MonkeyTech

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CTO of a travel technology company. We’ve developed a platform that allows users to plan personalized trips. On it, they can specify their preferences when traveling, whether they like shopping, nightlife, gastronomy, and more. They can also select the purpose of their trip, how many people are going, their ages, and the travel budget. Then, we build for them a personalized trip with an itinerary according to their interests and budget.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with MonkeyTech?

We didn’t have an internal R&D department, and we initially were working with an offshore development team. However, we decided to switch vendors, so we hired MonkeyTech to be our outsourced R&D department.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

MonkeyTech basically acts as our external R&D department, and they’re in charge of all the development and design activities for our company. Given that we had worked with another company first, we initially went through a knowledge transfer process. During this process, they went into our product’s code to understand its architecture, design, and flaws.

Then, MonkeyTech built a roadmap detailing the different tasks involved in developing and implementing the features we wanted. The first few weeks of our engagement were focused on maintenance and support, but we then moved into a second stage for developing new features and capabilities.

Now, we work with them on various fronts simultaneously. For example, we have a UI/UX design team working with us on the designs and wireframes of our product’s screens, both for our desktop, web, and mobile app. Additionally, other people from MonkeyTech help us with frontend and backend development. We collaborate closely with them to plan every release, and we work together throughout the development process.

What is the team composition?

We work with two designers from their UI/UX design team, three backend developers, three frontend developers, an iOS developer, and an Android developer. One of their more experienced backend developers is also taking the role of the team leader.

How did you come to work with MonkeyTech?

I had worked with them in a previous company, so I already knew them. When we were looking to replace our former development team, MonkeyTech’s name came up.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent around $300,000 so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in June 2022, and our engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Every team from MonkeyTech has its own metrics based on its focus. Overall, their ability to meet sprint deadlines and deliver quality products has proved the success of our engagement.

How did MonkeyTech perform from a project management standpoint?

MonkeyTech’s project management is very good; I’m very happy with how they’ve handled the project. We release product features on a sprint cycle basis, which happens every one or two weeks.

Sometimes, I go to MonkeyTech’s office to work with them; other times, our collaboration happens remotely. We use Jira for ticket management, Confluence for knowledge and functional requirements management, Slack for daily communication, and Figma for UI/UX design.

What did you find most impressive about them?

MonkeyTech feels much more than a supplier; they feel like a true partner. They’re very engaged, motivated, and responsible, and they always strive to meet deadlines without compromising the quality of the end product. Their team is very involved in our project, and they’ve shown care and motivation to help us succeed. Overall, it has been a really good experience.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, not really. Of course, there’s always room for improvement, but so far, nothing has been a major drawback or disadvantage.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Occasionally, clients go with one company for design and another for development, but I don’t recommend this approach. One of the advantages of working with MonkeyTech is their internal communication; the communication between their design and development teams is very strong and efficient. Therefore, if you go with them, I would recommend that you get the whole package, and don’t go with them only for design or development.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the product SME of CONTROL, a construction solutions company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with MonkeyTech?

We wanted to outsource the development of mobile app tools for our business.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

MonkeyTech does web and mobile app development for us; they take care of our source coding, including AWS. In addition, they’re providing maintenance to our existing management systems to keep everything running — their team takes care of all the DevOps tasks.

Regarding technologies, they use Python for the mobile app’s backend.

What is the team composition?

We’ve been working with Nir (CFO) and four developers from their team.

How did you come to work with MonkeyTech?

Our software vendor referred them to us. We chose them because they gave us the confidence that they were up for the challenge. Also, they looked committed and had good vibes.

How much money have you invested in this partnership?

So far, we’ve spent $150,000 with them.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in June 2022, and the engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They’ve successfully completed each of our complex tasks — after three months of working with them, we’re in a good place.

How did MonkeyTech perform from a project management standpoint?

They lead the whole project management process. We’re working with agile methodologies, so we have daily meetings and biweekly sprint reunions to measure progress.

In terms of communication, they’re great. Also, they understand our business and technological side. Regarding tools, we’re using Jira.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their commitment to the project is outstanding. They have the ability to go forward with the right attitude to find a solution for our challenge without complaints.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They could do better with the production rate and keep increasing the number of tasks they complete for every sprint. Nonetheless, we know that is a process, and they need to learn the system — they’re 90% there!

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Create the right dynamics and chemistry between both teams so everyone can understand the project’s goals and expectations.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Since March 2017, I’ve been the CTO of a vehicle sharing company that was established in 2009. After 2018, we started offering services in Europe.

I established the technical department. Before that, all company technology was managed by outside suppliers. When I arrived, I hired developers and ended collaborations with all our suppliers at the time, except MonkeyTech.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with MonkeyTech?

MonkeyTech has been our development supplier for the native client-facing apps we offer.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

MonkeyTech provided the initial design and development. They’re currently in charge of our most widely-used app, which was built natively for Android and iOS facilities, sharing services within the municipality of Tel Aviv. The team implements all changes to the app.

What is the team composition?

They had senior UX/UI designers and developers in charge of the initial project.

How did you come to work with MonkeyTech?

While I wasn’t working with them back then, I know as a publicly-traded company, we’re obliged to gather 3–5 price offers from different companies.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent around $500,000 with them throughout the years.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with MonkeyTech in early 2015. After we established an in-house technical department, we’re still working with them now, just at a lower volume through maintenance support.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The impact of MonkeyTech’s work was huge. The app they made was unique in the Israeli market, and it gave us a real advantage.

We were happy with their services, but we’ve grown over the past year and gotten a bit of investment, so we wanted everything to be in-house. Still, we could’ve said goodbye to MonkeyTech entirely, but we’re keeping them on for the app they developed in the first place.

How did MonkeyTech perform from a project management standpoint?

We’re happy with everything they’ve done. There was never a time when we needed something done fast, and they couldn’t deliver.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their skills in native programming make them stand out. The UX/UI design was a joint venture, and their team did a great job there as well.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

We’re technical, and it’s easier for technical people to be in contact with other technical people.

MonkeyTech can also take on full projects, but we worked in a hybrid mode, so having technical knowledge was very important in our collaboration with them.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of a digital marketing company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenges were you trying to address with MonkeyTech?

We needed to develop a web platform to serve our clients.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They built the whole collaboration from scratch, including development and design. I talked to them about my ideas, and they helped me execute. 

What is the team composition?

I’m working with the CEO and several developers. 

How did you come to work with MonkeyTech?

I found them on Google. In our initial meeting, I was impressed by their professionalism, so I decided to hire them. 

How much have you invested in them? 

We’ve invested between $60,000–$70,000. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together about a year and a half ago, and our work is ongoing. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The platform is working, people are happy, and I have all the features I need on my website. I don’t have anything to compare the new website too, but I think it’s good. There are always things to improve, but we’re constantly working together to optimize the site. 

How did MonkeyTech perform from a project management standpoint? 

I think their project management is good. They’re responsive and things run smoothly. We have meetings and phone calls to communicate, in addition to email. We also use Trello to track the project. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

They delivered exactly what I needed. The website is what I imagined before we even started the project. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

There are always things to improve, but I can’t put my finger on a specific thing. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers? 

Be prepared in terms of having your specifications ready in advance. I wish I had been more prepared when we started. I felt like I was in good hands throughout the process though, even though I don’t have a technical background.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder and CEO of WoodSpoon. We built a marketplace for local cooks to share food with local diners. So everybody can join the platform and upload what they are making. And we facilitate the logistics from delivery, payment, insurance, packaging. Everything goes through us.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with MonkeyTech?

When we started the business, we thought that more people are ordering from mobile apps over websites. So we needed a mobile app to support our organization.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

 It started with just a simple conversation about their products and what we were trying to achieve, how we wanted to build it. We worked with MonkeyTech engineers and crew to understand what can be done and what cannot be done from a technology perspective. That was a process between 2–3 weeks and then we started a process of 5–7  weeks working with the UI. We literally went screen by screen to understand the functionality of every screen and what buttons can do and everything that relates to the functionality. Every page was drawn out. This first phase also includes branding and stuff like that.

Then we moved onto phase two and began development. They used Ruby on Rails for the backend. It has cloud storage, they connected APIs to two different platforms, and everything else. It’s now available on iOS and Android.

We’re continuing to do a lot of upgrades and are developing more features. MonkeyTech provides three months of service for QA and to fix any bugs. If there are any major issues that could shut down the appp, they resolve it within 24 hours. If there are smaller issues, like a misspelled word, they complete that within 72 hours.

What is the team composition?

I worked with the CEO and founder. He was acting as a project manager and he introduced me to three engineers. One was for Android, another from the backend team, and another for iOS. It was very seamless.

How did you come to work with MonkeyTech?

We wanted a company that had all the resources we needed so they could do the whole package for us.

How much have you invested with them?

They price is by engineer and by month. So ours was between $10,000–$15,000 for the designs. Then they estimated that the development would be $90,000. So in total, the project cost about $100,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started in March 2019 and it’s ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our business wouldn’t exist without this app. Compared to everyone else I’ve worked with, they’re in the top-tier of what you can expect from a third-party vendor. You’re paying for what you get. There will be some things that they do that wouldn’t do. There are so many packages, that using Ruby on Rails helps them finish the work faster.

How did MonkeyTech perform from a project management standpoint?

The good thing about MonkeyTech is the people and the relationships we built throughout the process. The communication was fantastic. We used WhatsApp with every engineer throughout the process. So, if I had a problem, I didn’t have to wait. They’d get back to me within the hour.

We felt like we knew what was going on, the timeline of the project, and how things were progressing. If they had problems, they raised red flags immediately and would ask me questions as well.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The work has been done pretty fast, the quality of the work is good, and they have really good direct communication. They’re in the top tier of companies in this industry.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They’re using older languages like Rub on Rails, which can have pros and cons. They could also be more transparent about what work needs to be done for each feature.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

The best thing to do is be explicit about what you want, what your budget is, and what the timeline is. So be clear about what’s important to you. Because they can do anything, but you need to prioritize to stay under budget

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of Grossland, a financial startup. Our platform helps small businesses improve and enhance their business. In essence, we save them a lot of money on website development and marketing expenses because the platform only costs 40¢ a day.

We do that in order to improve their business and make more money. In exchange, we ask them to help us help other people. Our website connects suppliers to consumers.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with MonkeyTech?

I had no idea how to develop a website and needed a reliable, professional company that wouldn’t take advantage of my lack of knowledge. What’s more, I wanted someone with a collaborative nature because I love working with people.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

With the exception of UI/UX design, MonkeyTech fully developed my website from scratch. They were inquisitive about my needs, expectations, and the story behind my idea. During the project, their team took my hand and we collaboratively developed the whole system step-by-step. The end products were desktop and mobile platforms.

They’re currently handling development work to improve our system.

What is the team composition?

I worked with about four people.

How did you come to work with MonkeyTech?

I had an advisor handle my search. She looked for companies and conducted background checks. When I met MonkeyTech, relations were great from the beginning.

How much have you invested with them?

I’ve invested $125,000 so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in September 2018, and the work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I send them a message if there’s an issue, and they fix it as soon as possible. This is important because I don’t have the technical expertise and need the website to run smoothly at all times.

How did MonkeyTech perform from a project management standpoint?

My team has a great relationship with them. I can reach them almost any time I send a message or email. They’re also very responsive to phone calls.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I like that they give me options throughout the development process. After discussing a system specification, the developer gives me the pros and cons of each option. Then we decide the best choices together.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can’t really say because I don’t have technical expertise. I believe they’re doing a good job.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I advise them to explain the needs and end goals of the project. Be open to what you need and what you’re financially capable of before you start the project.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m VP of R&D at a leading startup in the visual search and AI industry.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with MonkeyTech?

Sometimes, we need to create demo apps for prospects but don’t want that construction process to take time away from our developers because it’s not the core product. We use their services to add example features to an ongoing demo app project.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Every time we need extra help, we sit down with one of their teammates for a discovery phase. Then, we received mockups, ask for changes, and review those adjustments. After we do final checks for bugs, we launch it. 

It was pretty intense starting out because they had to build the product from the ground up. At this point, they build ongoing features for it as we need them. For instance, we have a camera button where customers can upload images to see similar products in a retailer’s website or app. Another feature is a similar item carousel that allows users to view similar items to a product that they’re currently viewing. 

What is the team composition?

I worked with their COO, CTO, and 1–2 developers. 

How did you come to work with MonkeyTech?

We received a reference from a friend of one of our employees. When I started this position, they were already our partner.  

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent between $80,000–$90,000 on the project. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together around September 2017 and are still collaborating.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

There’s no numeric metric that we track for their team. We just want to ensure that the app looks and feels the way we intended. Their work is well-received by our team.

How did MonkeyTech perform from a project management standpoint?

Their project management skills are solid. Whenever we need help, they send someone to meet with us to address our needs. We’re thinking about incorporating Jira into our workflow on future projects. We communicated through email and phone. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

We’re happy with the results they produce for us. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can’t think of anything.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Hire them and tell me exactly what you need. Then, they’ll get it done.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder of Kazooloo, an AR gaming company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with MonkeyTech?

We hired MonkeyTech to help us develop our app and our game.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They designed and developed our native mobile app, the backend, the server-side, and the UI/UX of the app. We provided documentation and wireframes to get the project started. They used Unity as the engine for the game. The app is for iOS and Android. 

The app is a mobile game, so they developed the gamification of the whole player’s journey through the app. They provided everything we needed on the product side and helped with the maintenance. 

What is the team composition?

There were six people supporting us including a project manager.

How did you come to work with MonkeyTech?

We met with three companies that provide Unity development and develop native apps. MonkeyTech gave us the best offer and they seemed like the most competent team.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent $200,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from January 2013–March 2017.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I’ve gotten a lot of good feedback from users. We have 4.21 average rating and more than 5,000 reviews on each platform. Users are happy and there are no problems on the technical side.

How did MonkeyTech perform from a project management standpoint?

Their project management is amazing. We used email and WhatsApp to communicate. They’re very responsive and available 24/7. They put the project manager on a call every time we needed him. Since our engagement, I’ve worked with several other companies and there’s no comparison to the level of hands-on care from them. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Throughout the four years, we had a good run. Their level of personal touch stands out—they really care. The price was very fair for our expectations. They were a great partner, professional, and trustworthy. The results were amazing and we basically consider them friends now. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

When Android and iOS make updates for their operating system, the applications sometimes get buggy. I wish it could be handled in advance and not have to react to bugs, but sometimes that’s not possible. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

They really care about you and give a personal touch to the work. If you’re looking for anything related to software development, mobile apps, or Unity games, they’re definitely a great and valuable option for you.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of Quana, an olfactory system for personalized cannabinoid consumption.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with MonkeyTech?

We have an integrated system that contains hardware and software on the Cloud, a mobile application, and a set of unique algorithms that define safety, quality, and personalized fitness for varieties of medical cannabis. We hired them to design our software, algorithms, and applications.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They designed the setting in the Cloud and the app, including UX/UI services. They developed and wrote codes for the applications, did integration with our device so that connections and applications iOS and Android worked. We’ve also done some AI work together. They developed iOS and Android separately.

How did you come to work with MonkeyTech?

They were recommended to us by several sources. We evaluated four companies and, as a team, chose to work with MonkeyTech. It was a long process.

How much have you invested with them?

We have spent $150,000 so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started in September 2019 and it is currently ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

MonkeyTech provided such great work, our team and CTO approved.

How did MonkeyTech perform from a project management standpoint?

We had some tight schedules and wanted to launch at a certain time. We asked them to put more emphasis on certain parts of the job, so they moved people from other projects to work on ours, which was easy because they are a medium-sized company. They collaborated really well; sometimes we worked nights and weekends.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re experienced and flexible enough to move people between projects to keep the desired pace and timeline. The combination of their activity and ability to perform was good for me. They’re able to take my ideas and make them perform in a way that is understandable and fitting for my customers.

They’re very supportive and have a way of combining creative ideas within the role of data science, which is much less flexible. Creativity doesn’t take away from their professionalism. MonkeyTech is also trained in programming and computer designs.

Are there any areas they could improve?

So far, I am very happy and don’t see any big issues for improvement. Perhaps they should scale up and deliver for even bigger companies than mine.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Work together with them from the beginning. Bring your ideas, but be open to new initiatives, creativity, different approaches, out-of-the-box thinking, and try to take it from their perspective. They make great suggestions.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of Dot Latin, LLC. It’s the domain registry of .UNO, which is a new domain extension we’ve launched. In an effort to promote the extension, we’ve offered a website builder technology to .UNO domain holders.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with MonkeyTech?

I hired them to build a fully automated website builder for us, with all the flexibility for the end-user to insert their content.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

MonkeyTech developed the platform using Java, Ruby on Rails, and other technologies. They used a technology similar to MySQL for the database.

The builder gives anyone the option to take content from their own social media and create a website populated with that data automatically. It has the ability to extract data from individual social media accounts automatically and update it overnight, eliminating the need to copy/paste repeatedly. The whole path was fully automated, and it has different filtering and multiple templates. It’s a very powerful builder.

What is the team composition?

5–8 people have worked on this project.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent $500,000–$750,000

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with MonkeyTech in 2015 or 2016. I sold the registry, so the new owner is taking over. It’s a big company with its own team. I do have other projects with MonkeyTech, not related to the builder too.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

People have used the platform, and I’ve tracked its success in terms of outages or failures. There are always issues with technology, but I’ve been impressed with the low downtime of the platform.

How did MonkeyTech perform from a project management standpoint?

They used a cloud-based tracking system, so my team and I were able to see their progress. We could also comment on open cards for new system requests, change requests, and tests. MonkeyTech got the data from us in an efficient way.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I’ve worked with many overseas groups, and still do, so my expectations are really high. MonkeyTech not only executed what we defined in the business requirements, but they also challenged some of our decisions and requirements, offering different solutions that they thought didn’t make sense for end-users. I thought that was amazing, given that it’s really easy, even for business people, to focus on how to do things, versus what needs to be done. MonkeyTech’s team knew where the line was, though, and consulted with us on why we’d want one thing and not another.

As a business, we’re always trying to jump to the solution letting the development company focus on the “how.” What I like about MonkeyTech is that if they see something that’s out of line, they’ll bring it up. If something’s not really making sense, they’ll prompt us to revisit the area discuss it again. If they didn’t give their own input they’d still be doing their job perfectly, but I wouldn’t be as happy with the end result. I think that they not only deliver on time, but I can also rely on them to correct business requirements and processes that they see as not being good fits.

Secondly, they’re very sensitive to the business owner’s deadlines, and they’ll work really hard to get things done on time. That sometimes requires them working long hours and on weekends, and adding more resources. I’m really happy with their UI/UX and backend skills. The quality is some of the best I've seen.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They challenge the business requirements and give their input if they see something that can be improved. I think that’s really big, and it’s different from many other companies, which just do what they’ve been told to.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

Clients should be realistic about the timelines for the initial version of the system and create it across multiple releases. It’s important to identify the most important features that you want to deliver in version one, get the system up and running, see what you like and don’t like, and continue to grow it. Don’t look for perfection from day one because there’s no perfect version of any solution. I’ve worked with MonkeyTech by breaking the work into phases, each phase with associated deliverables. It’s helped us see where we’re going.