Echobind

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the CTO of HomeFree Pharmacy

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Long Term Care at home mail order pharmacy.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Echobind to accomplish?

• Write a shipping application to increase productivity.
• Integrate to existing pharmacy management system.
• Create new shipping workflow to save money.

SOLUTION

How did you find Echobind?

Worked with them previously.

Why did you select Echobind over others?

I have had great success with them at 3 organizations.

How many teammates from Echobind were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

Echobind did a custom shipping application for our organization that integrated our pharmacy managment system with an online shipping application.  Utilizing the toolkits and API's available they very quickly put together an application that has saved us 75% on the amount of time it took per package.  It also cut our shipping expense by 50% across our carriers while deliving the same level of service.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

Completed software based on our specifications.

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

We met regularly and discussed current status and adjusted priorities as needed to complete project.  They were very timely and ready to meet anytime it was necessary.

What was your primary form of communication with Echobind?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

They have a great culture and are well versed in current technology. 

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

I think our project went as planned and I will not hesitate to use them again in the future.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am a Senior Analyst at VALE Insurance Partners

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

VALE Insurance Partners (VALE) is a managing general agency that focuses on writing transactional liability insurance and placing the risk with sponsoring insurance carriers. We help insurers by providing the technical expertise needed to access unique and specialized markets in a safe and cost-effective manner.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Echobind to accomplish?

• Build a policy management system
• Integrate VALE Americas and VALE Europe data

SOLUTION

How did you find Echobind?

Other

Why did you select Echobind over others?

• Referred to me
• Other

How many teammates from Echobind were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

• Summary: The scope of work involved Echobind's engagement to design, develop, and implement a comprehensive policy management system with data integration capabilities. The primary objectives were to streamline policy management processes, enhance data integration, and provide an efficient platform for managing VALE’s business operations. 
• Key Deliverables: 
  • Analysis: Echobind conducted an in-depth analysis of the VALE's existing processes, needs, and objectives. This phase involved gathering requirements, understanding user roles, and defining the scope of the policy management system and data integration. 
  • System Design: Echobind designed a comprehensive system architecture for the policy management platform. This included the database structure, user interface design, workflow processes, and data integration points. 
  • User Interface Development: Echobind developed an intuitive and user-friendly web-based interface for the policy management system. The interface allowed users to create, view, edit, and manage their respective work based on their roles and permissions. 
  • Approval Workflow Implementation: Echobind implemented an automated workflow for policy creation and modification. 
  • Data Integration: Echobind integrated the policy management system with existing data sources and systems within the VALE's infrastructure. This allowed for real-time data synchronization, ensuring that the policy management system had access to up-to-date information. 
  • Data Mapping and Transformation: As part of data integration, Echobind mapped and transformed data from various sources to ensure compatibility with the policy management system. This step involved data cleansing, validation, and formatting. 
  • Testing and Quality Assurance: Echobind conducted rigorous testing of the entire system to identify and rectify any bugs, errors, or inconsistencies. This phase ensured that the system operated smoothly and met all requirements.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

The success of the project can be measured through various tangible outcomes that demonstrate progress and effectiveness:

• Efficiency in Policy Management: Measured by the reduction in the time required to create and modify underwriting work. 
• Increased User Adoption: Measured by tracking the number of users actively using the policy management system. 
• Reduction in Manual Work: Measured by quantifying the decrease in manual data entry and administrative tasks related to policy management. 
• Data Accuracy and Consistency: Measured by assessing the accuracy and consistency of policy data across the system. 
• Improved Compliance Tracking: Measured by the system's ability to track and report on policy compliance. 
• Data Integration Accuracy: Measured by evaluating the accuracy and timeliness of data integration with existing systems. 
• Reduction in Errors and Policy Discrepancies: Measured by monitoring the number of policy-related errors, discrepancies, or non-compliance incidents reported after the system's implementation.

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

Echobind's project management was exceptional throughout our engagement. They consistently delivered items on time, demonstrating a high level of professionalism and commitment to meeting deadlines. Their responsiveness was impressive; they promptly addressed our needs, concerns, and requests, showcasing their dedication to client satisfaction. 

Their attention to detail, client-centric approach, and proactive problem-solving made them a fantastic partner to work with, ensuring that the project progressed smoothly and successfully.

What was your primary form of communication with Echobind?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

What stood out as particularly impressive and unique about Echobind was their unwavering commitment to understanding and fulfilling their VALE' needs. They displayed a remarkable ability to listen actively, ensuring they grasped the nuances of our requirements accurately. This translated into tailored solutions that precisely aligned with our goals. 

Their proactive communication, attention to detail, and innovative problem-solving showcased a deep dedication to delivering excellence. This combination of client-centricity, responsiveness, and a keen focus on delivering effective solutions truly set them apart and made them a standout partner in our project.

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

I don’t think there’s anything they can improve on.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the head of product at Coral Health, a healthcare technology company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Echobind?

We wanted to build an MVP in collaboration with a partner.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Echobind developed a custom MVP for us from scratch, using Capable Health, Segment.io, JavaScript, and Render. They implemented our new branding into the software they created, which was amazing. 

Their team also goes the extra mile in supporting the product on an as-needed basis until we build our own engineering staff.

What is the team composition?

We’ve been working with a project manager, a customer experience director, an engineering manager, and a couple of other engineers.

How did you come to work with Echobind?

Another healthcare company highly recommended them to us. I put out an RFP to search for various development candidates and give them a detailed accounting of the multiple phases of our project. We chose them because they stood out during the process through their excitement about the task, which was heartening because they went the extra mile to help us figure out what our tech stack should look like.

How much money have you invested in this partnership?

We’ve spent $200,000–$250,000 with them so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in September 2021, and the engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They’ve helped us get to the finish line to launch our first pilot client, and they did everything on time.

How did Echobind perform from a project management standpoint?

They’ve stayed within budget and deadlines. We’ve used Jira, GitHub, and Zeppelin regarding project management tools. For communication, we have Slack and Zoom.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The key strength of Echobind is the true passion they apply to their work, starting with their upper management team. They’re very involved, check in regularly, anticipate our needs, and are good at the right talent mix for every task.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don’t think there’s anything they can improve on.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Come in with a solid idea of what you’re trying to build and why; that way, Echobind can help you take everything to the next level by asking all the right questions and making the best suggestions.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We’re an online catering two-sided marketplace for business catering, and I’m an engineering manager.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Echobind?

We were severely understaffed. As an engineering manager, I didn’t have 100% time to be an individual contributor, and we were strapped for resources. We needed some generalists, so we hired Echobind.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Echobind’s software developers worked on coding on a day-to-day basis, in addition to some research and documentation that we required based on some unknowns that we had. They did a lot of work researching and writing up documentation for what we needed.

They were integrated into our team and we collaborated on everything together. There was a lot of back and forth between us and them.

What is the team composition?

We worked primarily with two of their contractors. We also had occasional meetings with Chris(CTO & Co-Founder) and Isaac (Account Strategist).

How did you come to work with Echobind?

I’ve known Chris for a while, and one of our directors had also worked with him, so we knew what to expect. We knew the level of professionalism and capability that Echobind had, so we wanted to work with them.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent between $50,000–$200,000. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked with them from September–November 2020.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The quality was really good, and Echobind delivered on everything that we asked for. 

How did Echobind perform from a project management standpoint?

Their project management was quite good. There were a few bumps in the road here and there where we had to pause and collect ourselves as a team to make sure that our expectations were met.

By the time they joined us, I hadn’t had any visibility in terms of the capabilities of the team, even though it still worked out. I didn't know the level at which each person was when they joined, and one of the contractors was a little bit junior, which I was not aware of. 

I might have approached that differently if it was a senior or mid-level engineer out of the gate. However, the lack of experience was offset by the thoroughness and enthusiasm with which she worked. If she didn't know something, she figured it out and got it done. 

The other contractor was very much a generalist and had a lot of experience with a lot of different technologies, so there were times when we had to drop in and help him fill out the shape of some of the work that he was doing. 

It wasn't a problem, we just had to switch gears. That being said, all of the work they did was really good quality. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Echobind has a lane that they’re very good at. They’re experts in their field, and they do all of that work extremely well. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, there’s nothing that they need to improve upon.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Assess the type of work that needs to happen to make sure that Echobind fits the glove. The things that the team is good at, they’re really good at, so make sure you’re aligned.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Dough empowers you to shop from women-owned brands. I'm Vanessa, co-founder + COO at Dough.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We collaborated with Echobind to build 1.0 of our VIP membership platform, which featured women-owned brands and products and exclusive promotions.

SOLUTION

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

We collaborate with companies that align with our values of empowering women and underrepresented communities in leadership roles. Echobind is an inclusive tech company, that values working towards a more inclusive and equitable world, particularly in tech. Through their partnerships with Hack.Diversity and their commitment to hire women in leadership roles.

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

1. Create a hybrid platform that pulled in data from our existing Squarespace site. This enabled us to move quickly, using Squarespace as a user-friendly content engine.
2. Create a membership only site, where paying members, had accounts, which accessed information including exclusive discount codes.

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

Chris, co-founder, and Dean, Software Engineer.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We launch successfully on our PR release date, the team staying up to the middle of the night with our team to ensure it's release. Also, built 1.0 of our platform, which we have since grown and iterated on.

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

Integrated directly into our Slack channel for seamless communication, was always available to hop on a quick call. They were an extension of our small team.

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

How they worked as an extension of our team.

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

No, worked great!

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I run an early-stage company in the healthcare tech space. We focus on mobile homecare solutions.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Echobind?

We used Echobind for full-stack development and as our founding development team. They helped us rapidly build our solutions until we were able to recruit and bring on our own team internally.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We used Echobind for their web, mobile app, and backend development services. React, Node.js, and React Native were the technologies we used.

What is the team composition?

Throughout the engagement, we worked with probably 12 or 13 of their developers.

How did you come to work with Echobind?

It was a referral from a local business partner who had used them in the past. They had great results with them. We brought Echobind on as a trial engagement and then ended up expanding significantly with them.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Echobind in July 2018, and the engagement ended in September 2019.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Echobind exceeded expectations. They delivered a full-functioning product on time. They were also a great help in assisting us with hiring our own development team. Their velocity and throughput were excellent.

How did Echobind perform from a project management standpoint?

They were good at meeting project management expectations. Their team was good at reacting to timeline and scope changes.

What did you find most impressive about them?

After the original engagement, Echobind had to come in and do a rescue project for us. They put a team together within 24 hours on Thanksgiving Day to come in and save a project that another vendor messed up. Within two weeks, everything was fixed and ready to go, ensuring we launched that product on time. Their availability and responsiveness were exceedingly spectacular.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Echobind is a strong team to work with. They have great communication. I’ve worked with other development shops, but with Echobind, you get what you pay for.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CTO of Outcomes4Me and we provide free mobile applications for cancer patients, starting with breast cancer. We provide tools for patients to use in order to understand their treatment options, manage clinical trials, and manage symptoms. Our goal is to bridge the gap that often exists between patients and the information they’re getting from their care team.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Echobind?

We built a prototype with another developer and needed help fixing some major structural issues in the app. We didn’t have in-house experience to do that in mobile development.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The initial work they did was to immediately pay off some very sizable technical debt accrued during the building process of the prototype. The original developer used React Native to develop the app so that’s what Echobind started with.

However, we were having a lot of issues with React Native being really slow, so they created a new greenfield app without Expo. They transferred all of the native libraries and code over to the new app. Things were going so well that we had them help us build a number of new features. They also set up a much more reliable deployment infrastructure in our toolkit. 

What is the team composition?

We worked with Chris (CTO, Echobind) and Ryan (Senior Software Engineer, Echobind).

How did you come to work with Echobind?

Chris and I met in Boston;  in a pitch, he said they could help and they already had a lot of good experience. We interviewed a few firms, but despite the problems inherent in the codebase, Echobind was confident they could fix it.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent about $70,000–$200,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from June–October 2018.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Their work has really stood the test of time, which is sometimes hard to find. Despite having to migrate everything over from React Native to a new greenfield app, they were still able to undo some of the damage. That was an immensely complicated project to do, and they pulled it off very smoothly.

How did Echobind perform from a project management standpoint?

The communication was strong throughout and we had daily stand-ups. They were responsive and I never had a problem getting ahold of them. They also did a good job of managing expectations. When expectations changed, they addressed it immediately, which is so important. There were times where their approach could’ve been clearer, but those things are going to happen and they handled it fairly well.

What did you find most impressive about them?

It really stands out that they’re nice and enjoyable to work with. They’re a team that wants us to succeed and we want them to as well.

Are there any areas they could improve?

This isn’t too much of a knock on them, but they should continue to really invest in being aware of tools that are out there for native libraries and maybe get into a leadership role in organizing that information. They have the wherewithal to be a leader, but not necessarily good resources on what libraries are important or going in the wrong direction.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Involve them as much as you can. They’re going to think about your problems and the more you invite them in to understand, the more value you’re going to get from them.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a project manager for Interline. We provide travel management for people in the travel industry.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Echobind?

We needed help with creating a live-booking credit card process. We’re trying to move the travel agency process from an in-person process to the web.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?
Echobind developed a solution that lets our agency charge credit cards for live booking. It ties into our homegrown system so that credit card information would populate into our different databases. It uses Elasticsearch and Django pieces. Echobind also built the frontend of the tool.

What is the team composition?

We work with four people: a project manager/QA person, two frontend developers, and a backend developer/architect. We also interact with the account manager and owner: he’s my point person on resourcing.

How did you come to work with Echobind?

I looked at Clutch for companies that specialized in Django and Elasticsearch. I created a shortlist, sent out an RFP to each firm, and decided on Echobind after I found that they fit us best.

How much have you invested with them?

We plan to spend about $500,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project started in February 2019. We’re still working together.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Echobind has been amazing. They wrangled the small team at Interline and got the project moving. They now take on a mentor role, guiding our frontend person on best practices and helped to initiate several processes. That’s been extremely helpful. If they weren’t helpful, we wouldn’t have asked them to keep working on projects and adding new team members. As of today, we’re now working on three projects, including the Canadian version of this tool.

How did Echobind perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re really excellent. I get daily messages on Slack on what they’ve worked on. The PM works with me to get any SoWs taken care of. I never feel like they’re taking advantage of us or billing extra. I can quantify the work they’ve done for us.

We mostly communicate through Slack, but we also have a weekly meeting. Despite some time zone differences, they’ve been very good at communicating.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Echobind is very honest about what they can and can’t do. We asked if they could help us with a PHP project, and they admitted right away they’d have to find someone outside for us. I appreciate their truthfulness.

Are there any areas they could improve?

At first, their billing was more haphazard, but now we get weekly invoices consistently.

Any advice for potential customers?

Just be honest with Echobind, and they’ll be honest with you. They’ve been wonderful to work with at every step.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CTO of M. Gemi. We’re an online marketplace for luxury Italian footwear. We also sell our products in retail stores.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Echobind?

We’ve been using the same e-commerce engine for a little over four years, and it started to show its age. We want to move to a more modern architecture, so we hired Echobind to assist our replatforming effort.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We brought in Echobind to develop a prototype and framework that we could use moving forward to build out the frontend portion of the site. Instead of creating wholly new wireframes, we had them use our existing platform to guide their process. Utilizing they’re expertise and experience, they constructed a React-based architecture that’ll be further developed in the future.

What is the team composition?

We primarily interacted with one engineer. However, some of the company’s principals got involved on occasion.

How did you come to work with Echobind?

They were referred to me by a colleague who works for a similarly sized e-commerce website.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent $36,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

Their involvement with this project took place from September–November 2018.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They delivered the framework and proof of concept that we require to move forward. However, the actual replatforming effort hasn’t begun yet. This was more of a foundational project to set us up for success in the future. We were able to work closely with the engineer as he presented us with multiple development options. Overall, we’re happy with the work he performed and the product that was delivered.

How did Echobind perform from a project management standpoint?

We use relatively standard management tools like Jira to keep everything organized. Their engineer provided updates diligently, split his tasks into subtasks, and individually marked completed requirements. He’d attend regular stand-ups both virtually and in person.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re adequate and reliable consulting partners.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Working with them was a positive experience, so I don’t have any criticism to offer.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

While the engineer agreed to have face-to-face meetings with us twice a week, the company prefers to work remotely. Future clients should be aware of that when considering them.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I work at a health benefits management company that provides web applications that establish a link between the insurance providers and medical offices. There's a big engineering component in what we do, involving a frontend and a backend. I'm the engineering manager.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Echobind?

We wanted to build a brand new feature functionality for a new application, and we needed help with our frontend. My engineering team is fairly small, so we didn't have enough people with expertise in Ember, the frontend framework of choice. We needed someone to fill that gap, and since we worked with Echobind in the past on a similar issue, we decided to get in touch with them.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

This is an application that's used by doctor's offices to help patients' healthcare management. The UI is a way of determining if a certain procedure is appropriate or not. In some cases, that decision requires a lot of medical knowledge, so we needed a web application to bridge the gap between the front desk staff at the doctor's office and the clinical guidelines. We already had an app, so we were rewriting it from the ground up: we wanted it to have a newer UI paradigm to make it faster for the end user and more efficient on our own servers.

They assigned us a frontend engineer for this project. Alvin [ Alvin Crespo, Senior Developer, Echobind] had a broad range of responsibilities – from architecting the frontend to changing small features. His goal was to create the architecture that was agnostic of business domain restrictions, and he delivered good results.

We needed them to work with a specific framework called Ember, which is their specialty. Ember has its own ecosystem and some issues are easier to discuss with the person who's created the part of the ecosystem that we are working with. Echobind works closely with a lot of those people.

They also used JavaScript, REST, Yarn, and Node.js.

What is the team composition?

We worked with Alvin, who used the support of his team when needed.

How did you come to work with them?

We worked with them on the Ember frontend in the past, when we were a startup. We called them back and my chief architect had a long interview with them. Once we were confident they were the right fit, we brought them in.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent between $50,000 –$200,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project happened in August–December 2017.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The results exceeded my expectations. We wanted to maintain certain high standards of code and at the same time do a robust amount of testing. They created a big part of the application from scratch, proving to have a good understanding of the frameworks and the languages they were working with.

How did they perform from a project management standpoint?

Alvin was responsive at any time of the day. Our QA team (which has an offshore component) was very happy to work with him. He was always clear about the work he was doing, and when the testing was progressing satisfactorily, he asked for the next piece of work. We used JIRA to collaborate.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re eager to go beyond the definition of work on the ticket. They try to help us evolve our ticket and take it to the next level. That's a huge win from a project manager's perspective because I don't have to worry about little details. A lot of the contractors just look at the ticket and go through the motions, without thinking about other implications. Alvin tried to approach every solution from different angles to make sure the code works across all the browsers and make it more robust and resistant to bugs. That is fairly uncommon among vendors.  

Are there any areas they could improve?

We would enjoy having Alvin work with us in the office. We believe in working remotely, so that's not a problem, but it would help to have a person sitting with us in the office.