LaSoft

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We are developing a smartwatch for senior people along with the ecosystem of the device. It helps seniors stay connected to their caregivers and relatives who can track their location and communicate with them without the use of a mobile phone. Users can set reminders and preset notifications about taking their medication, etc. We’re a pre-revenue startup focusing on the UK market.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with La’Soft?

We have a hardware solution and are working with their team on the software for the smartwatch, the mobile component, and web portal.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We started the project from scratch with a brief on what the website needed to feature in terms of content. La'Soft worked together with us to finalize the brief and start development.

La’Soft is currently developing the web portal for our system. The mobile application component will be available for Android and iOS. We haven’t started development on it.

Our plan is to sell a subscription to the families of seniors who do not yet need 24/7 care. An annual subscription will provide the watch for free and allow the user to setup an account and make all the necessary settings on the web portal. They can then track the location of the elder person and their physical abilities, set reminders for them to go to the doctor, etc. The watch can be connected to a relative or to a call center in order to enable emergency calls through the panic button.

What is the team dynamic?

We’ve mostly interacted with two of their members, and there were at least two other people involved for the portal development. I believe we have three permanent contacts at the moment, but I don’t know how many members were involved overall for different pieces of work.

How did you come to work with La’Soft?

We found them through a recommendation from the local person who helped us with the animations for the website. We were looking for a web developer first of all, and we did contact 3–4 other groups that were also referred by word-of-mouth. La'Soft had the most relevant experience and the best understanding of our brief.

How much have you invested with La’Soft?

The cost was competitive, compared to the quote we received from a company from the same city as La'Soft. I cannot provide an exact number.

What is the status of this engagement?

I don’t remember when the project started. The website was launched in 2015 or 2016. The web portal is still in development and it’s a bigger piece of work. We currently have a demo of it and we’ve gone through multiple iterations, removing and adding features. We have reviewed what the system should look like from a consumer and functionality standpoint. We’re looking for investments in order to build a scaled-up version.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

My overall impression of La'Soft has been very positive and the same is true for my partners. I cannot tell how competitive they are technically because this is not my area of expertise, but La'Soft has been addressing all our requirements so they are professional, at least for our level.

We have shown the demo to a few potential investors and it received very good feedback. It shows the full graphics of the portal: what it will look like when scaled up, the full customer experience of the real product, and how the features work. The location feature is actually live and can track the location of a person. Other features are mockups and are not connected with the watch, like setting reminders on calendars. It’s a simulator of the customer experience with the real portal.

How did La’Soft perform from a project management standpoint?

We continue to make changes here and there since the product is in development and La'Soft has assigned a person who responds very quickly to all our requests.

What did you find most impressive about La’Soft?

I particularly appreciate the fact that the team is always ready to go the extra mile and go beyond the brief in helping us as a customer to resolve problems that aren’t within their skillset. We had some hardware issues and La'Soft brought some very good ideas on how to resolve them.

While working on the portal, La'Soft brought many ideas on how to make it better, not just following the brief. They have a creative approach and can embrace the concept of the product. La'Soft works on it as a partner, not just an outsourced firm.

From a customer service perspective, they are very flexible. They know that we have a very busy schedule, and there is a two hour time difference, so the team has worked during holidays and weekends in order to move things ahead. I’ve had a very good impression so far.

Are there any areas La’Soft could improve?

We are quite constrained in terms of funding at the moment, but when we start work on the portal again, there will be more work. I don’t have any negative feedback at the moment.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of a social networking startup that allows users to search and save recommendations from friends and influencers that tie into well-known services like Netflix, Goodreads, and OpenTable. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with La’Soft?

My technical co-founder is very sharp, but he’s trying to get full-time work. We needed someone to build the frontend of our web app from wireframes that we had developed. La’Soft did such a good job with that that we asked them to start working on the backend as well. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The product will be a social network platform. We’re in private beta right now. La’Soft is working on the backend now using Django. The frontend is built using HTML, CSS, and React. We requested certain features and functionalities, and La’Soft has performed beyond our expectations.

They’re a phenomenal team. Our project manager, Dima, is fantastic and communicates well. The deliverables always arrive on time. Our designer, Maryana, is also great; she has an iterative mindset and is constantly thinking of ways to enhance the product. We use software to go back and forth on design. We also work with Vitaly [Web Developer, La’Soft] on the frontend. He is the type of person who will work on the weekends. We also just added a backend developer to the team. I discuss the high-level stuff with their CEO, Andriy. He’s really open to doing whatever we need as we scale.

How did you come to work with La’Soft?

I found them on Upwork. I looked at 20 companies, and La’Soft’s communication and portfolio made them stand out. Their vision really aligned with mine. They have the same mindset that a founder would and communicate clearly. Because they have that mindset, they’re willing to do what it takes to make sure we’re happy. They act on that and do a great job.

How much have you invested with La’Soft?

The project cost is between $5,000 and $75,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in March or April 2017, and the project is ongoing. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or impact of the engagement?

La’Soft has diagnosed some bugs, but they’ve also fixed them. The bottom line is they are excellent at communicating, which is super important.

How did La’Soft perform from a project management standpoint?

We communicate using JIRA, GitHub, Slack, and Skype.

What did you find most impressive about La’Soft?

Their quality and speed are impressive. There’s nothing else I’d want from them. They’ve been unbelievable. I don’t want to share them with anyone else.

Are there any areas La’Soft could improve?

They’re not 100% fluent in English, so sometimes I have to repeat myself, but that’s a minor concern. 

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am a Manager at SH1FT

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

We developed an App and programming for Instructors to deliver live and online classes that saves them time and money.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

• Improve our online training portal
• Improve our App

SOLUTION

How did you find LaSoft?

Referral

Why did you select LaSoft over others?

• Pricing fit our budget
• Good value for cost
• Referred to me

What was the size of LaSoft’s team?

2-5 Employees

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

Various tasks to improve the operational performance and user experience of our App and website

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

• All tasks were delivered effectively with no issues from customers on deployment

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

It's been a great start to 2023; all of our requests were understood clearly and implemented correctly. Their communication on progress and suggestions was great, and even though these tasks took longer than planned, they kept us constantly updated on progress. It makes our lives so much easier to know we have someone who understands what we need and can translate that clearly to the wider team whilst keeping us regularly updated

What was your primary form of communication with LaSoft?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

Great communication and delivery as well as fair pricing

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

Some of the previous project managers were not as effective and the language barrier proved challenging, but our new team has been brilliant and we are very happy with the changes made.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

We build computer laboratories for classrooms on the browser

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

All frontend and certain parts of backend

SOLUTION

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

Word of mouth

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

Very closely worked on every step

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

2 Software developers

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We can do releases on time. Engineers are trained well. The management team and I have built good trust

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

Everything latest and greatest! The style is informal but very efficient

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

The impressive thing about them is that they care about their customer.

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

Well I could have found them before.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

We are a branding and digital marketing agency.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We hired LaSoft to help us build a website that allowed user to take a quiz to find the best CBD products for them.

SOLUTION

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

I interviewed a few companies and found I liked the LaSoft team the most.

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

LaSoft built us a fully custom website after I handed them our wireframes. We would meet daily to go over all of the progress and provide feedback.

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

5 people. Sales Project management front/back end web devs.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Not yet.

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

We would meet daily to go over all of the progress and provide feedback.

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

It was very impressive to have a full team behind you.

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

The project was just a little bit behind schedule. If we could have got the project done a bit faster it would have been perfect.