Monterail

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder of Hunt, a rental marketplace.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Untitled Kingdom?

We built our web platform and wanted to build native mobile apps as well but we didn’t have the capability in-house.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We had nothing as it related to native apps so they developed our iOS app from scratch. They helped us get our backend infrastructure set up and designed APIs.

I worked with them very closely on implementing designs that we have worked on, testing, and ultimately deployment of a production-level app. They built the whole app and, through the years, they continued to improve the app.

What is the team composition?

I interfaced with the founder on a contractual level. The team that was staffed on the project were developers and a project manager.

How did you come to work with Untitled Kingdom?

We talked to a range of companies about first building an iOS app. We decided on Untitled Kingdom. We got some references at the time and say that they had done some good work in the native app ecosystem. We took a gamble on that.

At that time, Apple had already announced that they’re moving over to Swift and away from Objective C, which was a difficult decision for us. Other teams suggested we code our app in Objective C and then convert it to Swift, even though it would be significantly more expensive and would partially duplicate the work. 

We didn’t have the money to do that and Untitled Kingdom said we should code in Swift, and that it would be stupid not to. I liked the attitude they had. They acknowledged they’d done Objective C and this would be a big change in moving over to Swift, but they took it on and did a phenomenal job.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent over $100,000. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from July 2014 – May 2019.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We started ranking very competitively in the App Store. For some of the most generic and high volume terms, we started ranking in positions 1–5. We started getting 10s of thousands of downloads a month. 

One thing that stood out to us is our crash rate of the app was very low. It was below a percent of users had their app ever crash. At the time, the industry average was 2–3% so that spoke to their quality of work.

How did Untitled Kingdom perform from a project management standpoint?

We had daily calls with everybody on the team. They helped structure the sprints in our software account and it worked well. Communication was very good between our teams — we started with voice calls and had video calls. 

They were very structured and their project manager was really good. He would push back and reshuffle the sprints according to how it made sense for quality. He did a good job interfacing with his engineers because he had a slightly better understanding of our business goals than they did. He was able to balance quality versus our innate attempt to chew off a bit more than we should have. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

My experience with them was very positive and I was delighted with their service. They had a very structured approach to work. They weren’t afraid of new technologies and were very creative in how they problem-solved. They’re a really solid company and team. I’d love to work with them again.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There’s nothing where I’d say it’s their fault. One thing that was difficult at times was the time difference between us — they’re in Poland and I’m in San Francisco so we were working with a 10 hour time difference. We had calls early in the morning but if something came up later during the day, even just a question, it wasn’t always possible to reach someone there.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

My advice would be to trust their process even if you don’t immediately like it. They have gone through this process several times to build a mobile app. They simply had a lot more knowledge and still have a lot more knowledge about that process than we do internally. Their project manager is really solid and good.

Their engineers are also very good because they actually produced a high-quality product. Don’t battle the project manager on everything because you can just shoe in more features or requests. It will dilute the quality of the product and make everybody unhappy along the way.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the Managing Director of Taleva, a company that offers a performance management and talent development solution for small- to mid-sized companies.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We hired Monterail to develop a bespoke SaaS platform that fully supports our performance management and talent development process.

SOLUTION

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

We've selected Monterail based on extensive research. Ultimately, a personal connection who had already worked with Monterail for several years was one of the main deciding factors.

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

The scope of the project included the full development of a modern SaaS platform. This included a design phase, a build phase and continuous project management as well as quality testing.

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

We had a team of one project manager, two front-end developers and one back-end developer. We also had the support of the lead designer and his design team at Monterail. We also had access to the development support team incl. DevOps and QA testing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Monterail did a great job developing this piece of software for us. Their team is reliable, competent and asked the right questions to understand exactly what we wanted to build.

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

Their approach to project management was professional. Our project manager kept us up to date on how we track against the timeline and budget. Communication was seamless, using tools such as Jira, Slack, Google Docs and regular video calls.

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

Monterail is a modern company that invests in their people. Their collaborative culture and emphasis on continuous development helps to deliver quality client projects.

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

We had a few minor communication issues during the project. However, these were quickly resolved by our project manager. Overall, Monterail has fully met our expectations and we recommend them as a reliable development partner.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

AmRest is global restaurants operator for equty and franchse brands.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

The challenge was to build mobile first online ordering platform for Pizza Hut for Delivery and Take Away orders that would increase mobile web conversion by at least 30%.

SOLUTION

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

Careful design and programing combined with very motivated team helped us deliver expeted business results within just 8 months including desing, programn and testing phases.

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

We have decided to program new website based on our know how based on React technology. Focused on major processes we tackled them sprint by sprint to make sure all works fine together. There was only one key deliverable - performing website but we went thru several prototypes and adjusted them based on customer feedback.

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

PM, Architect, and up to 3 programmers.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Yes we have achieved over 30% uplift on Conversion Rate for mobile website within first few weeks from deployment.

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

We based on JIRA & SLACK what worked seamlessly. Daily communication with developers, weekly project calls. Open management style.

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

Their attitude and motivation impressed us. It wasn't just another project for them. It was a passionate experience.

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

Make sure we do not miss any path when switching website. We have missed few functions.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Co-Founder of Headminer - The Workforce Exchange - where companies can find, offer and manage skilled workers more easily.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Monterail?

They developed the frontend of our product.

What were your goals for this project?

To create an awesome product with a high quality scalable, component-based frontend.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

Based on Vue.js expertise.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

Vue.js frontend development.

What was the team composition?

1-3 developers (2 junior-medior and 1 senior)

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Not yet, as our go2market was planned during Coronacrisis but from my experience they delivered great.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

Good. I took care of the devteam myself since I have a tech background, but on their side they followed up very well.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The level of client service and how they think with you to optimize your business. They really are good at servicing you and delivering meaningful software.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Hard question. They're not the cheapest for their area but we think it's worth it.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm CEO & Founder of Guild, a messaging app for professionals and businesses.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Monterail?

To build and continually develop our mobile and web apps as well as our marketing website.

What were your goals for this project?

To launch on time and then continously improve and interate using an agile approach.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We did a longlist, then a shortlist, and then had an RFP process which Monterail won.

Describe the project in detail.

We had created branding and designs and a design prototype in InVision but needed to translate this into a fully working product. So we needed a technical partner who could build and develop mobile apps in particular but also help with our website.

What was the team composition?

The rough split is two back end developers, two front end developers, and a project/product manager.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

We launched on time and have continued to show a great velocity in shipping new features. We release an update to the app every week. Usage of app has grown at least 20% every month.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

We use an agile approach with a backlog that we reprioritise in a major way every 3 months with a physical meeting and then every week with a call and daily via Slack. We release an update every week. This rhythm works well.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Excellent quality and value. Commitment. Integrity. Hard work. Good/honest communications. Proactive suggestions for improvements. Excellent English.

Are there any areas for improvement?

A few small mistakes that quality control has missed but nothing serious and have been quickly fixed.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the managing director of a compliance management company. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Monterail?

We were using an outdated system. We needed to modernize our web app and create mobile apps.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?
Monterail built a mobile app for incident reporting. The platform allows people to report an accident at a company site or an environment incident from their mobile devices. Those reports go into our internal system.

Recently, they built a progressive web app for conducting audits and safety inspections. Their team used Angular for frontend development. They built a progressive app, meaning it can be used from mobile devices too.

Users can plan and schedule their audits through the platform. Using their mobile devices, users can conduct inspections. Users can take pictures, generate reports, and look at dashboards.

The overall modernization of our system is an ongoing project. They work on smaller, focused projects as needed.

What is the team composition?

We started the project with two backend developers and a frontend developer. Now, we work with two frontend developers, a project manager, a part-time QA teammate, and a part-time UX designer.

How did you come to work with Monterail?

I conducted Google searches for development agencies. We spoke with 15–20 different agencies on the phone. Before hiring Monterail, we visited their office. We eventually decided they were the best fit for us.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent roughly €750,000 (approximately $824,000 USD) on the project. We spend about €250,000 (approximately $275,000) per year on their services.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in December 2017, and it’s an ongoing partnership.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

When we had new products, we had to train clients to use them because they were complex. Monterail developed products that are self-explanatory and don’t require training. Feedback from our users has been positive. They like the platforms' performances and ease of use. Users also like the look and feel of the apps.

How did Monterail perform from a project management standpoint?

We use JIRA, Slack, and Google Drive for documentation. Their communication and project management are transparent and straightforward. They always meet timelines. We’re satisfied with their project management style.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Monterail has all the necessary resources in-house. Their team can easily scale up or down as needed. They aren’t too big, so their CEO is available whenever you need to talk.

Are there any areas they could improve?

We had issues regarding the estimated timeline during the project. However, they quickly resolved them with a dedicated account manager who sets clear timelines for their team.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

It’s helpful to visit their office and see the quality they provide.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am principal consultant for Brodick Consulting, which was formed in 2016 with focus on the UK water and energy utilities markets. Primarily a specialist data consultant for those markets, we also look to provide toolsets, especially for the smaller companies for whom some enterprise-scale solutions may be too large.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Monterail?

Monterail was hired to help turn a broad vision into a tangible prototype that could help communicate our concept to potential customers.

What were your goals for this project?

The project had three goals:(i) translate the vision into a demonstrable prototype, (ii) establish the framework for developing fuller capabilities beyond the initial focus and (iii) inform the likely costs and timescales to move a full product.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

I engaged Monterail after a tender process, having shortlisted six companies that appeared to suit the needs of our project (from general research and through appraisal sites, such as Clutch).

Monterail demonstrated that they understood the challenge, gave a clear vision for how the project would be delivered, while also recognising that there were areas of uncertainty and opportunities to enhance what was proposed. This last aspect was key: we wanted a partner that would use their experience to build on the specification but not to be limited by any inherent biases or blindspots within.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

The project began with a two-day discovery workshop at the Monterail offices, which gave us a chance to all meet, build the relationships and develop a deep understanding of the project requirements. Monterail set up the team working side of things and developed mock ups of what the solution would look like.

Iteratively, we stepped through the evolution of the mockups, which focused on the core outputs of the tool (the key data viz capabilities) as well as the non-functional aspects needed to maintain the data. I had a regular catch up conversation with the Monterail project manager, as well as joining some of the team's daily sprints as needed to resolve any specific questions.

The final output from the project was an interactive prototype that has been used to socialise our vision with customers, generating a lot of interest itself and raising our credibility as a consulting service.

What was the team composition?

The core Monterail team was four people, with specific input from the wider team as required. We had a dedicated project manager, with specialists also looking at the technical requirements, the user experience design and the data visualisation outputs. Szymon - the co-CEO of Monterail - would also check in with me from time to time to ensure that I was satisfied with how things were progressing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The demo has helped with establishing credibility and has directly resulted in two projects, albeit not directly related to the demo itself. The project has also helped us to better understand potential client appetite, readiness and priorities (the market is a young one, with non-household water becoming competitive in England fro April 2017). There is clear interest in adopting the fuller version and we still aim to revisit and build on from what was delivered.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

The project management was very straight forward and effective: there was a clear single point of contact for any questions and the costs/timescales were clearly communicated at each step of the process.

The project manager made it clear when the team needed something specific from me and even things like having a specific Slack channel for where my input was needed by the group meant that my time was optimised, which was useful for both sides. I had access to Jira and other documentation as needed throughout the process.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Even during the tender process, I felt that Monterail was prepared to suggest alternative ways of approaching something, whether in improving a specific visualisation or from other technical aspects of the solution. This continued through the project: the final output was different to the initial specification - and all the better for that.

The whole team was very engaging and very easy to work with. And each team member demonstrated a lot of expertise in their area and a very strong understanding of the project and its aims. Visiting the office and seeing the energy and enthusiasm across the whole company really helped confirm that we'd made the right hiring choice.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Not particularly - I found the experience very positive and would have built further on the work had the market conditions supported it (and may yet still). We pivoted from building the first module of a full product into a demo option but the Monterail team adapted to that with great professionalism.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of Afriwise, a legal tech startup. We provide online legal tools, solutions, and information for companies active in Africa.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Monterail?

We needed someone to develop an online cloud-based platform that would allow us to build our own data in a flexible way and to easily input and update legal information. We also wanted it to be a social community base for legal experts in Africa.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Before we started working together, we held workshops on Python, Django, STX Next, Ruby on Rails, Transition, and PHP. We wanted the platform to include all the project features we required and didn’t want any giving in on that. We did the written scope of about 60 pages and part of their assignment was to do the UI/UX and the wireframing.

Then they developed our platform. Since then, they’ve been doing maintenance and developing new tools and features. We’ve built in APIs and a lot of stuff that wasn’t part of the original scope. Since COVID-19 struck, they’ve been doing pure maintenance.

What is the team composition?

There was a project manager, a senior backend developer, junior backend developer, a senior frontend developer, and one QA. For the first six months, we had a business analyst.

How did you come to work with Monterail?

We did a lot of research, using Clutch as well, to find an external development partner. We had a fixed scope and presented it to a few developers for workshops and proposals. We also spoke to a lot of the clients of each firm.

Eventually we shortlisted three development firms and ended up choosing Monterail after a quite lengthy assessment. The criteria we looked at was time, cost, product, and process. We needed the platform to be commercially viable by June 2018.

The platform development process needed to be efficient and consume minimal of our management time. We didn’t have internal project managers or business analysts and wanted a team who could do the whole legal setup and development without a lot of interaction with us.

We needed someone who could think with us in terms of building a scalable platform. Monterail had a very good reputation with their existing clients. They had done some similar projects as ours. We found an excellent team fit and approach with them during the workshops. They gave us quite an accurate cost.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent €400,000 (approximately $433,000 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in June 2018 and is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The MVP was ready in June as we had requested and within budget. In September 2018, we launched the official product out to the market. We’re extremely impressed by their development capabilities. They developed everything we wanted. They’ve reached all the KPIs. They’ve been great in terms of backup and maintenance. They think with us. They’re always within budget. We’re happy with them as a partner.

The UI/UX is great. We get a lot of feedback that the site is extremely user friendly. It’s not an easy thing to do because it’s legal tech. People that use our platform are lawyers and aren’t tech savvy at all. We were a bit worried about that. Monterail did extremely well with the UI/UX.

We were afraid that any change we would make afterwards would cost us an arm and a leg, but they were reasonable.

How did Monterail perform from a project management standpoint?

Project management and business analysis, they were spot on and did extremely well. We got weekly reporting. They use Slack and Jira.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re down to earth. They’re very pragmatic. They think with us. We didn’t have to spend months on a whiteboard with the developers. They were able to quickly start developing and visualize things for us within two months.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They’re a bit weaker on design compared to some of the other development firms. We didn’t use a separate design team. At a certain time, we had to bring in a separate designer to help them a bit. Things could be a bit better with design, but we knew they were a development firm.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Work with the right people. We were lucky to have the most senior team on board.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am one of the co-founders of an online marketplace for hospitality and VIP packages for sporting, music, and culture events. We are primarily a B2C platform, but we also offer a B2B piece of software that we can provide to our partners so that they can upload their inventory of VIP tickets and packages onto the platform.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Monterail?

We are a startup, so our goal was to create this online marketplace from scratch. We worked with their team to build all of the necessary functionalities and features from scratch into a cohesive software for us to offer to our customers.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The project started with us going out to their offices in Poland and holding a three-day workshop where we dug deeply into our goals and the challenges that we would have to overcome in order to get there. They came back with a proposal, and we hit the ground running from there.

We worked with their team in weekly sprints, prioritizing the biggest challenges first so that we could get a basic MVP up and running as quickly as possible so that we could start building a brand identity and awareness around that.

Then we continued the development on top of that, adding the sales aspects and the more fine-tuned functionalities. We worked in Ruby on Rails for the backend and something called Elixir that we added into the framework to help manage high volume traffic during sales, as well as React for the frontend.

What is the team composition?

The composition of their team has changed over the time that we’ve been working with them, but at the highest, it was around 8–9 individuals and at the lowest was more like 6. We have a project manager and developers specializing in back- and frontend as well as QA and design.

How did you come to work with Monterail?

They were recommended to us by one of our connections within the industry, and we approached them with our business proposition and objectives. As soon as we met them, we were blown away by the impression they gave in terms of their competence, talent, and professionalism, so we knew we wanted to move forward with them.

How much have you invested with them?

In total, we’ve spent around $300,000 on the project.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in July 2018 and are still ongoing with them now.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Initially, the bounce rate from our website and traffic was around 89% and we’ve managed to lower that to 29%, which is really significant. Our conversion has tripled in that same amount of time, and our traffic has grown to nearly 20,000 users per month.

Overall, we’ve made a massive amount of improvement with them and are making progress towards building trust and client relationships through the platform. We’ve started to sign up a lot of partners using the B2B software and people seem really interested, which is exciting for us to see.

How did Monterail perform from a project management standpoint?

They’ve done a great job of managing their work with us. Even through a change in project managers, both individuals did a great job and handled the transition very well. They keep me up to date as much as they can and lay out very organized plans ahead of time so that I always know what the next steps of the project will be.

Monterail’s team is very good at providing opinions and suggestions, as well as staying within schedules and budgets without us needing to ask for any of that from them. They really operate as part of our internal team. We communicate through Slack, for the most part, which really helps to keep the two teams connected.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The sheer talent that they possess is incredible. They are determined, passionate, and unbelievably committed to your success as a company. You couldn’t even compare them to the other options we considered for the project because they have been so astronomically ahead of everyone else in terms of the quality of their work and the value they are providing for our money.

Are there any areas they could improve?

If I had to think of something, there were a couple of really rare moments where we had small miscommunications, but that was honestly the closest we’ve come to a problem throughout the entire thing.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be absolutely open and honest with them about what you want to achieve, and then be ready to listen to their advice as well, because the collaboration with them is what’s going to produce the best results.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the VP of engineering at fromAtoB, a travel company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Monterail?

Development resources are very scarce. We needed development resources with a top-notch skillset to match, which was even harder to find.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They helped us with web development. We use Ruby on Rails in the backend and Vue.js on the frontend. There were one or two projects where they consulted us in terms of design, as well. Our UX team provided the wireframes or mockups ahead of time.

Since we sell transportation tickets, we need to integrate with all kinds of providers. They’ve helped us with at least four major integrations and they’re all live, so we’re receiving bookings through those integrations.

They help us with really technical projects like the migration of our front- and backend services.

Our collaboration has only intensified since we started. We started with one developer and have continued to grow our team.

What is the team composition?

There are 12–15 people. We have a main point of contact.

How did you come to work with Monterail?

Our former CTO had worked with them in the past and had a good experience. They’re perfect for us because they’re skilled with the same technologies that we use. We also liked that they’re only 3–4 hours away from us and we can travel to each other’s office if needed.

How much have you invested with them?

€50,000–€60,000 per month based on the current team size (approximately $660,000 USD in total throughout the partnership.).

What is the status of this engagement?

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

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The successful integrations allowed us to go into new markets and sell more. The backend migration also helped us scale up our architecture.

They’re very good with the technologies they use. They’re the perfect match. We’re happy with their work. They pick things up pretty fast and the juniors on their side are very high quality and well-coached.

How did Monterail perform from a project management standpoint?

We decided that anything related to project management would be done on our side. They helped us with things like personnel issues like if someone needs to take a long time off or whether they have to swap between different projects. We use Jira and, in the past, we used Monday. We are constantly talking on Slack or GitHub.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their technical skills are very impressive. We’re particularly happy with the frontend migration they did for us.

Are there any areas they could improve?

If there’s room for improvement, it’s on our side in terms of how we organize ourselves.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Establish clear communication channels. In our case, we clearly defined how many approvals are needed from their side and our side before we merge any code. Make sure you put in some time to see the team, chat with them, and see how they’re doing