Creatella

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the founder of FinMates. We provide remitting services on the Singapore market.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Creatella?

We needed to develop the frontend technical component of our solution from scratch.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Together with the Creatella team, we designed a web-based application, put together specs and build the product. They provided support afterwards.

We discussed the overall needs of our system with their CEO. We then put together a PowerPoint wireframe, and made a list of specs. During development, we changed the wireframe and added new features to it. Creatella gave us a cost estimate, and stuck to it.

The app is a mobile wallet which provides access to the main user of the funds, as well as to power users who can access multiple wallets and perform transfer orders. The actual transfers to the bank are done manually, on the backend.

How did you come to work with Creatella?

I knew their principal from the university where I was studying for my MBA. I also approached Indian agencies which quoted lower prices, but were more difficult to work with. I trusted that Creatella would be able to deliver the promised quality, and their price was fine, so I gave them a go.

How much have you invested with Creatella?

The cost of their work has been around $20,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Creatella in June 2016. The project ended in December of that year.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

User-wise, the platform wasn’t as big a success as we’d planned. In terms of issues, we did receive some comments on how we could improve the process. Most of those were followed-up by Creatella as an additional project. They continued to work on making the MVP more defined.

How did Creatella perform from a project management standpoint?

Initially, the high-level process was handled by their CEO, who was also our project manager. We used Slack for the other team members, whom I could contact whenever I had a question. Most of the time, someone replied with a quick explanation. We met the budget, the timeframe was more-or-less met, and the communication was clear and constant.

What did you find most impressive about Creatella?

Creatella is not a large company. The absence of largescale support can be a minus, but, at the same time, their team had a more hands-on approach, and they were engaged in our project. We felt that they weren’t just doing it as another project, but took the work seriously. Some of the Indian agencies I talked to asked for additional money if the specs deviated by any amount. I felt that I was being ripped off, in a way. With Creatella, we set goals and a budget, and the process felt like they were an in-house team rather than an external agency.

Are there any areas Creatella could improve?

We can always work more efficiently and improve pricing, but this is true for anyone.