CSHARK

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of business development at Pastdue Credit Solutions. We’re a debt collection agency and fintech solutions provider. We offer debt collection and recovery solutions to market-leading companies in the UK, including government departments, telecommunications and energy companies, banks, and financial service providers. 

In my role, I’m responsible for new client onboarding and new supplier onboarding. I also oversee business development opportunities with our system, processes, and day-to-day supplier management. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with CSHARK?

We hired CSHARK to developed a new fintech SaaS solution to allow us to focus our own resource on other projects.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

CSHARK developed our product from scratch, overseeing everything from the design stage to the launch. We kicked off the project with a scoping process; during that time, we went over the project journey and the technology stack we’d use. We also laid out our requirements and what would be just nice to have. Then, CSHARK laid out the costs of the project. 

Once everything was finalized, we had a big kickoff meeting where we laid out the project timelines and introduced our teams. The web-based project was designed modularly since our customers often want varied solutions. In the end, there were several modules, which made it easier to change each module to fit our customers’s needs. The modules included everything from verification and identification to decision algorithms powered by APIs. CSHARK’s team also provided recommendations on user journeys.

The language CSHARK used was more modern than what we’d used in the past for our software solutions. The web-based development was done using React, and the platform was hosted on Microsoft Azure. In total, the project took about three months to complete.

What is the team composition?

At one point, about 20 teammates were working on our project, but we didn’t have contact with all of them. Our primary contact has been the project lead, although we have had contact with a few others who helped us scope the project. We’ve also been in contact with a business analyst. 

How did you come to work with CSHARK?

We were recommended to CSHARK’s services. When we spoke to CSHARK, they were very helpful, giving us an overview of what would be involved in creating a new product.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve invested around £200,000 (approximately $225,000 USD). 

What is the status of this engagement?

Our ongoing partnership officially started in May 2022, although we’d been in discussions with them since August 2021. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The SaaS product launched in August 2022, and we plan to continue working with CSHARK on product improvements and further projects. Although the product is brand new, we haven’t set any metric objectives. We’ve been focused on timely deliveries, which CSHARK has achieved.

Anecdotally, the quality of their work was very good. CSHARK’s team wrote code quickly while ensuring it was high-quality and aligned with our expected coding standards. The security and encryption were excellent. After penetration testing, we didn’t run into any concerning security risks. 

How did CSHARK perform from a project management standpoint?

CSHARK met all their deadlines, although they went over budget because of our change requests and bug fixes. However, we expected to go slightly over budget. We used Jira to manage the project, and their project manager was good at keeping in touch with us using Confluence and Slack. 

At the start of the project, we had daily meetings, but once the project got into a flow, we had fortnightly demonstrations. CSHARK also had fortnightly sprints that they reported on so we could monitor development. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

We were impressed with CSHARK’s capabilities from the get-go. They were clear about what was expected and responded well to our questions. In terms of their strengths, I’d say their ability to deliver resources quickly was great. 

Also, the technologies they used were outstanding, which supported the delivery of their services. In general, their software team was very skilled and delivered high-quality code.

Are there any areas they could improve?

We had a slight issue where we went over budget, but it wasn’t communicated to us for a few days. However, CSHARK’s team improved communication around that issue and informed us when change requests would be outside our budget and timeline.  

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Have a good understanding of your requirements to speed up CSHARK’s processes and document them well. It’s also important for you to have a clear coding standard so CSHARK knows what to expect when writing code.  

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a leader for Arup, an architecture, engineering, and construction company. We design the infrastructure for new buildings, and I’m responsible for prototyping new ideas.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with CSHARK?

We needed CSHARK to provide us with software development support.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

CSHARK has provided us with custom software development services; they’ve developed a platform for us on AWS. The team has used Mapbox and JavaScript to build the frontend, and we’ve also worked together on API integrations. 

How did you come to work with CSHARK?

We found CSHARK through a Google search. 

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve invested $250,000 in the partnership with CSHARK. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working with CSHARK in April 2021, and the partnership is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

CSHARK has delivered the platform on time; it’s fully functional, and we’re pleased with the quality. They’ve done an excellent job, and we’re looking forward to scaling the product and expanding the features. 

How did CSHARK perform from a project management standpoint?

CSHARK has executed deliverables on time; they’ve been a very responsive partner. Working with them has been easy; we’ve used Slack and email to keep in contact. Overall, they’ve provided us with great service. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

I’ve been most impressed by the quality of work CSHARK has delivered. They’ve been very thorough, asked the right questions, and challenged us in the right way. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

CSHARK could improve their communication. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Work with CSHARK closely, be open about your thoughts and ideas, and they’ll be receptive to your feedback.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am a Project Manager at LAUDO. I am responsible for digital projects in the area of Webdesign.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire CSHARK?

Our partners were preparing with our help to relaunch the existing website. In order to support them, we wanted to run a UX/UI audit to understand what should be our areas of improvement. The deadline was short and the scope of the project was quite big. CSHARK delivered in a light speed high-quality audit. The communication was smooth, professional and very friendly.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We were looking for the best partner that will be able to support us in short time. We have contacted CSHARK thanks to a network recommendation.

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

We have shared with CShark the website link and our expectations. We asked for a general audit of the webpage. We have shared the critical deadline and hoped that we will have at least general points of the audit. Cshark delivered 150 pages of the audit in only 2 days. The whole team at LAUDO was impressed by how detailed and helpful this audit was.

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

We have worked with the Lead UX/UI Designer and as far as I know two team members from the design team.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We have successfully implemented all the UX/UI changes and developed new components with the knowledge we gained from this audit. We have launched 4 new domains for this particular customer.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Martyna and her team were very responsive and very effective. The communication was quick and clear.

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

We were impressed with their speed and the quality of their work.

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

I have nothing that I could complain about. Professional, friendly, efficient.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the COO of Woodpecker. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with CSHARK?

We hired CSHARK to develop a solution for a mobile application that supports part of our web app. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

CSHARK is developing a mobile app from scratch that corresponds to the web version and provides our users with additional feature options. We’re currently on the third iteration of the app. Most of the web app’s features are centered on automating cold email campaigns. CSHARK has extended those features in the mobile version to include cold call campaigns to improve our users’ outreach. 

What is the team composition?

We worked with two teammates from CSHARK, including an engineer and a project manager. 

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve invested $10,000–$15,000. 

What is the status of this engagement?

Our engagement began in February 2021, and it’s ongoing. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’re very pleased with CSHARK’s performance so far. This is the first time my company is building a mobile app, and CSHARK has been very supportive throughout the project. Their team has guided us through the development of the solution and the app publication. 

How did CSHARK perform from a project management standpoint?

We typically communicate with CSHARK through Slack, although we do exchange emails. CSHARK always delivers projects on time. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

This has been our most successful partnership with a third-party vendor to date. We’re really happy with CSHARK. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

I have nothing for CSHARK to improve.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I’d advise customers to hire CSHARK if they want to have an entire project handled externally. CSHARK’s team is very independent. 

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the Founder of a music licensing platform based in London, England

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire CSHARK?

We started working with Cshark when they were running a covid-support program for startups. Estimating and mapping out the build of our MVP. Then once the project had begun, Cshark was thrilled with the idea and plan for The Unsigned Library so we joined forces and collaborated on the project and began the build of the MVP.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

It was fate that we met someone from Cshark whilst seeking investment who then put us in touch with the development team.

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

Together we went through the process of identifying what features could be part of the MVP development and which could be pushed down the line for the 2nd stage investment. Cshark were critical to directing on the possibilities and our team in turn had to clearly define which features were key to MVP due to the USP of the business.

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

My team worked directly with the UI/UX developers and the project manager.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We have enjoyed working together with CSHARK and look forward to launching the MVP very soon and see the impact and feedback on what an excellent product we have to offer.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

It has been a great partnership, deadlines have been flexible up to now as we have other jobs to fit the project around. But Cshark have always fed back to us how much they enjoy our project and we can see that in their work and faces!

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

We definitely have more than an average MVP to launch to our audience so you can see the passion for what they do, as it is above MVP expectations for UX.

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

I think branding was the only section I would have liked to have spent more time on, this is my baby and I feel this section was rushed slightly. Other than that no improvements.

BACKGROUND

I am a Software Project Manager in the R&D Department at Zortrax. The company is providing comprehensive 3D printing solutions — designing and manufacturing of 3D printers, delivering materials, and developing dedicated firmware and software solutions.  

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

We hired CSHARK for creating a visual project of an application intended for dental purposes. UI and UX designs were included. The main requirements were to give the existing software a more medical look.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We were searching online to hire the best specialist working in the technologies important to us. When the idea of a new application design came up, we decided to hire graphic designers from CSHARK.

Their previous experience in the medical applications and 3D printing industry convinced us to choose this vendor.

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

The challenge in this project was to give a fresh, new, medical-connected look to the existing application for 3D printing, taking into account current technical limitations and the total time of implementation by software developers. 

Stages of the design project:

Firstly, we had an online workshop with the CSHARK specialists to identify our needs considering the design of a new product. Then the vendor presented 3 mock-ups to choose a desired style and direction of the future projects.

We chose one design direction and reported comments back. Then the iterations of another projects followed to choose the final one. The design team advised us the best solutions, taking into consideration UX and current visual trends, even if their choices were not always the same as our suggestions.

At the end we received the iconography, designs of the specific application screens and the whole design system in a convenient for software developers form.

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

We worked directly with the product design manager (general communication during the whole project), the brand consultant (introductory workshop) and the graphic designer (during the phase of creating the design system)

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We are currently during the phase of implementation the solutions delivered by graphic designers from CSHARK. There are no significant problems with the implementation. 

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

There weren’t any problems in reaching the Project Manager. We attended a helpful interactive online workshop. We had scheduled online calls, always on time. Our suggestions sometimes were misunderstood, but at the end we reached common direction.

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

They really want to give the best possible solution for the client. They delivered solutions in a very professional and convenient form.

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

Reporting of working hours could be more transparent.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm CEO of company building MES/MOM system

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

Cshark is one of our seed investors who's main value added to company is software development team dedicated to build MVP of our solution. We build a system for factory shopfloor management that is compliant with lean manufacturing philosophy,

SOLUTION

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

Before investment we have asked CSHARK to fully comercially lead product discovery workshop, build product backlog and estimation. This services were delivered on such a high level of proffesionalism that we have decided to ask CSHARK'S board to invest in our idea. As they have lead for us the workshop and understood well the idea and saw a full potential of the product, they have decided to trust us.

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

Project started with product discovery workshop and lo-fi UX mockups of the screens. That let us to build user stories and backlog of the rurther development, The rest is pure operational deliveries of the product. We use .NET core technology, the solution is hosted in MS azure in a small (so far) claster of three servers operating a micro cubernetes architecture of the solution.

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

From 5 up to 12 people on several positions: Project Manager, Business Analyst, DevOps, Senior and Mid frontend, backend and full stack developers, ux designers.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The project is still in progress, but all the deliverables from UX designs thriough user stories and the final produced features are delivered professionally, in great quality, on time and with great dose of agility.

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

Development team is lead by Project Manager who takes care of the pace and manages the communication with the rest of the team. They're always up to date. They add team members while making sure the team is not disrupted by uncoordinated communication. I like this approach very much and appreciate good information flow. We use a lot of slack, jira, teams for online collaboration. The software is developed in scrum sprints that last two weeks each.

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

Definitely engagement, thrust and professionalizm of every single person engaged in the project make really great impression.

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

All the fields I see are immediatelly addressed and improved by the team, so no, currently I don't experience any disturbances that require improvement.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CTO of a cybersecurity development company that is the product arm of a federal consultancy. We focus on software development and try to facilitate our customers’ journey through cloud-native infrastructure while being mindful of modern security practices.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with CSHARK?

I had been tasked with finding a set of developers to build out an open-source core engine.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Although CSHARK strength is .NET development, they put together a team of software developers that work with Golang and are familiar with Kubernetes, the cloud-native ecosystem that offers the Cloud-Native Computing Foundation (CNCF).

Most of the work that we’re doing is built in Go, but they also make use of Kubernetes and perform integrations with various standard open-source platforms and tools. Essentially, I designed the core platform, and they’re now implementing it.

What is the team composition?

We’re currently working with four backend developers from CSHARK, and they act as a virtual extension of our team. They also provide us with a project manager who assists us with Scrum.

How did you come to work with CSHARK?

I did some research and found a list of various software houses around the world. In that list, I came across CSHARK and contacted them. I’m pretty happy with our journey so far.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent around $300,000–$350,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in August 2020 with just one developer. The second developer joined in September 2020, and the other two joined in November 2020. We’re still working together.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

CSHARK is very professional, and we’re very satisfied with their work. One of our milestones was a core open-source piece of software, and it is available now. They did a phenomenal job.

How did CSHARK perform from a project management standpoint?

CSHARK performs very well, and they have delivered on every milestone on time or even before the deadline. They have great availability and transparent communication. Additionally, they always look for ways to support their customers and ensure their satisfaction.

We work on standard Agile two-week sprints, and they provide us with reports whenever we need them. Everything works great.

What did you find most impressive about them?

CSHARK cares — they’re an impressive organization. Their developers care about building relationships with the customer, and they do a really good job. I’ve worked with various vendors in different consulting companies, and I’m impressed with what CSHARK is doing.

Are there any areas they could improve?

It would be great if CSHARK could build up their bench strength or have a more streamlined way of bringing in new candidates. The only problem that we’ve come across is staffing shortages. Part of the challenge is that we’re looking for amazing Golang developers, but everyone is trying to hire them, and there aren’t many candidates out there.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Put in the necessary work on planning out what you need to get done; it will save you a lot of time and get you the desired results faster.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder and CEO of Nudge, an energy freelancer platform.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with CSHARK?

We were successful getting access to an accelerator program in the UK and  obtained funding and support from a number of energy industry professionals, mentors, and industry experts through that process. Our engagement with CSHARK started before that, but we asked them to build the freelancer platform.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They developed our MVP platform and created the connection service. They built both from scratch. We gave them a little guidance on ideas, but not much technical guidance. We were also successful in getting access to AWS after the credits to host our platform. That was the only request we made for the tech stack. What they used to build the platform was all up to them.

The platform is for three users: freelancers, companies, and us as the intermediary. The main feature for the freelancers was the ability to create profiles. The key feature for the companies was the ability to create contracts. We have an admin dashboard that connects us to the individuals with those contracts. In addition to that, we created a process that invites individuals to one-way interviews once a match is made. 

Also, they enabled all notifications, making sure information was sent to the relevant party at the appropriate point in time. Once the interview was taken, there was the ability for the companies to select their preferred candidate and provide 360-style feedback. Once a company found a preferred candidate, they’d onboard them. There was information exchanged and thereafter, individuals can create timesheets and use a digital wallet for payments. They developed the product and these features from start to finish.

It’s a web application using AWS for hosting. They used C# and React on the frontend. The project is complete. We still continue to work with them but it’s for add-ons.

What is the team composition? 

My main point of contact was Peter (Business Development Manager). We had a consistent team, including a frontend developer and a backend developer. There were also some DevOps and some UI/UX designers as required.

How did you come to work with CSHARK?

I was contacted by their sales agent through LinkedIn. We went with them because they were so engaging. They really spent time trying to understand what it was we were trying to achieve. We mapped out the work to do, and they spent a lot of time and effort trying to understand that. They were very clear and transparent.

Other companies we engaged with said they could build the product for us but that they’d decide what tech stack to use. CSHARK, on the other hand, was open to using AWS because that’s what we wanted. We wanted to support our project and contribute, and they were open to that. They also entertained our target price.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent $50,000–$200,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from August 2020–January 2021.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Not all the user stories were delivered, but additional stories were added over time. It was a bit of a moving target, but we still managed to deliver the project on budget. The reason it wasn’t delivered on time was more to do with third-party integrations that were above and beyond the control of CSHARK. The project was a great success. I’m delighted.

How did CSHARK perform from a project management standpoint?

There was complete transparency through a Jira board that we shared. We used Slack and Zoom to communicate otherwise. We did stand-ups once every few days. We had demonstrations every Monday. Everything was tracked on Jira. We also used AWS and GitHub to manage the development.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They have a desire to complete quality projects. There was complete transparency throughout the partnership. They brought good ideas to the table from the start. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

There’s not much I’d suggest they could improve. Every project has corrections and improvements, but it’s difficult to pick one out in this instance.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I’ve recommended some friends and fellow startups to CSHARK.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CRO and founder of Focis. Our product helps law firms share data with their clients.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with CSHARK?

We need assistance to scale our product, make it more secure, and conduct user testing. We don’t have enough resources to deal with that ourselves, so we brought on CSHARK.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Our product helps law firms to update their clients when they’re working on different files. The law firm can share documents and data with the client, while the platform notifies clients when the firm has hit key stages. They can also collaborate by sending messages to one another through our platform.  

So far, CSHARK has helped with project planning and has used .NET to develop a web-based product with various APIs.

They’ve also made recommendations as to how we can continue to improve the product, such as adding a security layer.

What is the team composition?

We had an account manager, project manager, and a .NET developer.

How did you come to work with CSHARK?

We initially got in touch with them through LinkedIn. We met with them and held an initial discovery session to go over what we were looking for and what they could provide. Then we had a detailed follow-up meeting with their technical team. After that, we had a one-month trial period to see how well they handled some of our tasks. That went well, so we’ve continued our engagement.  

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent £27,000 (approximately $37,000 USD).  

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in October 2020 and the project is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’ve released the product to one of our clients, and they’ve provided really good feedback. CHSHARK has been exceptionally helpful during the architecting phase and has provided great ideas.

How did CSHARK perform from a project management standpoint?

Their team is knowledgeable, friendly, transparent, and responsive. They communicate well; we have bi-weekly calls and use Slack regularly.

I am very impressed by their project management. They adopted an agile methodology and used Jira to manage in sprints. As a result, they delivered faster than anticipated, which really pleased our clients.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Most importantly, they’ve taken ownership of the project, are quick to address concerns, and have proactively addressed any issues. That’s why we’ve been so successful. They’ve structured the project so we stay on track to meet our goals.

Are there any areas they could improve?

We need to be better at specifying our requirements.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

New clients should be open to their methodology. If they are open to CSHARK’s recommendations, they will get more out of the partnership.