Codemotion

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

My partner and I founded a technology startup. I was the CTO [chief technology officer] then we were acquired by a larger company, where I’m now the CTO. My partner defines the product and I define the technology that we’re using; the technical implementation, the architecture, and the infrastructure. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Codemotion?

One of my developers quit and I had to replace that person quickly with somebody who’s trusted and verified. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We did several projects, including one that involved fixes. Another project was for the previous company’s largest customer. We were building a custom CRM [customer relationship management] system because they have 20,000 sales reps. We decided for their needs, it will be better for ongoing costs to create a custom solution, rather than pay for something they’re not using. We used NodeJS and Angular for the frontend. That project is delivered and is in the ongoing support and additional feature phase. 

The most significant project involved building a fully customized solution to address all the needs and connect all the systems that we’re using a software that we own. We didn’t want to buy an off the shelf solution and try to customize it. It included a CRM and a billing solution. We integrated with Intercom, which gives the customers support solutions, and with ShipStation, which is our shipping solution. We also developed an in-house affiliate marketing solution to pay a commission if customers want to bring more customers and get their fair share of revenue from it. We are now in the next phase of white labeling that in order to charge other companies to use it.

What is the team composition? 

They provided us with a project manager and a couple of developers. On the third project, the team was 5 people. The project manager was Tanya [Project Manager Ninja, Codemotion] and the developers were Denis [Javascript Ninja, Codemotion], Vlad [Javascript Ninja, Codemotion], and Vitaliy [Lead Javascript Ninja, Codemotion]. We also had a QA [quality assurance] person.

How did you come to work with Codemotion?

We found them and a few other companies on Upwork. We interviewed the candidates and compared the rates and referrals. A lot of companies in Ukraine can be like a shell that are just freelancers that they hire for the project. I didn’t want that. I wanted a company with employees. 

How much have you invested with them?

We invested around $50,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in June of this year and the work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We saved $150,000. We deployed the solution in production at the end of October. Currently, it’s a system that serves our 15,000 customers with a total revenue of almost $500,000 a month. Our total savings compared to our previous system is estimated to be between $500,000–$800,000 a year. That’s a direct impact of that project.

How did Codemotion perform from a project management standpoint?

It was perfect. I can’t say enough good words about it. We had a crazy, intense deadline: 4 weeks to pull off the billing system CRM, shipping system, and customer support from scratch and they did it. A lot of times they worked 15–18 hours a day, 7 days a week, for a few weeks. It was delivered on time, good quality, and more than originality than promised. It was amazing.

We communicate daily. When I wake up, I call the project manager in Ukraine and we go over progress, questions, and coordination. I review the code because I’m a programmer myself from the past so I go through the architecture and deliverables. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

They are young and I like what their CEO stands for. 10% of their revenue goes to charity projects. They believe in the hyperlocal. They do work in the community surrounding their offices or their relatives. 

Another differentiating factor is their English is fine. They invest in their employees so it’s not short-term. If you ask for a 5-person team, it will be a team of 5 people that have worked with one another or worked in the same room on separate projects. They sit in a nice office building and the employees feel good. They have good technologies, as well. They teach their employees a lot so they’re at the top of their game. When they say they have a senior, the person is really senior and knows what they’re doing.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They’ve existed for less than 5 years so there’s always things to improve, but I don’t have anything that was bad or unprofessional. It was all good.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Every outsourcing company needs to be on top of what’s going on. It’s important to set expectations and define them clearly. If you’ve worked with freelancers or an outsourcing company in the past, you would know how to work with Codemotion. It’s not any different. You might need to adjust your time of the day because there’s a 7-hour delay from the East Coast to Kiev. You need to start your day earlier if you want to maximize the results. 

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am a Product Manager at Finixio. Our team specializes in Fintech Affiliation.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Codemotion?

Codemotion help us build and maintain a team of top performing software engineers.

SOLUTION

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

We looked for help scaling our team quickly. At Codemotion we found a flexible model that combines speed and efficiency, as well as careful follow up and a friendly touch.

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

Codemotion helped us fill several frontend, backend and QA roles.

Describe the recruitment process in detail.

We approach Codemotion with an ideal profile description. They are quick to provide us matching candidates, which we then interview. Their recruitment is quick and efficient in yielding desired results.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Codemotion software engineers are now an essential part of our team, helping us achieve our quarterly objective.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

We work as a single team and make no real distinction between in-house and Codemotion developers.

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

I love the ease of doing business, their flexibility and ability to find us the right people.

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

A self-service platform were we can assess the wellbeing of our developers would be ace.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Avail is a software development company whose mission is to automatically analyse legal and financial documents using AI. I am the CTO of Avail.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We needed a frontend developer to improve the UI of our main product and implement some new features. The goal was to simplify the UI and enable us to add additional features without making the user interface too complicated.

SOLUTION

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

We found Codemotion on Upwork. The marketing department convinced us that Codemotion could provide us with the developer that we needed. Codemotion proposed several developers for interviews so we were happy to choose one of their developers.

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

The project was entirely a frontend web application. The Figma designs, Open API specifications, and the test backend server were provided to the frontend developer. The main deliverable was a working implementation of the Figma design that could communicate with the backend server behave the way that was described in the project documentation. The web application was going to be written in Angular and all the communications with the backend were via REST API

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

All the endpoints Avail provided within OpenAPI Specifications have been implemented. The UI behaves the way we intended and code quality is acceptable.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Communication has been chiefly through informal chats via Slack. If necessary, also through video conferencing with more senior staff. Codemotion employees are almost always quick to answer. Avail managed the project but whenever there were issues with the developers Codemotion was helpful and understanding.

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

Communication has been chiefly through informal chats via Slack. If necessary, also through video conferencing with more senior staff. Codemotion employees are almost always quick to answer. Avail managed the project but whenever there were issues with the developers Codemotion was helpful and understanding.

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

The first developer we hired wasn’t able to work on the project, Codemotion worked with us to find a replacement and compensated us for the time that took to onboard the second developer. Our account manager was always accommodating and available to help.

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

During the selection of the developer, we saw a lot of CVs that were all presented to be at the same level. We think Codemotion could do better in distinguishing between the skills of their developers so the clients can choose the right person for their project and budget,

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the CTO of an InsurTech company headquartered in New York City, with offices around the world.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We hired developers who have experience integrating third-party RESTful APIs as well as creating custom microservices in Node.js.

SOLUTION

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

I selected Codemotion because of the high-quality developers and the flexibility and support they offer their customers. I need to manage developers directly, so they are part of our development team, and I also had some other requirements that they met. They are very easy to work with.

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

The developers were an integral part of our team and designed custom microservices for our platform that included advanced/complex logic for insurance regulations.

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

We have worked with 5 people so far, and expect to grow our relationship as our company grows.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We were able to hit all of our deadlines for many of the top insurance companies in the US.

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

I performed the project management directly. This was an important requirement - and one thing that makes Codemotion unique. Their developers felt like part of our team.

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

Very friendly and smart people.

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

None.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the Director of IT for a non for profit organization.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Codemotion?

To build a product that would allow our members to register, pay and attend events to which they were qualified.

SOLUTION

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

Evaluation of past work; Recommendation by past organization Research

Describe the project in detail and walk through their service package.

Delivery of the technology for above.

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

6-8 Project Manager BA - best ever Front End Developers Back End Developers

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Great group of people to work with. I Would definitely hire them again!

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Great working relationship.

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

Many were based in Ukraine and worked through really tough circumstances. They continued to work and deliver during what most would not have been able to do - all the while being professional, courteous and delivering.

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

No

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m the CEO of TRASTRA, a blockchain personal banking firm. We offer a payment card issued by VISA and a full-feature banking app with a blockchain/Bitcoin wallet.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Codemotion?

We needed front- and backend development for both web and mobile platforms, as well as third-party integrations.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted to launch a minimum viable product (MVP).

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

They were recommended to us.

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

They worked in React, React Native, AngularJS, and NodeJS.

What was the team composition?

We worked with a project manager, two senior backend developers, two senior frontend developers, a QA-business analyst, and a designer.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They exceeded expectations and they solved our business needs, not just our code problems.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

One of the Codemotion’s biggest strengths is their project management. They use a really results-oriented approach with excellent execution. They planned everything with Agile. 

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Their turn-key delivery stood out to us.

Are there any areas where they can improve?

After ten months of day-to-day work with Codemotion, I don't have an answer to this question.