Selecto

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

RediLink is a platform for real estate professionals. It is aimed to provide them with useful data, industry news, courses and events, networking opportunities and access to the online community of Real Estate.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Selecto?

We had a vision and wanted someone to map out how the product should look like. We were looking for a team to build a product concept that could be used to present the idea to investors and validate it with potential customers. To design a working prototype of a mobile application and think for the best UI/UX features to develop.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

Recommended by another happy customer

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

Design the prototype: Full discovery process including jobs to be done, value proposition canvas, competitor screening etc... Daily interaction on UI/UX designs and close collaboration. It was a very collaborative process.

We began with a discovery phase where they studied everything - from our vision to the business landscape to users' needs and pains. They’ve delivered a visual identity for our product and a first clickable prototype with all the features.

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

8 people - Project managers, business analyst & designers

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

As for now, we have a clear understanding of where we are heading to. They helped us define the roadmap and shaped our vision into a product prototype. I think we would be able to share some tangible results after the conference where we’re going to present the concept.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The project was well-planned and well-structured. As said before, it was a collaborative effort. We worked closely, so that it felt like co-creation, not like management of an external team.

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

The team is product-oriented. They think in terms of the performance metrics rather than short-term tasks. They approached the research phase very thoroughly and delivered a modern UX from the first iteration.

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

No, the work delivered was great, team friendly and deadlines met so nothing to add :)

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m a product manager at a logistics company. Since 2011, we have been providing freight services across the US and Canada.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Selecto?

For years, we’ve been using dozens of external services and tools that required paying additional fees. We were looking for someone able to help us digitalize our business processes. We also strived to build a solution that simplifies communication between our departments and reduces the paperwork.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

They were recommended to us. And they had an experience in the logistics domain.

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

They started with an internal audit of our company and the market research. Through the discovery phase, we found new market needs and started working to fit them. We aimed to build a solution to make the process of transportation easier. Selecto developed the UI/UX design for our mobile applications and transport management system, and we continued relying on their engineering expertise, as well.

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

Initially, we engaged a design team of Selecto. After research and first concepts, we decided to scale the project scope and thus the team that now counts around 20 members.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The solution they have provided so far takes our workflow to the next level, which helps us to be more efficient. We reduce the cost of external resources since we have our own solutions and there is no need to use them. Also, our partner companies are going to try to integrate our software as a SaaS solution into their workflow.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Our primary point of contact is their project manager, they handle project management well. We communicate every day, so we are always aware of the progress of the project and their plans. They’re always available for calls despite time zone difference. Also, their design team visits our offices in the US one-two times a year for research and user tests.

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

They conducted the research thoroughly, offered insights and came up with a number of ideas in areas we haven’t looked at. With the right strategy and roadmap, we have created a modular product that we can now use as our own SAAS platform and provide its value to other logistics companies, making their business more efficient.

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

I couldn’t think of any. We continue to be impressed by their proactivity and ability to map out what needs to be done.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the COO of an organization in the English-language learning space. We provide content and are working on providing a technology solution to help English learners around the world.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Selecto?

We’d been testing out different third-party platforms to help us solve a particular problem that language learners faced. It became apparent that those solutions weren’t going to meet our needs anymore. Our business wasn’t able to scale and serve as many customers as we wanted to serve so we engaged Selecto to build a custom SaaS solution.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Selecto is providing UI/UX design for a complex web-based platform. They conducted a competitor analysis, a user-flows analysis, and empathy mapping. Their team designed the UI followed by the UX and prepared all the design files for our development team. The technologies used are Miro and Figma.

We’re finalizing the last stages of the MVP. Selecto has designed the web interface, and they’re moving on to the responsive format for mobile and tablet use. There’s a lot to be done but it should be finalized in the next couple of months. We plan to keep going with Selecto for version 2.0.

What is the team composition?

We’ve worked with their design lead, two business analysts, three UI/UX designers, and one project manager.

How did you come to work with Selecto?

I was browsing through a lot of the online-portfolio marketplaces like Dribbble and Behance, and we also conducted Google searches. I found Selecto on Dribbble, and they stood out to me by way of their clean designs and well-thought-through user flows and interfaces.

Their spacious and minimalistic designs appealed to me and it seemed that they’d done work that could be related to the solution we were building. They’d covered all the features we needed, such as video chat and scheduling. Some of the illustrative qualities of their designs resonated with us.

Selecto just seemed really professional from the outset, from the discovery call to the promptness of producing a proposal for us. They had good attention to detail, asked good questions, and were straight to the point.

How much have you invested with them?

The total so far is about $70,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Selecto around August 2020, and the engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I’m not a technical founder so I rely heavily on my dev team and senior developer for feedback on the output from Selecto. So far, we’ve had very few — if any — complaints from our dev team. There’ve been some minor adjustments to make, but by and large, the feedback from our team has been really positive.

We were hesitant at first to over-document or overdesign some features, but it’s turned out for the best that we did. It’s reduced the number of questions and pushback from our dev team, so I’m saving a lot of time on that side. They’re able to jump straight in. I

t’s sort of like having a solid set of engineering and architectural plans to work from. It’s removed a lot of the guesswork. I also rate the companies I work with on how proactive they are, and Selecto is highly proactive. It’s rare that if something becomes a problem, they won’t have already come to me first.

During the early phases, we weren’t too satisfied with the illustrative style and branding workshops we did with them, but that wasn’t a fault of Selecto’s process or people. It just wasn’t a fit for us. No one on our side would say that Selecto wasn’t talented or on top of their game. It was more of an aesthetic misalignment between what we like the look of and what they did. I’d do it all over again. I don’t know what I’ll get next time, but it may very well work out.

In terms of delivery, they don’t muck around. The amount of progress being made every day and every week is phenomenal. Because of their attention to detail and because everyone from Selecto has worked on our project as if it were their own, I feel that they’re always thinking for us, as though they were part of our team.

We feel very much that they’re a part of our team that we took the time to have t-shirts with our branding shipped over to them. They took a photo in those and sent it back to us.

How did Selecto perform from a project management standpoint?

We’re all in communication on a daily basis and have been since the very beginning. There hasn’t been a day that’s gone by where we weren’t in communication. I like to give feedback quickly so I’ve been part of the workflow creation and project tracking. I explained what works well for us, and Selecto had no issues falling in line with how we do things. Everything they’re doing is as I want it, and they seem to be enjoying our way of working.

They submit work for review, do any revisions that are needed, and get our approval. We try to make that as quick as possible, and we’re quite proactive about it. If there’s a perceived issue or if I want to talk about something, we’ll conduct a meeting via Zoom within the week. If they have the same need, they get in touch with me about a meeting.

They have a project manager who oversees and connects everyone so if I need to say one thing to the whole team, I can just tell her. She’ll distribute the information to every relevant person. We primarily use Slack for one-to-one discussions and for team chats about ideas. We track tasks and overall progress using Monday.com.

What did you find most impressive about them?

It’s their dedication to the outcomes and goals we’re trying to achieve for the people we help. They share our vision and resonate with our mission. Because of that, we’re all heading to one place, which is bigger than the project and bigger than us. Everybody’s there. We all get out of bed and work on this project because we’re here to empower women around the world. Everybody feels that and wants to be part of it.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, nothing comes to mind.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

They have a lot of questions for you as the client; it’s all in order to really dig deep. Therefore, it’s important to not be too prescriptive about how you want things to unfold. However, before working with a company like Selecto, it’s important to have a clear vision of the final outcome or result to be achieved for our customers — and to be strong about that.

Otherwise, Selecto’s questioning and digging deep may lead us in some random directions. If we know where we want to go and want to find out the best way to get there, then Selecto will help one hundred percent.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m a founder and CEO at Roundlaw. Our platform helps lawyers to present themselves and advertise their services in an innovative way.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Selecto?

We were developing a new product and wanted their expertise. We aimed to create a digital experience for our clients - lawyers, through which they could reach their audience in an easier and more engaging way.

What were your goals for this project?

Our primary goal was to get modern and intuitive design for the product. Also we wanted to bring our platform on the web, which in turn required assistance with the design and development.

SOLUTION

How did you select Selecto?

We had previously worked with Selecto. At that time we were extremely satisfied with the outcomes so we had no doubts we wanted to hire them for this project.

Describe the project in detail.

The main distinctive aspect of the product had to be a design. And with the help of Selecto, it is. After the first version had been successfully launched, we decided to rely on their expertise to improve the conversion rate and augment the platform with new features.

What was the team composition?

We worked with a multifunctional team of product designers and developers.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The first tangible proves of that are both the positive feedback of our users and media coverage.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

These guys were superb when it came to openness, communication, and managing the project. If we had any changes, they adapted quickly. From the very beginning we were working in close cooperation, having daily calls which were always fun. Also they adapted to our time zones and felt just like our in-house employees.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The most impressive aspect is their human side. We went together through ups and downs, and this is what we were looking for in our partners and what each startup expects from people working on the product. Till the end of the project we felt much more like friends, not just partners.

Are there any areas for improvement?

It was a pleasure to work with them again. What had to be improved has been improved.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Product Project coordinator at Vezeeta.com, a digital healthcare powerhouse that serves and empowers patients in every step of their healthcare journey through data and technology

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Selecto?

We engaged them for a complete revamp of our whole product line - seven connected products that make experience of getting healthcare services much better.

What were your goals for this project?

We were looking for a partner not only to create a modern design and UX for the new functionality of our products but also to seamlessly integrate it into our ecosystem. We needed someone to constantly research and make improvements to Vezeeta.

SOLUTION

How did you select Selecto?

We found them on a list of the top UX agencies on Clutch. After interviewing several vendors we decided to continue with Selecto, as their approach looked the most suitable for us.

Describe the project in detail.

Vezeeta is a huge product ecosystem splitted into separate products and epics that needed a complete revamp. Their team started with examining the product and interviewing our stakeholders to set the common ground. For starters, they updated Vezeeta’s home page - the team created several design options for internal A/B tests, which showed us impressive results. Now Selecto is engaged in designing the whole product line, and works closely with all of our departments as a prefered design vendor. Each of 7 products is being designed for web, desktop and mobile (iOS and Android).

What was the team composition?

We’re working with 2 senior UX designers, design director and business analyst

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

A proactive work of their design team and tight collaboration with our product management and development departments is what helped us to be highly productive from the very start. Selecto is a huge part of why we've been able to bring forward our product release dates.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

They perform great in terms of project management and communication. We have daily meetings, they’re always available for calls so we see no barriers despite working from different continents.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

A great toolkit of approaches for all scenarios we’re bumping with during the product design process. Also, they are very proactive, and not only do they do good work, but they strive to ensure a perfect user experience for the end-users. And we all together can’t wait to introduce the new version of Vezeeta to the world and celebrate our common success.

Are there any areas for improvement?

As with any vendor, it has taken some time for Selecto to onboard and get into our product details and all the processes before any deliverables.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Founder of a startup productivity software company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Selecto?

We hired Selecto to think through what it would take to build this product. That required understanding the needs of the end user and the many flows that they could take, and then wireframing what that could look like through a clickable prototype.

What were your goals for this project?

Our primary goal was to determine the cost, feasibility, and direction for our initial concept. Selecto accomplished all of those goals and was very thorough in thinking through them with us.

SOLUTION

How did you select Selecto?

We literally went through hundreds of designers on Dribbble, and Selecto was the best by far.

Describe the project in detail.

Our project was to prototype a minimum lovable product that would give users an extraordinary amount of clarity in their lives and workflows. We started with a discovery phase to explore user needs, and then wireframed a clickable prototype inside of Figma that can be used to design the initial UI. We also spent some time on branding and positioning, and what features to include in a first release.

What was the team composition?

Two UX designers, a project manager, and graphic designer.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We finished this first project with a clear estimate of costs, timelines, and product direction.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Despite being on the other side of the planet, Selecto communicated very well and often about our direction, and the reasoning behind their decisions. They very much felt like a member of our team.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Their design skills are top-notch, and they run very quickly and thoroughly.

Are there any areas for improvement?

We were very happy with the work on the first iteration of our product, and would highly recommend.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am a co-founder at a US-based social app startup.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Selecto?

We hired Selecto as a full-service provider from UX/UI design to app development services. Our main challenge at the time was that, as a small startup, we have a difficult time hiring talent locally in the US affordably and efficiently. Finding a reliable and high-quality offshore partner was the optimal solution.

What were your goals for this project?

1. elevate the UX/UI design of our MVP product,
2. boost development speed and quality,
3. improve user retention & organic growth via 1&2

SOLUTION

How did you select Selecto?

An engineering friend referred us to Selecto, which is the main factor that led us to choose them. Another factor that led to this decision was how effective they are in providing candidates based on our requirements for interviews, setting up the initial meetings and being transparent about the whole process.

Describe the project in detail.

There're a few key components in this project. As a PM, I work with the Selecto team on both UX/UI and dev fronts.

Selecto is responsible for refreshing the current app design with a new branding theme, mapping out new features based on our user behavior analysis and data insights, and also build out some of these aforementioned features with our internal dev team.

What was the team composition?

We started off with one hire from Selecto, and that expanded overtime to three. We will continue working with Selecto as we grow. They're super awesome people to work with and 100% reliable teammates.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Working with Selecto, we were able to quickly iterate on new feature design and dev, which was difficult to do prior to working with them. And with the iterations, we're able to pivot and continue to improve the overall app design and improve app retention and growth.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Once we began working together, the Selecto team was able to quickly adapt to our process. We have weekly standup meetings and daily communication on Slack.

They're able to also adapt to whatever software that we use, from XD to Figma (design), from Asana to Clubhouse (task management). The Selecto team is also very good at listening to our concerns, demands and feedbacks, which provided tremendous value in getting the right features out.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Reliability. Selecto are hardworking and responsible people who care about what they work on and who they work with. We've always found them reliable when there were urgent issues that needed to be discussed or worked on.

They're always there ready to get things done. We've also run into a major crisis on the dev side, in which Selecto helped out quickly by staffing us with their BE lead. I can't imagine having another partner more reliable than this.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Not for me. 100% happy about Selecto

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the co-founder and CTO of an online video networking company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Selecto?

We’re building a platform for expensive video calls with people who are typically hard to reach. It’s similar to a global address book, where users can call any person, even if you don’t know them personally. We needed additional help with the app.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Selecto is our long-term partner, and they’ve helped us with this app as well as a few prior ones. We usually start with a customer discovery phase, where we talk about user stories, what could happen, and what the situations are between different scenarios. 

After we have our initial idea from this stage, we sit together with Selecto and we transform this into a set of user stories and wireframes. Once that is stable, we move onto design and user experience. 

After the mockups, prototypes, and UX are in place, we move onto creating high fidelity UI screens and then development. We use Figma for the UX. For the application itself, it’s Kotlin for native Android, Swift for native iOS, Vue.js for the frontend, and Node.js for the backend.

What is the team composition?

For this particular project, we worked with 20 different people. There’s one lead designer, one designer that helps do more simple tasks, a project coordinator, and the full set development team with front- and backend engineers and QA leads.

How did you come to work with Selecto?

They were recommended by my business partner. Since we started working with Selecto five years ago, we’ve never looked back. It was an easy choice to work with them on this particular project. They’re our regular supplier for UI/UX and development.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent between $120,000-$160,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in April 2019, and in January 2020 we ended the core full-speed development. It’s mostly ongoing in terms of marketing and bringing it to the market. We scaled down our technical operations 10-fold since the active development phase.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Being a startup, it’s mostly important how the user perceives the product. The best indication was that we were twice presented from the stage. We were the number three app of the day on the product hunt. 

Since the launch of the app, we’ve received a lot of five star reviews in both stores, as well as prominent people from different industries join us — even some people from Google and the music industry. They all love and appreciate how the app looks and feels.

How did Selecto perform from a project management standpoint?

We work in a scrum methodology. Communication is regular. We do daily meetings and short iterations. We do very simple task management with Trello and Jira. 

There were a few deadlines shifted but it’s either because we weren’t clear in our initial requirements or there were changes in the market. I can’t blame Selecto for that.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The reason we selected them and are still working with them is because they’re careful in how they do things. Selecto goes really deep into the thinking process, considering not only the way it looks but also how it will be perceived and what will be the motivation for a user to usea certain action.

They are deep in terms of behavior psychology of users. They also follow the most recent trends in design.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I’d prefer them not to raise prices that much. I’d prefer that they would overdeliver. They do what they are asked, and they do it great, but I’d love if they’d put a cherry on the top here and there just because they can.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

They’re very fast in providing prototypes. If you consider choosing them, I’d suggest you try to do something simple within a week or two. They have the service and it works amazingly well. The cost of a mistake here can almost be neglected compared to the budget of the full project.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder and CEO of LifeArk.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Selecto?

We had an old app with an outdated UI/UX. We needed to upgrade, rebrand, and change up the UX/UI of our subscription model. Basically, we needed to take it from a prototype to a working app we can bring to market. It’s a digital time capsule that users can hand down to their kids.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They created a new version of our home screen and timeline. We also created paid features form a premium and subscription model for our app. We also created a separate UX, login, and onboarding process for children. Now they can scan a QR code and see the messages their parents have saved for them.

Most of our prototyping was in Sigma, so they used that. Then we used Miro for mind mapping.

In addition to their design team, they have as strong engineering team as well. They also handled the coding side of the project. The app is for iOS.

What is the team composition?

There’s one project manager, 2–3 designers, a lead iOS engineer, a backend engineer, and a QA tester.

How did you come to work with Selecto?

They were a recommendation from a friend who has worked for them in the past.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent between $68,000–$80,000 so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together at the end of February 2020 and we’re still working with them.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We were able to release 2–3 good updates in the span of five months, and now we have an app we’re ready to go to market with.  They’re very good with brainstorming creative stuff in terms of product design. We also created a larger product roadmap, so how we could continue to develop the product later. They definitely thought of a lot of ways to get users excited about the app, get them to onboard and start using it. They had very original ideas that are very forward-looking.

How did Selecto perform from a project management standpoint?

They could probably communicate a little more on the project management side. I think that’s often the case when we outsource, so it’s nothing to complain about, but it is the one area in which they could stand to improve. Of course, it takes time to establish those relationships with a new company.

We used Slack to communicate.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their creativity, their speed, and they have great taste in design. Their approach is intuitive and creative, and the results are beautiful.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There’s always space for improvement, but in the overall scope of things, they were fine.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Balance between sticking to your idea and giving them the creative freedom that you want. If you want to a partner that is going to help you rebuild from the ground up, I would definitely recommend them because they’re very creative.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the CTO of Foxstone, a Swiss based Crowdfunding Real Estate platform. My role is to conceive, build, manage and deliver the platform where our investors gather to get access to real estate investment. With my team, we strive to bring to the swiss market the most advanced tools and concepts to make their journey to investment as simple as possible.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Selecto?

The main business challenge was to improve the convertibility of our pages and the quality of the content of our website. Selecto re-worked from scratch, starting with UX design system, through usability mind maps, to clean and modern rendered UI. As part of their efforts, they managed to create visual and emotional parts of the website that will create trust, seriousness and reliability to our users. Selecto also created different marketing materials, hand made illustrations and new branding guidelines.

What were your goals for this project?

The main goal was to add new CTAs on every page, improve navigation, optimize loading speed and last but not least refresh our branding guideline. Selecto proudly delivered a holisting design system with many marketing parts, visual effects, illustration and animated elements.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

I used Selecto in the past for a few projects where my satisfaction was already high. A few years later, they just confirmed their professionalism, as their Creative Director grew his team, and hired highly skilled talents. Prior to that, I interviewed many companies in Ukraine but I never felt the same level of confidence as I have when I work with Selecto.

Describe the project in detail.

The overall scope was to rebuild the whole website, following the mobile-first paradigm, but an important part of it was to add one important contact wizard, which has been executed successfully. Therefore, Selecto had to revisit their own design procedures, working with a forced constraint, and managed to deliver a very pleasant result.

What was the team composition?

At Selecto, we were assigned a Project Manager, a Creative Director and two UX designers.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Well, Selecto did it's part by delivering in time 100% of the work ordered. It lacked a little bit on our side since the review of content and design by our team went to many different persons / departments. In any case, Selecto has shown a strong engagement by assisting us on every step of the project, helping us to integrate / implement the new website, and giving some advice during the development. It is a great quality that I can recognize in the Selecto design team. They really care about the accomplishment and the success of your project rather than running after their billed hours.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Selecto has a good management process in place, using collaborative tools such as Trello to exchange, follow up and measure the progress of the project. Our frequent online meetings have helped the followup of the project. Since Selecto follows the same iterative process as us, our teams were in perfect symbiosis and managed to collaborate in the most efficient way, hence the distance.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Creativity / innovation / understanding of the problematics / strive to succeed / overdeliver / attention to details. But most of all is their ability to listen to us and deeply understand our needs is impressive.

Are there any areas for improvement?

While we are very satisfied with Selecto's performance, we would have appreciated if they were proposing the job of development of their design into a proper website / wordpress. We had to work with a different team of the integration, which resulted in a higher budget than expected.