Ekreative

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the General Manager of FarmGate Auctions, an online platform to buy and sell livestock.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Ekreative?

We realized there was a gap in the market when it comes to selling livestock online. Australia’s national herd is about 26.6 million, but only 5% of that herd is sold online. There also was only one major player operating in this market space in Australia. We knew there was room for a business to buy and sell livestock online, and we needed a partner like Ekreative to help make that happen.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They were involved from the very beginning. It was a huge undertaking—from day one we needed our platform to be able to match our competitor, who has been selling livestock online for thirty years. We needed to build something unique to the market.

They helped us build an iOS app, a web app, and our CRM. They developed all those from wireframe and design mockups to completion. The project was a pretty big one—they wrote around 8 million lines of code. The apps were built in React Native, and the codebase was JavaScript.

There were a bunch of features they developed that made us unique. They built into the apps the ability to assess livestock offline. Some of our users are in remote areas with no internet. Despite this, they still need the app to work to assess their livestock and put them up for sale. The app is able to work entirely offline, then upload the information when the user gets internet access.

They also built a digital signature function, where users could sign online instead of printing paper forms. They can upload videos without having to host them on YouTube, and just give us their content. They have the weigh-scales able to export the weight and fat score straight to the system.

The CRM was uniquely designed to handle all of our weekly auctions. There’s a whole variety of weekly auctions that go up and need to be managed differently. The backend needed to recognize whether a user stopped bidding because of connectivity issues in their rural locale so that it could get them on the phone so they can bid without the internet. There were a whole host of complicated issues on the backend that they sorted out for us.

What is the team composition?

The core team was five people, including our project manager Yaroslav (Java Software Engineer, Ekreative). Yaroslav is incredible. They’ve been working on our project full-time for a couple of years now, and it feels like they’re an extension of us.

How did you come to work with Ekreative?

They were recommended to us by the head of engineering at a major Australian bank.

How much have you invested with them?

We’re about at the million-dollar mark invested.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been working with them since January 2016, and the work is still ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our business is up-and-running, which is a really good success metric. Everything had to be perfect at launch, as the first auction had to run smoothly. Our app is B2B. If something went wrong during that live auction, we’d lose that user forever. Ekreative was amazing at making sure that the first auction was problem-free.

How did Ekreative perform from a project management standpoint?

I can’t rave about them enough. We talked across multiple platforms: email, Slack, and Google Docs. We had so many comments. They responded quickly to them all, making sure I was up to speed. There was initially a language and time-zone barrier with us being from Australia, but that quickly dissipated. It’s been an absolutely great experience working with them.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The way they integrated into the project continually impressed us. They felt like a part of the team, and I felt that they really cared. They were just as excited about the launch as we were. I loved how they were always asking for photos of livestock and of our booths. They continually went above and beyond.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Nothing comes to mind. Everything we threw at them they handled well, dove straight into, and set a high standard for. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Just go for it! If you have an idea, they’re the people you want in your corner.
 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the founder and CEO of LifeBank.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with eKreative?

We hired eKreative to build our software.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We gave eKreative the specifications and they developed the software. They continue to maintain and upgrade it or anything else we need them to do. 

What is the team composition?

I have mainly worked with three people.

How did you come to work with eKreative?

Our manager put it out to tender and we ended up with eKreative.

How much have you invested with them?

We have spent around $50,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in 2013 and the relationship is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Their work is well-received by our internal team.        

How did eKreative perform from a project management standpoint?

They have been great; I have no complaints. They worked really well with us. There was a minor language barrier, but very small.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I haven’t worked with anyone else, so it is hard to say but they are very responsive. Whenever we want something done, they do it. They’ve served us well.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There isn’t really anything they could improve on. We did have to chase them down a few times, but that could happen with anybody.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Communicate well with them. I would recommend them to anybody.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a manager for a digital marketing company that works with organizations worldwide for our holdings company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Ekreative?

Ekreative was brought on to support our existing online marketing sites.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We engaged them initially to work on one of our smaller sites. Their team did well and has come to support all of our marketing websites worldwide. Ekreative provides a dedicated set of developers, support staff, and a project manager to run the daily services of our website. On a weekly basis, their project manager interacts with our marketing teams to determine our websites’ challenges. They design a sprint for that week and then manage the development as well as the release of any enhancements or changes to the website.

What is the team composition?

We’re engaged with four individuals as dedicated team members who have full access to our internal teams. In the case that we have other projects, we bring in additional staff from Ekreative.

How did you come to work with Ekreative?

Ekreative was recommended to us.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent about $250,000–$300,000 a year on their services.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been working together for 4–5 years.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Results are driven by the response from our marketing organization, which has been happy with the work Ekreative has performed so far. Ekreative started as our support organization. Now, they’re working on more projects with our marketing organization. Their engagement has increased over the past couple of years and that demonstrates our satisfaction with their work.

How did Ekreative perform from a project management standpoint?

We follow a scrum process and Ekreative manages everything involved. They conduct all the backlog meetings with our customers and plan sprints with our development team. Their team oversees all the sprint management activities for our projects.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Ekreative immerses themselves to become a good part of the team. They’re not trying to sell a product or pitch themselves. Their team works with us to resolve challenges and errors.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I’m happy in their growth and direction because that will be advantageous to us. They’re still a small organization and have done well but having them increase their resource pull would help us in many areas.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Sit down with them to explain your needs and how your team functions. It’s important to have Ekreative understand the way that your business operations because they’ll conform to your needs and be part of the team unlike some agencies that have processes in place and that’s the only way they operate.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CPO of a small startup in Hamburg called Cutnut. We’re a SaaS business, and our tool allows you to edit and produce vertical stories across multiple channels. Users can create stories using pre-built templates and export them to social media outlets like Instagram and Snapchat.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Ekreative?

We’d built a prototype with another agency, and we were looking for a provider to develop the actual MVP.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Ekreative took our designs and documentation to develop them into an iOS/Android app. We pivoted our business model to also operate on desktop, so they also created a desktop-based software editor. For the Android app, they utilized JavaScript and node.js for the backend.

They coded in Swift for the iOS app in the Electron framework. For the desktop, they’re using JavaScript and node.js again, but their tech stack now includes HTML and CSS.

What is the team composition?

While the team size fluctuates, we’ve worked with 2–8 people. We have a project manager, a quality assurance teammate, and 1–6 developers.

How did you come to work with Ekreative?

After a friend recommended them to us, we carefully vetted them and five other agencies. We decided to go with them.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working together in September 2017 and the work is still ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

How have you judged their performance? Are there any success metrics you could share?

They’ve been reliable in executing their deliverables. We track an excel sheet that serves as a roadmap of estimated hours and sprints. Our requirements are very stringent, and we held them to very high expectations in terms of quality assurance. Over time, their performance has increased, and they’re able to give us better estimates of their progress. We’re pretty much on track, currently.

How did Ekreative perform from a project management standpoint?

They’ve been great; the project manager is very attentive, and we’re in constant communication via Slack or Skype. We utilize different communication channels for different solutions. We even chat directly with the developers. There’s always someone that’s accessible, which we really appreciate.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We’ve worked with other outsourcing agencies, and I’d say that Ekreative has been more reliable than them. They’re more attentive to detail. While agencies aren’t perfect options because there’s something inevitably lost in the back-and-forth communications, I feel that they take responsibility for the project and are very trustworthy.

Sometimes, they’ll work over their hours, beyond what’s stipulated in their contract. That level of commitment is something we appreciate.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There’s always room for improvement, but we give them credit for keeping up with us despite our taxing requirements.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Start out with smaller builds. Test out a general concept first, before trying to build out a huge feature set. It’s better to take on a project step-by-step.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the co-founder and CEO of GigX, Inc. We’re a global fractional CxO directory. We connect hiring entities with experienced, independent leadership.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Ekreative?

We needed to build our brand from the ground up. We started with nothing and wanted to define our digital brand presence with their help.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Ekreative brought our brand to life via our website and our digital presence. Another team created our logo and basic brand, which was then turned over to Ekreative; they utilized those components and our branding guidelines to create our first directory website on Drupal 8 from scratch.

They also managed a lot of the ongoing connections with social media channels, such as Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn. The team also oversaw our reporting, dashboards, and technology. They provided beginning-to-end tech and digital solutions for us.

What is the team composition?

We’ve had a primary relationship with three project managers and the COO. For this project, we've worked with a team of 12 and a few others.

How did you come to work with Ekreative?

They’ve been a great partner for over five years, and I’ve had the pleasure of bringing them into various, prior companies before founding GigX.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working together in January 2013, and our engagement is productive and ongoing. This project started in April 2018.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

As far as metrics, their performance has been spotless, and there haven't been any issues. We also have business success dashboards to track the success of our business and Ekreative’s efforts from a digital marketing standpoint, according to which they've met our expectations.

How did Ekreative perform from a project management standpoint?

We've had three project managers, all of whom are very strong. Sometimes, however, there’s an opportunity for them to realize that they have a voice in guiding our process. As opposed to just being order-takers, I’ve been working with them on showing off their intellect and their ability to drive initiatives. They’ve responded well to being given the authority to expand their role within our organization.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They are thorough and very likable, which helps our relationship and creates an enjoyable work environment.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Like I mentioned before, they have the ability to have a greater voice and drive initiatives. Maybe other clients haven’t afforded them that opportunity, so it’s something they’ve begun to welcome.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

My advice is to work with them. They’re just great people and add great value. I’ve been working with them for five years and will continue to do so. If you’re interested in accessing young and smart tech talent or need to protect your burn rate and what you’re investing in, Ekreative is a really great way to go.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the chief marketing officer of LifeBase Solutions, a B2B SaaS software platform.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Ekreative?

We were looking for a provider to build out the backend of our dashboard, to develop our iOS/Android apps, and to create our websites. We also needed marketing materials.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They developed our software from scratch. While we had a concept that we’d developed over the years, they took our ideas and wireframes and turned it into code.

They built our iOS and Android apps which serve as macro-nutrient trackers. Our goal is to make nutrition simple and automated for nutrition coaches. It allows users to look up food items via barcode scan, and to enter them into the system. They’ve designed the UI to have an intuitive flow.

What is the team composition?

At its peak, the team consisted of somewhere between 15­–20 people. Marissa (Project Manager, Ekreative) was my main point of contact, and she was phenomenal. I’ve also met with their founder, who occasionally comes to the US to support their accounts.

How did you come to work with Ekreative?

I’d worked with them previously at my last two companies.

How much have you invested with them?

Over the years, I’ve spent roughly $400,000 on them with different projects, at different companies.

What is the status of this engagement?

For my startup, we began working together in August 2018. At my last two companies, I started work with them in early 2016. We have an ongoing relationship that I hope will only continue to grow.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They’ve helped make my ideas a reality. I’ve been very satisfied with their work because they created functional software at an extremely cost-effective rate.

How did Ekreative perform from a project management standpoint?

Our project manager was just phenomenal. We use a project management app called Redmine to track project progress.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re an offshore developer based in Ukraine, so their rates are really reasonable. While you might have qualms about whether a remote relationship can work, I’ve never had problems. I can trust them, and they provide quality work. They really get 5 stars on everything—they’re a fabulous team to work with.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can’t really think of anything specific, but any provider can always strive to achieve more. There’s always room for improvement. They provide phenomenal value for the work they deliver, though.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

While I’d want to keep them to myself since they’re such a valuable partner, I’d just say that they’re good people to work with. Have no reservations about working with a Ukrainian development team—they’re truly good people.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Our company focuses on the construction industry. I'm the co-founder and CEO.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Ekreative?

We wanted help to further develop our app.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They took over from another agency that we weren't happy with. They made the app fit with the market, and we worked quite closely together to fix instabilities in the existing build and add functionality as needed. The app is built natively in Objective C and Swift on the iOS side, and the Android version was built using Kotlin.

What is the team composition?

We worked with a team of seven, led by a project manager.

How did you come to work with Ekreative?

My co-founder recommended them.

How much have you invested with them?

We've spent roughly $50,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in June 2019, and the work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

As yet, we don't have any hard metrics, but our uptime is considerably better, and our users react well to the product.

How did Ekreative perform from a project management standpoint?

I'm very happy with their project management. Their COO checked in regularly, and we had weekly calls with our project manager.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their communication is very good, and they understand all the problems we face. We share user feedback with them, and we iterate to make the product better.

Are there any areas they could improve?

In general, I'm quite happy with them. They're a remote team, so there is always room to improve communication, but I can't think of anything specific that bothers me about the work they do for us.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I don't have any specific recommendations; they're easy to work with.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am a VP of Software Engineering at a scale-up company in the InsuranceTech field.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

To assist our small team to scale up the product for a rapid growth we are expecting n 2021

SOLUTION

How did you select Ekreative and what were the deciding factors?

I met eKreative through a professional reference. After interviewing them, we have started a project with a single developer and it proved to be a great partnership. We are increasing number of developers from eKreative as we speak.

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

They assist our core team to clear JIRA's backlog

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

1 developer with planned expansion to 4 in 2021

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Not at this time

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

They are very easy to work with. They constantly keep us up-to-date on developer's activities and raise any concerns on the timely basis as they come up.

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

Quality of work

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

Don't know yet