Oyova

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the COO of Franciscan Media

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Franciscan Media is a publisher of resources designed to share the Gospel in the spirit of St. Francis.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

• Improve SEO
• Improve UI/UX of our website
• Ensure the proper function and success of our entire digital presence

SOLUTION

How did you find Oyova?

Direct Email Solicitation

Why did you select Oyova over others?

• Pricing fit our budget
• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost

How many teammates from Oyova were assigned to this project?

6-10 Employees

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

• Help us adapt to our new WordPress site and environment. 
• Optimize our SEO. 
• Clean up errors in the back end. 
• Help us find and migrate to a new website hosting partner. 
• Review and help optimize our eCommerce pages. 
• Act as support partner as the team learns best practices in WordPress.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Improvement in site traffic. Other intangible benefits such as reduction on lists of errors and problems on back end, better peace of mind among employees that work in WordPress.

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

They are incredibly responsive to our requests. They are very diligent in scheduling meetings when needed. They have excellent tools for keeping notes and action items, and are always more on top of things than we are!

What was your primary form of communication with Oyova?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

They seem to have an amazing culture full of smart, experienced people who seem to like working together! They are dedicated and focused. They make us feel like we are their only client!

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

So far, nothing to suggest!

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the CEO of Cafe Tables

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Cafe Tables fabricates tabletops made of wood, metal and stone and provides a variety of table bases and other furnishings for restaurants, hospitality groups, hotels, homes and more.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

• Streamline our website
• Help with SEO

SOLUTION

How did you find Oyova?

Referral

Why did you select Oyova over others?

• High ratings
• Pricing first our budget
• Referred to me
• Company values aligned

What was the size of Oyova’s team?

6-10 Employees

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

We needed our website to be streamlined. We had a foundation created, but it wasn't exactly what we were after. Oyova came in and helped us get everything functioning properly and efficiently. They helped create special programs for our backend so that we could provide our customers with the proper discounts and helped ensure our freight API was correct.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

• Increase in sales online
• Increased online traffic to certain pages

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

Oyova's project management team is wonderful. They are very responsive and get the work done promptly. They are always reaching out to make sure we are up to date and to see how things are running for us. And our account manager, Beth, is the best!

What was your primary form of communication with Oyova?

Virtual Meeting

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

Oyova is very responsive, which is something we really are thankful for.

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

None that we can think of!

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am a Director for an Archival Management and Marketing Services company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We had a custom software developed by a previous company that exceeded budgetary costs that they had estimated and set and kept delivering fixes to the application’s bugs in an inconsistent timeline.

We needed to switch vendors to a software development shop in the US, were experts in the platform our software was developed on (Laravel) and could stick to budgetary requirements. Oyova was the company we went with, and we've been much more excited to work with them throughout the development process than the previous vendor.

SOLUTION

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

We found them through a referral and down-selected them based on their experience with the platform, methodical software development process, willingness to communicate budgetary constraints well ahead of time, and practice of keeping software development on-shore.

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

They took over developing our existing software stack, Laravel, with Nova and Vapor. They spent the first three weeks understanding the code base from the previous development partner and made suggestions on bug fixes/software changes that needed to occur based on their findings. They helped us develop a method to report bugs within the software and prioritize the bugs and feature requests.

One of the biggest challenges with our project is the ability to integrate into other systems that our customers interface with- Oyova was able to resolve some of the sync challenges we had with the integration and provided security recommendations that our other vendor was unable to offer or did not share.

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

There were three people within the core team- an account manager, Oyova's lead software developer/manager, and our dedicated developer that worked directly on the project (and is currently working with our project). Ryan, the dedicated developer, has been a rockstar for our project. His personality and willingness to help are what we appreciate the most.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Oyova was able to help resolve a data export challenge that our team has had, providing a means for exporting the data much more quickly. Oyova was able to resolve a key integration issue where our integration provider was rate-limiting us due to inconsistent code from our previous developer, which Oyova was able to determine very quickly. They've exceeded our expectation time and time again with the quality of their deliverables in resolving bugs and issues.

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

The project management was phenomenal. They've always met deadlines that we needed for specific bugs and features within our application and communicated budgetary thresholds being crossed much earlier than the previous vendor (and I should mention, they barely ever cross budget thresholds that are set). They communicate rapidly over Slack, as well as email, as well as their project management tool, TeamWork.

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

Ryan was able to step in, know precisely what Laravel can and can't do, and provide recommendations and fixes to challenges that took weeks with our previous development company.

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

We wish there were more than one resource working on the project, but otherwise, Ryan has been solid with the work that he’s delivered.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the marketing director at Hueman People Solutions, a recruitment services company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenges were you trying to address with Oyova?

Our website was outdated, and we wanted to create a new mobile-friendly platform to represent our value proposition better. Our team was looking for a specific site for our needs in the CMS platform we were using.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Oyova did web development for us from scratch based on the designs we provided to them. Regarding technologies, they built the site on HubSpot because that’s where we had our CRM, and we wanted to integrate it into the new website.

They started by doing discovery calls with us to establish the scope of work and details within the contract. After that, they started coding the platform based on our requirements, which was something unique, so they didn’t use any templates. Oyova’s team designed a mega menu for us to make the site very intuitive and user-friendly.

In terms of features, they set up the backend in a way that we could easily scale and configure the platform depending on our needs. Aside from that, everything was straightforward because the platform integrates with our CRM. In addition, the website has automated data updates.

What was the team composition? 

We worked with Beth (Director of Accounts), Ryan (Director of Operations), Angela (Marketing Strategist), Eric (Programmer), and multiple developers from their team.

How did you come to work with Oyova?

Oyova was a professional referral from someone who previously worked with them. We chose them for this project because they had previous experience with the CMS we were using.

How much have you invested in them?

We invested around $40,000 with them on this project.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from August–December 2022.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They adhered to our internal team's designs and tried to make everything work. If they had some challenges, they were open about responding and making suggestions to improve the product.

How did Oyova perform from a project management standpoint?

Project management was great; they delivered on time and within budget, and their team was responsive, lovely, and professional. Regarding tools and communication, we used phone calls, emails, and a shared Google Docs file.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Our leadership team loved their work.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They could streamline communication — sometimes, we lose things if we have 50 daily emails.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

To keep an organized process, plan and schedule everything upfront. Moreover, establish a dedicated project manager from your team that can work directly with them. In addition, they’re a responsive team, so ask questions to them and reciprocate with constant communication.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a contracted consultant working with the executive team of a collision repair business that has a total of 75 shops. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Oyova?

We hired Oyova for web development.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We had an existing webpage, but it was scrapped for the most part. Oyova connected some of the third-party platforms we use as components to support the website. The website is built on WordPress multisite architecture, which helps us manage all our sub-brands. We have one master site we use as a home site, and then around 25 microsites that we can administer from one centralized dashboard. 

We have a couple of other plug-ins for things like a maps API and a scheduling API. There are also connections to Podium, a tool we use as a widget for live chat, and other ways we interact with customer reviews. We’re currently in the late stages of getting the site live, but we’ll test it for a bit longer before we launch. 

What is the team composition?

We negotiated the deal with the CEO, and we’ve had a few project managers who have been helping us along the way. We’ve also been working with a lead developer and a few other technical directors on most calls. We interact with 4–5 people regularly. 

How did you come to work with Oyova?

They were a referral from a colleague. We interviewed 3–4 other companies, and after a rigorous process of qualifying and ensuring we had the right scope, we selected Oyova. 

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve invested around $115,000 with Oyova so far. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in October 2021, and the engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The design is very elegant, and we think they did a great job. 

How did Oyova perform from a project management standpoint?

They work very well with our team. We typically communicate via Zoom and Microsoft Teams; we use InVision for collaboration and Google Docs to write copy. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’ve been flexible and responsive, even when we’ve made the process a little more difficult. We feel good overall about how they’ve responded to us. When we’ve had a few issues, they’ve handled them effectively, and they’ve been able to get us back on track. 

They have a nimble platform that is very cellular, and they bring in the right teams for the right parts of the assignment. They listen to us, and they ask good follow-up questions to show that they’ve been listening. We appreciate their openness and style and think they’re a great crew to work with. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

We would appreciate a bit more structure when it comes to status checks. We’d like it if we received meetings for agendas and outlines for the outcomes and next steps. Their project management style is a little looser, and we work better with a more rigorous approach. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Have your part of the assignment as well thought out as possible at the beginning of the project. Make sure you know the features and functionalities you want and give yourself a bit of a cushion in the budget to make room for necessary changes in the assignment.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am a project manager & executive assistant to the CEO of a financial services company - private equity & alternatives investing.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Oyova?

Our website was out of date, and had many functionality challenges. We wanted to fix the bugs and update the design so we could feel good about beginning marketing efforts to drive people to the website.

SOLUTION

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

We were introduced to them by a marketing company. After a few initial conversations, we liked the examples of their work product, and their option to pay-as-you-go pricing structure was a big driver in our decision to select Oyova.

Describe the project in detail and walk through the stages of the project.

We transferred our domains to their server. Had a few meetings to review some of the functionality changes. Also began discussing an updated wireframe that we were working on, and ultimately reviewing design iterations as we work our way to the final product.

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

We worked with 4 people including Director of Operations & Implementation Engineer, Director of Accounts, Marketing Strategist, and another team member (position unknown).

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They are incredible at keeping the project on track with momentum. Their follow-up is quick and thorough. They are in tune with the aesthetic we want to achieve, our unique challenges, and their work product reflects that.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Workflow has been fantastic. Their consistency, responsiveness, and friendly and clear communication truly drive progress forward.

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

Their ability to keep the project on track. Also, their openness to listen to what we need, interpret our challenges, and come to the table with fitting & creative ideas.

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

None

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

We run a faith-based non-profit to preserve and promote the teachings and ministry of the late Christian leader, Jamie Buckingham.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

Our website was built on a shoestring when our non-profit was in its infancy. Over the years, our ministry expanded and we amassed a great deal of content. We needed a company to help us rebuild the site for better usability, easier navigation, and improved visual appeal.

SOLUTION

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

Oyova created a website for another non-profit that we know well, and we were introduced to some Oyova staff members at an event we were attending. Afterwards we reached out to Oyova and determined they had the knowledge and skill to help us with our project.

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

We had numerous video conference calls arranged by our excellent project manager, Beth Rener. We described our needs; they reviewed our website in great detail and came back to us with various ideas and options to accomplish our goals. As the new site began to take form, Oyova was very responsive to our feedback, as we ironed out every detail of navigation and function.

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

Beth Rener was the project manager who worked with us from start to finish. Over the year+ of the project, we had three people who worked on the design and development side. Eric Franklin was the most recent of these, and he was instrumental in helping us fine-tune and ultimately finalize the new site.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We have received many positive comments about the updated look and improved functionality of our new site. It is easier to "find" content. People who visit our site stay on it longer.

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

Beth Rener did a great job keeping us informed of progress and answering questions. We did not have a specific timeline for this project. All communication was by video conference and email.

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

They worked hard to understand our ministry and vision. We appreciate their patience, given our lack of web literacy. We did not know what was or was not possible to accomplish, especially given our financial limitations as a non-profit. They worked with us to keep costs down as much as possible.

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

We would have liked to have more telephone access to our developer. There were a few times when it seemed we could have communicated better via a brief phone call than through a series of emails.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a licensed plumber and the owner of Sewer Drains & More Inc., a plumbing services company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Oyova?

I needed help marketing my website because it wasn’t appearing on Google searches.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Oyova first helped me set up my Google Business account, which they’ve been managing since. They also rebuilt my website from scratch and set up everything to make it clearer to people what my business was about. Additionally, they designed my logo; I only gave them the idea, and they were in charge of everything else. Since then, they’ve been helping me market my site on Google.

What is the team composition?

I’ve worked with 3–4 people from Oyova.

How did you come to work with Oyova?

I had used Oyova before, and they were great.

How much have you invested with them?

I’ve spent about $5,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together around the beginning of 2020, and our engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The website that Oyova created for me is a big improvement compared to my former website — I would rate their job a 10/10.

How did Oyova perform from a project management standpoint?

Oyova’s project management is great. We communicate via email and text messages, and they reply very fast whenever I get in touch with them.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Oyova has been a great partner in all aspects, and they offer affordable prices.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Communication is key. Explain what you want and how you want it, and Oyova will deliver that for you.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the CEO of an outdoor gear retailer.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We were getting ready to launch a new out gear brand and we asked Oyova to help us launch an eCommerce site using Shopify and also launch a Facebook and Instagram presence.

SOLUTION

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

We did research through our partner network and also through the mindshare network of CEO's for startups. Ovoya was highly recommended by other CEO's in our network.

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

Steps were assessment of company and brand strategy, design of the Shopify site and Facebook and Instagram pages. Key deliverable were the website and the Facebook and instagram pages that support the new brand. Shopify, Facebook, instagram and other web technologies were used as well as the Adobe suite of design tools

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

We worked with the CEO, a project manager, senior tech lead, and several other team members to do the implementation.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

See our website and Facebook and instagram pages for the results.

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

Collaborative, agile project management. We used dropbox and google docs to share information as well as the adobe suite.

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

We were impressed with their experience in using Shopify, Adobe Creative Suite, Instagram, and Facebook. Difficult to find this combination in a company that can dream big, start small and move fast.

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

Nope.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CIO of a TV distributor in the US, and we primarily work with healthcare facilities and hotels. We also sell patient education software to hospitals. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Oyova?

We needed help in adding features to our software.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Oyova added components to our software that allow our office staff to set up new customers instead of turning that task over to our development team. We plan on adding more functionalities on top of what they’ve already delivered for us, so we’re continuing our relationship with them.

What is the team composition?

I’ve worked with Beth (Account Manager), Daniel (Lead Technology Specialist), and David (CEO). 

How did you come to work with Oyova?

A business consultancy we hired introduced them to us. After our introduction, we liked what they had to offer and their staff’s personality, so we started doing business with them. 

How much have you invested with them?

At this point, we’ve spent around $25,000. We expect to pay them more as we build out the product. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in January 2021, and it’s ongoing. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Thanks to Ovoya, we’re saving development expenses, and our resource load has significantly decreased. Our office staff can now do tasks that our developers used to do.

How did Oyova perform from a project management standpoint?

They’ve been great at project management. They keep us up to date on what’s going on, and they communicate any questions so we can clarify the requirements back to them. 

We’ve originally communicated through Slack, but we’re transitioning to Microsoft Teams. We’re doing that because Microsoft Teams is certified for medical communications.  

What did you find most impressive about them?

Oyova is a perfectly-sized company where you don’t deal with too much overhead. They have very smart and capable developers on different platforms. 

Often, when you deal with large software vendors, there’s a lot of overhead you have to deal with to get the product done, and you don’t always get what you’re expecting. Oyova makes the process simple — they’re very easy to work with. They’re a small, concise, and well-run company that can do what we need them to do. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can’t think of anything. They’ve performed very well and did what we asked them to do. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

They’re pretty much self-explanatory when you meet them. Their owner has good communication skills, and they can express themselves very well.