Netguru

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the CEO of Pismo Foundation

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

"Pismo. Magazyn opinii" is a unique pro bono media project run by the Pismo Foundation. "Pismo’s" mission is to shape current and future leaders of social, political and cultural life by exposing them to the most important issues and inspiring them to reflect on the trends shaping the future. We would like to be a role model for independent journalism working for the public purpose, uncompromising on quality, depth and reliability of content.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

• Launch mobile app with Pismo content
• Increase subscribers' engagement with Pismo
• Reduce churn among subscribers

SOLUTION

How did you find Netguru?

Tech to the Rescue matching process

Why did you select Netguru over others?

• High ratings
• Close to my geographic location
• Great culture fit
• Referred to me
• Pro bono support

How many teammates from Netguru were assigned to this project?

Over 10, but I do not have complete picture

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

Netguru provided us (Pismo in a non profit project) a fully pro bono development and maintenance of the mobile application with Pismo (monthly magazine) content for IOS and Android mobile phones.

This included full support starting with clarifying and prioritizing business requirements, developing UX solution, developing, testing (including user tests) and launching MVP, providing overall technical support, developing the next phase of the app addressing the key user needs not included in MVP, plus overall project management plus discussions on strategic and content priorities of Pismo in relation with the IT/app development.

The MVP was delivered ahead of our internal deadline and received a very positive feedback from out readers. Though it is only MVP, with a number of features missing, already ca. 30% of our subscribers downloaded it and over 20-25% use on regular basis.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Over 30% of subscribers downloaded it, well over 20% (even >25%) use it on regular basis, with a very high level of engagement (in terms of av time and # of visits per UV per month). This exceeds our expectations, especially since we still operate with MVP app, further improvement being implemented/to be implemented early 2024

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

Very goo communication, keeping the client informed on the process, flagging the issues. Since this is a pro bono work, it was clear that resources sometimes may not be available due to other (paid) clients. Still, despite this complexity, the process has been managed very well. Reacting quickly to our requests, both on testing/adjustments and in planning second phase of enhancement post MVO

What was your primary form of communication with Netguru?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

Willingness to support non profit initiatives acting pro publico bono and treating such client in the same professional way as a regular one. Effective, high quality project management and good feedback/communication with the client. High quality end product.

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

Nothing specific

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder and CEO of VisionHealth, a company developing and marketing digital therapeutics. We provide patients who have chronic respiratory diseases with an application for medical purposes that has a clinical effect on them.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Netguru?

We had four developers internally to drive our app development project, but we needed to expand our team. However, as a startup company, we have limited funds. Sometimes we need more resources, and other times we need no extra resources. Thus, we hired Netguru to augment our development team as needed.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We had already developed the AI behind our app, and we had built an app around that AI. However, it had been built on an old programming language, so we needed Netguru to move it into a new programming language that met the European regulations regarding data security and cybersecurity.

Thus, Netguru provided us with developers who built almost a completely new mobile app for our AI on React Native. When they joined, we provided them with the app’s design and specifications for its features and functionality. Using that input, they developed the new app completely from scratch for iOS and Android.

Our mobile was built to help patients with chronic respiratory diseases. It helps them track their symptoms and medical values to see how their illness evolves over time. It also reminds them when to take their medication because they usually have to take different medications throughout the day.

One of the main issues with respiratory disease patients is that most of their medications need to be inhaled; it’s not like taking a pill. Thus, the dose that gets to their lungs depends on their inhalation. Our app uses the AI we created to provide inhalation training for those patients. It evaluates their inhalations, tells them what they did perfectly, and tells them what they should do differently to maximize the drug dose that gets into their lungs.

What is the team composition?

We worked with three people from Netguru, including a senior developer and two junior developers. Sometimes, a QA engineer helped us as well.

How did you come to work with Netguru?

During the vetting process, Netguru was very forthcoming and open, and they let us know about their internal processes, whereas other companies didn’t. That was one of the main reasons why we chose them.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent around €350,000 (approximately $371,000 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from January 2021–March 2022.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

For this project, we had three different goals: having the app delivered within a certain timeline, meeting a minimum checklist of requirements, and passing our QC to meet European standards for medical products. Netguru accomplished all three goals. They delivered on time, accomplished the most important requirements, and delivered a high-quality product.

How did Netguru perform from a project management standpoint?

Netguru’s project management was very good, and they were very accurate. Additionally, we both were very efficient in our communication, which was a big plus. We had a 15-minute meeting every morning to align on the tasks for the day. As for collaboration tools, we used Jira for project management and ticket tracking.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Throughout the development process, Netguru’s senior developer was fantastic. Everyone told us that it was very rare to find a developer of that quality, which is why we kept working with them for the entire project. She was a top-notch developer.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Netguru has increased their prices considerably since we worked with them. For the price they charge now for one developer, we could hire internally one full-time and one part-time developer in Germany. That’s the main reason why we find it difficult to work with them again in the future.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Having regular communication with Netguru, whether it's brief or not, is the best way to generate an efficient collaboration.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the co-founder and team lead of NeedEnergy. We’re an AI-based startup; we scale microgrids in regions of sub-Saharan Africa that don’t have access to renewable energy and clean power. We aim to provide clean energy access to more than 200 million people in 10-15 years.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Netguru?

We engaged Netguru to help us build a platform for microgrid operators and energy investors to profile energy needs in Africa and optimize operations for their deployed assets.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

First, we met with the Netguru team to scope the project and develop a plan to build the platform. Then, our design teams shared ideas and collaborated to create the final design. After settling on the design, we did two sprints to build the desktop application from scratch. 

Our first sprint was geared towards infrastructure and backend cloud services. We worked with their AI and data analytics engineers on predictive analytics and data mining to predict energy demand vs energy generation. We used simple Python and R for analytics and streamed data through AWS. They also helped us structure the backend architecture.

For the second sprint, our teams worked together to turn our design into a functional dashboard using Android. We also incorporated some backend elements into the dashboard’s UI/UX. We’ve completed the first version of the application, but we intend to work with Netguru in the future to move our product to the browser. 

We operate with a B2B business model, so once we onboard clients, we send them a link to securely download the platform onto their desktops. Our tool allows microgrid operators, impact investors, and developers to pick a site in sub-Saharan Africa and see how much energy they need to deploy there via the dashboard. If they’ve already deployed an asset, they can add it to our platform for real-time monitoring. In the future, they can plan to trade clean energy back into the grid.

What is the team composition?

For our first sprint with Netguru, we worked with two data engineers, a project manager, and a chief of staff. For our second sprint, we worked with one frontend designer and two backend Android engineers, and a project manager. 

How did you come to work with Netguru?

We put out an SOS, and Netguru reached out to us on LinkedIn. They explained their data analytics capabilities and showed us the types of projects they helped other startups with. No one was willing to take a chance on us, but Netguru did. We shared more about our company and goals for the project, and they wanted to help us make an impact.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve invested about $11,000 in the partnership with Netguru. 

What is the status of this engagement?

Our first sprint was in November 2021, and we deployed the product in June 2022. Netguru has continued to help us with support requests on an ad-hoc basis.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Netguru has helped us expand into a new market and partner with the fifth-largest microgrid operator in South Africa. They’ll be using our platform to manage their assets and access predictive analytics; this is our most significant milestone. 

The energy technology council recently named us among the world's top 50 most innovative startups. We had the opportunity to showcase our dashboard in Berlin. We’ve also been showing the dashboards to potential investors, who have been very receptive to our product. 

How did Netguru perform from a project management standpoint?

This project was our first time working with a partner like Netguru, and I was impressed with how smoothly they navigated the process and our concerns. They’ve provided us with a stellar experience; they anticipated our needs and identified solutions we would never have thought of. 

Their project managers were very considerate and ensured each sprint aligned with the requirements and proposed time estimates. They delivered everything on time and helped us achieve all the goals we set when we started. 

We used Miro to scope out the project and slack was our virtual office to manage the project. They were communicative via Slack, and we had weekly calls via Google Meet. They also accommodated our budget, which was essential for us as a startup.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Netguru’s biggest strength is their people-first approach. Working with them has been awesome, and we’ve built a strong relationship. They were willing to bet on us and invest their time to help us achieve our goals. The entire team was relatable and adaptable and compromised to identify creative solutions for our product.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I have nothing Netguru could improve on. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I recommend reaching out to Netguru to meet with their relationship managers. Build your case and communicate your expectations so they can understand your vision. Once they capture your needs, they’ll build the best team to help you achieve your goals.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a consultant at a tech company that provides HR applications. Our system can recruit, test, and select candidates for job positions.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Netguru?

We’re working on a way for users to be able to interview candidates through our system, and we hired Netguru to help us.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Netguru is helping us develop an interview module for our app. The module's design has been a collaboration; we came into the project with suggestions of what we want things to look like, and the team has also provided design elements and ideas. They're using competencies from our framework to create this product. 

The module will enable users to interview and score candidates. Once a candidate has undergone personality and ability testing in our primary app, the user can open an interview interface, which is a standalone product. There, they can add evaluators via email, and the app will send the evaluators a link to the application. This feature allows multiple evaluators from the same company to be present at the interview. 

On the next page of the module, evaluators can see the candidate's test results and competencies. Then, they can find standardized questions to ask during the job interview. The app allows users to score candidates from one to seven. Next, users can see a summary page of their scores and comments and send them to another page with all the evaluators' scores. This module has the possibility to be a standalone product in the future. 

What is the team composition?

We work with a senior frontend developer and a junior backend developer, and I've also communicated with project administrators. 

How did you come to work with Netguru?

They were hired before I joined the company. 

How much have you invested with them?

We spend around €10,000 (approximately $9,900 USD) a month. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in May 2022, and the engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We measure their success based on their speed, communication, and availability. Overall, we’ve had a good collaboration with Netguru. 

How did Netguru perform from a project management standpoint?

We use Asana to manage the project, and they always keep us updated. We have weekly meetings where we prioritize tasks. The team is always good about sending videos of what they’ve done in the past week. As for communication, we use Slack. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

I really appreciate that we have weekly follow-up meetings that aren’t just with the technical workers but also with Netguru’s administrative team. As a result, we always feel like they’re looking after us. When we don’t want to give the developers feedback directly, we can tell management.  

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can’t think of anything they need to improve. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

If you’re a company with internal developers like us, it would be wise to get involved in the hiring princess of the developers through Netguru. Join the interviews and evaluate who’ll work on the project with you. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CMO for a company called Powermeals. We deliver healthy, ready-made meals to people’s homes in a weekly box.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Netguru?

We had a lot of bugs in our platform, so we hired Netguru to tidy it up and add some new features.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Netguru provided web development services. They mostly worked on our website’s backend. They also redid the frontend to try to increase our page loading speed. They used Figma to produce some designs for us. The site was built with WordPress.

How did you come to work with Netguru?

They were already working with us when I joined the company. I think our boss found them through a recommendation, which I’m not entirely sure about.

How much have you invested in them?

We were spending $10,000–$20,000 a month on this project.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together on this project from February 2021–June 2022.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We saw significant improvements in our page speed, and 95% of our orders went through without needing any manual intervention. To be exact, our page speed went down from nine to two seconds.

How did Netguru perform from a project management standpoint?

They did a very good job in this regard. They were very clear about what they were working on and why some things took longer than expected. We typically communicated through Slack and had weekly calls.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We were impressed with their work. They knew exactly what they were doing and were very professional throughout.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Ultimately, the reason we stopped working with them was that their services were just too expensive for us. We also could have used a bit more help in terms of consulting; nevertheless, they were generally very good at everything.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Netguru is very good with everything, so just make sure you make the most of them, follow their advice, and have everything set up the way you need it to be.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m an executive at a modern healthcare company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Netguru?

We needed someone to develop our website.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We started by designing the website's template with an external expert. After that, we presented the project and templates to Netguru, and then they did the development from scratch using Angular.

It's a simple website, and its core functionalities are presenting the information about our company and our offers to patients. There's also a contact form and the ability to donate money to the foundation.

What is the team composition?

We were in contact with a project manager, an Angular frontend developer, an account manager, and a tester. I also had a quick meeting with the account director, who was responsible for a group of account managers.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent €20,000 (approximately $20,100 USD) with them.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together throughout July 2022.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The budget was bigger than I expected, and the timeframe was longer, but I communicated that to them. They were flexible enough in changing the Angular developer so they could meet my expectations.

How did Netguru perform from a project management standpoint?

We reached the deadline and stayed within budget. Regarding tools, we used Jira, and they also created a flowchart of the activities throughout the project. They also set up a Slack channel for smooth communication for the whole team.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They delivered quality work thanks to their aim of turning in the best possible results. They were also flexible and had a constant approach to meeting our target.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Communication wasn’t clear at the beginning.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I recommend working with them with one thing to point out; their pricing is a bit above other similar providers, but I can also say that they deliver good quality but for an additional cost.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I work at SOL-MILLENNIUM Medical Group, and I’m the global VP for corporate transformation, which also makes me the global head of IT. We’re a global medical device distributor.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Netguru?

We needed help with our overall business’ digital transformation and digitization.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Netguru has developed a CRM, a custom application, a Salesforce service cloud, and a website for us. First, they adapted their system to our capabilities and rolled us into Agile management and product discovery. They started the digital transformation with a Salesforce CRM, where they rescued a failed implementation. They performed an implementation audit and then executed two new implementations for us; one in the US and another in Europe. Both rollouts included the development of an API for our SAP ERP. Therefore, it wasn’t a standalone CRM; it came integrated with our ERP, and the team did that integration within that project. 

In the meantime, they worked on the Salesforce service cloud for North America. The team built our custom application using Microsoft Power Apps and Power BI. The team also developed the website from scratch using Webflow. They designed the site considering that direct e-commerce would be connected later. They’re now preparing the site for B2B e-commerce. 

Currently, Netguru provides us with ongoing development and helpdesk services for the CRM and the service cloud. Moving forward, they’ll also integrate client or vendor portals into the website. 

What is the team composition?

We’ve worked with about 15 teammates from Netguru. The team has included business development managers, sales executives, the CEO, icon designers, and a group of programmers in different technologies.

How did you come to work with Netguru?

I found them through my personal network because I was friends with one of Netguru’s supervisory board members.

How much have you invested in them?

We’ve spent about $500,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our partnership began in November 2021, and it’s still ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The first metric to measure Netguru's success is their development time. We launched two CRM instances, and each project took about eight weeks, which is a record time. The team did the core mapping in less than two weeks, and both the Netguru side and our developers did great work. This was also one of the fastest and most successful API development that we've had.

Meanwhile, this was the first time we used any CRM, and in the four months of using our North American instance, we've had about $15 million worth of opportunities there. There's also a significant improvement in our customer service process through the service cloud. Though metrics are hard to measure because we didn't measure our ticket turnaround before, I speculate that the solution has doubled our customer response efficiency.

Moreover, Netguru has excellent business development personnel that are both technology and business oriented. They also have a well-established product discovery process. When we started, their process was more advanced than we were ready to accommodate. However, they accommodated us and suggested an Agile approach.

How did Netguru perform from a project management standpoint?

Their project management is their strongest point. The team has a unique ability to utilize the Agile methodology, so they're spot on in terms of deadlines. Budget-wise, I would give them fairly high marks because while we've gone over the budget here and there, it hasn't been entirely their fault; part of it is due to our scoping as well.

We communicate through Microsoft Teams. This is another thumbs up for Netguru because they've adapted to what we use in our organization, making communication far easier for us.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Netguru is agile and has project management and accelerated implementation abilities. All our other partners work with a classic statement of work (SoW), with meetings three times a week and two-month projects. Meanwhile, Netguru has the unique ability to handle accelerated implementation. 

Additionally, their very high technical ability allows us to focus on the business instead of fighting bugs and validating their solutions from a technical point of view. Moreover, the team has business acumen; they tell us when we haven't given them the right requirements using diplomatic words.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, there hasn't been a challenge or question to which they haven't found the answer.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be disciplined on the customer side. Netguru has big development power, and they'll quickly build what you ask from them. Therefore, it's good to do your homework and carefully think through the scoping. Additionally, Netguru always engages a bigger group of people which allows them to develop timely manner and with technological reliability. However, this also costs money, so get your scoping right, kick off at the right time, and they will deliver.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of Seven2one Informationssysteme GmbH, a custom software development company located in Germany. We work for energy domain businesses in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. The core of our business is providing individual solutions tailored to the customer’s needs based on their business processes, mainly in the energy domain-related areas.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Netguru?

We needed software development partners to support our activities on various points, from addressing capacity challenges to providing expert knowledge of various technologies and assisting us in frontend and backend development.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Netguru has become our software development partner. For our first project, they provided us with web developers knowledgeable in React to help us with our microservice platform’s architecture. Their task was to create multiple special frontends for a mobility charging website based on our system and part of an R&D project we’re currently executing.

On our second project, Netguru’s resources have provided us with UI libraries that can be reused for our individual software development. Using these libraries, we can extract existing implementations of frontend controls to get a reusable UI package.

Our third project has been related to UX. First, Netguru reviewed the UX of two of our existing product frontends and provided feedback on improvement possibilities and accessibility issues. After a 2–3-week iteration period, they provided us with a very detailed report on our findings. Now, we’re solving the issues we found step by step.

The software development part of our engagement was done almost from scratch. Netguru reused some modules that were provided, but the core design and implementation work was done from scratch. During this process, they also made use of their design capabilities.

What is the team composition?

In total, we’ve worked with four people from Netguru: three web developers and a UX expert.

How did you come to work with Netguru?

My colleague found them and started discussions with them in 2021.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together around March 2022, and our engagement is ongoing as we continue to assign them more tasks.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’ve measured the success of our engagement with two metrics; the first metric is the onboarding time. When we started collaborating with Netguru, it took them less than two weeks to get the developers fully up to speed with our proprietary platform infrastructure. It was very timely for the task. The second metric has been their team’s work speed. They’ve worked on very tight deadlines, and they’ve been able to reach our milestones.

How did Netguru perform from a project management standpoint?

Netguru has met the deadlines and stayed on budget. Their prices are not economical, but they’re fair for what they offer. We mainly use Azure DevOps to manage the project and Microsoft Teams to communicate.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Our business model requires flexibility regarding the amount of work that needs to be done in a certain period. One of the advantages of working with Netguru is that they can provide us with skilled software development resources on short notice. Their main strength is their ability to deliver; they always provide me with what I require. We’ve needed experts in very specific areas, and they’ve been able to fill those capacities. Additionally, their resources represent the values that Netguru stands for in their communication and behavior. Everything they do is well done, which makes me very happy.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be open to hearing about their entire offering. They offer more than the typical software development company, adapting to different business models. They’ll exceed your expectations.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m an executive at Joystream, a blockchain streaming DAO (decentralized autonomous organization).

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Netguru?

We've worked on several projects for our video streaming service platform. For this project, we needed help with platform design.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Netguru's designers are working with us under an outsourced model — they're an integral part of our team. Their designs are based on the brief we give them, but they create them from scratch.

Our product is a video streaming platform where creators can create a channel, upload and publish videos, and then mint NFTs from the videos and put them on the marketplace. They can either put them on auction or create a sale and then sell them to a range of interested individuals. The sales happen with our native token called Joy.

Regarding technologies, we've built our blockchain on Substrate and the frontend on React. We're also using a query node for the backend, a graph QL query engine that indexes and reads the data from the blockchain and makes it possible for the frontend application to display the data via de API.

What is the team composition?

We started working with a team of four, and then we scaled down to fewer individuals — a senior designer and a lead designer. 

How did you come to work with Netguru?

They were already with us by the time I joined the project. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in June 2021, and the project is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We haven't launched yet because we're still in the beta phase, but general feedback has been amazing. We couldn't be happier with their communication, deliverables, and depth and breadth of their research and design thinking.

How did Netguru perform from a project management standpoint?

They're excellent with project management; we use ZenHub, which is a browser extension for GitHub. We've also used Figma for the designs and Mural boards for chart creation. For communication, we use Slack and Tandem.

Their team has shown consistent and extremely high-quality output and excellent communication throughout the project, and it's been a pleasure working with them. I can highlight their flexibility in adopting a process that works for us based on real user feedback, collaborating with our community, and doing top-notch design work.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their professionalism, quality of work, and communication are the strengths of their work.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don't think they can improve on anything — they're doing a perfect job.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Don't think twice and go with Netguru; you'll be happy and confident about your project.