Leverage IT

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the vice president of operations at ESHYFT, a startup company that serves as a marketplace/agency for nurses and nursing homes. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Leverage IT?

To help us move into the next century, we wanted to create a mobile app that would allow nurses to apply online and view available shifts at different facilities. We had an idea but needed help building the software. Leverage IT worked with us through every single step.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They have taken us from zero to where we are today. They provide product support, development, graphics, and project management. In addition, they’ve even provided some marketing techniques and analyses on how to bring products to market.

Leverage IT helped us with mobile app development for both iOS and Android and web development. The facilities on the service can post the shifts on the app for the nurses to view. They can apply online, chat with the facility, and take the shift directly from their smartphone. When they get to the facility they can clock in, clock out, and get paid. It takes away the whole coordination phase—it’s like Uber for nurses.

On the web development side, they made it easy for staffing coordinators to post shifts using the web application. We know what they want to see and they ensured it would be in the app.  With three clicks, they can post 20 shifts.

They’ve also helped us with software development, which includes graphics and UI/UX design. Instead of having to go out and hire a full-time designer for graphics and UI/UX, they have all that in-house. They have a great team and they have helped us during every of the development process. Now that we’re in the beta stage, they’re working with us through that process as well. They have also helped us with online marketing for the product.

As for marketing services, they helped with Facebook ads. They also promoted us on social media such as Instagram and LinkedIn. They would get approval for the ads before posting them. They also designed and developed our website.

What is the team composition?

My main point of contact is our project manager, Katy (Project Manager, Leverage IT).

There are seven people who have also worked on the project including developers and a QA person, a designer, and other roles who are all involved.

How did you come to work with Leverage IT?

Initially, we were with a different company. They couldn’t get us to the finish line. A friend of mine introduced me to Leverage IT.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in 2017, and we’re still working with them.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We have a few reviews on the App Store. I would say that our nurses and facility managers all say this how agency staffing should look like. It takes out the whole annoying part of agencies calling.

How did Leverage IT perform from a project management standpoint?

They use Jira and we integrate our work with several other software programs to help us out. Overall, the whole team is very professional. I feel like they’re very honest and a pleasure to work with. They have the whole package.

I want to give a big shout out to Katy. She is awesome and Leverage IT is blessed to have her. I work with her daily. She’s very detailed, soothing, and clear. When I get crazy and excited about something, she tells me to take it easy and that we will get through it.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re real people. When you are in a conversation with them, you can understand what they are saying. They bring it down to the regular person’s level. A lot of tech companies speak a language that you don’t necessarily understand, but Leverage IT really connects with their customer. They give guidance when needed, but also follow their customer’s directions when the customer requires

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Building software and creating a product from nothing is a huge task. You must be in it for the long haul; not for six months or a year. The product that you originally think you are going to make is not necessarily the product that you’re going to come out with because it changes a lot along the way. Before a person steps into the project, they should know that it’s a long ride before your product comes out to what you want. The product that you get is always evolving and improving. That can be costly and draining.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

We allow customers to easily and informatively schedule and receive their beauty and self-care services with top-notch, freelance professionals that travel to them anywhere, anytime. I am one of the founders of the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Leverage IT?

Leverage IT built our website as well as our mobile applications (web-based) for professionals and customers.

What were your goals for this project?

1. Automate out the painful manual tasks that plagued us on our previous product.
2. Create a tool for professionals
3. Create a more robust product for customers as well as a system that allowed us to host more customers

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We were referred to Meir and his team at Leverage IT via a mutual connection.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

Leverage IT created our new website, which included a web-app that customers could use to book with professionals. They web-app was also wrapped for the App Store and Google Play so that customers could have the technology for Primped the lived right on their phones.

This technology, in addition to scheduling, also takes payment, allows for invoicing, as well as profile generation for customers. For professionals, Leverage IT created again a web-app wrapped for the App Store and Google Play which allows customers to answer to incoming customer requests, organize their schedules and manage their customers, invoice, and take payment.

What was the team composition?

We had one front end developer, one back end developer, one designer, and one individual for QA assigned to us. They were all fantastic

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We're able to accept far more clients and bookings happen in a much less manual way for us so we can scale. We're able to offer professionals a product that truly revolutionizes the way they run their freelance business.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

We were our own project managers. Given our budget, it was the best option we had.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

What they were able to produce with limited hands on deck as well the product we received for what we paid. They've built something we are super proud to enter into the market with.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Allocating more time to scoping of work could have simplified a lot of the work to be done downstream. Other than that, they were an absolute pleasure to work with.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the Vice President of Operations at MediSeen. We are a health tech company that has a digital platform that allows physicians and other healthcare providers to build and scale their own house call practices. In the same thread, patients can discover health care providers who will visit them at home and book appointments.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Leverage IT?

Leverage IT has been our tech partner from the beginning. We contracted with them for mobile app and web development, social media content creation, and digital advertising.

What were your goals for this project?

Our goal, in a broader sense, has always been to revive the house call as a primary point of care. When we were designing and building our tech with Leverage IT, we made sure that each thing we built and implemented worked to further that goal. With this project, we wanted healthcare providers to have an end-to-end solution for running their house call practices and patients to have a beautiful and simple way to get the care they need, right at their doorstep.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We went through an extensive RFP process with several development shops. Leverage IT exceeded all the others in terms of being local, having a diverse and seasoned team, and being able to deliver us quality work across the spectrum of our varied needs at a reasonable price.

Can you go into detail about the services they provided and the scope of the project?

They designed and developed our iOS, Android, and web apps. They also designed and built our website, created our social media content, and implemented digital advertising strategies and the deep linking tracking associated with it. Leverage IT continues to be our tech partner. They develop new and complex functionality for us and push an update to our apps and the rest of our technology every two weeks. They design and write our social media content and deploy digital marketing campaigns.

What was the team composition?

We work with an expert in each type of operating system we might encounter.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Leverage IT has helped us make our vision a reality. Without their expertise and hard work, we would not be helping patients and healthcare providers across Ontario today.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

Project management was arranged between myself and a number of members on their team. We have weekly meetings to help us stay updated on progress and use Jira to track development and goals. We also use other platforms for collaboration and tracking when necessary. They have a fantastic project management lead who keeps us all organized.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

They consistently go above and beyond in helping us achieve our vision in the most efficient and beautiful way that technology allows. They are crucial members of our team, and we never have to question how much they care. I don't know of any other development shop that will come to help their clients promote themselves at events. It's truly a special working relationship.

Are there any areas where they can improve?

They could use a few more members to increase their bandwidth.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We are a co-working and events space based in Toronto. We offer a range of offices, a lounge, a couple of meeting rooms, and so on.

I am the creative director of the space.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Leverage IT?

We needed help with our branding and website.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Leverage IT has designed our website and logo. They’ve also helped us with our business cards and various other materials. I was heavily involved in the process, but Leverage IT has put our vision together. We have made a number of changes to the site since the beginning, implementing features for chat, social media integration, pricing, events, and so on. We were recently featured in Forbes, so Leverage IT created a blog post around this. They've also created an in-house pricing brochure for us.

How did you come to work with Leverage IT?

I happened to know one of Leverage IT's partners.

How much have you invested with Leverage IT?

This is confidential. Leverage IT is reasonably-priced, comparatively speaking.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Leverage IT 2 years ago. They continue to provide occasional updates and manage some of our social media work.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We've generally been happy with the site, even though we have high expectations in terms of design. Our website is 1 main landing page with different categories. This makes it difficult to collect data around what sections people are visiting. We have spoken to Leverage IT about this, and we may update it in the future.

How did Leverage IT perform from a project management standpoint?

Our beginning was relaxed around deadlines. Leverage IT delivered within a reasonable amount of time, with our first iteration only taking around 2 weeks. It's been an evolving process throughout.

What did you find most impressive about Leverage IT?

Leverage IT has a good team made up of a range of skillsets. They're all nice and easy to work with. Leverage IT has provided possible ideas for how we could improve our business in general, not just the web content.

Are there any areas Leverage IT could improve?

Some more social media content would be nice, but this is something which needs to be directed from our end.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We are developing an app aimed at the food industry, helping customers and restaurants generate more business. I am the president of the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Leverage IT?

We had a concept for creating a new interface through which customers could communicate restaurant orders in an easier fashion, compared to doing it over the phone. We aimed to reduce errors on the part of restaurants and to facilitate their communication with clients.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We approached Leverage IT with our concept, looking at the different components which needed to be put in place for such a system. Leverage IT designed and developed our app for Android and iOS, as well as providing social media marketing for the product. It was helpful to work with a company that could provide all the work in one place.

How did you come to work with Leverage IT?

Leverage IT built the website of another business I run. They did a fantastic job with its design, making a modern site, on par with current standards. When we came up with a new idea, we approached Leverage IT again.

How much have you invested with Leverage IT?

This is confidential.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started the current project with Leverage IT in April 2016. We have an ongoing collaboration.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The apps haven't been launched to the public yet, so I can't comment on this. The quality of Leverage IT's work is very high, in terms of coding and design. We've gotten the best bang for our buck.

How did Leverage IT perform from a project management standpoint?

With any development company, it's impossible to know how much something will take, but Leverage IT has gotten our product done. There were some difficulties in setting expectations and timing, especially when we requested changes.

What did you find most impressive about Leverage IT?

Leverage IT gave us the best price for that level of quality.

Are there any areas Leverage IT could improve?

Leverage IT's project management could improve its communication with clients, providing more updates on our status. There are multiple aspects to a development project, so having a manager overseeing everything and keeping track of the status would be helpful.

What tips or recommendations could you share that might increase the likelihood of success with Leverage IT?

It all depends on how the work structure is setup. Leverage IT will work differently, based on how the client interacts with them. I found that giving them requirements and leaving the team alone for 6 months to do the work would result in many difficulties. We've had to remain on top of Leverage IT's team during the project.