codequest

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

We're building a nieche travel marketplace, where polo players can discover and book online various types of polo holidays. I handle most aspects of this project (design, marketing, pm...)

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

Front end development of our designs, which were based on a sketch template we've received from the software provider. Codequest implemented changes to the front end template and took over deployment.

SOLUTION

How did you select codequest and what were the deciding factors?

I received recommendation from two previous clients, and then during the interviews they asked the right questions to help us estimate the project and quickly get started.

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

• Front end development in React.js — adjusting a front end template we've received from the software provider, and adding many new elements to it.
• Project management — helping us break down the project into smaller chunks and stay up to date on what's happening.
• UX/Design consultations — codequest's designers were there when we needed advice on some of the key ux flows. Testing

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

Most of the time we've worked with one front end developer and pm, but throughout the project we also got in touch with: 2 Front end devs 1 Pm 2 Designers 1 or 2 Back end devs

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

After problems with our previous platform we needed to find and deploy new solution fast. With codequest we were able to implement our new site within 2 months, and get through the initial planning / negotiation phase fast.

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

Friendly, and open about their approach to planning. As a client you're included in the process and feel free to pick their brains as you go along. They're happy to share their knowledge, which is cool if you're into that.

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

They're genuinely nice people to work with. They are also happy to share their knowledge and tips during the project and open to ideas.

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

nope

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the CEO of Labo Clinic Sp. z o.o. Sp.k.. We are a company that is a distributor of innovative medical devices in Poland. In 2019 we decided to extend the scope of our activities and decided to open our own diagnostic centre.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire codequest?

We hired Codequest because we wanted to have a user-friedly mobile app for our patients

What were your goals for this project?

- We had to finish the project in a very short period - The app had to be aligned with our CI and also with interiors of newly built centre - The app had to be extremely user friendly - many of our patients are elderly

SOLUTION

How did you select codequest?

We organized a tender: - Codequest was willing to create the app in very short time - They also had a lot of references from demanding markets such as the USA or Scandinavian countries - The price was acceptable too

Describe the project in detail.

It is a mobile app that provides patients with information regarding our services (ultrasound, x ray, CT etc.), provides information regarding preparation for diagnostics. It also provides booking feature and most importantly: gives a chance to communicate with patients and inform them about some new slots / empty slots for diagnostics. This feature is very useful - people can get the service faster and we do not have so many empty slots!

What was the team composition?

2 + 2

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Well, the app was delivered, it looks great and it is used by our patients - they like it a lot.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

On our side there were two people & on Codequest side we had a contact with 2 people too. The contact was perfect.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The way they communicate & understand our needs. We did not have to explain our needs more than one time :)

Are there any areas for improvement?

From my perspective - no!

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am a cofounder at the software company behind mobile sales enablement product used by sales reps on the road. We're a small team, but have some high-profile clients.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire codequest?

We needed external help with several major features of our product, requested by large, international client (CRM integration, custom views, and a few more). Unfortunately we were unable to complete those projects on time with our internal development team.

What were your goals for this project?

We needed to complete requested features within 3 month and rollout to globally to multinational client (>500 users).

SOLUTION

How did you select codequest?

We knew Codequest from my previous work, where they developed several apps. Tomek was the first person I called and we were lucky with timing. They started working on our project very quickly.

Describe the project in detail.

Our product is an off-the-shelf mobile application, however many corporate clients require white-label version of the solution. That frequently include specific customisations, extra functionality, etc.

For this particular project, we were required to build very sophisticated CRM(SFDC) integration, completely custom views, document subtitles, and a few more.

What was the team composition?

I am not able to tell exactly how many developers worked on the project on their end. Tomek and his team did the project end-to-end and after initial training did not require much guidance. They even talked directly to our client at some point.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Success. They've completed all requested features within (tight) timelines and the quality of their work was very high. We successfully rolled out the customizations to our client and they work almost unchanged to date.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

It was very pleasant experience. Except for one or two initial meetings, all work was effectively done remotely (even though we both have technical teams in Warsaw, Poland).

What did you find most impressive about this company?

They are easy to work with and deliver solid results.

Are there any areas for improvement?

I don't recall any specific problems that would require improvement.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a digital project manager at Orbico Beauty GmbH, a leading distributor of luxury beauty products.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with codequest?

My company created Poland’s first beauty-on-demand digital platform, enabling consumers to book whatever beauty services they want from wherever they are. We have begun web development and will eventually develop Android and iOS apps. We hired codequest to build the platform.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

codequest is responsible for building the entire platform, including the software roadmap and design. The team has developed the platform’s front- and backend based on branding done by an external agency. They built the landing page with call-to-action buttons. They also created a booking wizard, which enables users to book services based on stylist, date, location, and other specifications.

codequest built our web app using AWS for hosting and Ruby on Rails. Once the web app achieves a certain user retention rate, codequest will develop the mobile app. They have completed an MVP version and are working on an advanced MVP. They are adding e-commerce features, such as the ability to purchase multiple services and gift cards. They are also improving the English version of the platform.

What is the team composition?

We have worked with a project manager, two frontend developers, and three backend developers.

How did you come to work with codequest?

My team wanted a vendor capable of building our whole platform. After completing a search on Clutch, we spoke with a few software houses in Moscow and compared their quotes. We chose codequest based on their approach and experience.

How much have you invested with them?

My company has spent $150,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project began in August 2018, and the first MVP launched in February 2019. Our partnership is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Although we’ve just started to deploy the platform, my company has gotten great feedback from clients regarding the professional UI/UX design. The platform is simple and user-friendly, which was one of our primary project objectives.

How did codequest perform from a project management standpoint?

codequest has always worked in alignment with our strategy and project agreement. My team carefully tracks the project’s daily progress through Trello. We work with a project manager who maintains a deep understanding of the beauty industry and is thus able to work with our vision. They have provided top-tier project management. We communicate via Slack.

What did you find most impressive about them?

codequest has an impressive track record developing on-demand platforms. They utilize creative thinking and marketing knowledge in their approach to our project. The team has also provided crucial advice and guidance.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There have been minor things, but the overall collaboration has been high-level.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

For anyone seeking a software developer, codequest is a great choice. They offer reasonable prices for quality work. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a product manager at Booli.se, a real estate search engine based in Sweden. The site provides information on real estate for sale with prices and estimations for home values. We also have a site for sellers who want to find a real estate agent.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Codequest?

We have an iOS app that’s currently available in the app store. It was last updated about two years ago. Our in-house iOS developers left and, since then, we’ve been searching for one or more iOS developers who had the right fit for our team. It’s been difficult so we started looking at external support.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They’re rebuilding the frontend of our iOS app. We have provided the backend, like APIs and servers, as well as the concept design including UI/UX. They’ve translated our concept into Swift code to build the frontend. We’re almost ready to release the first version.

What is the team composition?

We worked with the CEO for the initial contact and to set the terms. Day-to-day we work with a team of three iOS developers and a project manager.

How did you come to work with Codequest?

Our parent company, a Swedish bank called SBAB, recommended them. We were looking for external support both in Stockholm and also abroad. SBAB had been exploring ways to get more done via vendors. One of my colleagues from Booli.se had gone on a trip with a corporate team to visit different agencies across Europe. Codequest and a few others stood out. They passed our initial test and seemed solid.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent around 70,000€ ($86,000 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in November 2017. We’re wrapping up their original contract now.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

It’s too soon to gauge user value since we haven’t released the app yet.

How did Codequest perform from a project management standpoint?

The work-related metrics have been solid. They’ve been very timely with their development releases and communications. They've been consistent in delivering what we’ve agreed upon on time. We’ve had no complaints and, to the contrary, have been very impressed.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They genuinely care about the product, including both the quality of the code and the resulting app. That's something that has stood out. They’re also very competent technically. We had a finished concept, at least from our perspective. They've been very good at providing good feedback to improve the product.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Nothing I can think of. We've been very happy with them so far.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the CTO of the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with codequest?

We needed to make an API rewrite of the application. The old version had quite a few issues which were difficult to improve. We needed to move images to different storage, change the database and create more reliable APIs. We had previously worked with only two developers.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

codequest brought expertise and technical leadership on how our solution should be built. They focused on the analysis and implementation of the software. The whole API was built from scratch, the database was migrated, and a search engine was implemented. We didn’t have an SQL database in place. Our images were processed and put on Amazon Web Services. The frontend was also rewritten, although the design remained the same. We also implemented a feature which has become a main business focus.

What is the team composition?

They assigned 3–4 resources to the project who collaborated with our two developers. The developers were selected by codequest.

How did you come to work with codequest?

I believe they were found through a recommendation.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with codequest around 2013. We currently have a dedicated team and aren’t working with any outsourcing companies.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The work done by codequest including the complete API rewrite became part of our main product. We have been able to grow as a result. Our technology has changed a lot since then, but their work was valuable to us.

How did codequest perform from a project management standpoint?

There was no proper product development on our end in the beginning. codequest helped in this regard. They employed a Scrum process. During the collaboration, we spoke on a daily basis.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They are overall nice people and can work as a team. It wasn’t a matter of their team and ours; we were a single team.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

codequest is a well-performing team, and it’s worth it to hire them.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the CEO of OpsYard, a digital consulting agency that works with emerging technologies in New York.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with codequest?

I was looking for a reliable team to help me build membership management software for a large client. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They did everything from initial exploration and defining what documentation we needed to transitioning all those thoughts into actual development. They completed 95% of all the work and deliverables, set up the project management tools and daily stand-up calls. 

We have node.js on the frontend and Ruby on Rails on the backend. In addition, we're using 5–10 different APIs that can interconnect to this software. 

What is the team composition?

We mainly work with Adam [Adam Mankowski, Chief Operations Officer, codequest], who acts as a project manager and our main point of contact.

How did you come to work with them?

It was a referral from a friend who used to work with them. I had an interview with their CEO and asked him about their structure and the team. After I talked to their references, I chose them.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent around $150,000.

What is the status of this engagement? 

The project started in December 2016 and is ongoing, but the first version was completed in September 2017. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They delivered everything we agreed upon, and it's a working B2B [business-to-business] application that is currently being tested in-house by the client.

How did they perform from a project management standpoint?

We used Google Docs, Slack, and Jira to communicate.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They're very reliable. As a client of codequest, I can feel at ease because I trust them to get things done. They have a lot of experienced staff on hand and gave us not only the code, but also the guidance.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Have in mind the details of your project and do the necessary research before you meet with them – this will help with the timeline and the budget.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the founder and CEO of Nymbl, a startup based in Minnesota. My business partner and I founded this company last year in September. We are in the business of providing mobile tools for professional fitness trainers in the United States.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Codequest?

We needed to develop an app quickly and in a cost effective manner. We’re a startup by the company bootstrap. It’s funded by me entirely.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Codequest is developing the iOS version of the app right now. I’m not a technical person, so I’m not completely familiar with the tools they use. Our strategy is to release an app on the Apple store next month. We’re in beta trials right now. The goal is to eventually have them help us build up an app for Android devices, depending on how many clients we have. In addition to developing the app, they are also building the website for us.

What is the team dynamic?

We have a team of four people dedicated to my product. Two of them are dedicated full time who work 40 hours a week on our app. Then we have a floating team of about four or five people who work on an as needed basis on the design side and for project management. In the initial stages of the kickoff, we also had two other backend programmers who worked on it.

How did you come to work with Codequest?

We had worked with a firm here locally in the Twin Cities. We terminated that relationship within a few months because it wasn’t working well for us in terms of delivery of product and cost effectiveness. When we were initially looking for firms, we had a lot of firms on our radar. We were looking for potential app developers in the Twin Cities and elsewhere. We reviewed and interviewed several companies and finally selected Codequest to help us develop the app. Codequest was our second provider.

How much have you invested with them?

We've spent about $100,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together December 2016 and the work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We don’t have our app on the app store yet. We have three beta users right now and they’re happy with the product so far. It’s been a pleasant experience.

How did Codequest perform from a project management standpoint?

At the outset of the project, we set a clear vision for the timeline and the project management schedule and Codequest was always on time and on target. They have a dedicated project manager who uses Trello. For communication, they use Slack for team commenting while communicating. We talk every week, twice a week sometimes. Lately, it’s been more often because we’re getting close to releasing the product. We do a conferencing service. We used Google Hangouts initially and then we switched to another conferencing software.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I met with the team members of Codequest in Warsaw, Poland before engaging with them. I was impressed that they have real engineers with engineering degrees from the universities in Poland. Their degrees are in electrical engineering and computer science. They’re highly qualified from an education perspective and in terms of having actual experience. I really appreciate the technical depth and perspective that the Codequest team has.

Secondly, they have a team of about 28 or 29 engineers and they're growing. They also have many women engineers. That was really impressive. Codequest has 30% or more of their staff who are women and all of them are actually working on the product instead of having ancillary roles. We have a person who does marketing and sales strategy for us and she’s very creative. I like the perspective that she brings to the table versus just a bunch of guys. They are technically competent.

Third, they have designers. They have everything in-house. So for a startup like ours, it’s perfect because I don’t have to worry about trying to hire different firms for one project. They have a designer in-house who will help design the visual experience and visual impact. They can help design the website. They have the full suite of services.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I haven’t found anything that causes me any angst. They’re an eastern European company, so they have a European perspective on things, even for very simple things like units. They use metric units whereas we use pounds and miles here for fitness tracking. That wasn’t really an issue, but they tend to have European perspective.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We are a small startup that creates a mobile app used for adding sound and voice to pictures and then sharing them with other users of the app via Facebook or creating a voice archive. We launched in September 2014 and have been growing quite slowly since. We are on Apple but not on Android currently, and we don’t have a web component yet. I’m the founder and CEO.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Codequest?

We needed somebody to write the code. A potential co-founder, a friend of mine, was a software engineer but he didn’t quite have the extra time between his full-time job as a software engineer at Shazam to put into the project. We also needed some design skills, which Codequest provided as well.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They basically helped design and program the app from the ground up. When I came to them, this whole app was just an idea. It was a rough prototype that I had built on GoDaddy myself, but I don’t have any software engineering skills to speak of. Codequest helped design the user interface as well as the logo and various other marketing components such as the landing page and the App Store preview and description.

How did you come to work with Codequest?

I had done a lot of research. I’m in San Diego, so I started out on oDesk and Elance; I think they have since combined. I didn’t find any developers I was quite thrilled with. I almost started working with one team from Russia, but they wanted to focus on the web version as opposed to the mobile app version, so I decided not to go with them. Then I also looked around to some local development studios here in Southern California, but unfortunately, those were out of my price range for my initial budget.

Then I reached out to some friends who had done some work in the software industry, and one guy in Minneapolis put me in touch with another firm in Minneapolis. The CEO of that firm had worked with Tomasz at Codequest and vouched for him. He said they did some quality work and probably were at a much better price point for my concerns. That’s how I ended up meeting Codequest and Tomasz. We did a couple of Skypes, and we seemed to hit it off, so then we developed a business relationship.

How much have you invested with Codequest?

The first version was about $23,000. The total after a couple of other versions was around $40,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

The duration of the project went from May to September 2014. The first version was completed in September 2014.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement?

I think we have a 5-star rating in the App Store, and we’ve had over 2,000 downloads with very limited marketing efforts. We were featured on Product Hunt back in May 2015, so that was quite exciting. Unfortunately, I think a lot of their readership is not quite our target market, so we didn’t see a real sustained growth after that, even though we did get a considerable bump from that posting.

How did Codequest perform from a project management standpoint?

I thought they performed quite well. They seemed very responsive to my feedback and a couple of other test users like my wife and a couple of friends of mine. They responded quickly and offered solutions to any problem that arose.

What did you find most impressive about Codequest?

I really appreciated their enthusiasm; that’s probably what excited me the most. It seemed like they believed in the product and didn’t consider it necessarily just another job. I feel like they put a lot of heart and soul into the app and wanted to see it succeed, not just for them and me but for a lot of potential users out there that could find some value in the product. It was really nice to get a sense that they believed in my mission and believed in the product.

Are there any areas Codequest could improve?

It’s hard to say. I thought they were always very responsive and quick. Nothing comes to mind, honestly. I think our biggest detriment was not product-related as far as our success; it was more of a marketing and growth strategy component. I can’t fault the product for our lack of browsing success.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Foundersuite makes CRM software for start-ups that are raising capital. The software serves toward managing the fundraising and doing investor relation updates. I am the CEO.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with codequest?

We were building our first product. The original product was a sweep of different tools for start-ups. It has since evolved into investor CRM [customer relationship management] tools for fundraising.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

It's a Ruby on Rails platform with a Postgres database. Codequest did a lot of work with different APIs [application programming interface]. We had [KPI] integrations with AngelList and LinkedIn and Bing. We had probably half a dozen APIs at the beginning which has since wound down now that we're a bit more self-reliant.

How did you come to work with codequest?

I was a solo founder. I met a guy who was working as a project manager/business developer for codequest. I met him at a designers and geeks conference. I was in the middle of talking to several different contractor firms and just liked their approach better than others.

How much have you invested with codequest?

We are probably closing in on seven figures.

What is the status of this engagement?

We have been working with codequest since February 2013 to present day.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement?

The product itself is a successful product. We have a couple of thousand start-ups that are successfully raising money on our platform. We've had over 10,000 total start-ups on the platform.

How did Codequest perform from a project management standpoint?

They're good. I've had great interactions with these guys since day one, and it's been a couple of years.

What did you find most impressive about codequest?

They're just solid engineers. They don't cut corners. They're diligent and attentive. Other contract development shops tend to cut corners or do things in a quicker manner sometimes, creating issues they’ll have to fix later. I don't think codequest does that. They think about the long haul and the long-term stability.

Are there any areas codequest could improve?

The only challenge sometimes is our different time zones. I'm in west coast Pacific Time; they're in Central European Time so that sometimes creates a communication lag. It's not so much a fault of theirs or anything like that; it's just a simple fact of geographic separation.