Naturaily

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Zapnito is the only digital platform purpose-built with and for organizations to connect, share [and make money from] their knowledge assets/expertise. We work with publishers/experts/professionals like academics, analysts, journalists, researchers and professional bodies, to design, create and manage forums that build up brands, allowing them to teach, mentor and develop relationships with their customers.

Our Mission is to become the go-to technology platform for branded expert networks for media, corporates and business services globally. Our vision is to bring back the original premise of the Internet – collective intelligence through trusted sources of expertise.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Naturaily? 

Naturaily helped us upgrade our core dev stack in Ruby and developed some core features in the Ruby on Rails architecture while we focused on some of the core front JS application worked needed for some key roadmap capabilities we had promised our customers and market.

What were your goals for this project?

We needed a scalable resource for some of our key developments as we were building the core platform features.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We selected Naturaily based on an email we received and liked our first chat with Marcin and did extensive due diligence on them. We had them come visit us and had the developers onsite and they worked very closely with us. It is important that we trust and then went off our gut based on their style and demonstrated integrity.

Describe the project in detail.

Scope of the initial project was small. An email preference module. We chose this as a distinct body of work to test their process and ours. Then we went to much bigger projects including the Ruby on Rails upgrade. Projects are agile and duration is ongoing based on key components we need. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Throughput was solid. 

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

There were some language barriers

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Good quality and good value. 

Are there any areas where they can improve?

We did have to rework some of their code

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

Quantid is an app for building quantitative style platforms and aggregating health and wellness data from a variety of mobile devices, and connected health and fitness apps. We allow users to see their personal data in a single place as well as allowing other applications to access it.

What is your position?

I'm the founder.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with Naturaily?

We hired Naturaily to build the part of the system that integrates with all the APIs [application programming interfaces] that our platform needs to connect into in order to collect the data. An example would be the wearable bracelet Fitbit. It's one of the mobile devices that we integrate with. To collect that data, we need to connect into its API, authenticate onto their system, and pull the user data into our system. We then store it into an intermediary database, where it's processed and then hand it to our core database. We needed Naturaily to build the system that reaches out to various APIs, collects the data, processes it, and hands it out to our main system.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their involvement.

They worked entirely on the back-end using Ruby on Rails. They didn't do any work in the front side of things.

Their team consisted of one core developer and two associates for him who worked intermediately. We liaised with the developers directly. I acted as project manager. We left it up to them to delegate their own responsibilities and track progress.

How did you come to work with Naturaily?

I was approached by another Polish software developer. They worked on the front end, specializing in mobile apps. When I spoke to them about the complete solution we were looking for, they mentioned Naturaily for back-end things as a company they collaborate with. We established a relationship with Naturaily, and I was confident they could deliver.

Could you provide a sense of the size of this initiative in financial terms?

It was $30,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

The development took six months. Since they built the app for us, we haven't continued any further work.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement?

I have no metrics per se. We are happy with the system they've built. It performs as desired and very reliably. Unfortunately, for scaling the product in order to launch it to a bigger audience, we will need an additional amount of funding.

One of the specs that we gave Naturaily was the ability to handle high volumes of data coming in relatively short periods of time. We haven't been able to test that yet, but the testing we've done at the current level meets all the requirements we specified in the beginning.

How did Naturaily perform from a project management standpoint?

They definitely delivered within budget and generally on time. They're on the good end of the scale, compared to other developers we've used. They have been late here and there, so I can't say they've delivered everything absolutely on time, but I'm certainly not upset in any way with the slight holdbacks there might have been. When they weren't able to deliver on the scheduled time, we understood their reasons, and there were no unexpected surprises. They had an 80 percent on-time delivery rate and communication was never an issue. To be honest, some of the delays were due to change requests that we'd made.

We didn't use any special tools for project management or to exchange documentation. We communicated entirely through email and Skype, and it worked well.

What distinguishes Naturaily from other providers?

Our main contact person was very good at maintaining the relationship – checking in and touching base. This doesn't always occur when working with developers.

Is there anything Naturaily could have improved or done differently?

No. I was satisfied with the overall relationship.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the VP, Sales & Marketing of a consumer products company

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Our company provides innovative baby products, including bottles, pacifiers, and breastmilk storage solutions, designed to simplify feeding for parents and promote healthy development for infants, and we also expanded into smart baby monitoring with our Aura line.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Naturaily to accomplish?

• Improving the platform's scalability and flexibility to support future growth.
• Enhancing the user experience with a modern design and improved performance.
• Developing advanced e-commerce functionalities to support the launch of our new product line (Aura), such as pre-orders and subscriptions.

SOLUTION

How did you find Naturaily?

Referral

Why did you select Naturaily over others?

• High ratings
• Great culture fit
• Referred to me

How many teammates from Naturaily were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

Naturaily's meticulous plan to deliver a cutting-edge headless e-commerce solution covered all bases. They expertly applied modern web technologies, following a thorough analysis of our current systems and a collaborative exploration of our brand identity.

Naturaily began with collaborative UX/UI design workshops, crafting user-centric page designs and a scalable UI library. Their front-end team then built these responsive designs using Next.js, focusing on performance and key e-commerce features. They integrated Shopify for e-commerce functionality and Storyblok CMS for flexible content management (configured for our team's use), ensuring seamless data sync. 

They also developed custom e-commerce enhancements like pre-orders and loyalty programs, integrated essential third-party analytics and review tools, and prioritized performance optimization throughout. The project, managed via a Scrumban methodology, concluded with successful deployment and ongoing maintenance.

Key deliverables:

• A fully functional, high-performance headless e-commerce website, built on a flexible and scalable architecture.
• A comprehensive and well-documented UI component library, facilitating future design consistency and development efficiency.
• A seamlessly integrated and user-friendly Storyblok CMS, making it easier for our team to manage website content.
• A robust suite of enhanced e-commerce features, designed to optimize the customer journey and drive sales growth.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Key benefits demonstrating the project's success included the effective launch of our Aura product line, supported by integrated pre-order capabilities, and a marked improvement in website performance and user experience from the headless architecture and modern design.

Additionally, the platform provided increased content flexibility for our marketing team and robust scalability to support our ongoing expansion.

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

Naturaily's project management was excellent. They used a Scrumban methodology, which provided a good balance of structure and flexibility. Communication was consistent and clear, with regular updates and demos.

The Naturaily team was responsive to our needs and feedback, and they proactively offered solutions and recommendations. The team was committed to the project and ensured that the needs and goals were clarified and helped our team better define what we were looking for. The project was completed within the agreed-upon timeframe.

What was your primary form of communication with Naturaily?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

We were most impressed with Naturaily's expertise in headless commerce, their commitment to understanding our business needs, and their consistent communication.

Their collaborative approach, from the initial workshops to the ongoing communication, was exceptional. They provided valuable guidance and support throughout the entire process. The whole Naturaily team was great to work with from day one. Everyone was responsive, friendly, and committed to the project.

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

Naturaily met or exceeded our expectations throughout the project. After the initial work was completed, it was extremely easy to follow up with them on updates and new features that were needed.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

 I am the COO of a software company 

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

We are a software-as-a-service business for eCommerce merchants

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Naturaily to accomplish?

• To deliver a Shopify Application that would be approved by Shopify and meet their criteria
• Ensure the Shopify App was user friendly with great customer experience
• Timely delivery of a Shopify Application

SOLUTION

How did you find Naturaily?

• Online Search
• Clutch Site

Why did you select Naturaily over others?

• High ratings
• Pricing fit our budget
• Great culture fit
• Company values aligned
• Expertise and understanding

How many teammates from Naturaily were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

We engaged with Naturaily to create a Shopify Application for one of our pre-existing products; so that this could be leveraged and utilised by Shopify merchants. The main deliverables included: 

• Project Scoping & Feasibility 
• Creation and testing of a working Shopify Application 
• Application submission 
• Ongoing management

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

• Timely delivery 
• On budget delivery 
• Working product 
• Positive client feedback from those that have utilised the application

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

Extremely well managed project. Communication from Konrad, Mateusz and the team was fantastic - really clear and timely; always available and on hand if we had any questions. It felt that at each step along the way the project was really well understood, with clear action steps. It was a seamless delivery and timely delivery of the project. Really well done to the Naturaily team!

What was your primary form of communication with Naturaily?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

For me it was their real expertise and understanding of the Shopify platform and ecosystem; as well as their exceptional Project Management and delivery. I have recommended Naturaily and will continue to do so going forward. They clearly are experts within the Shopify platform and their work is fantastic.

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

N/A

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

OMMAX is a fast-growing digital strategy consultancy in Europe, specializing in transaction advisory, strategy and end-to-end execution of digital initiatives. I act as Technical Product Owner Lead for the company. My main responsibilities revolve around managing the team of Product Owners who run projects such as eCommerce stores creation, DXP implementations, and website launches/relaunches.

I ensure our Product Owners have all the needed technological resources for leading projects in line with customers’ requirements, oversee the processes, and advise our clients technically-wise whenever needed.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

During the ongoing cooperation with one of our clients, we faced a few challenges and limitations that touched the client’s ability to efficiently connect with customers via their Liquid Shopify-based online shop. Also, they wanted to track the consumer’s data collection in a more structured way, better up the lead management and automatize some of the processes with their Salesforce account.

After some considerations, we decided to enter the headless eCommerce realm to make client’s expectations technically achievable. We decided to refresh the client’s website with a few headless eCommerce solutions, and for that purpose we joined our forces with Naturaily. Headless eCommerce is a relatively new approach to creating websites and digital platforms, in which the front end and back end layers are separated.

This is a particular niche we didn’t have that much experience working with as for then. We wanted to provide our client with a concrete value, hence a reliable vendor with such an eCommerce portfolio was needed. This means we weren’t looking for a company that only follows patterns or is great at executing fixes. Instead, there was a dire necessity of cooperating with an agency that would be efficient when it comes to generating non-standard solutions based on business needs expressed by our final client.

In the project, Naturaily acted as technological consultancy partner, who supported us with the client needs’ analyses and solutions finding, as well as final coding when needed.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

We set up various relevant metrics when we did benchmarking between several providers, and Naturaily came out as the most reliable partner for the purposes of our project. Naturaily presented us a well-targeted solution to the specific challenge we had, and we were really satisfied with the proposition. We assessed they would be capable of finding to-the-point resolutions quickly, and this eventually turned out to be true during the project work.

Naturaily was able to showcase a lot of expert knowledge in the eCommerce industry, especially within the Shopify ecosystem. They could also enrich our team with skillful Shopify experts within a short period of time, so we could start tackling our customer’s challenges instantly. They also expressed their interest in a long-term cooperation with our teams, and were able to show us they would be successful at exchanging the know-how and providing proper skill sets.

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

We used Shopify as a back end, and updated the client’s front end layer with React-based solutions accordingly. To connect both layers, we applied APIs. Thanks to that approach, we were able to bypass classic Shopify’s restrictions and reach the desired outcome.

As for Naturaily's performance during the project, it became all the more clear to us they were perfectly accustomed to the Shopify ecosystem, and could quickly respond to our queries or doubts regarding some of the solutions the client initially would like to have implemented.

A few examples of interesting features we implemented together with Naturaily:

• A Salesforce’s Web-to-Lead feature linked up wisely with Shopify Checkout and the website’s front end layer through implementing the exit intent form
• Streamlining the abandoned checkout process C
• reation of an advanced flow for sending Shopify data to the Salesforce account; it allows for creating opportunities (orders) that are automatically complemented with product prices and contact details (Naturaily recommended us a solution called n8n, which acted as the Shopify to Salesforce connector)
• Recreation of various Liquid-based email templates so they can now be automatically sent with contents suitable to the status of the order (one-time order, first-subscription order, resubscribe order, etc.)
• A customizable solution allowing for setting up dynamic emails in accordance with particular products visible on the website The latter was especially helpful. Our initial idea was to turn off that specific type of emails as the solution didn't quite match the value expected by the client back then. Knowing that, the Naturaily team came up with an alternative idea that now serves as a particular well-thought resolution that would cater to the client’s needs in the long term.

The project consisted of several brainstorming sessions with Naturaily’s Shopify expert and headless front end developers. During these meetings, they would actively contribute to finding ways of reaching the wanted outcome. We would also consult Naturaily when we weren't sure about the actual technical way of responding to the client’s demand. Thanks to that, we were able to find and present the best possible solution to the client.

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

The project required particular skill sets, both within and around the Shopify ecosystem, as there was a need of creating a headless front end to the customer’s final solution: One Shopify Expert, Two Front End Developers. They complemented our internal team that consisted of three eCommerce experts.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Most importantly, together we fulfilled all of the final client’s requirements and expectations. With the quality and advancement of solutions proposed by the Naturaily team, we were calm and certain when we presented them to the client, and Naturaily managed to be successful even within limited resources. Although most crucial, in this type of cooperation, the final client’s assessment shouldn’t be the only outcome presenting Naturaily’s engagement and performance.

Thanks to the cooperation with Naturaily, our team itself gathered new skills, especially in the areas of project management within a hybrid mode. It was interesting to understand how to operate in a setup, in which our specialists weren’t the only ones to work on technical solutions. We managed to split up the work efficiently, and it was possible due to Naturaily experts’ ability and experience to cooperate in such a model.

We also found some of the technical approaches they took very interesting. Naturaily’s specialists who cooperated with us were also very dedicated to the project, and surely we’ll use these experiences during our future projects.

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

It was a very positive kind of relationship from the very beginning, with a cheerful and constructive approach to communication as well. Naturaily provided us with a dedicated team that was focused on creating a great value to both the client and our team. For example, given some limitations we had with the toolset that we couldn’t change, we always received honest answers regarding the actual possibility of creating the solution demanded by the client.

Additionally, the Naturaily team presented us with alternative ways whenever the client’s idea wasn’t possible to turn into life successfully. Thanks to that, we felt we would be able to deliver expected effects. This proactivity, creativity and efficiency led to the general impression of great collaboration with the team. This was all the more important because the project was a little bit complicated technically-wise, and we could only meet once a week.

Sometimes, it would be a little challenging to find a balance, yet still, the Naturaily team managed to operate successfully within these circumstances. Whenever prompted to give information, we would definitely get detailed responses.

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

Initially, we had great input from the team. This involves especially competences they provide in niche technology, which headless eCommerce still remains. These expertise and experience (which we were missing internally) influenced their capabilities of providing interesting alternative perspectives and solutions to non-standard Shopify issues during creative workarounds we would be involved in.

Meetings were always concrete and down to the point. We believe this is a very strong asset Naturaily has to offer. Naturaily could also competently respond to both ad hoc and extensive requirements for such a limited toolset. They made the best out of the situation, meaning they would present an assertive attitude, and at the same time create effective solutions.

It was valid even when surprisingly some of the features turned out to be problematic and not working as we wanted them to. It was awesome to have a technologically competent partner like that, backing us when we needed it.

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

There were some difficulties to align on timeliness because we were not working full time with the team. Naturaily, however, wasn't entirely responsible for the project setup, and when the time was allocated, things happened very fast. Other than that, I can’t think of anything to share.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Software development and project management. My position is managing projects.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Naturaily?

I was looking for professional developers in Ruby on Rails

Further development of an existing solution. There was no support from the previous team and also barely documentation.

Codereview the "old" codes as well as developing new features. Cooperation with the Mobile Developer Team. Server support.

What were your goals for this project?

Takeover of the project and further development of new functions.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

Internet recherche. Calls with the CEO of Naturaily, visit to Wroclaw.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

Further development of an existing solution. There was no support from the previous team and also barely documentation.
Codereview the "old" codes as well as developing new features. Cooperation with the Mobile Developer Team. Server support.
Monitoring and setup of AWS servers

What was the team composition?

Backend and frontend developer (RoR, ReactJS), QM and project manager

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

After a difficult training phase (no support from the previous team, no documentation), we now have the systems well under control. We develop further functions and improve the old parts of the system.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

A contact person was provided by naturaily, who took over the coordination between us the developers and the QM

What did you find most impressive about this company?

They quickly and reliably implemented our requirements. 

Are there any areas for improvement?

immer ;-)

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the VP of operations and acting product owner of a marketing agency. We run a SaaS marketing platform.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Rootstrap?

We needed to scale up our development team quickly. 

SOLUTION

Describe the project in detail.

Naturaily made four mid-senior level developers available to us at a reasonable cost within weeks. Professional and talented, the developers were able to jump into the project quickly and delivered high-quality work. We engaged with developers directly, but have thought about building a fully agile team due to the high quality and speed of work.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Once we coordinated a schedule of sprint ceremonies and demos via videos and project tracking, the time difference wasn't a huge deal. I would highly recommend working with Naturaily for any Ruby development needs.