NearCoast

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the CEO of Wetelo

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

We develop fresh-looking and functional websites with non templated designs from Internet stores to complex high-load projects involving data processing, interactivity, multimedia, telephony and many more.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

• Working together on the same project to ensure the successful implementation of key features and achieving project milestones within the defined timelines.

SOLUTION

How did you find NearCoast?

Upwork

Why did you select NearCoast over others?

• Close to my geographic location
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from NearCoast were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

• Estimation, planning and implementation of new features 
• Design and development of new microservices, writing of Lambda functions 
• Work with Stripe subscriptions with a lot of products dependent on usage with coupons 
• Release process management- code review, developer s tasks testing, unit test development

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

• Timely delivery of new features. 
• Expansion of microservices as needed. 
• Efficient management of Stripe subscriptions and coupons. 
• Streamlined release process with minimal post-release issues.

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

We have never faced any difficulties throughout our cooperation, items were always delivered on time, communication was smooth and effective and the deadlines were met.

What was your primary form of communication with NearCoast?

Virtual Meeting

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

What I found most impressive and unique about this company is their collaborative approach. They actively engaged in projects, fostering a strong and effective partnership that set them apart.

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

I believe everything went smoothly, and it appears that my suggestions were carefully considered and incorporated.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a partner and founder at Twisted Pair Labs, a software consulting firm that specializes in software development, mobile product strategy, and other projects along those lines. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with NearCoast?

One of the hardest things to manage for our firm was bench time and staffing, so we needed a trusted partner to give us high-end skillsets at a price point that allowed our business to grow.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We hired NearCoast to bring in new development members for our consulting firm. For example, we had a project that centered around an entrepreneurial community-based web platform from one of our customers. It had both mobile and web versions, and we needed to enhance and manage it operationally. To do that on an ongoing basis, we went to NearCoast. They provided development and QA resources to help our customer, which couldn’t afford to staff up. This allowed us to be our customer’s local experts. 

We also provided documentation to NearCoast and recorded videos of the architectural diagrams and business purpose of the platform. We shared the videos with them so they could gain the knowledge they needed. From there, they did a lot of research. They dug into the platform at the code, architectural, and deployment levels to fully understand the details of its maintenance and enhancements. They also handled its testing and deployment. In such a project, our team was the intermediary, and NearCoast was our technology, development, delivery, and deployment arm. 

We’ve done other projects, such as building mobile and web apps from scratch. To date, NearCoast serves as our technology development partner. When we need support for any language or architecture, they staff a team that takes care of project management, development, QA testing, and deployment. As a consulting firm, we have to match our services to the technologies that our clients use. NearCoast provides us that kind of variability; we show them what architecture and languages are needed, and then they find resources for us. 

What is the team composition?

The team composition depends on the project. We haven’t found an upward limit to what they can support, but we’ve worked with a dozen or more people over the engagement. They fill roles as we need them for the duration of the projects.  

How did you come to work with NearCoast?

We’d been through a number of consulting firms over the years in different countries. We looked for offshore companies because we needed to manage the cost to our customers and be competitive. 

However, we also needed an organization that would act as part of our team and not just as a transactional offshore organization. When we came across NearCoast, they were a good fit for us for that very reason: they engaged us as team members and not just as a transactional offshore agency. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We started the partnership in January 2018, and it’s ongoing. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our clients re-up with us when we’re using NearCoast for projects. When we come to the end of our SoW, customers don’t just disappear and do things on their own or with another firm. We always get re-ups on our work, and that’s a good measure of our relationship.

Moreover, an organization like NearCoast makes it easy for us to grow our business. They take care of staffing so we can focus on our customers and their goals. The fact that NearCoast enables us to do this has been great for us. Many other consulting firms take that business model on themselves, but it only adds additional costs to their customers.

How did NearCoast perform from a project management standpoint?

A project manager is involved in every project we have, and we work with them on a daily basis. We use the agile methodology, so we have regular stand-ups and backlog planning and prioritization. We allow their team to pull cards from prioritized backlogs, and we do sprint demos. Their project manager keeps everything on track. To communicate, we use emails, phone calls, and Slack.  

What did you find most impressive about them?

NearCoast listens to our needs and then acts on them. They don’t try to impose their perspective on our business; they learn how we do business, and then they adjust their teams and approach to our needs. 

Larger firms have larger benches of people, but they don’t listen. Instead, they simply apply their process to us, and that doesn’t work in the longer run. Then, there are small firms that can’t staff accordingly. By contrast, NearCoast has the capacity to grow and knows how to listen and adjust to their customers. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, there aren’t any. I don’t know if we’ve left anything undone in the way of improvement. We’ve improved things along the way, but we’ve left nothing broken for any reason. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

The key to a successful engagement is to know how you want to interact with NearCoast. Communicate with them clearly, early, and frequently, and don’t assume that you can just throw things over the fence. 

Some companies think that they can just throw work over the fence and wait for the offshore team to magically figure it out. Nobody does that in their local organization. Instead, treat NearCoast like they’re a part of your company. Make adjustments and talk about how things can get better. It works out well because their team is happy to listen and adjust. 

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the CEO of a software development company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We have many different software development requests that come in from clients of all industries. NearCoast is our primary development contractor and they support all aspects of the development process.

SOLUTION

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

We found NearCoast through a referral. The team's attention to detail and competitive pricing were major factors in deciding to work with them. The team prioritizes customer needs and they are exceptional at identifying creative solutions and workarounds.

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

NearCoast begins projects with a Discovery Phase that allows the team to identify exact budgets, potential issues, market analysis, etc. This phase puts clients and developers on the same page in terms of milestones and deliverables so there are no surprises along the way.

After all deliverables and milestones are confirmed, the development process begins. NearCoast has completed tasks using Flutter, Python, DevOps, etc. Results are delivered based on milestone schedules and the client is always left happy with the delivered project.

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

There were 8 people that supported our tasks. This included designers, project managers, and developers.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Clients have successfully gone on to raise seven figure investment for their company using the products we have developed for them. Feedback from clients is always extremely positive and deliverables exceed expectations.

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

Updates are provided daily/weekly depending on necessity. Task progress can be monitored through Jira, Trello, Figma, Slack, Telegram etc.

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

The company is able to find creative solutions to difficult and open-ended questions. Other vendors are not able to creatively problem-solve.

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

No complaints as any concerns are communicated to NearCoast and instantly addressed.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the innovation Advisor at Connecting Talents. Connecting Talents is the first platform able to support talents development and match them with opportunity using a custom AI matching algorithm

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

There were various challenges: design a platform from zero, create a suitable environment where users can navigate and find opportunities, and overall, create a great integration with AI and data processing

SOLUTION

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

We went through a structured vendor selection process, where we measured their abilities to provide both design and architectural solutions. NearCoast demonstrated a top-level capability to provide valuable insights about the platform, the design and to suggest solutions.

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

The goal of the work was to: - design a starting MVP solution - design the platform and the general UX - develop the market platform - create the AI engines - connect the AI data to the frontend - ensure the data security - create a suitable architecture to connect data and users, including the future development of APIs - integrate reports, user data, feedback, chat, and other services. Technologies: PHP, MongoDB, mySQL, Sail JS, Unity3D, CSS Product features matching tables, graphical profiles, team chat integration, Unity game integration, PDF integration

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

We worked with around 8 different people from the vendor's team, with various positions: - project manager - front-end developers - backend developers - UX/UI - Uniy3D - Data and integration management

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Thanks to NearCoast we were able to go online quickly, and, as well, to have a working platform for users. The amount of work they did was massive, especially in the AI and data optimization area. Plus thanks to the designed architecture now we are able to offer platform services via APIs and to expand our business model.

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

Every startup project has a lot of needs, and the requirements can even change quickly. NearCoast supported the project with continuous support, openness and feedback. The process was managed by the project manager and the whole team in a perfect Agile style. Thanks to NearCoast we were able to pivot some solutions quickly and launch them in the market. Plus at the end of the active development, they provided post-dev maintenance and support of the infrastructure.

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

The project management was impressive, as I, previously, wrote startup projects are always chaotic and have a quick turnover in terms of specifications and features. Their ability to manage the flow of the information and expectations with time-to-market needs was impressive.

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

Looking back to the path we walked together, and the current platform, I am pretty happy to confirm that they supported us in the best possible way, and allow us to reach the objectives we designed. I would not change a single step

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of a software development company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with NearCoast?

We needed high-quality developers.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We first met with their project manager who took our requirements and asked what we were looking for in a developer. We then spoke with the owner, interviewed a couple of developers, and got to work. 

Our company has run a number of projects with NearCoast’s developers where we’ve provided most of the intel. They’ve been able to provide the resources we need for anything we’ve asked them to. 

What is the team composition?

We’ve worked with 6–8 different team members across all of our projects. 

How did you come to work with NearCoast?

NearCoast was recommended by a friend of mine who’s also in the business. 

How much have you invested with them?

Our company has invested around $50,000–$100,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our partnership started in July 2018, and it’s ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I have an effort-to-results ratio to measure and determine whether or not the resources that NearCoast provides are being successful. We’ve worked with many developers from their team, and some of them have produced better results than others. However, the quality of the development staff has been above average and higher than what I’ve been able to find locally.

How did NearCoast perform from a project management standpoint?

We hired a project manager, but that didn’t work out, so our company now manages the projects. We have daily stand-ups where we review work and assign new tasks to their team members. We communicate through Slack and Zoom meetings.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I appreciate the willingness of the owner to go out and find new resources that match my needs.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don’t have anything for them to improve. I’m happy with their services. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

The aspect that matters most between a software development company and a client is their relationship. It’s important they understand each other and have the same values.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m CTO of software development company. We are constantly augmenting our team with engineers from NearCoast.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We had custom projects for clients from extremely advanced AR executions to building custom social networks with ML/AI integration and adding video streaming capabilities.

SOLUTION

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

I’m working with NearCoast team over 6 years and they are a solid and reliable partner.

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

We were working on all possible stages with NearCoast, from discovery phase to architecting solution, execution of web solution, mobile apps, marketing campaigns.

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

It is currently working 17 people

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

In total we launched together over 50 projects of different size, different costs with customers from the USA, Germany, UK, France, Denmark, etc.

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

We are using Jira and Trello. On each project, they have assigned PM.

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

They always keep their promises even without formal documents and they are open to explore new technologies

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

They need to keep adding more talents to their team