Leadweb

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the owner of the company called Webisoft, which produces web-based software.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Leadweb?

We don't have a lot of developers on hand, so we were looking for a contractor with expertise in web development. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They were involved in a number of complicated projects: data management, node.js touchscreen, and more. As far as technologies, they mostly use node.js and React Native.

We worked on mobile app, web software, and did media for iOS with them. We also have web designers on our end, who did iQx design for those applications. 

What is the team dynamic? 

We usually work with 1-2 people at time. They assigned us a project manager and a producer. 

How did you come to work with them?

I met them at the Navant a long time ago.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent around $20,000-$30,000.

What is the status of this engagement? 

We started working with them in July 2016, and it's an ongoing collaboration.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They deliver good products and stick to the deadlines. 

How did they perform from a project management standpoint? 

We use Jira and have no problems with project management.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They have a very smart team. They're down-to-earth, easy to work with, and experts at what they do. It's a matter of relationship and trust, and they have my trust. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

IVC is a 60-plus-year-old manufacturing company. We manufacture retail environments and merchandizing solutions for large consumer brands, retailers, and advertisers. I am VP of digital.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Leadweb?

Originally, we needed a user interface developed for an interactive touchscreen kiosk. I was working with another supplier with a great reputation, but they didn’t have the right approach to built-in software or our client’s business needs.

SOLUTION

What challenge were you trying to address with Leadweb?

Originally, we needed a user interface developed for an interactive touchscreen kiosk. I was working with another supplier with a great reputation, but they didn’t have the right approach to built-in software or our client’s business needs.

What was the scope of their involvement?

After the kiosk project, we asked them to develop some native applications. They eventually became the developer for our entire infrastructure to manage and operate mobile, retail, and metrics platforms. We progressively gave them larger projects.

One of our largest clients worldwide is Loreal, and we develop product recommendation tools. The client wanted to improve the performance of this category at the different retail channels,including Wal-Mart and CVS in the U.S. and Shoppers in Canada. They wanted was to first improve the sales in the category and then get better metrics for how consumers are interfacing with products in the store.

We needed to develop reliable tools and complex algorithms to propose products based on various scenarios. We needed to develop not only marketing tools, but also AI and cloud computing, so it was a really complex project.

They cover pretty much every platform. We’ve done a lot of iOS with them and some Android projects. We’ve done a lot of HTML5 for web-based projects. They do database integration on Amazon and have experts in Angular.

It wouldn’t do justice to them to outline everything they do. We’ve talked about using their Blockchain skill set and a lot of things that we’re not ready to implement yet.

What is the team dynamic?

Because they use an Agile model, they bring in different resources depending on the project. For example, for the frontend part of a project, my team can handle design, development, and architecture, but if it involves database integration, we use their team that specializes in that. Or we use their experts in Angular for metrics.

Even though I have a team that manages these projects, I remain strategically involved. I even talk directly to their developers to figure out the right angle.

How did you come to work with Leadweb?

I met one of the two owners, Louis, who’s also the president, 13 years ago. He was a young entrepreneur back then and came to me for advice about a different business. He contacted me through Facebook. We made an appointment, and he came with a briefcase and a suit. He looked 30 years older than he was. The more we talked, the more I realized I should be asking his advice. He’s so clever and he had brilliant ideas.

They built Leadweb four years ago. When I had issues with the vendor I was using, I remembered Louis’s brilliance and solid solutions, so I reached out to them. We grew together, both helping each other build our businesses.

I did a test with Leadweb and when I saw the results, I transferred my plans. We took a big risk moving everything from one platform to another, but we had confidence in them from what they showed us.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent $150,000 so far. They did some work for us for Dell and I decided to have them invoice Dell directly. Otherwise, it would’ve probably been twice that amount.

What is the status of this engagement?

We switched over to Leadweb three and a half years ago. Our relationship has grown over the years, and now we only work with them. They are our virtual department, which has become key for our operation.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The digital side of our business was at $0 when I joined the company. We were mostly doing signage, which basically drives advertising networks through software. We use off-the-shelf solutions with world leaders and we thought that would be our business.

What we’ve developed with Leadweb has become core and it’s grown into 30% of our revenues annually. We are making more than $50 million yearly, and what they’ve done has impacted that massively. We have monthly recurring revenues from hundreds of deployments in stores worldwide with products they’ve developed.

When I talk to the senior executives at Dell, they only have positive things to say. Dell operates the Montreal transit authority’s platform, and Leadweb fixed the flaws in the main database. Now their servers populate all the digital signage for trains and buses in Montreal. These guys turned a solution around in less than three months, and three years down the road, it’s still working.

The beauty of working with them is that they seem like a small shop, but a large firm that would charge a fortune probably wouldn’t have fixed the problem by now.

How did Leadweb perform from a project management standpoint?

They use Slack heavily, including with Dell, but they adjust to our process by sharing Google Docs. We update the docs live on our calls and always have access to status through them. We also use Messenger and email for group conversations, and they use other tools as well.

They’re responsive no matter what the time, whether I hear from Phil, [Founder and CEO, Leadweb] who runs the operation, project managers, or developers. I’ve sent them things late at night expecting a response the next morning, and I get an answer that night.

Also, if they’re not sure about an issue, they’ll reach out and work with us to figure out our priorities, so that they can address our expectations. That’s important to me.

What did you find most impressive about them?

What really sets them apart from their competition is that they keep learning and ramping up their capacities in various technologies. They’re not just workers delivering software—they actually drive our thinking process. I’m not as familiar with markets outside the Montreal scene, but their local competitors have stopped developing their talents internally. They’ve decided to focus on Microsoft or other languages, especially on the iOS side. As a result, they’re now outsourcing to Leadweb.

Leadweb, on the other hand, is expanding their expertise in things like Blockchain and IoT [Internet of things]. We develop software in the retail world as well as for banks, so we have to think of things like AI and big data. It’s all about the metrics. When they saw us taking that direction, they developed their skills accordingly. They’re always introducing me to new people and ideas, which is very stimulating for me.

That also enables them to attract resources that are difficult to find. They create a good atmosphere for their employees, which is one reason they’ve been so successful.

Another beauty of Leadweb is their flexibility—they grasp needs quickly and offer a quick turnaround. They also bring intelligence and the right level of resources to each project. That smart scalability has always impressed me and is the reason I turn to them. They understand business challenges and adjust to our reality, rather than being focused on invoicing hours.

Normally in this business we’d try to diversify the suppliers we use to avoid loading one up to the point that they under-deliver. That never happens with Leadweb. We’ve thrown a lot of curves at them, and they never say no. They always try to guide us in the right direction and find solutions for us. Our clients often ask for a product they want to deploy by the thousands in a matter of weeks. Best Buy recently asked us to create their new store concept, and we delivered a complete store in 3 weeks.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I’ve never encountered a challenge they didn’t come up with a solution for. I’m never reluctant to connect them with clients asking us for references, because they always deliver.

I have told them I think they’re underselling themselves. Sometimes they absorb things that they shouldn’t due to the pressure of large clients. Bad companies will try to take advantage of them.

For example, smaller firms will always be on the lookout for faster payments and bigger firms will take forever to pay. I’ve suggested they just increase their price and give us a return on fast payment, because we can’t speed things up any more on our end. We’ll pay more, and if we want the discount, we’ll pay fast. I’d rather pay a little bit more because I value the results of their work more than the the hours they put in.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Take the time to meet and talk with their team, especially their CTO. Even if you have to sign nondisclosure agreements to feel comfortable, don’t hesitate to trust them with any business challenges. They’re intelligent enough to come up with the technology solution that fits.