Echoinnovate IT

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the owner of a small media agency based in southern Germany. We work on websites and print products such as catalogs for exclusive customers. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Echo Innovate IT?

We needed help on a website development and programming project. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Echo Innovate is helping us develop a WordPress website. They are customizing layouts and templates using PHP and CSS. 

Initially, I built the website, and I provided Echo Innovate with the necessary documentation for the project. Their work is ongoing, but I will take over once their work is finished. As such, they are also producing documentation about their work. 

What is the team composition?

Three resources are working for us, but I only speak with one of them.  

How did you come to work with Echo Innovate IT?

One of their teammates is a personal contact, which I’ve known for 15 years. Whenever I need programming resources, I contact them. 

How much have you invested with them?

We have spent $2,000 so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in June 2021, and it’s ongoing. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Echo Innovate has successfully helped us resolve issues on a dynamic header template. They have also implemented improvements that made the page load faster and achieved better Google rankings. 

How did Echo Innovate IT perform from a project management standpoint?

Echo Innovate is good at project management. After contacting their team, they’ve been prepared to start the next day. We communicate via WhatsApp and email.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Echo Innovate has done a very thorough job and delivered high-quality programming — they have met my requirements and exceeded my expectations. I’m also impressed with their quick turnaround time.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can’t think of any. They did everything right. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Let them do the complicated work. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there?

I’m the founder of Bennis Unlimited, an IT consulting firm. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Echo Innovate IT?

We needed their marketing expertise for a client project.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

One of our clients needed to optimize their marketing efforts through SEO and social media campaigns, so we tasked Echo Innovate IT with handling those pipelines.

We provided them with the information they needed, and they started creating social media campaigns to target a particular region, per the client's requirements. Echo Innovate IT then handled their SEO & PPC efforts to further get the word out about their business.

What is the team composition?

I worked with one resource from their team.

How did you come to work with Echo Innovate IT?

Echo Innovate IT reached out to us and offered their services. Hiring their team was an easy decision to make — we already worked with them on a similar project before.

How much have you invested with them?
 
We spent $5,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our collaboration for this project took place in August 2020.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

It’s too early to give quantitative metrics now. However, we already saw some noticeable improvement in sales and leads, which was our client's objective. Overall, we were pleased with how well Echo Innovate IT's team cooperated to complete the project and the early results we tracked.

How did Echo Innovate IT perform from a project management standpoint?

We communicated via phone calls and WhatsApp. Echo Innovate IT delivered what they promised — everything was done precisely and smoothly, and we had no complaints about the quality of their work.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Echo Innovate IT offered us a good collaboration with quality results at a reasonable price.

Are there any areas they could improve?

We had minor communication issues because of our language barrier, but those didn't affect the quality of our project.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Consider relying on written communication rather than verbal to make the most of your partnership and avoid any communication issues.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

My business name is Song Society App, and we are a songwriting collaboration mobile application.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with echoinnovateIT?

I was trying to create a collaboration tool where songwriters could invite anyone to write with them in real time. I wanted a Google Hangouts or Google Docs type of format.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The app was developed for both iOS and Android. They were able to integrate some cool things. They added forms within the app which could be translated into PDF’s that are emailed out to our users. We have a publishing feature to use when the writers are done. They have a workflow sign-off system where an administrator can ask permission for other people’s information in order to fill out a form. Once that is finished, the form gets sent as a PDF by email. There’s an admin portal to run reports and do metrics.

The team at echoinnovateIT consisted of a project manager and two developers. They worked on both the front and backend of the app and helped with some strategy. They put the app in the App Store. They did the branding and screenshots, and they also added that to my website. They did the website design as well. They branded the website with my logo and everything.

How did you come to work with echoinnovateIT?

I found echoinnovateIT online, but I don’t recall which website. I reviewed echoinnovateIT's previous work, then sent them my proposal. They sent me back some screenshots of what they thought the app would translate to, and I liked it. I thought they were the best choice for the job.

How much have you invested with echoinnovateIT?

I’ve spent about $10,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in November of 2016, and the collaboration is ongoing. We’re done with the design of the app, but I still have echoinnovateIT do maintenance and upgrades.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They were able to translate my needs into actual technology. Users appreciate the UX [user experience]. The app allows them to do multiple things, and they normally don’t see that type of technology. The user feedback on the look and functionality has been good. We just launched two weeks ago, so we don’t have a lot of metrics yet. Everything is running smoothly, and we haven’t gotten an unexpected number of bugs. Everything was in scope, and nothing was outside of the specified timeframe or budget.

How did echoinnovateIT perform from a project management standpoint?

We talked every weekday, and they normally got back to me within the timeframe we discussed. We didn’t have any issues there. We used Skype, Google Hangouts, and Google Docs a lot.

What did you find most impressive about echoinnovateIT?

They were very quick with implementation. If I had any fixes or anything new to develop, they were very quick with turnaround.

Are there any areas echoinnovateIT could improve?

I can’t think of anything right now.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the founder of Out of Bounds Apps, which is located in British Columbia, Canada. My first product is a health services location app for the province of British Columbia called Be Healthy BC.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with echoinnovate?

I needed a reliable developer to create the Be Healthy BC app for the iPhone and iPad. I was also looking for someone to create a website. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Echoinnovate created an app based on my old website. The app consisted of 9 searchable maps showing the location of different health services. Each map has a number of points and each point has specific data, usually about a health facility or doctors. You can read or write reviews for each point and you can ask questions. They created a backend to allow me to load and edit data, which I think works really well. Initially, they created the app in a secure test environment then they uploaded version 1 to the App Store. They also created a website from which the app can be downloaded.

How did you come to work with echoinnovate?

I wanted to work with a developer who has experience in building a health and wellness app. I released a request for proposal on Upwork. I received a number of responses and interviewed 5 companies.

How much have you invested with echoinnovate?

I’ve paid over $7,000 for their services. We are about to build the Android version of this app so I expect to spend the same amount this year.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in May 2016. I see this as an ongoing multi-year project.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The product has gone to market and I'm at 151 downloads. Once I reach 200 downloads, I would monetize the app then build the Android version.

There are 8 ratings for my app in the App Store, and they are all 5-star ratings with the following comments:

“This app is very well designed and is very easy to use. As I am relatively new to BC, I like having health information easy to access. The app seems best formatted for an iPhone and if I had one very small issue, it’s that it does not rotate to a landscape view for us iPad users.”
CanadianShopper - Aug 31, 2016

“Love having additional access to information about local health care.”
TarnBather - Sep 19, 2016

“Easy to use and very informative. No issues navigating around. Excellent idea and app!”
groverwon - Sep 22, 2016

“I have been quite enjoying this app as I just moved to BC about a month ago and have to find new physicians. I enjoy that it also has a section for yoga. It is great that they included some self-care options as well as traditional Chinese medicine. There is also a section where you can ask an expert. I am interested to try this out.”
aliasmith - Sep 25, 2016

“Finally, an app to show me where the naturopaths are! Hope to see more additions in the future! A great way to find your local spots for yoga and natural pharmacy!”
Chocoviv - Sep 27, 2016

“So glad to finally have a one-stop shop for health services. So easy to use. Thank you!”
Tradclimber - Sep 28, 2016

How did echoinnovate perform in terms of project management?

Very well. Kush was great. He is very responsive and he has great ideas. He really understood what I wanted to achieve with this project. The communication was easy and expectations were managed well.  

What did you find most impressive about echoinnovate?

I was impressed by their responsiveness to my questions and how they handle software bugs. They are very easy to work with and very accommodating. They finished the project way quicker than I was expecting, even though the scope changed slightly. I also find them very reasonably priced.

Are there any areas where echoinnovate could improve?

None. I've dealt with many contractors in my field, and this has been one of the best experiences.

What tips or recommendations could you share that might increase the likelihood of success with echoinnovate?

It’s best to have a clear idea of the project outcome and be open to suggestions from Echoinnovate.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am currently a construction services consultant for Building Hubww and sit on the board for The Building Hubww Foundation along with my managing partner, Shane Kadrlik. We office out of Eden Prairie, Minnesota and are a one-stop solution for builders, homeowners, and realtors in need of anything related to commercial or residential construction. We are able to help regardless of job size or budget, from the office to just about anything in the field.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with echoinnovate?

As you can imagine, the client base is very large and it can be complicated to make sure you are capturing all the touch points regardless of which/who is looking for your services. We understood the niche and needed help in how to capture and present it to our market without confusing them.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Echoinnovate worked on our website and marketing. We needed an SEO [search engine optimization] comprehensive website that would not only be interactive but also able to point the customer to their respective need. The website needed to have all basic functions, including but not limited to taking applications, orders, customer service, and showcasing projects and past successes.

How did you come to work with echoinnovate?

We started by reaching out to those we had worked with in the past at other companies and followed up with doing research online and in local forums. Two different people had pointed me in the direction of echoinnovate, so we started focusing my search on their works. We spoke to a couple of people who worked with them previously and then reached out to them.

How much have you invested with echoinnovate?

We have invested roughly $40,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We are just short of two years, but as scope creep goes (because we keep wanting more) we foresee a much longer relationship.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We previously had no website and did not understand what SEO really meant to sales. Our sales have increased 15-30%. We have received numerous positive comments on our website and its ease of use with little to no downtime ever. We are protected from viruses and other attacks as well.

How did echoinnovate perform from a project management standpoint?

Echoinnovate is extremely easy and flexible to work with. Goals were decided on, put to paper, and tracked in an easy format.

What did you find most impressive about echoinnovate?

Echoinnovate has the ability to be flexible and remain within budget, consulting with our team and providing feedback that was easy to understand and actually useful. In some cases, the bid decreased because echoinnovate found a way to do the same quality of work but at a less expensive rate. We have never had a trade partner lower their initial bid!

Also – and this can be a difficult and challenging part of the business – echoinnovate takes the time to explain and help you figure out what you need instead of telling you what they want to sell you, which is a real difference that is hard to find these days.

Are there any areas where echoinnovate could improve?

No, it has been a joy working with echoinnovate, especially compared to the other IT companies we have dealt with.

What tips or recommendations could you share that might increase the likelihood of success with echoinnovate?

Don’t be intimidated by IT or SEO; they will help you understand it and plan a strategy that is best before proceeding. Always have the final decision maker review the work before going to production level programming.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the owner and CEO of the startup What's Best, a social media voting sharing app.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with echoinnovate?

I was looking for help with designing our website and developing our app.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

I hired echoinnovate to assist in my website design and complete iOS development for my app. It would be placed in the App Store for download. Echoinnovate’s involvement in design was actively listening. We had 1 conference call to communicate ideas, and the follow-up examples that were presented all met expectations. We moved forward rapidly with capturing the desired look from this initial conference, which was impressive.

How did you come to work with echoinnovate?

The selection process was grueling. I researched and set up calls for months with multiple companies. I even signed up on independent contractor websites to hire freelance developers. I probably spoke to 30 or more potential companies. I narrowed it down to a top 3 selection. I chose echoinnovate because of their flexibility, time sensitive reply, and price. Basically, I was following my gut. Echoinnovate was my top choice and a good fit for What’s Best to pursue a new business relationship.

How much have you invested with echoinnovate?

My partner fell through in the beginning of the project. Echoinnovate proposed 10% of What’s Best to continue working with us and see this business project through to completion. We partnered with an ongoing business relationship and a shared percentage of the company.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began in the summer of 2016. I signed the contract around July and the design process began in August. We are now at the end stages of development, with a few more changes coming.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We are not live in the App Store yet, so I don’t have any metrics to show you. Currently, we are in the end stage of development.

What did you find most impressive about echoinnovate?

I was most impressed with the response time to emails, questions, and last-minute add-ons. Echoinnovate always replied promptly. For these projects, the timing is crucial to success and completion. I have worked in the past with multiple companies that reply a week or 2 later, then I struggle to remember the focus of the change presented weeks ago. After long time periods, this was difficult to recall, and the delayed response with other companies was detrimental to the project and moved it too slowly. Echoinnovate’s time-sensitive response was very impressive and led to effective communication.

What tips or recommendations could you share that might increase the likelihood of success with echoinnovate?

It’s imperative for the client to know what they want in order to give their customers the results they desire. I knew exactly what I wanted to be accomplished. Clients who are vague or unsure may want to write down their thoughts on paper. They should then ask echoinnovate to make a guide using their protocol of production to follow while in the development stages.