Qubika

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the CTO of Databook

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

AI Sales

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

• Data Engineering buildup
• Product Design

SOLUTION

How did you find Qubika?

• Referral
• Other

Why did you select Qubika over others?

• High ratings
• Pricing fit our budget
• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from Qubika were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

We’ve had a fantastic experience working with Qubika. Their team played a key role in helping us establish our data warehouse infrastructure on Databricks, bringing both technical expertise and a thoughtful approach to setting us up for long-term success.

In addition, we’ve been able to leverage one of their talented product designers to complement our existing resources. This has been a great boost for our team, adding fresh perspective and strong design execution to our projects.

Overall, Qubika has been a reliable, collaborative partner, and we’re grateful for their contributions.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The project delivered several measurable outcomes that demonstrate clear progress and success. With Qubika’s support, we were able to establish a scalable data warehouse on Databricks, which significantly improved both data accessibility and query performance. This has reduced the time required to generate key business reports from hours to minutes, allowing our teams to make faster, data-driven decisions.

On the design side, the addition of a Qubika product designer has accelerated our ability to deliver high-quality user experiences. Their contributions have increased design velocity and improved the overall polish of our product, leading to faster iteration cycles and stronger alignment between design and engineering.

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

Qubika managed the project exceptionally well, delivering on time and keeping us updated throughout. They were responsive to our needs, adaptable to changes, and worked closely with our team to ensure everything met our expectations.

What was your primary form of communication with Qubika?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

What impressed us most about Qubika was the depth and versatility of their team. Beyond the core engineers and designers we engaged with, it’s clear they have a wide bench of skilled professionals we could tap into as our needs evolve. This gives us confidence that they can support a range of initiatives, from complex infrastructure projects to design and product strategy, without missing a beat.

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

n/a

UPDATED REVIEW

This review was published on 12/11/2023

CEO, Digital Consulting FirmInformation technology

San Francisco, California

1-10

Sep 2016 - Ongoing

$50,000 to $199,999

Verified

Project summary
Qubika (formerly December Labs) helped to launch a B2B iOS application that provides a data-powered insight solution. The team now works on a fixed contract in an ongoing maintenance capacity. 

Feedback summary
User feedback has been consistently positive because the app is responsive and easy-to-use. Qubika (formerly December Labs) is proactive in giving suggestions and played a vital role in launching the entire business. The team has a can-do attitude, making them pleasant to work with.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We are a digital consultancy offering a data-powered insight solution on iOS and web, around publicly-listed companies. It provides large organizations working in the B2B space with the ability to understand what their business is, what is important to them, and how the product fits with market needs. I am the CEO and a co-founder of the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with DecemberLabs?

We’re a young company founded a year and a half ago. After 6 months of development, DecemberLabs stepped in to help us fix a problem in getting our iOS solution launched.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

DecemberLabs scoped out a project plan and delivered it. Since the launch, they’ve continued to support us with further iOS development, both on a maintenance and enhancement basis.

They assigned 2-3 developers to the project, as well as a designer. Among the technologies used were Swift and Node.js.

How did you come to work with DecemberLabs?

We chose them based on their attitude and the reasonable price/value proposition. DecemberLabs was neither the cheapest nor the most expensive company, but they had good value for what we needed.

How much have you invested with DecemberLabs?

There were 2 phases for the project. The development for getting an initial piece out cost $40,000. There was a continuation of the work, which occurred over the last 6 months, and is of roughly equal value.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with DecemberLabs in September 2016. The collaboration is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement?

DecemberLabs played a pivotal role in us launching our business. We are a mobile-first company creating and developing apps before working on the desktop version. This was instrumental in our ability to launch the business and secure customers early in the cycle.
The feedback we’ve heard from users from day-one has consistently been that they love the app. The interface is intuitive and easy-to-use, and the app is fast and responsive.

How did DecemberLabs perform from a project management standpoint?

We tended to use Trello and Slack for project management and collaboration. There were also calls on a regular basis, and we received project reports showing DecemberLabs’ progress, versus the plan. They were very good in terms of communication overall.

What did you find most impressive about DecemberLabs?

They’re extremely responsive, and one of the reasons we chose DecemberLabs was their ability to understand a challenge we were having and provide help. This can-do attitude was extremely important and helpful, and it’s not something all developers have. DecemberLabs has done a good job of delivering the table stakes and has been excellent with the rest of the collaboration, in terms of responsiveness, courtesy, flexibility around scope changes, and proactiveness in giving us suggestions.

Are there any areas DecemberLabs could improve?

We’ve worked better on a fixed-price contract basis, with clear deliverables and timelines, versus a time-based service, which required us to check in every week and talk about what needed to be done.

STAR RATINGS

Overall rating: 5   

Quality: 4   
Based on their responsiveness and ability to deliver a great product.

Cost: 4   

Schedule:  5  

Willing to refer: 5   
I’ve already made several referrals for DecemberLabs.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Founder of ADJames Data Intelligence

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Research and Development

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

• UX/UI Design
• Mobile design and app building
• Data ingestion

SOLUTION

How did you find Qubika?

Referral

Why did you select Qubika over others?

• High ratings
• Pricing fit our budget
• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost
• Referred to me
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from Qubika were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

The team was tasked with supporting us on several projects with distinct objectives:

Data Scraper Development:

• Goal: Build a data scraper to efficiently ingest and process the necessary data for our platform.
• Deliverables: A fully functional scraper capable of gathering and integrating data from specified sources.

User Interface and Experience Design:

• Goal: Assist in designing and developing the user interface and user experience to enhance the platform’s usability and aesthetics.
• Deliverables: A well-designed UI/UX that meets user needs and aligns with our platform’s goals, including wireframes, prototypes, and final design implementations.

Mobile App Development:

• Goal: Develop a mobile application using React Native, which is an ongoing effort.
• Deliverables: A mobile app that provides a seamless user experience, developed using React Native, with continuous updates and enhancements as needed.

Each of these objectives plays a crucial role in advancing our project, and the team’s contributions have been instrumental in driving progress across these areas.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress and success include:

• Product Delivery: The project resulted in the delivery of a product that met all user requirements and success criteria.
• High-Quality Work: The final product was delivered with high quality, reflecting the attention to detail and adherence to standards.
• Minimal Bugs: The product had little to no bugs, indicating a robust development process and thorough testing.

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

I have been very impressed with the project management. Our organization does not operate like traditional development organizations, and the team has been exceptionally responsive and adaptable to our work and communication workflows. This flexibility has been crucial in allowing us to experiment with new projects and pivot quickly. The team remained positive and unflustered, even when we frequently changed or dropped projects. This is the best responsive team I have worked with on a contract basis.

What was your primary form of communication with Qubika?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

The company has the resources to meet all of our development needs. In addition to these resources, they take feedback on the workflow process seriously and work directly with their developers to train them on our specific processes. Working with this company has been a pleasure.

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

None at all, which is incredible.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Director of Program Management of a fitness equipment and app company

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Fitness equipment and applications.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

• Design & development of a website and mobile application
• Data & infrastructure management and development

SOLUTION

How did you find Qubika?

Referral

Why did you select Qubika over others?

• Pricing fit our budget
• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from Qubika were assigned to this project?

30+

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

Provide technical resources for the redesign and development of a website and mobile application, including:

• UX Researchers
• UI Designes
• iOS/Android Developers
• Web Developers
• Backend Developers
• Quality Assurance
• Data Engineers
• Analytics Engineers
• DevOps Engineers

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

• On-time Delivery: While the project is still ongoing, the team is meeting all critical deadlines.
• Milestone Adherence: All major project milestones, including design finalization, development sprints, and testing phases, are onfolding on time.
• Quality Metrics: Despite the aggressive timeline, the project maintained high-quality standards.

This comprehensive delivery is a testament to the team's efficiency and commitment to delivering complex projects on time without compromising quality. 

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

• The project management and account eam demonstrated exceptional communication.
• They provided outstanding service throughout the project. 
• The PM delivered the work on time, keeping us informed at every stage. 
• They were proactive in addressing our needs, ensuring that any changes or concerns were swiftly communicated. 
• The entire process was smooth, transparent, and efficient. 

What was your primary form of communication with Qubika?

• In-Person Meeting
• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

• Their positive attitude and strong company culture. 
• It's clear that Qubika was/is deeply committed to our success, approaching each challenge with a solution-oriented mindset. 
• Qubika's exceptional level of service has been consistently impressive. 
• Whether it was through proactive communication, rapid response times, or their willingness to adapt to our evolving needs, Qubika demonstrated a level of professionalism and dedication made the entire experience not just successful, but also enjoyable.

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

 No, there aren't any areas for improvement that come to mind. We were thoroughly impressed with their commitment to quality, responsiveness, and wouldn't suggest doing anything differently.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the VP of Engineering of Nellis Auction

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Nellis Auction is an online auction company specializing in acquiring, distributing, and selling merchandise acquired through non-traditional means such as retail returns, estate sales, bankruptcy, and liquidation.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

• Augment an existing software team with new skills and higher throughput
• Design and build our mobile applications
• Product Design Services

SOLUTION

How did you find Qubika?

Referral

Why did you select Qubika over others?

• High ratings
• Close to my geographic location
• Referred to me

How many teammates from Qubika were assigned to this project?

6-10 Employees

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

This project involved the construction of a new mobile application and the accompanying API. The mobile application is built using React Native for both Android and iOS. A new NestJS API replicating the existing web service backend to meet the needs and workload requirements of the mobile application user base. The project included the full cycle from design, deployment, qa and maintenance with oversight from members of their management teams and organization from the product team.

Deliverables:

• Design resources for the mobile application
• A new native app published to the Google Play Store
• A new native app published to the App Store
• A new NestJS API deployed to the Nellis Auction GCP infrastructure

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

• Majority of demographic transition from the web platform
• Reduction of expensive notification systems (SMS) in favor of richer, more user friendly notification systems integrated into personal devices
• Increased public perception of Nellis Auction as a company that provides excellent experiences and convenience to customers

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

Project management with Qubika included:

• Product and high level expecation meetings including concrete objectives
• Exploration of existing products and outlines of development/delivery plans
• Design review and handoff meetings
• Sprint planning, standup, and review meetings
• Sprint outcome reports
• Demonstration meetings with the implementation team
• Regular status updates and accompanying documentation on progress and timeliness via async communication (Slack and/or Email)
• Periodic leadership synchronizations to ensure broad team accountability

What was your primary form of communication with Qubika?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

The teams breadth of skillsets and professionalism is quite impressive. No matter the task at hand, I felt I could go to Qubika for assistance and they instilled me with confidence that they'd not only be able to assist but they'd conduct the procedure in an organized, transparent, and professional way.

I was able to develop trust with their team and processes in a way that I felt I could rely on them to assist in new endeavors the company would begin to explore. The number of sectors they have been proficient in has made them valuable partners.

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

I'm unsure I have any comments on areas they could have improved on in whole. As with all projects, issues will always arise, but they way they carry themselves and deal with the problems while working to minimize them has been great.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the CTO of Cloud Linen Pro

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

We build RFID-enabled technology for the hospitality industry.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

• Add and improve the bluetooth RFID scanner functionality in our IOS mobile application.

SOLUTION

How did you find Qubika?

Referral

Why did you select Qubika over others?

• High ratings
• Great culture fit
• Referred to me

How many teammates from Qubika were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

We needed an expert iOS developer to make our mobile app experience work great with hardware we are integrated with. The specific scope of this project was to implement an RFID scanner SDK into an existing React Native mobile app, ensuring the connection management and certain features such as managing power levels were implimented. The project was specifically for the iOS platform and required implementing the SDK in Objective-C.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The measurable outcomes for the project were that the RFID Bluetooth SDK was hooked up correctly so that the connection to and from the hardware worked seamlessly. Also, specific features needed to be implemented such as managing power levels of the hardware.

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

The project management from the Qubika side was great - the team met with me early on to understand what our needs were and get the initial requirements of the project. They were able to immediately assign a developer from their team to get started and we spun up the project very quickly. 

Cristian and the team was very flexible in getting the piece of hardware they needed to develop against and made sure it got through customs without any intervention from me. Ongoing communication throughout the project was just to make sure everything was going well.

What was your primary form of communication with Qubika?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

The developers I worked with on the project were extremely competent, worked quickly, and communicated well. Explaining the requirements was always easy and the results were great!

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

Not that I could think of. Our experience working with Qubika was excellent. 

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the Founder/CEO of a mobile app for sharing memories with friends and family.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire December Labs?

We noticed that users were primarily using the app to document memories of their children growing up. Since the app was not initially designed around this "baby book" approach, we hired December Labs to help define of the journey map / golden path, brainstorm and design wireframes, create the new UI toolkit, and apply the UI via wireframes and prototypes.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

I met with the team years back and was always impressed with their skills. When the time came for a redesign, they were the first team that I thought of.

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

• Definition of the Journey Map and Golden Path
• Definition of border cases and mitigation strategy
• Brainstorm potential ideas / wireframes
• Design wireframes
• Technical feasibility review
• Apply UI 
• Prototype
• Create UI Kit for any new items

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

Lead UI/UX designer and team

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

UI/UX designs for our new app experience look awesome! Now that we've tested the experience, I'm working with my internal dev team to get the new features launched. December Labs went above and beyond on this one!

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Very effective! We communicated daily via Slack, used Loom to share brainstorms outside of working hours, and had video calls 2-3 times per week to cover anything else we needed to chat through.

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

They're awesome people who care about their clients and their UI/UX skills are amazing.

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

Nope - they were everything I hoped for.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder and CTO of a software company called Adaptive. We make software and do billing and expense management for construction companies.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with December Labs?

We hired them for their staff augmentation services.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

December Labs provides the skills and resources we need. Initially, they provided us with a UI/UX designer to help design a specific part of our website. Later on, they added two frontend engineers to handle other components of our site. Key technologies being used are Figma, React, and JavaScript. Currently, their team continues to do on-demand design work for us.

What is the team composition?

We work with one designer and two frontend engineers.

How did you come to work with December Labs?

We reached out to 4–5 firms that were recommended by our friends. We interviewed each firm and decided to go with December Labs because they were the best choice.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve invested around $100,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in October 2021, and our engagement is still ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They’re basically responsible for the majority of the design of our website so far. They’ve been very responsive and nimble — they’re able to quickly add new staff members to our team and implement sudden changes without requiring too much lead time.

How did December Labs perform from a project management standpoint?

Their project management style is good. They’re always involved in the planning process, and they communicate very well. We use Jira and GitHub for managing tasks and use Slack and Zoom for communication.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We’re really impressed with their flexibility. Their team is so quick in finding the right person to work on a specific project. For instance, we needed frontend development support, and they were able to find somebody within two days who could jump in and start contributing immediately.

Are there any areas they could improve on?

I don’t think so.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Make sure to keep their team involved throughout the process so that they can understand everything and offer their own insights.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a CPO at a company that manufactures a neurostimulation device. Our product is a headset that vibrates on the head for 20 minutes and helps with stress.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with December Labs?

We were transitioning from a previous development agency and hired December Labs to continue iterating on our iOS and Android mobile app.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

First, we told December Labs that we were transitioning from an existing vendor. They looked at our source code, did an audit, and told us whether they could take on the project and how many resources would be needed. From there, we onboarded their team in conjunction with the existing vendor. We offboarded the previous agency a couple of weeks later, and December Labs took over. 

They help us iterate on our mobile app, which can sync data from our device, so a Bluetooth-enabled data connection is involved. The work also involves the display of information, requiring the design of graphics. Most of the app is a way to interact with the device as a remote control to gather and display data. The December Labs team works on two-week sprints, and in every sprint, they develop a new feature or make an enhancement to an existing one. The app is native to iOS and Android, so they use Swift and Kotlin, respectively.

What is the team composition?

We’ve worked with two iOS engineers, two Android engineers, two QA specialists, and two product managers. 

How did you come to work with December Labs?

I have a backend engineer based in Uruguay who had heard of December Labs because they’re also based there. We talked to them, and they were very thorough because they took the time to do an audit before saying yes. Based on their proposal, we decided to go with their services.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent $100,000—$200,000. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in January 2022, and our engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our app has fewer bugs, so customer service tickets have been reduced. Overall, there are fewer pairing and syncing issues between the device and the app, which is one of the primary metrics we track. As a result, the number of five-star reviews has increased. December Labs has done a good job handling everything, and the quality of the app and code has increased significantly. 

How did December Labs perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re great at project management. They deliver on time and let us know when anything is off. Moreover, they’re creative around timelines. We mainly communicate via Slack and Zoom calls and use Trello for collaboration.

What did you find most impressive about them?

December Labs is easy to work with; they take ownership of the project and deliver high-quality work.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can’t think of anything they need to improve right now; I only have good things to say about them. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Don’t hesitate to work with December Labs! Also, be prepared to show them an exciting project to motivate them because I’m sure they want to work on cool, impactful projects.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CPO of CardieX Ltd, a medical device company centered around blood pressure.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with December Labs?

We were trying to rapidly scale our development team. Our firm was struggling to find internal resources with experience in connected devices, such as wearables. As a result, we hired December Labs. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

December Labs is involved in building a number of our components. We have an internal technical lead, while the team supplies the experienced software engineers that we require. 

Currently, we’re building a native iOS and Android app and a cloud-based app. We’re creating a web portal in addition to an Android tablet app. For software, we’re using native technologies for each platform. The app’s main functionality is to provide an interface for our connected devices. 

Apart from development services, December Labs provides QA and UI/UX work for us. The team also handles the product management of our tablet app. Our company continues to add projects for them. 

What is the team composition?

December Labs have assigned mid- to senior-level resources to our projects. We have one Android developer and one iOS developer. For the web portal, we have one cloud system architect and a QA specialist. The tablet app itself is handled by a UI/UX developer and a product manager. 

How did you come to work with December Labs?

I found December Labs through another group I knew quite well. That group had used them in the connected devices space before — it was tricky to find good developers in this niche. I reached out to a colleague within that group, and he had great things to say about the team. Apart from that, our initial review of December Labs went well, so we hired them. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in May 2021, and we’ve just hit our one-year anniversary with them. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Like most development groups, we run in an agile environment; we’re constantly looking at the cadence of our sprints. So far, we’ve had a pretty consistent cadence among the group. We’ve continued to add to the work, but we’ve had no complaints about December Labs’ capabilities. 

How did December Labs perform from a project management standpoint?

We use Jira heavily for project management and Teams for communication. We’re moving toward FDA approval, so we require plenty of documentation. We have a number of standups during the week and plenty of screen-to-screen meetings. December Labs has been responsive during our regular sprint meetings. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

December Labs moves quickly out of the gate. They’ve easily become part of our team. Moreover, they go above and beyond their responsibilities; their resources are passionate about what they’re doing. Whenever there’s a problem, they’re transparent in not only asking for our feedback but also returning feedback back and forth. 

Our company is in startup mode, so whenever we have needs, the team is quick to help us in any way they can. Overall, they’ve been a true part of our team from the get-go — this is highly unusual for me. I’ve worked with a number of contractors, and I haven’t had as great a relationship with them as I have with December Labs. They’re a well-oiled machine.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, there aren’t any. Most of the time, the team is proactive and responds to our dilemmas. If there’s any need for improvement, it would be around our firm’s growth and paint points.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Consider the expertise that you require. You get what you pay for — there are cheaper groups out there, but in terms of value for money, December Labs is one of the best groups around. Trust that they’ll put good people into the project. They want to do the right thing. 

Overall, I recommend December Labs to anyone I know who needs extra development help. I don’t do that for many other companies.