ProductCrafters

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Chief Product Officer of a gaming rewards platform

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Gaming Rewards Platform

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

• Build initial website
• Implement new features based on user feedback
• Maintain and optimize platform experience over time

SOLUTION

How did you find ProductCrafters?

Upwork

Why did you select ProductCrafters over others?

• Great culture fit
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from ProductCrafters were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

Starting from the early idea and spec phase, they helped us refine our initial idea for a lean website and platform infrastructure. ProductCrafters then helped us build and deploy this vision. After that they have continued to assist in building new features and maintaining/optimizing the whole platform and web experience over time.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Delivered and deployed code and features as spec'd and planned

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

ProductCrafters are generally great at estimating and delivering on time. Inevitably occasional bumps come up and there is always good communication and planning whenever that happens.

What was your primary form of communication with ProductCrafters?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

Great communication and adaptability. Very responsive to feedback and adjustments. Overall just a pleasure to work with and they do really good work.

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

Occasionally they underestimate the time required for certain projects and have delivered some technical systems that weren't fully understand or built with maintenance and optimization in mind. Overall though these are minor issues and we've worked together productively to improve these points.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the owner of a 360 marketing agency.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We had several consumer-facing programs that required the build and launch of interactive web apps with short lead times. Our team was short on bandwidth and Product Crafters stepped into help with the heavy lifting on the coding and deployment of the programs.

SOLUTION

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

Their team was knowledgeable in building interactive web-based experiences and had a plethora of similar projects that looked awesome.

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

Our team built the frontend design and technical briefs for the builds. The team at Product Crafters then took our vision and brought it to life. We communicated remotely and the team at PC was awesome at communicating their progress and challenges to bring the projects to life in such a short timeline.

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

4 Team members. 1 Project Manager 1 Project Coordinator 2 Coders

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The projects were delivered to spec and the team at PC showed great dedication and professionalism in tweaking the experience to perfection post delivery.

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

We had daily chats via Slack to review the project status and deliverables as well as any updates that needed to be made to the experience on the fly.

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

The team really cares about delivering exactly what you are looking for to spec. They are quick to react and fix any small bugs or issues and they take pride in their craft.

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

The builds were solid but there were some layers of complexity within our experiences that may have been a little lost in translation throughout the builds. I would say take the time to go through the experience end to end with them to ensure the team is entirely in alignment with the end goal of the experience and that you test together and work in unison. The team is awesome and always open to feedback.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm co-founder and head of product at Finsu, a tech startup that runs a sustainable fashion aggregator and comparison platform.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We hired the team to build and maintain our MVP.

SOLUTION

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

We conducted an extensive selection process. Out of over 40 applicants, we selected ProductCrafters based on their experience, technical expertise and cost estimate.

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

ProductCrafters was tasked with building a fully custom fashion aggregator platform from the ground up as well as maintaining and improving the website on an ongoing basis post launch. During our 10-month collaboration, they dealt with all technical aspects relating to the platform. ProductCrafters used a range of different technologies, each of which they are native to.

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

We worked with a project manager, as well as full-time front end and back end support of varying seniorities.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Since launch of the platform, we have seen a 66 per cent increase in daily unique visitors, with traffic growing double-digits on a monthly basis.

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

We had regular weekly calls and further ad hoc chats where required. We used Slack, Trello and ClickUp.

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

We have been very happy with ProductCrafters’ work across the board. Throughout the project, the team showed deep technical expertise, a strong work ethic and honesty and integrity with regards to pricing and scheduling. They worked as a tight-knit team, always helpful and proactive.

They were willing to go the extra mile and provided first-rate support in highly fluid and sometimes challenging contexts. They became a trusted partner and a valued extension of our own team, and we would highly recommend them to ambitious startups and scaleups alike.

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

The team provided a first-rate service. They responded well and swiftly to feedback throughout the project.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a co-founder of Morsel, a family recipe-sharing app that allows different groups of people to share recipes.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with ProductCrafters?

We were looking to bring a better solution for our web app and develop a fully-functioning MVP.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

ProductCrafters provides me with a full development service from a consultation perspective. They gave us ideas on how to make the process more efficient at the beginning where we did a lot of preplanning. 

From a deliverable standpoint, they helped us develop a web and mobile-optimized app. They took some of my design mock-ups, gave their recommendations, and implemented them into the app’s infrastructure. I used Figma to design the layout and they utilize React and PostgreSQL for the front- and backend development.

What is the team composition?

Our main points of contact are Oleg (Founder) and a project manager. I believe there are also three other members working on the development of this project.

How did you come to work with ProductCrafters?

I originally found them through Upwork when I put a call out for a team to help get this idea into the real world, and I ended up looking through their Clutch many positive Clutch reviews.

After having one conversation with them, I instantly knew they were going to be the best partner for this project.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent somewhere between $10,000–$20,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our partnership started in January 2022, but we’re still working together to resolve minor bugs and issues, and then eventually move to implement future updates.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They did a great job with the development constraints that we implemented. They finished the app a week ahead of schedule and consistently adhered to the timeline and budget.

There’s a lot of potential with just the MVP they delivered, so I’m very happy with where we’re currently at for the investment we put in.

How did ProductCrafters perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re very communicative and whenever we run into any issues, they call us up a couple of times a week just to stay updated.

We typically use Slack to communicate and utilize Google Docs and Sheets to manage the project, as it works best for us.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We’re impressed with their ability to ask questions because I value people who do the work that they’re proud of.

Are there any areas they could improve?

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

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Make sure that you fully define the scope before engaging with ProductCrafters, and be more explicit about the features you want to implement and expectations.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder of a financial institution. We invest in different companies, from technology to the food industry and real estate.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with ProductCrafters?

We needed help with a stealth-mode startup to explore new technologies to store personal information.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

ProductCrafters has been providing custom software development for us. They supplement our in-house team in charge of solving technology issues; they develop new ideas and pioneer new concepts. They also work collaboratively with them on existing projects.

What is the team composition?

We’ve been working with 3–4 engineers from their team.

How did you come to work with ProductCrafters?

One of our employee’s family members referred to us who had a good experience working with them. We chose them because they were a small boutique shop that seemed focused on quality work and attention to their client’s projects.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent $300,000–$400,000 with them so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in April 2017, and the engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The greatest demonstration of our satisfaction with their work is that we started working four years ago, and we’re currently doubling our engagement with them trying to expand our business.

How did ProductCrafters perform from a project management standpoint?

They’ve been fantastic; they do a great job handling their share of project management. In terms of communication, they function as an extension of our core employee team, so we communicate often. 

What did you find most impressive about them? 

They’re boutique and have intelligent and talented employees that work efficiently. Also, they don’t feel like a hired contractor; they’re part of our team.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don’t think there’s anything they can improve on — they’ve done an excellent job with everything.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the co-founder of gust.network and Pflegehub, both berlin based startups with overall 15 employees. We provide a software solution for companies to source talent.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire ProductCrafters?

We developed the a backend solution the year before this project and were planning on launching a mobile application. We have a CTO onboard, but were looking for external support in the development of the app, and were hoping for some UI/UX tips and best practices.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted to launch on a tight schedule, with an easy to use low-churn signup process and a connection to our payment provider, including a KYC process for candidates.

SOLUTION

How did you select ProductCrafters?

We talked to three different service providers. Product crafters showed in their proposal that they did a deep dive into our project description, and layed out how they would tackle the different problems we described.

The communication was very direct, without having to switch back and forth between sales person, project manager and developer. Everyone we talked to had a technical background, which made everything easier and was better for our tech staff.

Describe the project in detail.

After agreeing on the project, we had several meeting about the features, and the designs. We already brought the designs, so we were asked to do a very detailed description of each screen.

After 2 quick iterations, all was good to go and they started with the development. We received regular updates, and had a joint discord chat for talking about all issues which came up.

What was the team composition?

2 backend engineers, 1 front end guy, a designer, 1 project manager

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our app launched on time in both app stores, and we got the download numbers we were aiming for. The app is stable and all small issues are adressed very quickly after bringing them up. We still work with product crafters to expand the scope and features fo the app.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Very easy. Discord and hangout. Response time was less then an hour over the whole project.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

It's a tech company. Everyone you talk to is a techie or at least knows what you are talking about. Felxibility & response time: Each time we contacted them with an issue or new feature, there was a response right away, and we never waited long for them to allocate resources to our issue. Very good value for the money you pay.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Nothing I could think of.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the owner of an online marketing company dealing with affiliate marketing across a wide range of industries and products.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with ProductCrafters?

I was looking for a team that could handle some of the technical issues we were having. Many of our daily work processes were manual, and I wanted to make them more automated.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

ProductCrafters developed web software using Node.js and PHP. It allows us to perform certain tasks automatically, at the press of a button.

We create listings each day, and the software they developed allows us to do it very quickly. It has integrations with Amazon and other platforms, and I can create new listings through the portal created by ProductCrafters in just two clicks, without having to log in to each account.

What is the team composition?

I worked with 4–5 people in total, including Oleg (Founder, ProductCrafters), Vadim (Fullstack Developer, ProductCrafters), and a project manager.

How did you come to work with ProductCrafters?

A friend of mine had worked with them, and he connected us. They’d done a similar project for my friend, and they were familiar with the types of issues I was having. I gave them a piece of the project at first, and they performed well, so I gave them more and more tasks.

How much have you invested with them?

The cost so far is around $15,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with ProductCrafters around August 2019, and the project is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Every piece of software will have some bugs, but they’ve handled QA in a professional way. We’re moving forward, and they’ve done a good job so far. I’m very satisfied.

ProductCrafters solved some issues for me, which has allowed our business to grow. We can do things faster, which is very important for an online business.

How did ProductCrafters perform from a project management standpoint?

I can contact the owner or the project manager directly if I have any questions, and they respond very quickly.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re a professional team, and they look at projects from different angles. They’ve even given me some ideas for making the project more effective. I’m really satisfied.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m the founder and CEO of BeautyAdvisor, a beauty network that helps people find new looks, get advice, and locate local professionals. It’s a new way for people to find the inspiration they need to look and feel their best.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Product Crafters?

We hired Product Crafters to take over a mobile app development project from a previous company who failed to complete it. They also agreed to build an admin console and update our website.

What were your goals for this project?

We set out to create a top-notch app that was compatible with our current website, which already had thousands of existing users and supported nearly a million photos/videos. The project had to be done in seven months.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

A Product Crafter’s employee who we’d worked with previously referred us to them. After speaking with Oleg (Founder, Product Crafters), we were confident his team could deliver a world-class app in our budget.

Describe the project in detail.

Initially, we provided them with 75 pages of design work in Sketch, a design toolkit. After analyzing our system, however, Product Crafters decided to rewrite our existing web backend to solve several problems instead of merely redesigning it. Then, they developed a React Native app for iOS, delivering professional features. Finally, they built the admin console to help us support users and moderate content.

What was the team composition?

We worked with multiple resources including Oleg, Olexsii (Full-Stack Developer, Product Crafters), Vadim (Full-Stack Developer, Product Crafters), Anatoly (React Developer, Product Crafters), and Alex (Technical Advisor, Product Crafters). They were all hardworking people.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

For the first version of the app, it was a huge success. Within weeks of the launch, users had uploaded hundreds of new looks and tutorials. Along with industry professionals, they’ve provided very positive feedback.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Development-wise, they worked through an agile process, which prioritized a scalable structure. While it usually takes time to establish a flow, we found our stride immediately thanks to their smart questions and smooth execution. The project manager we were assigned was very knowledgeable and easy to communicate with.

We were in constant communication over Slack and managed the development with Trello. Initially, we met several times per week on Google Meet, but, after a month, we decided weekly video chats would be sufficient. During these meetings, we discussed project goals and potential roadblocks and resolved issues as they came up.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

ProductCrafters dedication to my project and understanding of our goals were outstanding. Additionally, their personnel were honest and transparent. The best part of my experience was visiting them at their offices prior to launch. Though it was a long trip, meeting their team was worthwhile.

Are there any areas for improvement?

No, not that I saw. In my experience, most products fail due to poor planning and a lack of communication. I signed on with ProductCrafters because I knew they had everything necessary to complete the project within our timeframe and budget.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm director of application development at a healthcare consulting company. We provide services to skilled nursing facilities such as billing, estate planning, collections, and contracting.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Product Crafters?

We’d previously built a web application for our field representatives. However, we discovered that a significant percentage of homes didn’t have internet access. Those that did, the connection would sometimes go down mid-visit. We needed a solution to this frustrating problem.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Product Crafters is developing a React application in tandem with our in-house team. They're doing the frontend work and we're developing the backend. It’s an application that will be offline compatible. As soon as an internet connection is detected, it will upload all of the information collected to the cloud.

What is the team composition?

Oleg (CEO & founder, Product Crafters) is our main point of contact. We also work with a React developer and a UX/UI designer.

How did you come to work with Product Crafters?

We found them through Upwork.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent around $40,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in April 2018 and the engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They've been doing marvelous work. We had our coders and our architect review their code. They’re impressed with the structure and how they reuse code. It’s very clean and well-written. We're trying to learn the React application so that we can maintain it in-house once the app is finished. We’re actually learning things from Product Crafters that we can adapt and use in other applications.

How did Product Crafters perform from a project management standpoint?

They perform very well. We have weekly status meetings to make sure they're moving the project along at the right pace. They do a great job keeping the project progressing even when I’m unable to speak to them on a daily basis. I give them a lot of credit for that.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They took a complex business issue and came up with a novel solution. They made sure that no piece of information gets lost at any point. Our field reps are uploading up to 50 documents during each home visit. The app that Product Crafters created ensures all the data are preserved. Information is saved locally or to the cloud, so nothing is lost when the app connects to the internet. It gives us a feeling of security that they understood the need to preserve all the data. That was a big concern of ours and they addressed it efficiently.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Since they were doing frontend work and backend work was being done on our end, we were sometimes at different stages. I would like to see more coordination between the two processes.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Make sure that you're well spec'd out before starting the project. It's important to have a constantly open line of communication. Regular reviews will allow you to make sure that the progress is moving the way you need it to.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the CTO of a commercial real estate platform.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Product Crafters?

We were building a customer software solution that didn't exist in the marketplace, so we needed a partner to help us build it.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They worked alongside our internal team to build the first versions of the web and mobile platforms, which connect lenders and borrowers of commercial real estate. The cloud-based system uses a multi-tenant, micro-services architecture. Product Crafters worked on design and architectural issues, and then developed the solution in React and Node.js. They were also involved in creating the platform’s security features.

What is the team composition?

We worked with four people including one senior designer/architect, and three developers/analysts.

How did you come to work with Product Crafters?

I found them on the internet initially, but we conducted a couple of interviews with different outsourcing shops. We felt very comfortable with their owner in particular, so we started with a mini-project, and they came out with flying colors.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent between $35,000–$50,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from September 2017 until February 2018.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Users have been very happy with the platform. Of course, there’ve been bugs, but that’s the case with all software development projects. The fact that the product is live – that was a huge milestone for our company. We were serving over a thousand customers in the initial launch, but, given that this is a first platform delivery, the stats aren’t out there yet.

How did Product Crafters perform from a project management standpoint?

We mainly used Slack for communication, because we were in separate time zones, but we also had stand-ups on a daily basis. We used Jira or Basecamp for bug tracking, as well as GitHub for web code versioning.

They worked well with our internal team and were very good at adjusting to our work style. They were also able to lead and manage some of the work that involved other vendors. Their founder really drove the team. They had a keen eye for detail and were very solution oriented. They were willing to work extra hours to get the product over the finish line.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I loved that they weren’t just about taking instructions and executing on them. They actually thought about design and potential problems, so that we could avoid them in the future. They were very pro-active at highlighting bugs in security, performance, and flexibility before we could even find them. They thought holistically about solutions and brought up all-encompassing ideas.

Are there any areas they could improve?

As they continue to grow, they're going to have to establish more robust processes. I don't think that's a negative, though; it’s just part of the growing pains they're going to have as they become bigger and better.

Any advice for potential customers?

They should have a clear idea of what they want to develop. Having clear objectives, clear milestones, clear dependencies - that should make for a very smooth process. The more design that they do upfront, the better they're going work with Product Crafters.