Development for Investing Startup
- Custom Software Development
- Confidential
- Quality
- 5.0
- Schedule
- 4.0
- Cost
- 5.0
- Willing to Refer
- 5.0
"They went the extra mile at least when it comes to us."
- Financial services
- Vienna, Austria
- 1-10 Employees
- Phone Interview
HyperSense Software performs in an advisory and development capacity for a SaaS startup. The provide both mobile app and web development work and optimize technologies used for specific needs.
HyperSense Software has a response time of a matter of hours when it comes to fixing bugs, and they work around the clock when needed. The team builds a trusting collaboration and often delivers before deadline. Even after delivering a product, they ensure its successful implementation.
A Clutch analyst personally interviewed this client over the phone. Below is an edited transcript.
BACKGROUND
Introduce your business and what you do there.
DealMatrix is a recently born startup that is about a year old. It’s focused on the software as a service industry. We’re building SaaS platforms for investment management for both investors and corporate ventures.
I’m one of the co-founders and the COO of the company. Being a young startup, you can imagine that it includes a lot of areas. I was the one in charge of handling the relationship with HyperSense.
OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE
What challenge were you trying to address with HyperSense Software?
We are based in Vienna, Austria. We had an issue with the hourly cost of developers because in Austria the average is €90 an hour for development. I’m originally born in Romania, so we were trying to figure out the best country to find developers, and we picked Romania for that. After going through a couple of companies, HyperSense Software fit the best when it came to their background, their dynamic, and their way of working.
As opposed to other companies, HyperSense Software was very open from the beginning. They stated what they could and could not do as opposed to other past experiences. I liked their honesty very much. We were very interested in their experience on the app development side, which was the main project that we did with them.
SOLUTION
What was the scope of their involvement?
It was great from the beginning. HyperSense Software offered a lot of consulting on the product that we wanted to build, both on the app and on the web development side. We built a version of our app from scratch which is used for pitch events for investors or members. They're very fast, they can deliver rapid development which is very stressful, and they manage that very well for a software company. They helped us build from the beginning. They also helped us come up with some input based on their experience in the app and in this market.
From an IT point of view, they also have optimized and figured out what technologies are best suited for those specific features that we needed. Two or three months ago we also worked with them a lot on the UX [user experience] and UI [user interface]. They did a lot on the graphic side that made the UI more focused. The current app, everything from a design point of view, and so on, comes from them. We’re very happy.
We’ve received very good market feedback. It’s native Android and native iOS which also is supplemented in a web portal so we can install it from a distance.
How did you come to work with HyperSense Software?
It was a bit tedious. I went online and started searching for development companies in Romania. I scheduled a bunch of calls with all of these people. I talked to Andrei [COO, HyperSense Software] in the call and explained what we want to do. That seemed fine. The first time I was back home I had a meeting that was supposed to be a 1–2-hour meeting. The meeting went so well from the beginning, and their input was so good that the meeting turned into a project description. We started to work on the second day or third day afterward.
How much have you invested with HyperSense Software?
It was $55 an hour. I don’t have the entire value. It’s still ongoing. It’ll be done at the end of the year.
What is the status of this engagement?
The relationship is ongoing. In the future, the app is going to stay in maintenance with HyperSense Software, as far as I can see. I don’t know what’s going to happen far along because we’re a startup, so we’re expanding staff right now. It depends on how big we get, how much resources they can provide, and If they can grow at the same time when it comes to HR resources. But as I see it for the next 18 months, they’ll be with us on that.
RESULTS & FEEDBACK
Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement?
Thea app is not a general market app. It’s only downloaded for the event. The event organizers are pushing the app to be downloaded by the attendees, and then they wipe it out and reinstall it when there’s a new event. From that point of view, it’s a bit unusual behavior for an app in the store. We wanted to have it in the store for ease of access and downloads as opposed to enterprise deployment.
HyperSense Software's response time is in a matter of hours when it comes to bug fixing. If it’s during an event even if it’s very late hours and they’re off work, HyperSense Software is always there. At least one person is answering the phone and emails. Maximum one hour after an urgent situation happened, we get a response, a solution, and we reload the monitor. From the response point of view, they’re amazing. I wasn’t expecting that to be honest. They went the extra mile at least when it comes to us. I’m very happy with them. I have nothing negative to say.
How did HyperSense Software perform from a project management standpoint?
Everything went well. Andrei was the one in charge of their internal project management. When it comes to the IT part of project management, we used our tool for that which is JIRA. I think that’s a standard for this kind of thing. Everything went perfectly because he had access to that environment. Everything got put in place, and they were responding to issues automatically. We didn’t have to take any more calls to do the description and explanation.
If we have an issue or a feature request we put them in JIRA, they pick it up from there, and we go forward from that. Everything is fine from all I can figure. Everything got delivered on deadline and sometimes even faster. The only thing that I would have to say with them, and it’s not their fault, is that like any new startup in a new niche we had a bit of lack of communication in the beginning. This miscommunication went on until they understood what exactly the format was going to be. It was also our fault because we’re also in the initial stage as any startup. We sold a lot and didn’t have anything to show for the sales, so we had to rush things a bit at one point. That created a bit of stress for them, but they handled it very well.
What did you find most impressive about HyperSense Software?
HyperSense Software makes sure that the project is implemented even after they deliver. I always got calls two or three weeks after a project was done to make sure everything was fine. They are always willing to go the extra mile and do more work to make sure the quality is there. The one thing we liked is they never tried to increase hours. Every time I asked them how much it would take and I gave them my estimation or my CTO’s estimation on that; they always tried to say they could do it faster and not increasing rate.
Are there any areas HyperSense Software could improve?
Maybe a bit more communication would be nice when it comes to the actual code that we’re developing, but then again, I understand the situation. The management style is different. I’m a hands-on guy. I like to talk with everybody on the team continuously. But with HyperSense Software I wasn’t involved that much with the developers. It’s a difference in attitude. It’s a difference in what I was expecting. It was a decision from Andrei that it would be best if I allowed him to do the internal project management for his people and only interact with them if something is urgent or needed from my side. That would’ve been my preference, but I don’t think it would’ve impacted the result in any way in the end.
RATINGS
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Quality
5.0Service & Deliverables
"Everything we built with HyperSense Software was amazing. They also had a lot of input on how it should be built in the end. Everything is working perfectly and configuring the way we built it."
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Schedule
4.0On time / deadlines
"HyperSense Software always respected the deadline, but there were a few situations where it became a bit tight. There were only two or three situations where the deadline was barely reached."
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Cost
5.0Value / within estimates
"I’m very happy with $90–$100 an hour here for development. We could do double."
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Willing to Refer
5.0NPS
"We’ve recommended HyperSense Software already.