Nextrope

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Choyce.io is a content-management / knowledge-aggregation platform. It is a solution to the overload of information on the internet - individuals can create and join groups with a limited number of people and upload content (articles, videos, notes, podcasts, etc.) which is displayed in a Pinterest-like platform. Thus, compared to regular content-sharing platforms, such as LinkedIn, Facebook, WhatsApp, Viber, content does not get lost in the feed of messages. I am the Chief Executive Officer of Choyce.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Nextrope?

We hired Nextrope in order to develop the web platform and the mobile application for Choyce. We did not have internal capabilities to address the challenge, especially considering the time constraints.

What were your goals for this project?

Our goal for the project was to have an efficient and easy-to-navigate yet beautiful platform. We think that with an appealing platform users would find it much more useful than other content-management alternatives.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

Nextrope was recommended to us via google ads. After checking their website and the previous projects they worked on, we were confident that they were the right choice.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

Nextrope designed and developed the web platform and mobile application for us. They first provided us with samples of the designs (which left us very impressed) and we received a high-quality MVP ready in ~4 months. When opening the platform you first see a beautiful landing change where you can sign-up or login into your account.

Once signed-up, you can create or join an existing group by entering the name of the group and password. In the group, one has the ability to post a video, photo, article or podcast and people can comment or like the posts. The platform has no direct messaging option, which something we wanted to avoid. Their team was also very responsive in quickly making the changes we requested.

What was the team composition?

The Nextrope team consisted of 3 web developers, 2 mobile developers, and 1 development engineer.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Nextrope was very time-efficient in developing and designing the platform. The main metric for our success as a result of their work is the fact that when contacting potential clients, we received a 90% response rate, which I believe is due to the platform functionality and design.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

We used Slack for communication. Although they are based in Poland, we saw no barriers in communicating with their development team as they would swiftly respond to our messages and they always adjusted to our timezone when scheduling a call. Before the development started, we agreed upon a list of deadlines which were met accordingly (the whole process took 4 months throughout which we would have regular calls to agree on the functionality)

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Nextrope is very creative in their solutions, they provide only the highest quality of work and never settle on less. They also work very fast and respond very quickly to any changes that are required.

Are there any areas for improvement?

There is very little they could improve.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am a project manager at Opus, the first music streaming service in the world based on blockchain technology. We operate out of Gdynia, Poland, and our mission is to provide fair revenue for up-and-coming music artists by automating income distribution using blockchain technology. I help oversee day-to-day operations and focus on the marketing aspects of the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Nextrope?

Opus launched its operations in mid-2017, when the world of blockchain technology was still in its youth. Operating in what was, at the time, a very niche industry, we faced the challenge of promoting blockchain technology to mainstream markets while also creating a platform using brand new technology that was, itself, dynamically developing. With not many blockchain developers around at the time, Nextrope helped us research, select, and configure the best hosting environment, as well as design and implement our Ethereum smart contracts using their expertise in the field.

What were your goals for this project?

Our platform was built to ignite a rethinking of the music industry: conventional music platforms at the time took home the vast majority of the revenues generated by artists, leaving the musicians with a small cut. This posed an issue for less established artists, who could not rely on music as their primary source of income. Our goals are primarily intangible - our mission is to promote blockchain technology and its possibilities, and to revolutionize the music streaming industry. As our company operations revolve solely around our platform, the project props up the firm.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

Some Nextrope team members were in our own members' networks, and so from the very start we knew of the reputation and the skill of Nextrope's team. Our research was limited to software houses familiar with blockchain technology in Poland, and considering that Nextrope was one of the first on the market to cater to this niche, coupled with our familiarity with the team, we decided that Nextrope would be the perfect fit for us at Opus. Our meetings to discuss Opus in great detail further cemented our trust in the Nextrope team.

Describe the project in detail.

Our project spanned all the main platforms: web, iOS, and Android. Nextrope's contribution was primarily helping us research various hosting environments, select the best one for our needs, and configure and maintain this hosting; on top of this, Nextrope was a major contributor to our smart contracts, which form the very core of our platform and manage the automatic distribution of the generated revenue. Nextrope helped design and build these smart contracts.

What was the team composition?

We worked primarily with three Nextrope developers (2 senior blockchain developers, 1 devops engineer), as well as their business representatives. Our close cooperation meant that these developers, at the time, worked almost exclusively on Opus. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Having recruited over 200 artists to the platform and recording many reviews over 4 stars, this project is so far successful. We anticipate further downloads and a growth in our artist library as we finalize the platform for launch on the Ethereum main network. 

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The team at Nextrope was extremely easy to communicate with. Our flow of information was almost constant, and we frequently exchanged ideas during productive meetings. The team's fantastic ability to recognize our needs meant that they complemented the Opus philosophy perfectly.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Nextrope works extremely efficiently and pragmatically. The Nextrope team understood our hosting needs perfectly and recognized the importance of the smart contracts. 

Are there any areas for improvement?

There was really not much to improved in the services provided by Nextrope - the whole operation is very smooth and professional, and the outcome is, simply put, amazing!

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Skrr.pl is one of Poland's leading youth lifestyle media channels. We collaborate with leading artists and celebrities from the music and fashion industries in Poland and abroad, providing creative, dynamic and engaging content in a variety of formats - video, text and audio. I am the founder and project coordinator.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Nextrope?

Nextrope was responsible with developing dynamic brand design and then transferring it into the digital format on our website. We are currently working with Nextrope again in developing a mobile application to capitalize on the growing streetwear market in Poland.

What were your goals for this project?

The goal for both the completed project, as well as the current one was to develop something of unique style and flavor, that would truly stand out in relation to our competitors. We not only wanted something that would be a projection of "cool" for the end user in its design, but also functionality.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

The vendor was recommended to me by a friend who knows the company CEO personally. I was impressed by the vendor's portfolio and the attention to style in detail in their work.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

They designed, developed, configured and launched our new website. We did not have any inspiration for the design at first, and needed someone to take up the creative side from scratch. We then needed someone to take an input of our desired values for the brand, and transfer that into digital form, whilst adding some extra creative "juice". Nextrope fulfilled all of those needs

What was the team composition?

I am not sure how many designers and programmers were involved in the project as our main point of reference was one project manager, who served as the middle man between us and their technical and design teams.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The developed website design was subsequently carried over to all of our social media channels, as well as onto our visual and video content. The latter was one of the main contributors to our recent successes – our video collaborations with some of the biggest names with Poland were hailed for their visual quality, some of which was even deemed revolutionary and never seen before in the industry. I must say in this way the impact of Nextrope's work was much more far-reaching the original contract work.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

Project management was carried out by a representative of Nextrope, who served as a middleman between us and their creative and technical teams. Our team's communication with him was carried out through email and Google Hangouts – we also leveraged Trello for some of the creative brainstorming and development.

The process was very effective due to being down-to-the-point and focused. It only required the most essential inputs from us (relevant to the work) and at no point did we feel like we were wasting time on something unproductive.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The standards they set for themselves with their creative work and attention to detail impressed us. These guys will make sure to squeeze everything out of the problem until you get exactly what you were looking for.

Are there any areas for improvement?

We did not have issues on any of these projects so far.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I was the Legal Officer and the co-organizer of the Blockchain NeXt 2018 - the largest Blockchain conference in the CEE region.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Nextrope?

At Blockchain NeXt, we hired Nextrope to deliver the holistic digital marketing solutions to organize and promote the Blockchain NeXt 2018 conference.

What were your goals for this project?

Blockchain NeXt, from the very moment of the idea behind its organization, aimed at being a very influential conference in Poland. With the help of Nextrope we managed to reach out to partners, speakers and guests of the conference that increased our KPIs to the extent of having organized the largest Blockchain conference not only in Poland, but in the entire CEE region.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

Referral from Partners. Other than Nextrope, three other firms were considered based on thorough market research.

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

Nextrope was responsible for the design of the mobile and desktop versions of the website, production of video and graphic marketing materials, optimization of our social media campaigns, and the design of all materials used throughout the conference.

What was the team composition?

Graphic designer, web developer, digital marketing specialists, social media content creators.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Improvement in KPIs of the conference beyond expected levels (600+ guests who purchased tickets, 100+ official partners, 42 international speakers).

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Nextrope was very engaged and prepared materials on the dot, every time when there was such necessity

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Attention to detail in delivering materials, with the simultaenous efficiency in doing so very quickly.

Are there any areas for improvement?

We could have prepared an extended version of the website and interactive materials for the conference, yet that would further increase costs that we had to cut on while organizing the conference.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Ecoway aims to implement photovoltaics combining this with cryptocurrencies, i.e. mining based on renewable energy sources. I’m the CEO of the company and I am experienced in organisational application of blockchain solutions.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

Security is currently one of the major concerns regarding the implementation of smart contracts. Hence, we decided to carry out a smart contract audit to avoid additional costs after its implementation, and to augment the security of our system.

SOLUTION

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

Nextrope was recommended by one of the companies in our network.

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

The project scope was to review and audit Solidity based smart contract using Static Analysis, Manual Review, Unit Testing and Automated tests based on Truffle framework.

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

1x Senior Smart Contract Developer

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The quality of the code has been improved and thoroughly checked, which is tantamount to smart contract security.

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

Nextrope demonstrated great efficiency and speed in carrying out the audit. There were no unnecessary delays.

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

Know-how in the crypto and blockchain space and speed of getting to work.

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

No

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Founder and CEO of EdTech startup ccFOUND

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Nextrope?

We hired Nextrope for Blockchain Consulting regarding the development of our platform and hiring the development team

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted to discuss and analyze various strategies of building our platform using external dev team or hiring blockchain developers

SOLUTION

How did you select Nextrope?

Personal connection with Nextrope team (friends recommendations)

Describe the project in detail.

ccFound recently closed its private sale fundraising round. Our team aims to develop a blockchain based education platform with the aim to facilitate the process of sharing knowledge online. Due to Nextrope expertise in the industry, our team wanted to consult its ideas and initial strategy towards hiring blockchain developers and building the product.

What was the team composition?

1 Business Analyst, 1 Blockchain Developer

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Thanks to the consultations, our team got more insights on the industry practices towards hiring and building blockchain products. We hope this will significantly impact the speed of the development and how fast we will be able to recruit our team and build MVP.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The communication was smooth and we don’t have any remarks

What did you find most impressive about this company?

They have deep knowledge on the industry standards, especially in IT, blockchain, and ICO matters.

Are there any areas for improvement?

No, we are happy with the cooperation

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am a Blockchain Strategy Lead at Alior Bank SA

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Nextrope?

We needed an API service vendor for publishing transactions on Ethereum blockchain, related to the bank’s durable medium solution.

What were your goals for this project?

To have a secure and reliable external service, so we wouldn’t have to deal with virtual currency.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

During the internal purchasing process taking into account obtained recommendations.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

API offers methods for signing and publishing transactions on the Ethereum blockchain, and is two-way securely connected with bank’s API.

What was the team composition?

Project Manager, 1x Backend Developer, 1x System Administrator, 1x Tester

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

All transactions are seamlessly published and are visible in public block explorer.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

Nextrope fully met bank's expectations regarding cooperation meeting necessary deadlines and providing fast, flexible and reliable service.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Their speed, competence, and agility stood out to us.

Are there any areas for improvement?

No