Helium Services

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am a co-founder of a loyalty and credit card rewards company. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Helium Services?

We hired Helium Services for custom software development. We had individuals working on the backend but needed a frontend developer. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We started by scoping the design and feel of what we wanted the project to look like. Helium Services was responsible for the UX/UI design and figuring out how the different screens interacted. They were also responsible for ensuring that the backend was properly connected with the frontend and everything was running correctly. We used React and TypeScript on the frontend and Figma for the design. 

What is the team composition?

We worked with a developer, a designer, and a few project managers. 

Are there any employees from the service provider's team that you would like to give a shout-out to in this review?

We’d like to shout out Joe (Founder); he really ensured that everything was running smoothly and quarterbacked the whole project. 

How did you come to work with Helium Services?

I knew the owners of Helium Services previously. 

How much have you invested with them?

We spent around $40,000. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together between September 2023–January 2024. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We received feedback from our beta users that the new design looked and felt significantly better. Overall, we were very happy with the quality of work Helium Services provided.  

How did Helium Services perform from a project management standpoint?

Helium Services stayed on budget for the most part. There were a few delays, but they weren’t necessarily their fault. We primarily communicated via weekly or biweekly calls; if we ever needed to contact anyone, we could call or use Slack. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their team was extremely thorough in their approach; everything they provided was completed professionally. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

It was difficult that our front- and backend teams weren’t under the same roof, and we had a few miscommunications. However, that isn’t really their fault. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Depending on the project, I would suggest future clients let Helium Services work on the front- and backend of the project. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the president of Validity Staffing Group, a staffing company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Helium Sites?

We wanted to grow our business and establish a digital presence, so we hired Helium Sites to build a custom website for us.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Helium Sites built our website from scratch. They helped us create several pages, including a customer page, a contact page, and an About Us page. They also assisted us with the design work and creating copy for the site. We already launched the website in August 2020.

Their team is currently providing maintenance support — they make sure everything continues to run smoothly and help us implement any changes that we request. The site is hosted on GoDaddy.

What is the team composition?

We work with two people from their side, including Joe (Co-Founder).

How did you come to work with Helium Sites?

We found out about Helium Sites through recommendations from friends and colleagues.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent around $10,000–$15,000 to set up our website. We also pay $250 per month for maintenance.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in January 2020, and our engagement is still ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We never had a website before, so the site that Helium Sites developed has helped drive our business forward and allowed us to attract potential clients. Also, the site looks better than we initially expected; it’s very detailed.

How did Helium Sites perform from a project management standpoint?

They did a really good job of setting expectations and delivering everything on time. For communication, we use Zoom, phone calls, and email.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We’re impressed with their communication skills and ability to address our needs on time and on budget. Their team is also very personable and attentive.

Are there any areas they could improve on?

No, Helium Sites has done a fantastic job.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be honest about your needs, and be open to trying out new ideas and solutions.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the athletic director for the Barons Christian Baseball program, a nonprofit organization providing baseball opportunities for junior varsity and varsity players who don’t have those opportunities at their school.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Helium Sites?

We needed a better website. Our marketing was basically running on word of mouth, so when we weren’t able to sit at a game and talk to families and volunteers, our website was our main conduit for communicating what we did and who we were. Thus, we wanted it to look better than it did, and we needed help with that.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Helium Sites helped us design and develop our website. We already had a website, so I’m unsure if they built the new one from scratch or worked with what we already had. Still, it was a complete overhaul. During the development process, we provided them with the content, and they placed it on the different pages that it belonged.

On our site, users can learn about our company, program, and history. They can also see the organizations that we play in and be introduced to our coaches. Additionally, players can register for tryouts, apply for financial aid, and download and submit forms.

What is the team composition?

We worked with 2–3 people from Helium Sites, including developers and a customer service representative. Additionally, Terrance (Partner & CTO) was our main point of contact.

How did you come to work with Helium Sites?

I found them through networking. I knew someone who was working with them and was very happy, so I got in touch with them. During our initial call, I explained what we were looking for, and Helium Sites seemed to understand exactly what we needed, so we started working together.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent around $2,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together around May 2019, and we launched the site in June 2019. Still, we continue working with Helium Sites for updates, maintenance, and hosting.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

More people have come to our program after finding our website, which has been great. Before working with Helium Sites, we were rarely found online.

How did Helium Sites perform from a project management standpoint?

Helium Sites’ project management was very simple. They initially sent a content worksheet for me to fill out and detail what I wanted on each page. Still, they also gave me a lot of feedback when they thought something wouldn’t look good. Throughout this process, we worked together on making changes and tweaks so that the end product looked very cohesive and well-designed. We communicated via email and phone calls.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Helium Sites was very easy to work with. They didn’t use complicated technical terms, making it very easy for us to follow along with what they said and understand their input. We never felt inadequate while working with them on areas we knew very little about.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No. They were great from start to finish.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Come in with a clear idea of what you’re looking for but be open to Helium Sites’ ideas and suggestions because they might come up with something better than you originally envisioned.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the project director for a faith-based national dementia program. Our organization works with faith-related organizations in the African American community, such as churches. We were working in the field for the Alzheimer’s Association doing education and realized that we needed to focus the programs on Black churches. We help them implement different activities to create a dementia-friendly environment. My role is to help bring on churches and attract programs and local services.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Helium Sites?

We didn’t have a website, so most of our outreach was through word of mouth. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we had an opportunity to expand. We needed to build a website from scratch to attract more leaders and churches to our organization.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Initially, Helium Sites asked us a series of questions to discuss our vision for the website. From there, they guided us through the process and provided us with documents to help us plan the design. We broke down the key components we needed to reflect on the website, and they went on to develop the site.

What is the team composition?

We worked with two team members to build the website. Right now, we work directly with one person and have access to the entire team. Our main point of contact checks on us and attends to any requests or changes we might have.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent between $5,000–$10,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in January 2021, and our relationship is ongoing. We occasionally communicate with them to make changes or additions.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We didn’t know what to expect in the beginning, but the relationship has been really beneficial. We appreciate that they come up with a lot of big ideas and then help us implement them. Overall, Helium Sites helps us keep in mind the users, so we always try to run things by them. We’ve built a great partnership.

How did Helium Sites perform from a project management standpoint?

We mostly communicate through Zoom. Initially, we scheduled meetings to discuss the plan. Now, we continue to meet via Zoom or talk by telephone or email. We can reach out to them and get an immediate response, which is really useful.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re outstandingly personable. Helium Sites wants to understand more about our program, and they’ve shown a genuine interest in our organization. They’ve even acknowledged that our work impacts a community they’re not part of. Since we serve Black churches, they’re intrigued by our work and want to learn more about us. Therefore, they do more than put content on the website; they do their best to display our program.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don’t have many complaints, but they could help clients better understand the development process. However, I’m not sure we’d even understand it.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the lead service technician and manager for a heating and air conditioning company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Helium Sites?

We wanted to expand our online presence and didn’t have an existing website.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Helium Sites has designed and developed our website from scratch and helped manage our Google listings. They’ve integrated a communication system so that anytime we get an email or message through our website, it immediately goes to my phone so we’re up to date with any contact from our customers.

Additionally, they ensure our hours are up to date and manage any pictures we need to upload.

What is the team composition?

We’ve worked with two team members. I’m not sure if there are more people involved in the project.

How did you come to work with Helium Sites?

I spoke to a few other people that used them in the past and were satisfied with their work. We also looked at some of the work they’d done for others. We decided to give them a chance based on those recommendations.

How much have you invested in them?

We spend roughly $100 a month.

What is the status of this engagement?

We contacted them in December 2018, and the relationship is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’re impressed with the website; it has been good for us. In general, we’ve been very pleased with their work so far. We didn’t have a website before, so we’ve had a lot more engagement and gained many customers. Now, people find our website and contact us through it. Moreover, having the communication system integration has streamlined the process, and inquiries go directly to us.

How did Helium Sites perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re very open with communication. We can get a hold of them anytime we have questions or issues. The team is responsive, and it really helps to have people we can rely on and trust to handle things for us. They go through everything with us, so we always know what’s happening.

We usually communicate through email, phone calls, or texts.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their responsiveness is their strongest point. Helium Sites gets back to us with questions or concerns almost immediately, and they address or answer them on the spot.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, there’s nothing I can’t think of. They’ve done everything we’ve asked them with quality and good customer service — that’s all we could ask from anybody.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Just hire them. Helium Sites does good work and communicates well. My only advice is to tell them exactly what you want. You should have a plan for how you want to represent your organization; then, they’ll present what they think is the best idea, and you’ll go forward from there.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the manging partner of a small personal injury law firm. We are composed of three lawyers and three non-attorney staff.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Helium Sites?

Our website was out of date and had coding errors. We hired Helium Sites to create and maintain an entirely new website for our lawfirm.

SOLUTION

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

I have prior experience working with Terrence and Joe at Helium Sites on past projects. I decided to go with them because I trust their work product and work ethic.

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

After a meeting to discuss our goals, Joe worked with us to create the framework of a website that met those goals. We then exchanged a number of drafts back and forth as he built out the website.

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

In total, we worked with two people at Helium as well as a copywriter and marketing agency that they referred us to.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our website is modern and clean. We saw an uptick in website visitors. Updates and changes to the site are turned around quickly following our requests.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

They are very receptive and responsive to any requests for additions or changes to our website. I submit an e-mail request and within one or two business days, the changes are made. Their team is friendly and easy to work with.

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

They are a small company who gives each client personal attention. This is in contrast to the large websites which do not give any real consideration to the unique needs of individual businesses.

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

Things can always be done a bit faster, but I have never submitted anything to them and told it was time sensitive.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Brill manufactures baking components and fully finished bakery products like cakes, muffins and brownies. I am a Director overseeing a new innovation project and future revenue stream for the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Helium?

Brill is launching the Brill 3D Culinary Studio and will be selling, marketing and commercializing 3D printing hardware + manufacturing and the consumables for this system. We are launching our company's 1st ecommerce platform to sell the consumables. We hired Helium to lay out the architecture for the ecommerce.

What were your goals for this project?

To ensure a seamless shopping experience for our customers and make sure all necessary parties from order to cash to fulfillment are aligned and included in the ecommerce stream.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

They were highly recommended by a trusted colleague and friend.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

They started with a few preliminary meetings with me and my core team to ensure that they understood the project. Next we moved to the Discovery Phase with multiple in-person meetings with various Brill employee from different areas, as well as our partners at 2 other companies. In the end they presented and delivered the full architecture and process flow.

What was the team composition?

There were around 8 core team member, but about 40 total Brill and partner employees were involved. From Helium our project was consistently handled by 2 people.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any information that demonstrates the impact that this project has had on your business?

The Helium team checked in on a few occasions to ensure that we had thought through every situation, and confirmed our answers.. The project was completed on time. The web site's ecommerce will not be live until April, but Helium provided us with the structure to be successful when we launch.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

The project was very well managed. Joe and Terrence were collaborative, but also took control when needed. All parties involved were both impressed with their process and the outcome.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Their willingness to work with us and be nimble when there were schedule or personnel changes set them apart. The method of working was extremely effective and they made the process so easy for all of us.

Are there any areas for improvement?

None that I can think of.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We work in a sales technology function that creates interactive sales assets to be used within our capacities.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Helium?

Helium provides integration of understanding development, visualization, and business.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We’re working with Helium on a multitude of projects. They’re business advisors that expanding into the design area, completing a lot of visualization work for us. Our engagement involves design, development, and general advisory on a wide range of technical aspects.

Their team has worked on interactive concepts through complex visualization. They also transcribed or upgraded work done in a manual based format. They’ve translated those products into something pleasant to look at.

What is the team composition?

The teams vary in size. We work with anywhere between 3–10 people.

How did you come to work with Helium?

The backgrounds of their leaders, Terrence (Partner, Helium) and Joe (Partner, Helium), were one of the reasons we decided to work with them. They have experience with data visualization and analytics. We thought Helium would be a good match because of their high degree of operational transparency and excellence. Some of their reference work also gave us confidence that they would be able to deliver the complex solutions we required.

What is the status of this engagement?

It is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The quality of work is outstanding. From a visualization and project management perspective, I have nothing but the highest praise. Their competency in development through creating what’s requested and anticipating issues is top-notch. Helium was exactly what we hoped for from a partner.

How did Helium perform from a project management standpoint?

From a project management standpoint, the team at Helium is top-tier. They deliver on time every single time. I also appreciate how transparent their team is with ongoing communications and status reports.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Joe and Terrence are approachable and easy to work with. The size of their company also makes their team responsive. As I said, their project management style is impeccable.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Honestly, no. We wanted to have a specific type of partner for our ongoing needs. Helium hit a homerun.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

They respond very well to full transparency. Their guidance is done from a perspective of what’s best for the project. Clients should take their advice to heart.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I manage IT, graphic design, and web design at WastePoint, a waste management service.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Helium?

We were looking for an app developer who could work in a confined budget for a product that typically would exceed our budget with most other developers.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They developed our mobile and browser-based app for our employees and supervisor/managerial staff that’s used in tracking jobs and employees. After all the initial negotiations and contract signing, we met with them and further discussed what we were looking for. We also made sure we were all on the same page linguistically as the majority of my team are not the most technologically savvy. The mobile app was for iOS and Android.

Then we went straight into the build process. They built the wireframes and presented them to us for review. After we gave our feedback and they answered any questions we had regarding it, they went into the next stage of development and repeated the process. Then we went to the coding stage where Helium did their thing. When we got to the testing stage of the actual coded app, they were very understanding of our limited schedule as a number of our employees that were helping to test the app were preoccupied with their actual jobs and weren’t able to get to things in a timely manner.

We got the app close to ready for production, did some more testing, and then they met with one of our employees that will actively be using it in the field. They were able to answer a number of questions and further modify the app based on user input. At this point, it’s about to be deployed at a couple of test properties that everything has been going smoothly and doing a great job at understanding what we’re looking for and what our hang-ups are with different aspects of the app in regards to our understanding of use and deployment.

They helped with adding geo-tracking and geofencing so we can ensure our employees are actually at the property they’re supposed to be servicing and remaining the entire duration they’re actually supposed to be at the property. We also added a clock-in/clock-out function including photographs so we can ensure not only is our employee checking in, but it’s actually the correct employee and not someone else clocking in on their behalf. We added the ability to request and order more supplies for any given properties to eliminate a number of the back and forth emails that we normally would have in our current process. They made major improvements to our problem reports and ensured the report and the photos are in one easy convenient location, rather than separate areas.

The web portion was primarily a replication of the mobile app with slightly more functionality. It had all of the ability to monitor all the GPS and geofencing tracking, and adding or removing new employees or properties. It basically allowed our administrative staff and managerial staff to work faster because they’d have use of a keyboard and mouse rather than trying to type in massive amounts of data.

What is the team composition?

We initially started out with Joe (Partner, Helium) and Terrence (Partner, Helium). During the visual development and while they were coding, we had a main point of contact. Now that we’re in the final testing before full implementation, we’re back to Joe and Terrence. There were far more people actually doing the coding and graphic side of things.  

How did you come to work with Helium?

We had negotiations and signed a contract.

How much have you invested with them?

We invested $150,000-$350,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in September 2018 and the work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

It’s not fully implemented into our company just yet. There’s been no major impact yet, but just with talking with the managers who have been testing it, the app has freed up 10–20 hours per week at minimum. It's much more efficient than our old methods of communicating with employees in the field, the various properties we work for, and payroll. We see it being a great time saver for managerial staff as well as a more efficient way of keeping track of our employees. Our staff can also more effectively keep track of what needs to get done at whatever job they’re at.

Two of our managerial staff that have been testing it are really happy with the app and the direction it’s headed. They really look forward to the potential this app has once fully deployed as well as future potential if they decide to expand it to some of the further scopes of the app that we discussed with Helium.

How did Helium perform from a project management standpoint?

They’ve done a great job of providing both a reliable, functional, aesthetically pleasing, and user-friendly product. Likewise, they've done an equally great job of ensuring our users have an app that is easy to use and navigate.

Their communication has been great. We’ve had weekly phone calls to keep abreast of everything that’s done on their end as well as informing them of what’s going on in ours, as well as any questions. We also had regular emails back and forth that they’ve been very quick to respond to. They meet deadlines that are set without any issues. The only delay has been from our side. There’s been no negative feedback from Helium on that. They’ve always been able to work with all of the delays. They’re flexible. We have in-person meetings, phone conversations, as well as email back and forth.

What did you find most impressive about them?

There’s been no nickel and diming with them. There've been no hidden fees. There weren’t any surprises. Anytime we wanted to add a feature, they let us know the cost ahead of time to make sure it was within our acceptable budget. They’ve been extremely polite and pleasant throughout the entire process on the phone, in-person, and via email. They’ve been extremely accommodating with our scattered schedule which has affected the overall timeline of the app development. Overall, they've been very easy to work with.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don’t see there’s anything major they need to fix or improve at this time. They’ve done a great job. What might have helped my team a little bit would be some sort of client portal where all the documents could be kept because a number of our employees are not the most technologically savvy. At times, they would lose documents, but Helium was great at resending them whenever requested.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

If you’re not 100% sure of what you’re wanting, talk things out as much as you can with Helium and have examples from other people’s apps of the features and functionalities that you’re looking for. They’ve done a great job working with us with most of our side not knowing much of anything about programming or technology in general.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder and CEO of a music and technology company called NotJuskOk Inc. Our goal is to popularize and monetize African music.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Helium?

After launching our web application, we wanted to create mobile apps for iOS and Android. We’d initially tried to build them in-house but were ill-equipped for development. As a result, we reached out to Helium to create the apps.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

In the beginning, we compiled a set of requirements detailing exactly what we wanted in our MVP, including technical and design documentation. We provided this information to Helium’s team, and they gave us a breakdown of the timeline for the iOS app. Each milestone consisted of several steps, which we’d approved.

They’ve since delivered the iOS app and are now finishing the Android version. It’s a streaming app to play African music. Users can download files to their device for offline playback, create playlists, and save their favorite songs. One of the key functions is the ability to sort music by category.

What is the team composition?

For the most part, we had a project manager who served as the liaison between us and the developers. If we needed to speak directly to the technical team, there was another point of contact.

How did you come to work with Helium?

We found them online while searching for development agencies in Atlanta, Georgia. They started work 2–3 weeks after we contacted them.

What is the status of this engagement?

Their work started in October 2017 and is ongoing. We’re still working on the Android version, which will go live toward the end of November 2018.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The iOS app went live in July 2018 and now has about 7,000 installs. We have a high retention rate with roughly 5,000 active users on the platform. Users have responded positively to the look and feel of the app as well as its functionality. Currently, we’re working to incorporate their feedback into further updates.

How did Helium perform from a project management standpoint?

For the most part, they’ve stuck to our timelines for both the iOS and Android apps. We typically correspond by email, but I also have them on my phone.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Because their team is so technologically experienced, we’re able to have an open conversation about development. They’re amenable to our ideas while also providing crucial insights into the user experience. I appreciate that they advise us on how our functions might affect end users and what not to do rather than just carrying out the task at hand.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I can’t think of anything. Compared to past vendors, I’ve had such a good experience.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

They’re approachable and happy to work with you wherever you are in the development process. We’re a technical team, so we were able to provide certain components. However, they’re equally capable of helping you from scratch. If that’s the case, then it’s important to be able to communicate exactly what you want so that you can form a set of requirements.