Echobind

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We’re a life-sciences software company building two main products, including a solution for researchers and academics in the life-sciences field. It manages data across the field and tracks all inputs and outputs, making them easily trackable. I am the chief architect of the company, responsible for the technologies being built by our team, as well as for onboarding Echobind.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Echobind?

We were trying to meet a deadline, and needed help accelerating our process. Echobind was able to do this successfully.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

A part of that platform is an Ember.js application which serves as a frontend, allowing users to access the system. Echobind has helped build a part of that application. They have Ember.js expertise, so, because our internal team was new to the technology, Echobind helped us set guidelines and best practices in terms of how we should develop moving forward, and in terms of testing and the different libraries we should use.

We were building different feature-sets, all within Ember.js, including sophisticated UIs which handled activities during experiments. We had built the backend APIs ourselves, and Echobind integrated with those. We used CLI Mirage for testing, through which Echobind generated mock services, in order to validate that everything they had built worked.

We have a somewhat complicated backend, with two service layers built using Ruby on Rails and Clojure. This made the work a bit more complicated. We used an IBM SQL database called CLOB, but most that was handled on the Ember.js side. Echobind was primarily using our Rails or Clojure APIs. We dealt with most of the backend code.

We had a lightweight team on Echobind’s side for both of our engagements with them. We used two senior frontend developers in both cases, and I served as a project manager. Echobind created test cases for everything they developed, allowing us to validate that the code worked as expected. Our goal was to get the work done quickly, so Echobind assigned senior people in order to assist us. They provided consultation on the best practices for our particular framework, and gave us pros and cons for each approach, based on past experience.

How did you come to work with Echobind?

They were prominent during Ember.js meetups in Boston. I met Robert Beene, one of Echobind’s top partners, and talked to him about what they did and what we needed. I also met with a couple of other Ember.js-focused consultancies, and looked at what they could do. When we compared them, it ultimately came down to the approach taken by Echobind versus the other agencies. We were looking for a streamlined approach that could give us access to a good team quickly, without having to deal with a large middle-management structure. Echobind was much more willing to sit down with us and talk about what we wanted. They joined our daily scrums and were proactive in figuring out what the requirements were, which we appreciated.

Echobind was similarly-priced to other companies, but they were much more proactive and willing to walk through the process with us. We felt that there was much more of a joint effort, and Echobind became a part of our team quickly.

How much have you invested with Echobind?

We’ve had two four-week projects with Echobind, totaling $40,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Echobind in the fall of 2016. The second project ended around March 2017.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We primarily wanted to get the work done by the deadline on our first project. That engagement was successful, and we were able to deliver the quality we were looking for within our timeline. Outside of that, I don’t have any stats to share.

How did Echobind perform from a project management standpoint?

We had a punch-list of what we needed to do, which we gave to Echobind, asking for a time estimate. We had daily standups reviewing our progress, and the process was straightforward overall. We also met offline with Echobind’s team, and used Pivotal Tracker as a project management tool. We entered sprints and defined what the story for each one was. Echobind could have had a more complex process, but we weren’t looking for anything more. We had a checklist and knew exactly what we needed to do. Echobind simply needed to get ramped-up quickly and help us start tackling that checklist.

What did you find most impressive about Echobind?

They’re accountable and there’s not much handholding in the sense of getting Echobind up to speed. They’re experts in their domain, so we got the team up-and-running in our environment quickly. Echobind was responsive and understood our goals and deadlines. They were accurate in terms of estimates, so we didn’t require a long planning phase.

Are there any areas Echobind could improve?

No. We were happy with Echobind in terms of approach and execution. I would have brought them along earlier in order to avoid some of the pitfalls we got into in terms of architecture.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

The New England Venture Capital Association is a lean non-profit organization with a mission of making Massachusetts the best place for starting and growing companies, by tapping into and providing access to all elements of the local ecosystem. We connect founder to founder, marketing ecosystems, and advocate on behalf of the community with regards to policy. The final component is workforce development, which is the piece I focus on. I am the associate director of educational programs. I run our two workforce development programs, Hack.Diversity and TechGen.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Echobind?

We needed help with TechGen, which had been launched in 2015, with a very rudimentary beta test of whether or not we were heading down the right path. The goal of TechGen was to bridge the gap between New England University students and the top life-science and healthcare companies. Massachusetts is disproportionately the best at attracting talent from around the world, but we’re the worst at retaining it, so we saw an opportunity for creating a marketplace.

We had launched a very primitive design using Weebly and Wufoo. It had a manual and somewhat painful system for users, but it worked, and demonstrated demand. In year two, we doubled down and invested in development and design.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We have worked with Echobind for building an entire new website and web app which students and companies could use to connect.

We worked with a design firm, and spent a week discussing our customer experience and flow for the new website. We connected with Echobind, provided wireframes, and had them build everything from the ground up, from the homepage to all other support pages. The meat of the work was definitely in building a web application. It’s a two-way marketplace which allows students to sign up, create profiles, and indicate what they’re looking for, in terms of industry and job verticals. On the company side, users can post internships as they arise, and receive suggested candidates. Students can apply to companies, and companies can identify promising students and reach out to them.

Echobind used Ember.js for the development, but I’m not a technical person, so I can’t speak too much on this area. The process of working with them has been great, since Echobind has been able to translate these details into simple terms. Throughout the initial development and continuing with the maintenance, everything has been hosted on Heroku. The code is stored on GitHub, and we’re tracking the workflow using Waffle.io.

Since this project, we’ve brought Echobind back for some enhancements. The website was launched one year ago, and things looked well, but there inevitably were a few bugs which crept up, or experiences which we didn’t fully anticipate or plan for.

We have been approached by a startup for an API integration for plugging in their own technology. I reached out to Echobind for this, asking for consultation on how we should negotiate the integration. They’ve been key in helping me understand the process, since it was my first time negotiating something like that. We haven’t pulled the trigger yet, but it’s something we’re considering.

We’ve worked with a different marketing and media firm.

How did you come to work with Echobind?

It was referral-based. A product manager was brought in when it became clear that we needed to invest in the platform. He provided coaching, as well as contacts, and connected us with a design firm in Boston. When we finished that part of the work, someone at the design firm recommended Echobind. We also shopped it out a little bit, talking to recent grads from McGill University, bigger firms, and Echobind. We picked them because they had excellent referrals and they were local. We were focused on building something for the local economy and community, so we preferred leveraging local talent.

How much have you invested with Echobind?

The cost of Echobind’s work has been around $115,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Echobind at the end of December 2015. They’re still involved with us.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

When we ran the beta of the platform in year one, we engaged around 700 students and 100 companies. In year-two, when we launched the product built by Echobind, we grew to over 3,000 students and almost 300 companies. The platform built by them processed over 11,000 applications in 2016. With it, not only did we see a tremendous increase in participation, but also huge volume in the applications submitted and processed through the platform. I attribute this to Echobind’s work, since it was the sole factor that allowed us to reach that scale, and continue to grow.

How did Echobind perform from a project management standpoint?

They performed well. Two of the things I appreciate about Echobind is their transparency and workflow setup. We’re working with a firm which has remote employees, some of whom are working in different time zones, so, having platforms like Waffle.io and Slack allowed us to keep tabs on what we were working on, and reprioritize tasks. If I come up with a wacky idea in the middle of the night, I can login and add it. Echobind will ask me questions about it, and it will be entered into the shuffle.

One of our challenges has been that there are times when Echobind is busy. We have a lean operation, so, when we have a new project, we need it done yesterday. Echobind has been good at accommodating us and working as quickly as they can, but, because of how they’re setup, there can be a lag in the project kickoff.

What did you find most impressive about Echobind?

I’ve had people look at the code, and they’ve been blown away by its quality. There are standards for working with Ember.js and building an application like ours, and Echobind has gone above-and-beyond.

I know that Echobind’s team attends meetups and conferences in Boston and across the country. I like the fact that they’re invested in giving back to the community around the code and products they’re working with. This is in-line with our own organization and mission. To this end, Echobind has also been supportive of TechGen, and partnered with us beyond our typical services. We have a separate sponsorship agreement by which they support us, providing some pro-bono hours per quarter. This goes a long way for us, since, as I said, we’re quite lean.

Are there any areas Echobind could improve?

Not that I know of.