Escola

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of a food delivery website in Poland that targets schools. I started the business over two years ago with the idea of providing hot and home-cooked meals to students because schools only offered sandwiches and other simple things.

With our solution, students have several restaurants to choose from, and they can order in advance. This is something new compared to the usual junk food found in their schools.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Qunabu Interactive?

I wanted to work with someone that understood small businesses but also had experience with large ones. I was serious about my project, and wanted to give the work to people that could react in an hour’s time and willing to work on weekends.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Qunabu Interactive created everything; I only gave them an idea and some sketches for the website. The project took around two months to complete, and it included an entire system for placing orders and sending the information to the restaurants in PDF form. It’s quite a complicated process, and everything needed to be built from scratch.

The first phase was to create a responsive website, given that 90% of customers would be accessing it on mobile devices. Six months ago, I got a serious investor, so we began building a mobile app. We’re planning on updating things and adding new features with Qunabu Interactive.

What is the team composition?

They assigned three people for the initial development, one of whom was Mateusz (Founder, Qunabu Interactive). I believe there have been 4–5 people working for me in total, including designers and developers. I’m currently working with a full-time resource.

How did you come to work with Qunabu Interactive?

I wanted to give my work to an experienced team that could also provide maintenance services. A friend told me that Qunabu Interactive was working with large companies in Poland, so I decided to hire them.

How much have you invested with them?

The initial cost was $12,000–$13,000. I paid another $2,000 for a prepaid module for the app. We’ll be investing another $10,000 in the next two months.

What is the status of this engagement?

I started working with Qunabu in May 2016. The collaboration is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We have around 5,000 customers and we’ve received around 18,000 orders in the last two years.

How did Qunabu Interactive perform from a project management standpoint?

My investor suggested switching our provider for website work, but I told him that even though Qunabu Interactive may give longer estimates than other companies, their delivery is fine. Other companies will promise to deliver in one or two weeks, but they never do. I prefer to work with someone who gives me realistic timelines. If Mateusz tells me that something will take two weeks, it will.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We had a crisis with our database about a year ago. Qunabu sorted it out and now everything works properly.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They should hire more people because there aren’t enough resources to handle tasks faster at times. When I told them that I needed the work done quicker, Mateusz assigned another person to our project. Overall, they do a good job and respond adequately to suggestions.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a public relations manager at Teatr Wybrzeze, the biggest theatre in northern Poland. I’m responsible for contacts with the media as well as managing websites and social media accounts.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Qunabu Interactive?

We had a very heavy website that was made using Flash technology. While it was very beautiful, the company that built it didn’t tell us that it would be so rough to use. It took a whole minute to load and cause a lot of problems for users. We wanted to have a more user-friendly and equally beautiful website.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They redeveloped our site to make it user-friendly, and also created a mobile version of it. The most important thing in theatre is the news spectacles, so the website was based on photographs with information about spectacles. It’s a normal theatre site, but it’s very aesthetic, light, and fast. We continue to work together on updating the site as well as maintenance.

What is the team composition?

I work with their project manager and their CTO/CEO.

How did you come to work with Qunabu Interactive?

We were looking for an affordable and ethical vendor. We asked a few companies for their proposals, and Qunabu Interactive’s was the best. They had a great price and quality. Additionally, our situation was urgent, and they were able to address it fast.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent around $20,000 on their services so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in 2012 and the collaboration is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’re analyzing the website all the time, and we’ve received many more users. People aren’t complaining and they did in the past because it’s now fast and presents photos nicely. I’m very satisfied with the collaboration.

How did Qunabu Interactive perform from a project management standpoint?

We didn’t have any problems. They delivered and communicated quickly.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re professional and pleasant, so you don’t get the feeling like you’re talking with robots. Also, the relationship isn’t as strict and formal but rather feels like you’re working with friends.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No. We’re really satisfied.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Do your research and look at their past projects to make sure you like their aesthetic. If it fits someone’s project, they should do it.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the Digital Marketing Director at a software production company. We develop solutions for government, military, and banking clients.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Qunabu?

We produce some very large pieces of software that aren't very user-friendly, so we needed some innovative, simple, and attractive landing pages.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Even though I prefer WordPress, because it’s very user-friendly, they use a SilverStripe CMS because it’s a lighter and more secure system. They’ve also leveraged some great graphics and software solutions for us.

They continue to provide maintenance work, and I’ve given them some new website development projects as well. They’ve also produced some motion-graphic elements and animations for our websites.

What is the team composition?

We have a project manager from their side, and they outsource their coding work.

How did you come to work with Qunabu?

I was referred to them by a friend. I found out that they had an office in the city I was working in, so I went to meet them in person. I then checked online for every project they’d done.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent around 100,000 Polish zloty ($25,000 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been working together since February 2014.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’ve never heard any complaints about the look of the websites, and we’re satisfied with they’ve done for us.

How did Qunabu perform from a project management standpoint?

It was important to me that they were close by for discussions, since Skype isn’t always the best way to explain a problem. I know that they use outsourced coders, so task tracking platforms, like Redmine, are the best way for me to discuss my requirements. I can’t say anything bad about them in this regard. They’re fast and they respond promptly.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re nearby and they’re fast.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Their graphic design resource has changed too often in my opinion. I’ve needed to work with the same person in order to produce results similar to those of past projects. They should focus on maintaining more stability.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

They understand our business quite well, and they have a grasp on the software sector. I would recommend them very much in this sense. I’m not sure about other areas, as I haven’t collaborated with them on cultural or government projects, but I feel that they get us.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the Directory Manager for MSL Interiors, a commercial furniture provider in Manchester, U.K. We mostly deal with small-to-medium size companies, offering a full portfolio of furniture from reception areas to boardrooms, including everything for the office.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Qunabu Interactive?

Our existing website had been built in 2012, and we were looking to refresh it. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They rebuilt our website from the design specifications we wanted, using the SilverStripe CMS. I sent a brief structure of the site to Qunabu, asking for a hybrid site that could be used for commercial sales and as a showroom. Through our discussions with their founder though, we changed our minds, deciding not to go down the e-commerce route and just stick with showcasing. We’re more of a consultative business, rather than selling directly through our website. Our products require a bit more specification than pressing a couple of buttons and buying an item. They started by putting a framework and wireframes together, and the project really gathered momentum when we went to visit them in Gdansk. That was brilliant, as it’s always good to put a face to a name. It provides an extra bit of confidence.

What is the team composition?

We primarily interacted with their founder and a project manager. We also worked with a designer from their team in the early days though.

How did you come to work with Qunabu Interactive?

The company who had built our existing website, which we did like, quoted us a price that we didn’t feel their work warranted, so we decided to look for another vendor. We came across Qunabu through one of the Polish manufacturers whose products we were considering. We really liked their website, and saw that Qunabu was attributed at the bottom of it. We work with a lot of Polish companies, and we were comfortable with those collaborations. Our principal concern was whether they spoke English, but, once their founder responded to our email, I rang him up and got on very well. His English is excellent, as was that of their project manager.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent less than £5,000

What is the status of this engagement?

They formally started working on the site in November 2017. The project was wrapped up in March 2018, and the site launched last week.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I always ask people how they’ve found their experience on the site, and I’ve not had any negative feedback at all. It’s all been positive. The people we’ve shown it to before launching told us that it’s clean and crisp—exactly what we wanted it to be. The scope changed a bit, they were fair about it. I’m pleased with the results, and I’ve enjoyed working with them. As a consequence of their work, we’ve saved a lot of money.

I can’t provide any tangible metrics at the moment. We’ve only recently gotten the Google Analytics package up-and-running. At the moment though, we had our first 3 contact forms filled out, all today. We had a couple of phone calls yesterday, as well. It was a great experience, and the results are coming through now. Inquiries are coming in rather nicely, even though we launched less than a week ago.

How did Qunabu Interactive perform from a project management standpoint?

The more creative people were using Slack to ask for feedback from us around particular aspects of the project—how we want something to be portrayed, and what the structure of the website should be. I am not a very technical person. I am the kind of person that likes to pick the phone up or use email, so I did find the Slack element to be a bit awkward for me, personally. This is why it was important to visit them in person. They also delegated the work, so we didn’t need to know who the team members were. The work simply got done. They were responsive to all our questions.

I didn’t put them under any pressure to deliver the website by a specific date. It was a matter of getting it done as quickly as we could, but without rushing the work. It had to be right. There are only 2 of us within our company which can make working out business requirements difficult. Any timeline issues were a consequence of our failures. I can’t think of a particular moment in time, where I was impatient and asking for something. They’ve always been responsive and timely.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I’ve found them to be personable, responsive, reactive, and able to do what they said they would do. A lot of the companies I’ve worked with in the past lacked a personal touch, and this project was diffused to other people as well, but there was no need for me to speak to those resources. The delivery of it was great, and it didn’t make me feel ignorant. Some technical people can blind you with science, but they were patient enough to be tolerant of my ignorance. Very often in business, the human element is overlooked, but it’s absolutely crucial in developing a website—understanding people and the nuances. We also thought that there would be a language barrier, but there wasn’t anything like that.

We identified functionalities that needed amending after the site was finished and they addressed and sorted those things out within the same day. It was a completely different experience to those that I’ve had with the three other websites I’ve built in the past. It was much more hands-on and reassuring.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I would struggle to criticize them from a practical perspective.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

The big question market in website development is whether the people being approached have the capability of delivering, and—particularly in this case, given that they were a Polish outfit—are going to understand what we want? Very often, even when working with a native English person, the interpretation of what we want isn’t necessarily correct. I was completely reassured by Qunabu though. Admittedly, we were very specific, but they delivered exactly what we wanted. If the client has a clear understanding of what they want, and they can relay that, Qunabu will be very good at interpreting that and delivering.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the managing director of Graphical House, a branding, design, and visual communication consultancy that works with global businesses to help them communicate with their audiences.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Qunabu Interactive?

We needed reliable web development help for our clients’ digital projects.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They provide front-and backend web development for us. They work on digital brochures and e-commerce projects, and build out various platforms. They’re also improving our technical standards to help us move to a new platform.

Right now, Qunabu is designing landing pages for a charity event and continues to provide technical support.

What is the team composition?

I work mainly with the owner.

How did you come to work with Qunabu Interactive?

One of the owners used to work for me.

How much have you invested with them?

We have invested around €8,000–€10,000 ($9,882–$12,353 USD)

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in 2011 and are still working with them.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Metrics are hard to come by, but many of their projects are going live soon, and our clients like them. Plus, Qunabu is able to quickly fix any bugs we find.

How did perform from a project management standpoint?

Qunabu is very responsive and communicates well with Slack and email. They always try their hardest to meet the deadlines we impose and communicate when it is unlikely to meet a certain deadline.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They are very flexible and willing to adapt, making their work useful and relevant to our business.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I am genuinely satisfied with them.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

It’s good to have wiggle room with the budget and paying scale with third-party agencies because there are always many changes in expectations in terms of delivery. If you can be flexible, it’ll take a lot of the pain away from the process.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of Panoramic Imaging, a company that develops websites, mainly in the travel sector. We’re also specialists in 360-degree imagery and video.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Qunabu Interactive?

For over twenty years, we’ve managed the web development and technology for a number of travel clients. We’re knowledgeable in the backend and hard programming, but we’re not well-equipped for the frontend, especially responsive design. A few of our larger clients wanted responsive sites, so we needed a partner to help us.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We give Qunabu designs, and they turn them into responsive HTML page templates. We then integrate those templates back into the content management systems for our clients, so they can have responsive and mobile-friendly sites.

Qunabu actually began working on two projects at once. The initial bulk of the page templates were for a bigger project that has now been passed on to our internal team. We work with Qunabu and our clients to find errors, make changes, and develop the best possible product.

What is the team composition?

Our main point of contact is the founder. If we have any issues, we talk to him. Qunabu also provides a project manager who issues invoices and takes care of the administrative tasks. We have a few developers assigned to our team, but I don’t interact with them directly.

How did you come to work with Qunabu Interactive?

When we began looking at partners, we considered a U.K. agency, but they were too expensive. We’d worked with an Indian team before, but it didn’t go well. I talked to some colleagues who recommended a few Eastern European firms, so I began doing research. I found three companies that I visited with in person, including Qunabu. Their prices were competitive, they were easy to communicate with, and they complemented our team, so we hired them.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent between £6,000–£8,000 ($8,428­–$11,237 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working together in August 2017, and the work is ongoing. We’re currently in the integration phase.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our clients seem pleased with Qunabu’s work. If we have any additional digital work, we’ll give it to them.

How did Qunabu Interactive perform from a project management standpoint?

We started by communicating via email and Skype, but as things began to pick up, we switched over to Qunabu’s project management tool, Redmine. It worked so well that we actually implemented it in-house, too. Qunabu has talked about using Slack in the future.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re responsive, quickly solving any issues that we flag as urgent. They deliver on time, and their communication is good. The entire team is friendly and easy to work with. Their workflow is incredibly transparent; we can easily see how their hours and efforts are spent.

Are there any areas they could improve?

When we first started, their developers would send pages to me right after the first draft, even though they didn’t match the design specs. After talking to Qunabu’s founder, he now does the initial round of testing to make sure the designs are met, which has reduced the number of issues I’ve had to deal with.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

We provided incredibly in-depth initial designs; we left little to their interpretation. A good set of specs improves communication and makes things move much quicker. If you leave things open and vague, problems can creep in. That’s for all developers, not just Qunabu.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I work for an agency that does everything from PR, media, communications, advertising, digital, social, and content creation.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Qunabu Interactive?

They’re specialists in SilverStripe, which is the CMS we use for our projects. We were interested in them as a potential partner since it’s a relatively niche technology.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Initially we hired Qunabu to do a small website for a client. They did a good job in terms of delivery, so the engagement continued from there. They have their own set of modules that align with the SilverStripe platform, so it's easy for them to utilize and build on existing modules. They're also good about sharing their code. They help on a lot of different features that are quite complex.

What is the team composition?

We have an assigned project manager that runs the day-to-day. We don’t interact much with the founder, but he gets involved if needed. We also have direct contact with the front- and backend developers.

How did you come to work with Qunabu Interactive?

They reached out to us via email and mentioned their work in SilverStripe, which was the key selling point. They were also quick to reply.

How much have you invested with them?

Historically, we’ve spent between £15,000–£20,000 ($21,074–$28,099 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together around three years ago. Qunabu continues helping us with client projects on a daily basis.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

From the first engagement, they over-delivered against the stated deliverables. Their frontend features—how things work and look—were much better than expected. It’s an ongoing relationship because we continue to get the feeling they over-deliver in terms of features on every project.

How did Qunabu Interactive perform from a project management standpoint?

The project manager is a great resource, but we can also reach out directly to the developers if we need to get a quick answer on why something isn’t working. We communicate using Slack and their suite of project management tools. They work with Redmine and they also use GitLab for source control. If the client has a preference for a certain technology, Qunabu is totally flexible and capable of using other tools such as Jira.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The knowledge-sharing element of the relationship is really great; they're teaching us a lot. They're willing to tell us what they use, how they use it, and how we can use it in our organization. We've adopted several technologies they use, such as GitLab.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Nothing negative springs to mind.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Put them on a retainer. They're very good and highly-skilled, but they're often busy on other projects so it might be quite difficult to book them. If you don’t schedule them in advance, you may be languishing in the queue.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am product owner in crowdfunded online radio station (Radio 357). We specialize in providing online radio and podcasts to the audience.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

Escola was hired to develop web application, mobile applications for Android and iOS devices including online radio player and podcasts player. In addition Escola worked for us to develop content management system allowing Radio 357 staff to manage audio and written content.

SOLUTION

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

As our goal was to start broadcasting in really short notice, one of the most important factors was possibility to adjust to the tight schedule and availability of personel able to start as soon as possible. In addition, prices of development and further maintenance were also important in the decision process.

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

• Architecture of the solution
• Hosting confifuration
• Web application (Vue)
•  Content management system (Java
• Native mobile applications
• API

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

• Development Director
• Project Manager
• DevOps
• 2 Backend Developers
• 1 Frontend Developer
• 2 Mobile Apps Developers
• 2 QAs

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Escola has delivered all scope of work according to the schedule.

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

Close and frank communication with project manager, director of development and members of the development team. As for the tools used: mostly slack for ad hocv communication and Jira as a tool to organize the processes and coordinate development work.

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

Really great communication and quick reactions and quick delivery of the ordered works.

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

Nothing specific.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am CEO of the IMPROVLearning www.IMPROVLearning.com

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We came to Escola after spending a year with another vendor who has failed to generate any results. Escola was able to get the project on track and finished

SOLUTION

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

Talking to the team and looking at other customer reviews.

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

re factor badly coded app, built a number of new features, UiUX, complex API integrations

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

ranged from 3-12

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Project was completed and met all functionality specs

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

very flexible, understanding and accommodating.

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

They were comprised of intelligent people who understood what we were trying to achieve.

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

we are very happy with results.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am a CEO of a company that produces multimedia applications.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Escola?

We hired Escola to research the market, locating a customer base and marketing opportunities

SOLUTION

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

Recommendation by business associates

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

Basing on the interviews, they collected valuable conclusions and insights experiences and needs of the group of recipients. Respondents provided important information on the topic of difficulties, limitations, needs, motivations and possible improvements in the discussed issue.

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

The owner dealt with contact with us, besides, two data engineers took part in the project.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Results of the project are very helpful, but we don't want to make them public as the project is underway

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The workflow between us was very good. We were in touch all the time and we had insight into the progress of work

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

Professionalism and friendly, helpfully approach

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

Everything was just fine.