GM2

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Product Manager of HIEBA System Solutions

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

We are a resource management and pre plan tool for emergency services.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire GM2 to accomplish?

• Draft, ideate, design and define full product requirements
• Migrate and develop a complete production grade MVP
• Perform ongoing evolutionary development and strategy

SOLUTION

How did you find GM2?

Referral

Why did you select GM2 over others?

• High ratings
• Great culture fit
• Referred to me
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from GM2 were assigned to this project?

6-10 Employees

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

• Draft a complete development strategy and requirements gathering.
• Design a complete user interface
• Work with stakeholders both internally and externally to ensure user-centric funtionality
• Engineer a mission-crital production grade platform for the emergency services community
• Deliver both web and mobile interfaces for customers
• Integrate with external industry tooling
• Provide on-going support and interative development to the product

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

• Doubled the number of sold customers inside the first year
• Have been able to keep operating expenses low
• Closed incremental high-profile customers due to strategies provided
• Migrated all previous customers with a 100% satisfaction level
• Reduced customer reported issue response times from weeks to hours
• Maintained 99.99% uptime

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

• Used strong Agile/Scrum based project management practices
• Team always responds with high degree of consideration and strategic feedback on all requests made
• Timelines are expressed, comitted to, and delivered accurately or early
• They do not over promise, and often over deliver

What was your primary form of communication with GM2?

• In-Person Meeting
• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

• They were able dive into an industry that is very niche and requires very specific context
• They were able to quickly become experts in the space through research, thoughtfulness, and the stength of their talent
• Their ideas have been instrumental in helping us to grow the product in ways we hadn't even considered
• All of this has made them an important part of even our sales cycle, as they are able to help us impress new customers
• They are alsways thining from a "business value" standpoint rather than a "build just to build/bill" standpoint

Are there any areas for improvement or something GM2 could have done differently?

• There was some turnover in the team over the course of the project, which at times made us nervous, however they quickly gained our confidence by ensuring the new talent was well supported and continued to deliver quality

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Head of Software Engineering of a financial services company 

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Ours is a global payment service provider specializing in tailored solutions for online merchants across various industries. Founded in 2017, the company offers a comprehensive suite of payment methods, focusing on the Latin American market, enabling businesses to expand internationally. 

With a deep understanding of local payment preferences, regulatory frameworks, and currency complexities, our company provides a seamless and secure payment gateway, including alternative payment methods such as bank transfers, cash payments, and local cards. Its goal is to bridge the gap between merchants and customers, facilitating growth and improving customer experience through a robust, scalable platform.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire GM2 to accomplish?

• Scale our teams to meet business demands

SOLUTION

How did you find GM2?

Referral

Why did you select GM2 over others?

• High ratings
• Close to my geographic location
• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost

How many teammates from GM2 were assigned to this project?

20

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

We engaged GM2 to provide two dedicated solution teams to help us rapidly scale our payment processing capabilities and integrate a wide range of payment methods across Latin America and Africa. The focus was on enhancing the platform's reliability, security, and transaction speed while also making the interface more user-friendly for both merchants and end-users. 

With two teams already in place, our goal is to continue growing with GM2, as their expertise is crucial for supporting our rapid expansion and handling high transaction volumes in these emerging markets.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We successfully delivered both the wallet backend and improvements to our financial processes, driven by two dedicated teams. The wallet backend team focused on building a stable and scalable platform that streamlined transactions and ensured seamless integration with our broader system architecture. 

Meanwhile, the financial processes team concentrated on optimizing financial workflows, enhancing reporting accuracy, and reducing manual errors. Together, these efforts contributed to the overall success of both projects, ensuring timely delivery and aligning with business objectives while strengthening the company's operational efficiency.

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

GM2's project management was exemplary, consistently delivering all milestones on time while maintaining open communication and quickly adapting to any changes or needs that arose during the project.

What was your primary form of communication with GM2?

Virtual Meeting

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

What impressed us most about GM2 was their deep commitment to understanding our business goals and their ability to translate those into a technical solution that not only met but exceeded our expectations, all while maintaining a highly collaborative approach.

Are there any areas for improvement or something GM2 could have done differently?

Not really

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the CEO & Founder of NUEVE Agency

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

We are a Marketing Agency that helps companies transform their business. We develop value propositions to achieve brand goals.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire GM2 to accomplish?

• build a shopify store
• build a tailor made performant theme
• follow the brand guidelines we defined

SOLUTION

How did you find GM2?

Referral

Why did you select GM2 over others?

• Close to my geographic location
• Pricing fits our budget
• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from GM2 were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

They performed a quick discovery process, then delivered hi-fi designs for the client to review and approve before jumping on the development work. Then they started the shopify theme build and showed demos every 2 weeks. They had direct contact with the client, and the demos were very helpful to show progress, and have the client give early feedback on the deliverables.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They executed the project very close to the estimated time: 10 weeks total. The site speed was very fast, with close to 1 second page load times.

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

They proposed the same tools we typically use: Google Matt, JIRA, Slack. The overall communication skills in English were great. They delivered the project on time, and the project manager was in constant communication with us.

What was your primary form of communication with GM2?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

Their level of communication and visibility was impressive. They had a well-defined process for conducting demos and keeping the client informed through slack and Email. Throughout the entire process, they consistently inquired about feedback, demonstrating a remarkable ability to swiftly adapt to the client’s vision.

Are there any areas for improvement or something GM2 could have done differently?

The presale / quote process took a bit longer than I would have expected.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the CTO of a software company.

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

We are a team of Oracle SMEs that for over 30 years, we’ve developed proven solutions built on broad industry understanding. Beyond integrating systems with Oracle Cloud Applications, we elevate success leveraging additional products and applications to coordinate harmony within the complexity of organizations.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire GM2 to accomplish?

• augment my in-house team
• add resources and expertise in certain technologies that were lacking within our organization

SOLUTION

How did you find GM2?

Referral

Why did you select GM2 over others?

• High ratings
• Close to my geographic location
• Pricing fit our budget
• Great culture fit
• Referred to me

How many teammates from GM2 were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

When considering the reasons why I decided to hire a GM2, two main drivers stood out. These drivers revolved around the need to augment my in-house team and the desire to add resources and expertise in certain technologies that were lacking within our organization. Firstly, augmenting my in-house team was a crucial factor in the decision to hire a GM2. 

While we have a talented and dedicated team, we recognized that the existing workload was becoming increasingly demanding. The addition of a GM2 would help alleviate this burden by bringing in a professional with extensive experience and leadership skills. The GM2 would act as a valuable asset in managing and coordinating our team's efforts, ensuring smoother workflows, improved efficiency, and enhanced productivity across the board. 

Secondly, the lack of specific skills and expertise in certain technologies was another driving force behind hiring a GM2. As the business landscape continues to evolve, it is imperative to stay abreast of the latest advancements and remain competitive in the industry. Unfortunately, our in-house team did not possess the necessary knowledge or experience in these particular areas. 

By bringing in a GM2 who specialized in these technologies, we aimed to bridge this skills gap and bolster our capabilities. This strategic move would allow us to explore new opportunities, develop innovative solutions, and ultimately drive growth and success for our organization. 

By combining the strengths of our existing team with the expertise brought in by the GM2, we were confident that we would be able to achieve synergistic results. The GM2 would serve as a catalyst for collaboration, knowledge-sharing, and skill development, leading to an overall enhancement of our team's performance.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The resources provided by the GM2 consistently demonstrated exceptional communication skills, making them easy to collaborate with throughout the project. Their technical expertise was highly commendable, and they seamlessly integrated into our existing workflows. Utilizing the same tools and being an active members of our Slack team, they truly felt like an authentic extension of our internal team. 

Their strong communication skills were instrumental in ensuring a smooth working relationship. From regular project updates to prompt responses to queries and concerns, the GM2's ability to keep the lines of communication open greatly contributed to the project's progress and success. We appreciated their proactive approach, as they consistently sought clarification, provided valuable insights, and offered suggestions for improvement. 

Moreover, their technical proficiency was a significant asset. Having a thorough understanding of the tools and technologies we utilized allowed them to collaborate on projects seamlessly. This shared knowledge fostered a sense of unity and synergy, enabling effective teamwork and minimizing potential gaps or misunderstandings when working with external resources.

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

The GM2 employed a lean and agile process, which greatly contributed to the efficiency and effectiveness of our project. We utilized collaborative tools like JIRA, Slack, and MSTeams, ensuring seamless communication and streamlined workflows. The GM2 actively participated in our meetings and ceremonies, demonstrating their commitment to collaboration and staying aligned with our team's objectives. 

Adopting a lean and agile process proved invaluable, enabling us to respond swiftly to evolving project requirements and prioritize tasks effectively. The GM2's familiarity with this approach ensured that project deliverables were consistently met within the agreed-upon timelines. Their expertise in agile methodologies facilitated a smooth and adaptable workflow, allowing us to address any challenges or changes that arose during the project.

What was your primary form of communication with GM2?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

Working with the GM2 was a seamless experience, facilitated by their easygoing nature and the favorable overlap in time zones between our teams. Their exceptional delivery speed demonstrated their efficiency and dedication, as they consistently met our goals and deadlines with utmost commitment.

Are there any areas for improvement or something GM2 could have done differently?

While working with the GM2, I greatly appreciated their contributions and expertise. However, one area where I felt there was room for improvement was their resources and expertise on the DevOps side. I believe that having additional resources and knowledge in DevOps would have further enhanced our project's overall effectiveness and efficiency.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Co-Founder of InsurMarket Latam

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

My company is a consulting company that owns InsurMarket Latam, which is a regional insurance service provider, with a collaborative spirit, that seeks to bring the most up-to-date information on the sector to all of Latin America. It has been created by leading specialized media in Argentina, Brazil and Mexico, respectively. It also has the support of the Inter-American Federation of Insurance Companies (FIDES)

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire GM2 to accomplish?

I hired GM2 in order to help me define the product through a discovery process, and then build our MVP.

SOLUTION

How did you find GM2?

Referral

Why did you select GM2 over others?

• Close to my geographic location
• Pricing fit our budget
• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from GM2 were assigned to this project?

6-10 Employees

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

They performed a 6 to 8 weeks discovery process where they started from nothing, and ended up delivering hi-fi designs and a clickable prototype of the main flows of the product. Then they started the product building process with demos every 2 weeks, and iterating sprint after sprint. The visibility and transparency was always key for me.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We have not launched the product to the market yet, but what I can say is that we executed 25% less of the original estimated budget thanks to the discovery process they conducted.

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

They used tools like JIRA, Slack, Meet, the usual stuff. The overall communication skills were great.

What was your primary form of communication with GM2?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

Their communication and visibility were impressive. They have a process for demos, notifications. They asked me many times about how I felt during the process, and they learnt from my needs, and quickly adapted to my vision.

Are there any areas for improvement or something GM2 could have done differently?

They are very demanding with the payments schedule, and us being a startup made us delay on payments a few times.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the SVP of D2C technology for a retail and e-commerce agency.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with GM2?

Our company has undergone multiple mergers and acquisitions over the years, but we’ve had a long-standing relationship with GM2. Since I joined the company six years ago, we've worked on many projects together; GM2 has primarily been supporting us with staff augmentation and web development across a wide variety of clients and technologies.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Almost everything that the staff from GM2 works on for us involves web development. Most recently, they have been working on Shopify and JavaScript development, and data migration. They’ve previously worked with WordPress, Figma, Laravel, Node.js, and provided PHP development. 

For the most part, our team initially develops code base, and then we bring in GM2 to collaborate. 

What is the team composition?

Since I’ve been with the company, we have worked with around 25 people from GM2. These teams have included tech leads, solutions architects, server-side developers, and UI developers that range from junior developers to senior solutions architects. 

How did you come to work with GM2?

We have been working with GM2 since I started with the company, so I’m not sure.   

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve invested about $2 million so far. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working with GM2 in April 2010, and the engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They’ve been helping us effectively deliver work for our clients, and client satisfaction has been high. GM2 has also been helping us maintain our costs and margins internally. 

How did GM2 perform from a project management standpoint?

The project management they provide for us is great. We have weekly meetings with our project manager to discuss project status, staffing, and overall opportunities for improvement. Many of their team members collaborate with our team members and clients, and they always provide excellent communication. 

We use Jira and ClickUp for collaboration. We also use Slack, Zoom, Google Workspace, and Google Meet. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

The team from GM2 cares about our clients as much as we do, and when things are going well they are right there with us celebrating the success. When things aren’t going well, they jump in to help as much as possible. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

Occasionally, our models for delivery are not aligned, which has created challenges. As a services company, we’re limited to what our clients want from us, and it would be helpful if they developed multiple working models and ways of operating. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Get to know the team you’re working with, and treat them as close to the way that you treat your employees as you can. If you do that, they return the favor and bring a high level of passion to their work. They do their best work when asked to contribute their best capabilities rather than just being dictated to.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am responsible for the product, engineering and operations team at Glisser.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire GM2, and what were your goals?

We needed a trusted partner to augment our existing team, so that we could accelerate our pace of a specific project, at the same time as we maintained and enhanced our quality.

SOLUTION

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

GM2 came recommended to us (word-of-mouth) which is always the best way to start off a relationship. After reviewing their credentials, what really set GM2 apart from other candidates was the personal and cultural fit. We felt they indeed would be able to act as an extended team.

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

GM2 helped us to componetize parts of our product experience in React, enabling our customers to consume as much or little of our platform as they require. We scoped the work, adopted an agile and continuous development with regular meeting check-ins and constant day-to-day comms.

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

The team varied, but it was always a project manager, a senior developer, testing and then intermittently additional mid level engineers.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We were able to deliver more components with the help of GM2 than we otherwise would have able to do ourselves. And in a shorter timeframe.

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

Very easy-going, thorough and timely.

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

We all really enjoyed the open communication and honest feedback. We never felt like they took advantage of the partnership or introduced any scope creep.

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

We have multilingual talent on our staff, but sometimes the English was hard to understand verbally (for the odd resource). In writing all is absolutely fine. It did not in any way impact the quality if the work though.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CTO of Freebird Rides. We’re a mobile platform targeted at consumers aged 21–40, as well as bar and restaurant owners.

For the consumers, it serves as a marketplace for people that want to save money and find awesome places to dine or drink. The merchants can leverage rideshare as a loyalty and user-acquisition tool.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with GM2?

We needed a team that had expertise with mobile app development, specifically with a platform called React Native. We also needed to quickly find engineers to augment our existing team for additional firepower. We found that with GM2.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

GM2 has helped us deliver a release of our mobile application that was ready for both Android and iOS. We took an existing app that was built on a different platform and changed it to a new platform called React Native, which was the main framework. We had to maintain feature completeness and port performance, as well as develop the Android app because we had an iOS-only app.

The app development has required heavy TypeScript skills and a lot of mobile app development tools usage. We’ve implemented heavy integration with our API to serve up offers that are geo-targeted to the user. We’ve also integrated the app with our rideshare partners, Uber and Lyft, and it has required heavy usage of mapping and geo-libraries provided by Google. On top of that, we’ve made sure to accomplish this complex task with a beautiful design.

Once the deadline for the project was met, we retained one of the engineers. This person has been one of our best and longest-standing engineers to date. Currently, GM2 provides maintenance services and helps us with ongoing developments.

What is the team composition?

At the peak of the development, we work with three engineers. Two of them are React Native mobile app developers, so they’re very JavaScript- and TypeScript- oriented. The other one is a backend developer and helps us with our Node.js backend.

How did you come to work with GM2?

I’ve had a very long-standing relationship with GM2. I’ve worked with them over the course of two different companies that I’ve led. My previous relationship with them was at my former company, where we partnered with them to do a lot of different developments.

Originally, I found them through a referral within our network, and they became the largest provider of our development services. Thanks to that past relationship, when I formed this new company, GM2 was the first company I reached out to get additional developers from.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent over $200,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together on this project about three years ago, close to June 2018. The app was launched around four months later, but they stayed as an effective part of our team.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The app they have helped us build at peak has 200,000–250,000 users a month, and it’s facilitating around 150,000 transactions or rides, in our case, a month.

GM2 was able to spin up fast and get a critical deadline met. So far, they’ve been hitting all the deadlines that we have put in place. Also, I do a very careful code review of all of our engineers' work, and GM2 has satisfied all my code quality standards.

Collaboration and communication is a strong metric of success for me as well. GM2 is able to communicate clearly about the right assets at the right time — they collaborate effectively, and they’ve exceeded all those measures.

How did GM2 perform from a project management standpoint?

As GM2 provides staff augmentation for this project, our project managers take care of their resources. Their developers easily fit into our existing project management structure and team workflow.

We use Jira, Slack, and GitHub for communication because they’re not working on site.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The level of commitment GM2 has on the project exceeded our expectations. They take ownership of the work that they’re doing and push to create something that they’re proud of. GM2 elevated our platform’s quality and standards.

Are there any areas they could improve?

GM2 is doing their job really well. I can’t think of anything they could improve on.

Any advice for potential customers?

The clearer you are about the requirements, the better the collaboration is. As with every other team, GM2 does a better job if the client really knows what they need and how to communicate it.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the Managing Partner of a technology investment fund, and former Director of Technology for a leading LA based digital marketing firm. Our fund invests in technology companies, and we bring a C-Suite to the equation to enact meaningful forward movement.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire GM2, and what were your goals?

One of our portfolio companies had a vision and plan to execute a drastic change to the real estate industry by integrating a robust, custom UX flow in order to allow home owners to sell their homes by owner, but still gain the benefit of having a real estate 'agent' assist in the more tedious aspects of inspections and form filing.

The goal was to allow everyday homeowners the opportunity to fully list their home for sale by owner, but have that home syndicated nationally on the MLS as well as 3rd-party platforms like Zillow and Redfin.

SOLUTION

How did you select GM2 and what were the deciding factors?

I worked closely with the Director, who ensured at every step of the initial pitch process that they had the experience, professionalism, and acumen to complete the project on time and in many cases, with more thought leadership from their team.

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

They designed and developed a custom user flow for listing your home on the MLS and having that syndicated nationally. This was insanely complex, as anyone that has purchased or sold a home can attest, the forms and processes involved are anything but "user friendly".

The forms and questionnaires, as well as all of the disclosures and signatures had to be condensed into a consumable form, and the GM2 team did this in spectacular fashion. They constructed a step-based system by which a user could start, stop, and resume the process at any time, as well as consolidated many of the hundreds of duplicitous and/or conditional information items that were to be collected.

They used a Laravel framework backend, hosted on a scalable AWS Fargate managed service with a Vue.js frontend.

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

In total, I believe there were about 8-10 people from GM2 involved with the project, including a stellar project manager, UX and design team, and a lead developer with his team of backend and frontend engineers. As well, we were well looked after by GM2's Managing Director, who would frequently join our meetings to ensure smooth communication and client feedback was being heard.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The project timeline was adhered to very closely, and we were given advanced warning of any yellow flags that might hinder the timeline and the project being delayed -- which fortunately it was not.

The design and UX team cannot be commended enough on the monumental task that they had to overcome in translating literally hundreds of poorly worded, duplicative, and sometimes incoherent questions that are required for a home to be listed on the California MLS.

Finally, it should be noted that while the business was still operating with this model, only they used humans for data collection. After the launch of this automated system for data collection and initial payment collection, with proper advertising, lead generation went up by many orders of magnitude and the pipeline was able to be serviced at a much later initial starting point.

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

The project manager, and the entire team at GM2 were very accommodating during the development of the project. They acquiesced to every request we had from using Slack for inter-company communications, using Figma for collaborative UX and design review, and using a client-facing ticketing system to be able to track change requests and other tasks important to the stakeholders.

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

The ability for GM2's team to pivot, change tactics, respond to client feedback and have something in front of us extremely fast that reflected those requests - this applied to UX, design, and development.

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

Being an Argentina based team, I was unsure if the language barrier was going to be an issue. Fortunately, almost the entirety of their team is bilingual, and quite well versed in colloquial and industry jargon in English, so integration was quite easy. There were a few times that a team member had trouble, but this is understandable at this level.