Koombea

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of Packen, a technology platform that connects the operators within the cargo transportation industry. Communication has always been linear within this ecosystem, but with the available technologies now, we can create real-time communication and transparency for these services by using intermediary tools like the ones that taxi platforms use, which connect drivers and users.

We’re trying to create this community but sometimes there’s a lack of transparency, especially regarding infrastructure, fuel costs, operations, and other informal practices that damage the industry.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Koombea?

I had the logistics expertise and the financial resources but was lacking a tech partner with the programming knowledge that we needed. I had a clear idea but bringing it to life from a technological perspective while also in a logical and organized way was important for us.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Koombea has been a strategically important partner since the beginning thanks to their knowledge. We created the whole platform with them, including the minimum viable product and the first version of the product. They’ve been excellent in their management and are very professional.

The platform has 3 main fronts: a cargo generator for service requests, a super admin account for internal platform management, and also the portal that we to give transportation companies along with the mobile app that truck drivers use to interact with every service.

The backend was developed using Ruby on Rails, the Android app was created using Java, and the frontend was done using Angular. For the database, we worked with Node, Potluck, Heroku, and Amazon Web Services.

What is the team dynamic?

Four main developers were assigned to the core team, but several others were involved depending on the phase we were working on. Designers were involved during the design phase and several architectural geniuses were involved during the architecture phase. We also had quality assurance and web specialists at times.

How did you come to work with Koombea?

When I was first looking for companies, I sent 15 requests for proposal around the world—from San Francisco to India—to understand the market. I didn’t find Koombea since their business development and commercial teams were in San Francisco and New York respectively with the development team here in Colombia. Their initial efforts weren’t focused on Latin America because of pricing issues but since the Colombian market has matured, they are now looking at developing more business in the country.

I know another client of theirs that had a good experience working with them, so I reached out. We had a merit matrix to compare vendors and Koombea really stood out from the beginning. I was also looking for great communication and mutual chemistry and they really had that added value, which was essential to us. Ultimately, I chose them because of their knowledge and the trust they instilled in me.

How much have you invested with them?

We have invested between $300,000–$800,000 approximately.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working in June 2015 and it is an ongoing collaboration.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

A big challenge was to get the user experience right for drivers since it’s a very broad user profile and there’s very limited knowledge on the reality of these drivers in the country. The app had to be very user-friendly, which they accomplished. Their programming knowledge and ability to go step-by-step in a logical way during the coding effort was very valuable.

Their expertise can be seen on the platform and we’ve received several recognitions for it, including one from the Ministry of Telecommunications in Colombia. Google also invited us to participate in their Launchpad, in which they chose 15 entrepreneurs that are innovating in the country.

This year, we won a prize from ProColombia, a government agency that represents exterior commerce and promotes national businesses around the world. They invited us to represent Colombia in the World Mobile Congress in Barcelona, one of the most important mobile technologies fairs. We’ve also been invited to other congresses and universities to present our technology. This was all possible thanks to Koombea’s participation in the project

How did Koombea perform from a project management standpoint?

The project manager followed a Scrum model and used several tools such as Slack, Basecamp, and Dashable. We had daily and weekly calls and everything went really well. They met their deliverables and communication was excellent.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They were not only good people but also good managers and always showed genuine interest in the success of my company. Their knowledge, reach, professionalism and structure were essential but they also displayed a human touch in building a great relationship.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Nothing really comes to mind but there are always areas for improvement. Their code is too advanced and I wasn’t able to find other resources to maintain it, but this isn’t related to the quality of the work.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there

I'm the chief executive officer of Tap technologies Incorporated which is a start-up technology company with a sole mobile app product that's a social media aggregator.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Koombea?

They were the primary developers for the iOS version of our application.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

For this iOS mobile application development collaboration, they work with accelerometers, some radio technologies, various social media API.

What is the team dynamic? 

I think there was one full-time developer and then one part-time web developer and a part-time graphic designer. And then also a product manager who was not working full-time but worked a great deal on the project.

How did you come to work with Koombea?

I actually was not on the team when that decision was made so I can't speak to the actual process of finding them but I joined the team at the same time they did. My understanding is that we just wanted to release the app quickly and that was the best way to get it done in time to outsource it.

How much have you invested with Koombea?

The project was in the range of $10,000 to $50,000. 

What is the status of this engagement?

May 2017 and it was completed in July 2017. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They did solid work and we've pushed a few updates since then with them. We have an internal development team now we sort of transitioned away from outsourcing and we've pushed a few development updates for improvements and to tailor it more to what we were looking for towards the end. For the most part, they did a good job.

How did Koombea perform from a project management standpoint?

They performed well in terms of communications and meeting deadlines. They used Trello and they used their own Invision boards for the UI work. It was good. We use Slack to communicate. I don't know if they use that internally to manage the project but that was a good platform to use to communicate.

What did you find most impressive about Koombea?

They were very enthusiastic about the project. They would often ask details about it because of curiosity and showed excitement about it, which made it more fun to work with them.

Are there any areas Koombea could improve?

I mean there were a few bugs throughout that we had to identify ourselves as opposed to them identifying them. Their strategy was to basically finish the build almost every day, which meant that a lot of times there were bugs. Maybe spreading the builds out some more to optimize the flow of it and not spend as much time communicating. It's not a huge issue but they probably could have reduced a few hours that way.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there

I have two different brand names that use the same developed app, called Drum Guru and Bass Guru. I am the founder and president of both companies. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Koombea?

The apps are basically teaching devices that present video or audio and music notations. Back when we started it was probably five or six years ago. The sizes of files were a problem. Internet speeds were a lot slower than they are now. We were delivering in an app probably half an hour of high-resolution video. It was a challenge to be able to present that and with confidence, that it would work globally, and in places with either slow internet or a lot of congestion during times of the day. We did a very good job at kind of figuring out a way to deliver all of the content because it was a very rich content app.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They worked with MP audio files and MP5 files for video at that point. For Drum Guru, we started out with both, iOS and Android. We dropped Drum Guru’s Android version probably a year ago. Bass Guru was and remains only iOS.

What is the team dynamic?

I had basically two or three main contact people that were involved. The development took quite a long time. There was one main developer. I'm going back I would say five plus years. Then that person changed and I had one main contact person who is still there and still my main contact at Koombea.

How did you come to work with Koombea?

Somebody I knew had done a vocal instruction app similar to what I wanted to do. It was a little more complex with music notations and so forth, but I'd met this person and he was very pleased and showed me the work Koombea did. It looked very good at a time when I was on the market looking for a developer and he recommended me to them. We started speaking and kind of hit it off and we went from there.

How much have you invested with Koombea?

Over $100,000. There's been a number of modifications over the past five years.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

While working with them, they were very open to ideas, at a time when we were doing something that was very unique. There were definitely some challenges which they were able to solve and going forward, once the app was out, we were able to solve issues that came up with any compatibility problems and upgrades to iOS. They always were right there. We would troubleshoot in advance any issues that would arise every time Apple decided to change their operating system. They are very good people to work with.

How did Koombea perform from a project management standpoint?

They used a system that was in place and you needed to check back with them again. Once we built the main body of the app, the engine, all the modifications we've done since then, such as updates and upgrades have all been small. So I don't know that there was a magic system in place for those, but definitely, in the beginning, there was.

What did you find most impressive about Koombea?

They were very personable, good to work with, and very professional. There was never an issue of time zone changes or language issues or communications. Jonathan, the CEO is a very bright and innovative young man. I would recommend them to anybody in the future. I think they do very good work, are very conscientious and want to develop the best product they can for their customers.

Are there any areas Koombea could improve?

Not really and that it's why I continue to work with them when I need upgrades. And if I had a new app to build I would definitely go and I would start with them.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the founder of Southern Straps, a company that manufactures watch straps for a range of wearable devices.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Koombea?

Koombea worked with us on redesigning our site, packaging and logo.

What were your goals for this project?

Site redesign as well as branding evolution.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

Jonathan and I met as Jonathan was a customer of Southern Straps.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

Koombea redesigned our site, logo and packaging.

What was the team composition?

Engineering and design.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Koombea built Southern Straps a beautiful site and really cool logo.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

Comprehensive.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The team is very talented and easy to work with.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Nope!