Out of Business -Vasterra

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Istituto Marangoni is a school that is based in Florence, London, Paris, Miami, and Mumbai. We sell fashion design and art courses for university students all around the world.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Vasterra?

We’re building a platform to help our sales officers.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Vasterra is developing an orientation booking platform. Most of our officers use it on their computers, but it also works on mobile and is entirely separate from our website. The platform allows our officers to create and manage available slots on the backend. It helps potential students book orientations, during which our officers answer all the questions the prospect has. It also integrates with external platforms like Google Calendar and Zoom, where it creates invitations automatically.

We worked step by step — before they started building the platform, we had several meetings to clarify all the requirements. Since we operate internationally, we need to customize scheduling as much as we can and have the ability to mix various variables on the platform. The orientations can range from 15-minute Zoom calls to one-hour visits to our school, so the slots had to be based on the customer’s area of origin. 

Prior to the main project, we asked Vasterra to create a web form for our main site to test their skills.

What is the team composition?

We work with four people from Vasterra: two software developers, one project manager, and one QA specialist.

How did you come to work with Vasterra?

We posted the project on Upwork and got responses from multiple vendors. We gave them a minor task first, and we were happy with the quality and price, so we hired them to create our platform. They were also flexible in terms of timing.

How much have you invested with them?

We have a time and materials contract. The estimated cost should be $25,000–$30,000 by the end of the project.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Vasterra in September 2020, and it’s ongoing. At the beginning of 2021, we started a project to give major enhancements to the platform.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Vasterra is following all our instructions precisely. We’ve released just one part of the platform, but the output is good so far. We’ve experienced some crashes, but that’s totally normal since we’re still in a testing phase. Since the platform isn’t finished yet, I don’t know what my final feedback for the platform will be, but I’m totally happy at this moment. On the other hand, the web form has been finalized and is working perfectly.

How did Vasterra perform from a project management standpoint?

We always know what Vasterra is working on — they share weekly reports with us, along with the next steps they have for the following week, using ActiveCollab. I’m always in touch with the team and the project manager. Whenever I have any uncertainty or need to realign regarding deadlines, he’s quick to reply via chat. If we have any urgent issues, they always fix things as soon as possible. At the beginning of the project, we had weekly video calls and daily chats on Upwork. Since we’re getting close to the launch, we now have meetings twice a week to conduct test sessions and discuss further steps. Our time difference is only an hour, so it’s not a problem. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

It was our first time working with a provider from Upwork, and I’m happy with our decision so far. We’ve saved money, and I can see that Vasterra is doing a better job than our previous provider. They’ve done great work and have given us some good suggestions.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Everyone can improve. Initially, one of our main problems was defining the deadline. With such a huge project, it wasn’t easy to determine a deadline acceptable for both parties.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I’d recommend Vasterra.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the owner of a firm that provides analytic and data services to private equity and infrastructure fund managers.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

The project was a web-based app to provide analytics to our client's highly complex data sets. The tool allows clients to compare datasets and financial metrics through time.

SOLUTION

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

We had previously used Vasterra for another web-based financial services project and we were very impressed by their ability to, understand the brief, ask questions, and deliver.

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

We provided an outline of what the final product needed to look like. After initial kick-off meetings, Vasterra has provided weekly updates and regular communication.

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

A project manager has been our main point of contact throughout but we also communicate with the lead developer and we have access to other senior members of the team.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

This is a truly innovative product that allows our client to view and use their data in ways which makes them better able to make decisions. It is a great product.

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

We have weekly updates from the project manager but in addition to that there are regular communications when we or they need it.

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

Great team who are highly capable of delivering and improving on our initial concepts. Particularly impressive is their ability to code the highly complex data that are embedded within our product.

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

I was initially concerned that there may be language barrier issues but their English is excellent and communication generally is great.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We’re a SaaS startup focused on the black workplace culture experience at the world’s leading brands. People can use our service to anonymously share your story and leave reviews while they interact with their peers.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Vasterra?

We wanted to complete our website and develop the designs that previous developers weren’t able to complete.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

There was the implementation phase and then the maintenance phase. They developed the site and then they troubleshot all the bugs and issues; Vesterra took over from start to finish. They made a site where users could leave anonymous reviews, and administrators of the site could see the data and the insights of those reports, plus getting that information to the back end as well.

What is the team composition?

Throughout the whole project, we interacted with three people, but our main point of contact was Igor (Project Manager).

How did you come to work with Vasterra?

We found them in Upwork and they matched all of our filters and requirements. They were over our budget but we were willing to pay the extra because we knew they’d be able to do a good job. What made them stand out from others was their track record, their organization, and their structure; we come from a technological background and we know what to look for. 

How much have you invested with them?

It lasted from November 2020–March 2021

What is the status of this engagement?

We spent close to $5,000 with them.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We define success in their QA testing. They made sure all of the bugs were gone and that the site was functional and meeting all the parameters we established in our contract; we checked off all those boxes.

How did Vasterra perform from a project management standpoint?

They were good. They met their deadlines and were communicative. We communicated through Upwork and we had weekly check-ins. Throughout them, we also had daily touchpoints and reports.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The most impressive thing is their ability to meet deadlines and communicate.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Their QA testing for handing off to the customer could be improved.

Any advice for potential customers?

It’ll be a smooth ride if you define what you’re looking for, have a good example of what you want your site to look like, and what it needs to accomplish.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the CEO of a production music company called DayFox Club and serving video creators music for their projects.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Vasterra?

We had to build a new webpage for this plattform from scratch and searched for some experienced and skilled partner abroad to create UI/UX Design for it. The main focus was on quality, performance and compliance with eye-candy User Experience and aesthetic appearance for the prospects. Beside this our CI with Orange colours was important to be reflected in right colour tone and typeface combination.

What were your goals for this project?

We had to build the plattfrom. Our goals are to have a serious appearance in the public for prospects, members and artists. The appearance should also reflect our core values.

SOLUTION

How did you select Vasterra?

We search in diverse Freelancer Plattforms, the internet through google and reference pages.

Describe the project in detail.

We had to draw on a amateur level what we wanted to have designed and really fast Vasterra gave us solutions on the realization of the plattform through Wireframes which we had to check and approve or give back with annotations. Once this was layed out and set on both sides - Vasterra started to create the pages based on the wireframes and built it in FIGMA where we could follow up the process of creation. We could interfere on a weekly basis and had perfect fourth and back conversation until we reached our final design and outcome.

What was the team composition?

We had a very well project manager from Vasterra who coordinated the project in regards of the design team. The design team was many people working together to conduct the pages and outcome. Extra wishes was respected well and always solved in time - some without extra money involved. True partnership !

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Right now the page is not launched yet as we also gave the development of the functions and system to Vasterra which still occur.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The workflow was perfectly set and arranged. Everything was visible and transparent, we had always the login data to FIGMA to watch creation in real time if wished.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The attitute, the skills and the partnership. The truely are interested in the project, take it as their own and do the best as they can. They do NOT TRY - they just do it ! The people are communicative, talk perfectly english, anticipate easily what is meant and bring own ideas inside to improve the project. Amazing experience - I really have to say it like this.

Are there any areas for improvement?

No improvement needed. A solid top noth company.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the CTO of Yablochkov. We are a startup that has really grown as we’ve developed and produced charging stations for electric vehicles. Our turnover for last year was about $20 million.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Vasterra?

We were looking for cloud-based software to do our project work. Even though we tried dozens of pieces of software, including Trello and Microsoft Projects, none of them worked for us. After a period of time, we decided to create our own software and asked Vasterra to help.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We knew what problems our software needed to solve but we didn’t understand how to fit those into a business agreement. Vasterra specializes in business processes, however, so they developed a list of official tasks and put together a contract that would get us the result we needed.

They used open-source software and integrated all the software and processes we already used in our company, preserving our way of work and making it easier. Beyond our requested features, like a Gantt chart for cashflow, they added some extra functionality to the project.

We met almost every day during development, for them to show us their process and how the work was developing, as well as for us to deliver feedback. When we encountered a small problem, they researched the best solution.

They support us and the software currently, tackling tasks we didn’t mention earlier and improvement we want to make moving forward.

What is the team composition?

We communicate with the team lead. I’m not sure how many people worked on building the software initially.

How did you come to work with Vasterra?

One of the owners is a former classmate of mine. I’d met with another former classmate and he told me that the owner of Vasterra helped him develop software and business processes for his company. He showed me the software and told me how comfortable it was working with Vasterra, as well as how great the results were.

I realized that we had the same problem as my classmate's company, so I met with Vasterra. I was surprised that they could create that type of software we needed, and when it came to pricing, they showed us all their calculations. It was fair.

How much have you invested in them?

We spent $270,000 on the platform build. We are still spending money with them to complete some extra tasks.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been working together since July 2019.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Previously, we used 6–7 different kinds of software to plan and work on projects, and now we only use 2–3. Vasterra’s solution has really reduced the amount of time we spent on the planning and all of that stuff.

Additionally, our company has grown 10x every year for the last 4–5 years. This makes it very hard to plan and measure projects because every time we grow that much, we become a different company. Our project planning and development resources have thanked us for Vasterra’s software because it’s made their jobs much easier than they used to be.

Funnily enough, Vasterra thinks the software is so good that they want to use it in their company to work on projects. We’re also thinking of selling the software on the market.

How did Vasterra perform from a project management standpoint?

We had meetings on Zoom and Google Meet during development — and before Coronavirus, we met every day for 15 minutes. If we found any bugs or issues, Vasterra started on them right away.

Working with Vasterra has been much easier than working with our previous development partner was. The cost was less, but they required more work from me, whereas Vasterra has established an easy-going work style.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Since the first time we spoke, we've felt like they understand us. We haven’t had to explain to them how the business works and our needs because they have their own business. Their professionalism helps them understand these concepts as well.

As a CTO, the results are good enough for me, and the quality-to-price ratio is perfect. We feel like we pay too much with some vendors, but that’s the case with Vasterra.

Are there any areas they could improve?

When we first discussed the plan for the whole project with them, we told them that one of the parts would take a lot of work, but they weren’t so sure. They assured us that this part would be easy and that we could place it at the end of the project. When we reached this part, it took a lot of work and time — we spent an extra couple of months finishing. This is the only aspect they can improve on, but I don’t know how they would improve exactly; perhaps they need to do more research before starting projects. I understand that’s hard to have a software development plan that will be 100% correct from beginning to end, however, so it isn’t a big problem for me.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

They are really good at understanding the business processes of other businesses. My classmate who advised us to work with Vasterra trades gold on the Moscow stock exchange, which is 100% different from our business, but they understood his business processes just as quickly as they understood ours. This is one of the key advantages of working with them. We got the results we were expecting, and I don’t need anything else out of a software company.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a co-founder of prema.pro, a real estate platform.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Vasterra?

We worked with Vasterra on the platform. The platform's main functionality is to allow our clients the opportunity to generate presentations using data and send them to their clients.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The platform is a web app with an automated presentation generator. They also worked on the interface of the app. We first went for an MVP, and now we’re working on making the platform bigger.

What is the team composition?

We’ve worked with a project manager and two developers.

How did you come to work with Vasterra?

We’re based in the same city. I was shortlisting candidates. I think I found them through Google or a reference.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent about $150,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started in the middle of February 2020.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The MVP is completed, but we’re still working on the interface and enhancing the product. From the very beginning, we had access to the test environment, which allowed us to see all of the work and functionalities. The output presentation files were the main metrics for us. While we weren’t sure how they were made through code, we could measure what it looked like overall.

How did Vasterra perform from a project management standpoint?

We have access to the test environment, but we also communicate on Slack. They also gave us access to their project management environment.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their services were cheaper than companies that don’t have real estate experience. They also work with their clients for over ten years. We don’t want to change the team. Their team also has a detail-oriented approach.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I’m interested to see how the marketing services will work since they’re developers. I’m not sure what the results will be.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Take the time to prepare requirements and make detailed documents for the developers. This is something we should’ve done in the beginning.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder and CEO of Biz-Cen, a commercial real estate firm. We help find office space for small and medium businesses. We also create many websites where we publish professional photos of the exterior and interior of each business center. The websites also give information about the free spaces in each business center to help potential leaders to find offices.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Vasterra?

We were looking for a company to help us build an MVP.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Vasterra developed our MVP. First, they gathered information from us, and then we built it together. After that, we decided to build the whole website.

We also built an ERP system with them that includes different models that helped us to automate our business. Additionally, they helped us develop a mobile app to help our brokers send a presentation to our potential lenders. The app is built for both iOS and Android. 

What is the team composition?

We started by working with one person and now there are five people on their side, including a project manager.

How did you come to work with Vasterra?

We contracted several different IT people. From the beginning, Vasterra tried to collect all the information about our business and proposed a professional solution for our MVP. Their proposal was the best, so we decided to work with them.

How much have you invested with them?

We have invested about $1 million.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working together in December 2011, and it's ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The app is very user-friendly. Our conversion rate of brokers has also increased. We collected all the information on how our business process looks from a broker’s perspective.

The project decreased the amount of time that workers need to send a PDF presentation to potential lenders. They implemented a lot of different settings that work a line with our business processes.  

How did Vasterra perform from a project management standpoint?

Project management worked well. Their project manager communicates directly with us. He gathers all the tasks from our company and places it in the project system that they use.

They use ActiveCollab, which makes it easy to check what they’re working on. They send us the tasks they completed on a weekly basis and a list of the tasks they’ll be using the next week. We have meetings with our project manager every week where he presents the results they achieved.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They don’t just build a product, they think about how to improve our business metrics.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, they work well and we're happy.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Real estate companies might be interested in working with them.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am an executive at Umbrella IT.

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Full range of IT services for medium and large businesses.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

• Optimize the process of writing proposals and preparing presentations for clients

SOLUTION

How did you find Vasterra?

Online Search

Why did you select Vasterra over others?

• High ratings
• Pricing fit our budget
• Good value for cost

How many teammates from Vasterra were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

• Audit of internal company products and collection of business requirements
• Product customization with respect to the company's brandbook
• Development of template variations for different commercial offers and company needs
• Implementation of the product into the company's internal infrastructure
• Filling templates with information based on the company's performance and achievements

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

• Preparation time of KP reduced by 2.5 times
• Errors related to corporate identity violations minimized
• Information structure improved
• Reduced file size in the presentation

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

The Vasterra specialists did an excellent job. The team's coordination ensured that the project was completed on time, despite the challenges of implementing our product in a complex service architecture. The team's promptness enabled them to deliver a quality result on time.

What was your primary form of communication with Vasterra?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

Quick immersion into the specifics of the business requirements and the speed of the team.

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

The process of signing the agreement was a bit delayed, but this was most likely due to the specifics of the region.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Co-Founder at FinGo App in London. FinGo is a one-of-a-kind mobile application that allows users to connect all of their financial accounts into one sophisticated application. This allows users to manage their wealth as easily as possible while upholding the highest security standards.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We were looking for technical partners who could develop a novel application structure that enforces security by design. Experience in integrating various online banking and online investment platforms was also very important to us.

SOLUTION

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

I met Artyom, the founder of Vasterra, at a financial forum in London. The FinGo team was very impressed with how Vasterra, while being a development company, at the same time understands the specifics of business processes.

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

We at FinGo envisioned the disruption of the online finance service industry. Our team was looking for developers to create the application that would be able to accomplish our mission. When we started to work with Vasterra, their developers set out to map the functionality of the app while researching how to design a system that enforces cybersecurity by design.

Eventually, Vasterra developed an architecture which allows FinGo to scale quickly while upholding safety at the highest possible standard. Moreover, Vasterra’s developers integrated an advanced fraud detection algorithm which blocks accounts immediately if malicious behaviours are detected. In the end, Vasterra’s team created the necessary interfaces to integrate data through data pushes into FinGo to offer sophisticated functionality.

Moreover, our users can now pay invoices and invest money directly from the app – without switching back and forth.

How many resources from the Vasterra team worked with you, and what were their positions?

Our team from Vasterra was incredible! We were in constant contact with Project Manager Kate, who coordinated the project with the design and the development teams. I am pleased with our Vasterra development team, which consists of several full-time developers. Also, the designer Alexander helped the FinGo team rethink our approach to the visual design of the application.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We have 4.8-star user ratings with 3,467 reviews and 203,364 downloads on Android and iOS stores. This is good enough for a financial application that is linked to a user's personal account.

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

Our project manager was very supportive and pleasant. We received reports on the progress made every two weeks on Zoom calls, besides, she was always in touch in messengers.

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

The team has an impressive combination of technical skills, business intelligence, and excellent communication. The Vasterra team views the project not only as a development product, but also looks at it in the context of the market. We were pleasantly surprised by how quickly they understood the specifics of the financial applications market and offered their ideas for improving the project.

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

No, we are absolutely happy with our partnership. We plan to continue working with the team in the long term.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

My wife wanted to launch a recipe web site and I helped her select a vendor and build the site.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Vasterra?

Web design, wordpress design.

What were your goals for this project?

Create a professional-looking web site

SOLUTION

How did you select Vasterra?

Reviewed more than 50 proposals on UpWork.

Describe the project in detail.

A multi-page web design. WordPress integration including several WordPress apps.

What was the team composition?

Artem was our lead developer.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Awesome. Prompt, cost-effective, and high-quality design. Followed our directions well.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The workflow was very good and they gave fast and thorough responses.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Cost, speed and quality - all in one!

Are there any areas for improvement?

None