chetu, Inc. has built for us. 

We started with some general concepts of what we wanted this app to look like. We then walked Chetu, Inc. through what data points the platform requires, such as specific loads, movements, and temperatures of pipelines that our products support. The Chetu, Inc. team then built the platform as a hybrid app for both iOS and Android devices.

The app works for two user scenarios. In the first scenario, the user knows the measurements and parameters of the pipelines they’re trying to support. They can enter those data points into the app and receive a recommendation for which product meets their needs along with a quoted price and lead time. In the second scenario, the user doesn’t know those data points, but they do know the brand name of the product their pipeline uses. The app can then recommend equivalent products from our company. 

What is the team composition?

Besides sales and managerial people, we worked with two team members—one full-time—from Chetu, Inc.

How did you come to work with Chetu, Inc.?

I found Chetu, Inc. through an online search. Their website looked appealing, and their references were solid. Based on our initial contact with their team, I felt very comfortable that they could do what we wanted them to do.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent about $80,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working in April 2018 and finished in August 2019.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Chetu, Inc. did a phenomenal job helping us provide a solution that’s easy for people to follow. 

Since we started working together, the solution has expanded its scope from a North American-specific tool to a global platform. We added metric units of measurements and a call functionality that connects users to the nearest office to their location. These are tied to a regional selection tool that lets users choose what region they’re in and adjust their measurement units and call functions accordingly. The platform also has an FAQ section and instructional videos, guiding users on how to install our products.

How did Chetu, Inc. perform from a project management standpoint?

I’m extremely impressed with Chetu, Inc.’s timeliness, speed, and accuracy in implementing our requests and tasks. In one example, I requested a change 45 minutes before our weekly call, and Chetu, Inc. got it done by the time the call rolled around. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

This was a new area for Chetu, Inc. to work in, so it took a bit of time to help them understand our industry better. However, once they got it, Chetu, Inc. had some great suggestions for features to make our app work better. 

For example, we wanted a way to accommodate customers that want to order more than one hanger. Chetu, Inc. created a cart functionality that lets users request costs and lead times for an entire batch of hangers instead of submitting individual requests. We would never have thought of a feature like that, and it made the app more user-friendly.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, there’s nothing I would say. 

Any advice for potential customers?

Take your time and make sure you are open-minded about the scope that you're trying to cover. Also, try to make Chetu, Inc. a part of your team—you can accomplish so much more with their ideas.