Concepter

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder & CEO of a telecommunications company. 4G is the modem. It’s a consumer electronics device that allows professionals to work from anywhere.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Concepter?

We needed help with product design.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The team helped with product design. They created how our device was going to look. In preparation for our manufacturing process, they did all of the mechanical engineering.

They designed the whole look of our device. They also completed the structural and mechanical design as part of it. It can hold a printed circuit board (PCB) inside, all the electronics, and they also prepared it for manufacturing.

They’re currently developing our packaging, which is the box the device goes into. They’re also doing a change in preparation for manufacturing. The design is finished, but it’s just minor changes in communication between our manufacturer and their team.

It should be finished in a week or two, but we’ll still be working on our packaging, which should be finished in a few weeks.

What is the team composition?

We work with four people, including a project manager, a lead mechanical engineer, a mechanical engineer, and an industrial engineer.

The industrial engineer is the one who developed the design. The mechanical engineer is the one who worked on the inner structure. We also had a change in the project manager, but that wasn’t an issue.

How did you come to work with Concepter?

We were working with another company that wasn’t doing the best work for us. After asking around, Concepter came as a recommendation.

We wanted someone that wouldn’t be too pricey, but also has a nice quality. After research of two different companies that were recommended, we chose them.

Concepter seemed like the safest choice. They were a bit more expensive than our other candidates, but they have a really good list of great designs.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent between $25,000–$35,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in October 2019.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Their team has excellent design capabilities. Our product won Red Dot with them. If customers give them that freedom, their team will deliver unique and creative work.

How did Concepter perform from a project management standpoint?

There were some issues with project management. It wasn’t perfect, but it’s wasn’t bad, either.

Everything was generally communicated well with some minor holdbacks. There were about two situations where we requested something for the next day, and it ended up being done 2–3 days later.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The team has a unique approach to design. Out of all the companies we worked with, they have a long line of approaches to design. They were a bit more expensive, but their approach makes it interesting to work with them.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Their project management could improve.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Allow them certain freedom in design as much as you can. This way, you’ll get a unique and outstanding design. Give them space for design, but also keep them strict with mechanical engineering and technical questions.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a project manager for a design and branding studio called Graagency. We mostly work with the industrial market, such as for construction and healthcare, creating logotypes and corporate identities for them.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Concepter?

We were tired of our previous site, which wasn’t didn’t look good and needed a redevelopment.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We developed the design for the site, then Concepter worked on the code and the UX. They also provided consultation on how the site should work, and how we could manage the admin panel.

The site has a simple structure and it acts mainly as a portfolio for our projects. We can update it with new content using the admin panel.

They’ve also provided SEO and other marketing services, and we have a monthly contract for site maintenance.

What is the team composition?

Andrew (CIO, Concepter) was our team lead.

How did you come to work with Concepter?

They’re one of the best companies in Ukraine. We had some common friends and colleagues who told us about them.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked with them from January–May 2018.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our main priority was the site’s functionalities and the impression a user would get from it. We’re still using it, and everything is fine. The site hasn’t experienced bugs or crashes.

We’re now using another company for SEO, but we should have probably stayed with Concepter. As we’re not using their services now, I can’t comment on the impact they did have.

How did Concepter perform from a project management standpoint?

Everything was fine on the management side. We communicated with Andrew and some members of the programming team. We’re using Slack internally, and I believe they are as well.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re professionals, which is the most important thing.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

No.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the CEO of a startup that develops electronics.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Concepter?

We needed help with product development and needed to comply with the deadlines. The product is a wireless charging station for multiple mobile devices.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

During our first Skype call, we talked about our product and gave them the requirements. We also had an in-person meeting where we discussed ways to do things faster. Following that, Concepter sent a proposal with the budget and timeline. The product development process required a lot of iterations and trials.

Concepter has also helped with the mass production phase, including 3D modeling, contacting the manufacturer, and setting up the whole process. We also worked with them for marketing.

What is the team composition?

The number of people depended on the project stage. Aside from the project manager, we worked with 3–8 people during product development. During the Kickstarter campaign, we had a PR manager as well as a support manager.

How did you come to work with Concepter?

We found them online. Concepter demonstrated a deep understanding of this field, so we decided to go with them. In contrast, one of the companies we spoke to didn’t even know what wireless charging is.

How much have you invested in them?

So far, we’ve spent around $30,000 on their services.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working together in March 2018, and it is an ongoing project.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

My vision was quite different, but the final product is much better than I expected. We have received excellent feedback on its design.

Our goal was to launch our product before the New Year. While Concepter helped us accomplish each step quickly, we weren’t able to meet that deadline.

How did Concepter perform from a project management standpoint?

The Concepter team is highly involved in the process. We often communicate through Slack and Skype.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I was impressed with the creative part of the product development, particularly video creation.

Are there any areas they could improve?

For now, I would recommend they improve time management.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Consider working with them, especially in the field of product development and mass production.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I represent Aiia International. We are a promo gifts company, developing products for large, global companies. We also develop retail products such as an electronic wristband.

We handle design, construction, and electronic engineering, though usually work with other partners on the software part. For the last few years, our partner was Concepter; they were in charge of developing the software part of our products.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Concepter?

We don’t specialize in actual smart products; most of our devices are power banks or speakers. Recently, the promo gifts industry started to require smart products as well, so we had a huge challenge: we needed to change our business and focus on products with applications, for both Android and iOS. We didn’t have much experience in that, so we were looking for a partner who could help us create the smart parts of our products from scratch.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They worked on three products for us. Dash, the first product, was a smart car locator. We developed the design and electronic parts of the device, then asked Concepter to create an iOS and Android application, working on the design and development. It helps users track their cars and includes a timer, helping people measure their parking time, in order to avoid tickets. We also needed it to be an energy-efficient solution that could work for more than half a year, while using Bluetooth regularly.

Our second product was called FIND-E. It works like a Bluetooth finder, in that it can be attached to keys or backpacks, and if the user needs to find those items, they go to the app and wait for the device to make some special sounds, allowing them to find their item. It also works as a remote shutter button: the user can attach the FIND-E button to a keychain, and use is to take a photo with their smartphone.

The most challenging part for this application was making it stable. The chip we used was quite cheap—as is typical for promo products—so it was challenging to create a stable application that would work with a Bluetooth connection, and that could provide a good experience for the users.

The third product was another application, called Teemoji, an augmented reality t-shirt. Users can point their cameras at the pictures on the t-shirts, and see funny images instead of their heads. It was created for partners that wanted to use trendy AR interactions with their products, while also providing traditional gifts like t-shirts.

What is the team composition?

We had an account manager who was in charge of the communication with us. He helped solve any issues, which was great, as we didn’t have much experience with smart products. We couldn’t put together a good brief that explained all the details. The account manager helped us do it from their side, so I can’t say how many developers were used to build the actual applications.

How did you come to work with Concepter?

We checked a lot of companies, mostly on the Ukrainian market, and compared parameters such as price, previous experience, and whether the providers had good account managers to work on the briefs. While comparing companies, we found Concepter to be flexible in terms of pricing and to offer good support.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them around two years ago, in 2015 or 2016. The products are live and on sale, but Concepter is continuing to help us with updates and bug fixes. We have a few other products that we plan to start working on, but they’re only in the discussion stages.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Concepter succeeded, and we're fully satisfied with the Dash application. Its feedback and ratings on both the iOS and Android stores is really good. We had a few conceptual challenges with the design of the apps, but the results are really nice and most of our clients are happy.

All the ratings on the iOS and Android markets confirm the apps' good market level. They’re not at the 5-star mark, but they have 4.5-star ratings. We’ve received feedback from different clients and the user experience is positive. We reached our goal.

How did Concepter perform from a project management standpoint?

When we started the collaboration, they offered us a few solutions for how we could communicate, build a roadmap, and so on. We then started to use Slack and Basecamp to manage the project, and also had weekly meetings to follow the project and updates. In terms of process management, the collaboration was on a good level.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their extreme flexibility. If someone is looking for a partner to update their processes in order to work within specific terms and conditions, then Concepter is a good choice. The team is young and extremely flexible; they can offer special pricing and scheduling, if needed. If we need something done really fast or at a high level, all requirements will be met. The customer service is at a really good level.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can’t see any improvement points for them at this moment. Our collaboration with them was successful and we’re satisfied. If they keep doing the same, they’ll get the best clients on the market.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

I advise clients to have a meeting with Concepter. They'll see that they're a good partner, and that they’ll make projects successful. From the first meeting with Concepter, we understood that they would provide the best help we could find.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO and a co-founder of a streaming platform. We provide more options for interaction between the audience and their favorite streamers, such as challenges, polls, and other entertainment activities.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Concepter?

We had an idea to create more entertainment for the streams and needed help with development.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Concepter provided a specialist that worked with my partner and I while we were building our business model. In six weeks, we had a product requirement document. After that, they provided technical specialists to build the minimum viable product (MVP).

Our platform takes a stream from YouTube and provides the ability for viewers to interact with the streamer through different activities. Streamers can manage their stream through our admin panel, and everything on the platform is secure.

Concepter used React on the frontend and Node.js for the backend. They also prepared a document for a marketing strategy project, but we didn’t use it. We tested the features with our own team and continued working on the project on our own.

What is the team composition?

We interacted with a project manager, a backend developer, a frontend developer, a designer, and another person. For the first stage, we worked with six guys, which later went down to four.

How did you come to work with Concepter?

I knew Vlad (CEO, Concepter) and went to him with my idea. I discovered that he had a company, and he offered his services.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in November 2017 until July 2018.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We had technical problems in the beginning, but it was nothing critical.

How did Concepter perform from a project management standpoint?

We mainly interacted with the project manager every day. I usually called or emailed him, and he interacted with his team.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re a young, dedicated, and hardworking team with good ideas. They’re also very active and are smart.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They should grow their staff to guarantee separate specialists for separate projects.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Everything is great. They know how to work and don’t ask many questions. They’re specialists that can assist in figuring out what to do if the concept of a project is still vague. Tell them what’s needed and they’ll provide a solution.