Meant4.com

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Product Manager of Hi-Live

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

We are providing live commerce marketplace for streamers so people can purches their products with ease.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Meant4.com to accomplish?

• Provide us with Cloud Consulting services
• Create Application architecture based on the business requirements
• Develop realtime ecommerce experience
• Integration with stripe and other third party services
• UX/UI design and development

SOLUTION

How did you find Meant4.com?

Online Search

Why did you select Meant4.com over others?

• Close to my geographic location
• Great culture fit
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from Meant4.com were assigned to this project?

6-10 Employees

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

Meant4 has successfully developed a real-time live commerce application following Google Cloud's architecture principles. The backend is built using a microservices architecture with Go and gRPC, ensuring scalability and high-performance service communication. Kubernetes is used to orchestrate containerized services, while WebSockets and Google Cloud Pub/Sub manage real-time interactions between buyers and sellers. The frontend, a decoupled Vue.js application, provides seamless user interaction.

Firestore is employed as the backend database for scalable and flexible data storage, and Looker is integrated to create analytics services based on ingested Google Cloud logs. Additionally, Meant4 leveraged Hugo CMS to build super-fast, optimized product pages for anonymous users, enhancing page load speeds and performance for users not logged into the system.

The application also includes key integrations such as Google’s Identity Platform for secure access management, Stripe for payment processing, Re:amaze for customer support, Facebook and YouTube for video streaming, and SendGrid for email communication.

Key Deliverables:

• Application Architecture: Microservices-based architecture using Go and gRPC, aligned with Google Cloud Architecture.
• Kubernetes Orchestration: Ensures scalability and reliability of containerized services.
• Real-time Live Commerce: Powered by WebSockets and Google Cloud Pub/Sub for dynamic buyer-seller interactions.
• Frontend Development: Decoupled Vue.js application for smooth user experience.
• Backend Database: Firestore used as a scalable, cloud-native database solution.
• Analytics Services: Looker integrated for creating actionable insights from ingested Cloud logs.
• Super-fast Product Pages: Hugo CMS used to create highly optimized and fast-loading product pages for anonymous users.
• Security: Google’s Identity Platform provides secure authentication and access control for buyers and sellers.

Third-party Integrations:

• Stripe: For payment processing.
• Reamaze: For customer support.
• Facebook & YouTube: For video streaming and social media integration.
• SendGrid: For email communication and notifications.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Improved Scalability and Performance:

• Increased System Capacity: The application architecture, powered by Kubernetes, allowed the system to handle a 50% increase in concurrent users without a decline in performance.
• Faster Product Pages for Anonymous Users: Leveraging Hugo CMS reduced product page load times by 70%, improving page speed and user experience for anonymous visitors.

Enhanced User Engagement:

• Real-time Interactions: The use of WebSockets and Google Cloud Pub/Sub enabled real-time communication between buyers and sellers, leading to a 30% increase in average session duration.
• Cross-platform Video Integration: Integration with Facebook and YouTube resulted in a 20% uptick in live video views and interaction rates during live commerce events.
  Improved Security and Authentication:

Seamless User Access:

• Implementation of Google’s Identity Platform ensured secure access, leading to a 100% reduction in unauthorized access incidents and improved buyer/seller trust.
• Zero Data Breaches: The system maintained strong security standards, resulting in no data breaches or security incidents post-launch.

Enhanced Financial Transactions:

• Payment Success Rates: Integration with Stripe improved the payment success rate by 15%, reducing transaction failures and enhancing buyer experience.
• Faster Payment Processing: The time to process payments was reduced by 25%, contributing to smoother checkout flows.

Analytics-Driven Decisions:

• Insights with Looker: Analytics created through Looker, based on ingested cloud logs, provided actionable insights that led to a 10% optimization in resource usage and reduced infrastructure costs by 15%.
• Customer Support Efficiency: The integration with Re 
  improved customer query response times by 40%, leading to higher customer satisfaction scores.

System Reliability and Uptime:

• 99.9% Uptime: The Kubernetes architecture ensured consistent uptime with a 99.9% availability rate, enhancing overall reliability.
• Zero Downtime During High Traffic Events: The system experienced no downtime during live events, even with traffic spikes, showcasing the robustness of the infrastructure.

These measurable outcomes demonstrate the project's success in scalability, security, user experience, and business performance.

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

Meant4 was proactive and flexible throughout the project, delivering all items on time with strategic time buffers in place. They were open to change requests, clearly communicating the impacts of each request and ensuring we understood how it might affect the timeline. Their responsiveness and transparency helped us make informed decisions while keeping the project on track.

What was your primary form of communication with Meant4.com?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

What stood out most about Meant4.com was their rare combination of deep technological expertise and a solid understanding of business objectives. Their ability to align technical solutions with our goals was impressive and hard to find in other providers. They didn’t just focus on the technical aspects but ensured the solutions would drive real business value, making them a unique and invaluable partner.

Are there any areas for improvement or something Meant4.com could have done differently?

At the moment, there are no areas for improvement we can point out. Meant4 has consistently delivered above expectations and stands as the number one provider we have worked with. Their blend of technical expertise, business understanding, and proactive approach has set a high standard for future collaborations.

UPDATED REVIEW

This review was published on (5/17/2024)

Olimpia Ziemska
Co-Founder, HiLIVE Ltd.eCommerce

Warsaw, Poland

1-10 Employees

Jan 2022 - Jun 2022

$50,000 to $199,999

Verified

Project summary
Meant4.com provided UI/UX design and market research services for a live selling marketplace. The team provided a detailed report of the client's market and created a communication strategy for the platform.

Feedback summary
Meant4.com provided a comprehensive market research report, which the client used in planning the product's launch. The team delivered test-driven mock-ups and UI designs in Figma. Their efficient project management and attention to detail helped the client achieve their short- and long-term goals.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Co-Founder of HiLIVE Ltd.

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

HiLIVE is a 2-sided marketplace for vendors selling on livestrams and buyers and a SASS enabling live selling experience.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Meant4.com to accomplish?

• Livestream selling market research
• UI/UX Design
• Create communication strategy

SOLUTION

How did you find Meant4.com?

• Online Search
• Referral

Why did you select Meant4.com over others?

• High ratings
• Good value for cost
• Referred to me

How many teammates from Meant4.com were assigned to this project?

6-10 Employees

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

We approached Meant4 with an idea and a vision and asked them to guide as through the execution process. They helped us udnerstanding the scope and broke down the process in steps. The first step was a research of the livestram selling market in Poland. The deliverable was a  report of the state of the market. That helped us draft the project's MVP.

In a second step Meant4 team designed the UX as low and high fidelity mockups. Then turned tham into a beatiful  user interface. The whole process was test-driven and based on real users feedback. Finally Meant4 worked on a communication strategy for the product. Based on their strategy we have prepared release plan.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Meant4 Team was invaluable partner in builing the MVP. Their experties and experience resulted in measureable outcomes such as:

• Research on the state of the livestram selling market
• Test-driven UX mockups
• Designed User Interface in Figma
• Communication strategy document

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

Meant4 is very easy to work with. They have been guiding us all the way the process and explained every step cleary. They have their own, unique project managment framework combing traditional, waterfall-like planning of phases with Agile, iterative processes designed to quickly and effectively navigate from concept to deliverables. Meant4 Team stayed ahead of the project in each phase and delivered on time.

What was your primary form of communication with Meant4.com?

• In-Person Meeting
• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

The most impressive is their unique project managment process which combains long-term planning with Agile techniques along the way.

Are there any areas for improvement or something Meant4.com could have done differently?

Meant4.com is an excellent partner; we could not have done anything better.

STARS RATING
Overall rating: 5   
Meant4 was a true partner

Quality: 5   
Very high quality of service and deliverables

Cost: 5   
Good value for money

Schedule: 5   
On time and sometimes even ahead

Willing to refer: 5   

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Founder of Clutch

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Clutch is the leading ratings and reviews platform for B2B services (this review is on our site).

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Meant4.com to accomplish?

• We initially hired Meant4 to build the first version of the Clutch.co website
• After building the first version of Clutch, Meant4 has become an integral part of our team for the last 10+ years

SOLUTION

How did you find Meant4.com?

Online Search

Why did you select Meant4.com over others?

Great culture fit

How many teammates from Meant4.com were assigned to this project?

6-10 Employees

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

The team at Meant4 have been at the core of developing the Clutch.co platform for over 10 years. In the early days, Adam functioned as a technical cofounder and since then, he and his team have been at the core of our activities to scale the platform. The first key deliverable was to build the initial version of Clutch.co (fka SourcingLine.com). 
Since then, the Meant4 team has helped us roll out countless updates and improvements. In addition then helped us move from a simple Drupal implementation to a service oriented architecture that uses a range of technologies and services.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The main measurable outcome is that Meant4, our main IT service provider, helped us build the leading ratings and review platform in our market and build a company that employees ~200 people.

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

Project management was great. We have had regular updates, typically through regular stand-ups and monthly reports. They were very responsive to changing our needs.

What was your primary form of communication with Meant4.com?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

What was most impressive is the level of commitment/ownership in delivering a product that meets our customers needs and helps our business be successful.

Are there any areas for improvement or something Meant4.com could have done differently?

No areas for improvement come to mind.

UPDATED REVIEW

This review was published on May 15, 2024.

Product Manager, B2B Reviews Platform
Business services

Washington, District of Columbia

51-200 Employees

Oct 2023 - Mar 2024

$10,000 to $49,999

Not verified

Project summary
Meant4.com helped a B2B reviews platform rebuild the analytics section of their vendor profiles. The team developed a new front- and backend to improve analytics and support more complex functionalities.

Feedback summary
Meant4.com completed the tasks on time and met the client's functional requirements. The team managed the project well and responded promptly to the client's queries and feedback. They also impressed the client with their coordination, development knowledge, and attention to detail.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Product Managet of a business services company 

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Online Marketplace

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Meant4.com to accomplish?

Update analytics section for our vendor's and their profiles.

SOLUTION

How did you find Meant4.com?

Referral

Why did you select Meant4.com over others?

• High ratings
• Great culture fit
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from Meant4.com were assigned to this project?

6-10 Employees

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

We needed a full rework of the analytics for all profiles on our marketplace. This involved a new frontend and backend to show more in depth analytics, as well as allow for more complicated functionality than we previously had. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Every week there was a phenomenal level of communication, coordination, and execution to get all the work done on time and function exactly as we had desired! 

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

The project management was a highlight of the team! All questions and comments were responded to almost instantly, and this helped the project move at a great pace!

What was your primary form of communication with Meant4.com?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

The level of development understanding and attention to detail is the most impressive! 

Are there any areas for improvement or something Meant4.com could have done differently?

No, things went as well as could be expected.

RATINGS:
Overall rating: 5
Quality: 5
Cost: 5
Schedule: 5
Willing to refer: 5

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the CEO of Digital Brothers (Kalicinscy.com)

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

As an advertising agency, we specialize in crafting innovative digital marketing strategies tailored to elevate brand visibility and engagement across various online platforms.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Meant4.com to accomplish?

• Deliver custom software solution for our client
• Rescue a project that was not finished by previous vendor

SOLUTION

How did you find Meant4.com?

Referral

Why did you select Meant4.com over others?

• Close to my geographic location
• Great culture fit
• Referred to me

How many teammates from Meant4.com were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

We approached Meant4.com with a very unique project: design and implement an end-to-end hardware and software solution for capturing a video from cameras and transform it into a shareable and edited videos. All that triggered by users taking part in a cooking sessions. The project had a very tight schedule. 

Key deliverables were: 

• user-friendly interface for triggering the video recording and sharing
• hardware and software allowing video recording
• processing and uploading to YouTube
• deployment of the hardware in a physical location.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Delivering a dynamic, scalable, and personalized video processing pipeline that brought out client's (IKEA) marketing concept to life.

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

Meant4 Team showed excellent project managing skills. They instantly became our partner guiding us through the whole process. Their Agile approach in solving complex issues by breaking down each piece step-by-step yielding amazing results. They delivered on time even though the schedule was extremely tight.

What was your primary form of communication with Meant4.com?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

They were able to breakdown a very complex project into small steps that very delivered incredibly fast. Their iterative approach made it possible to quickly validate the concept and pivot along the way.

Are there any areas for improvement or something Meant4.com could have done differently?

No, we were impressed by their work in every aspect.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

 I am the Director of IT department of a government company 

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

We're responsible for managing a country's international relations, including diplomacy, trade negotiations, and the protection of its citizens abroad.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Meant4.com to accomplish?

• Design an extensible system for data processing
• Implement the designed system
• Help maintain the system for at least one year

SOLUTION

How did you find Meant4.com?

Referral

Why did you select Meant4.com over others?

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

How many teammates from Meant4.com were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

The scope was to design and implement a system for aggregating news feed data involves developing a platform that collects, processes, and presents news from various sources in a unified format, which includes tasks such as sourcing and integrating news APIs, filtering and categorizing content, implementing user customization features, ensuring data accuracy and timeliness, and providing an intuitive user interface for easy navigation and reading.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The measurable outcomes were: working system for aggregating news data, ability to extend the system with different data representations, present the aggregated news data in through an unified interface.

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

Meant4 is excellent in Agile project management. They work in Scrum framework implemented with remote first approach. The project was delivered on time even though the scope had changed. They embrace scope change as it's a natural process. e

What was your primary form of communication with Meant4.com?

• In-Person Meeting
• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

Meant4.com had a small, but extremely agile and motivated team. They excelled in their approach and delivered high quality product.

Are there any areas for improvement or something Meant4.com could have done differently?

No, they approach was amazing.