Shrine

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the CEO of a company called Freightroll, an online freight marketplace.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Shrine Development?

We needed an iOS app.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The app was reasonably complex. They developed everything for us and took part in every phase, from design to completion. We just concentrated on an iOS version, and I believe they used Swift to build it.

What is the team composition?

There were four team members: a junior developer, a senior developer, a project manager, and their CEO.

How did you come to work with Shrine Development?

I liked the quality of their work and their professionalism. We used two other development firms previously that were not as efficient, but Shrine executed exactly what we wanted.

How much have you invested with them?

The whole project cost around $30,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

The start of the project was around March 2018 and we finished most of the development by the end of April 2018.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We are an app- and web-based company, and giving the app to our truck drivers is important to our success. It’s easy to make changes in the product and we were impressed by how quickly they delivered. The location-based services they added enhance our operations and are an asset we will continue to use.

How did Shrine Development perform from a project management standpoint?

They were very professional and managed the entire process with very little intervention. If they ran into an obstacle in one section, they would work on other pieces until they heard from us. They never stopped working if we were not responding quickly.

Communications were great. They sent daily updates on what they had achieved, what was outstanding, and how many hours they worked. Most of our communication was through email, but we also had them in our Slack channels. We could chat with them in real time, and they would respond and follow through with our requests.

I liked how quickly they could come back into the project. We completed most of it after about a month, but they jumped in weeks later to help us complete elements and get the product launched. They were always efficient, attentive, and well-organized.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The development itself was solid. My CTO was impressed by the capabilities of the language and the code. It’s very clean and will be helpful when we need to make future changes or audits.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They were completely reasonable and got everything done that we wanted them to do. I don’t have any complaints.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the VP and co-founder of a big data consulting firm. Our specific focus is on the reinsurance industry.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Shrine Development?

We needed help with multiple development projects.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Most recently, we’ve been engaged with Shrine Development to develop an application for one of our clients. The backend is built on an SQL server, and the frontend uses a React library. The team also performed Windows executable certificate client work. Technologies and programming languages the developers use include the .NET stack, Objective C, and C#. In the past, they’ve helped us create a blockchain proof of concept using IBM Hyperledger technologies and other projects of that nature. 
 
 What is the team composition? 

The team included graphic designers who worked on the UI, architects, project managers, and server-side backend developers. 

How did you come to work with Shrine Development?

A trusted mutual acquaintance recommended Doug (Co-founder & CEO, Shrine Development). I needed a team to deliver on a difficult initial engagement with high expectations and not a lot of time. My friend told me Doug could absolutely do the job. 

How much have you invested with them?

We spent over $100,000. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been working together since October 2017.
 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Shrine Development is blazingly fast. They deliver earlier than your wildest expectations. I wouldn’t say they’re cheap, but that wasn’t what we were looking for. Their overall value is unquestionable. They offer a combination of quality and speed that is hard to find in this day and age. 

How did Shrine Development perform from a project management standpoint?

Shrine Development is a team of amazing communicators. They leverage tools, technology, and traditional methods to keep in constant contact. We never had to wonder about project status. They make sure the customer always knows what’s going on. The team is always very proactive. They efficiently use Basecamp as a central hub for documentation and communication. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

When you find somebody like Shrine Development, hold onto them for dear life. These types of people are hard to find. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

No. I’d like to test their ability to handle multiple concurrent projects at once, but I haven’t been able to yet. All of our projects have been relatively serial in their start and stop nature so far. I can’t count this as a negative because I haven’t assessed their ability to scale. 

At this point, I have no concerns. No matter what I bring them, I’ve gotten the sense that they have a good size team considering how efficiently they deliver projects. I’m looking forward to continuing to work with them. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CTO and founder of a customer retention startup. We specialize in helping subscription-based businesses and software as a service (SaaS) companies grow.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Shrine Development?

As a newly formed startup, we had not yet raised enough capital to hire in-house engineers. Therefore, we hired Shrine Development to build our software prototype.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Shrine Development collaborated with me to build the prototype application. We requested them to use Java on the backend and React on the frontend. They created the operational infrastructure on AWS using tools like EC2 and S3. They’ve developed a Kubernetes cluster in addition to the initial prototype. Their team also provided some monitoring and alerting work for us using Grafana and Prometheus.

What is the team composition?

So far, we’ve worked five different resources throughout the engagement.

How did you come to work with Shrine Development?

I had worked with one of their founders prior to him creating Shrine Development. I knew that he produced high-quality work and had a good eye for recruiting and training talent. I had a short timeframe to make a decision, so I relied upon my history and experience when considering potential firms. That process resulted in us hiring Shrine Development.

How much have you invested in them?

We’ve spent roughly $100,000–$150,000 thus far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working together in March 2018 and the engagement is ongoing. The original agreement was around the creation of the prototype and subsequent support services. Once we completed that initial phase, we established an ongoing contract with them for a minimum number of hours each month.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They correctly itemized everything and delivered the outcomes we wanted on time. As a result, we were able to vet the idea and raise additional capital based on the prototype. We now have several customers using the app. We’ve since engaged their services further so they can perform multiple functions such as frontend engineering, backend engineering, and DevOps. We’ve begun to grow the engineering side of our company but still use them as a resource buffer of sorts. As a growing company, we value this flexible and supporting relationship.

How did Shrine Development perform from a project management standpoint?

They use Basecamp and we’re fairly happy with that as a software. One of their engineers holds regular meetings to communicate the priorities of each development cycle and evaluate how their performance matches up with said priorities. Shrine Development uses tools effectively, communicates frequently, and gives us a lot of confidence in their ability to drive development forward. They do a good job of hitting milestones and providing information if anything changes.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Because of their exceptional development and project management skills, they’re more of a partner to us than an outsourced firm. We don’t have to watch over them closely or do a lot of the management work. They’ve built complex systems for a lot of different customers and have done so by utilizing a variety of engineering and product inputs. I’m most impressed with their ability to take rough ideas and build them to completion. Most outsourcing firms require clients to have polished and detailed specifications before even considering doing business. Shrine Development offers a more full-service experience. They’ve demonstrated the capacity to deliver every aspect of a project successfully.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No. I don’t have any substantial recommendations at this time.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the president of a digital marking firm that mainly works on corporate advocacy and political campaigns.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Shrine Development?

We needed a partner to develop a portal that connected to California’s online voter registration system.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Shrine Development built a WordPress site that plugged into the state of California’s API system for digital voter registration. The portal allows people to use our website to register to vote in California. We control the site jointly with California.

What is the team composition?

We worked with two developers.

How did you come to work with Shrine Development?

I’d worked with one of their developers in the past.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our engagement lasted for two weeks in January 2017.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our client was happy, and the system functioned well. It’s a setup that we can leverage for other clients, as well.

How did Shrine Development perform from a project management standpoint?

They exceeded that development expectation and were clear and communicative.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re much more proactive than any other firm I’ve worked with.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I have no complaints.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m the VP of customer success at Haven, Inc. We automate global logistics for commodity traders, food producers, and other large-scale shipment companies.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Shrine Development?

We needed automation assistance.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted to replace manual activities with software that could efficiently and accurately extract the data we needed.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

I’ve worked with the principals of Shrine Development at a previous job.

Can you go into detail about the services they provided and the scope of the project?

Shrine Development automated the collection of third-party data using several different technical methods. I can’t provide any more details because the work is proprietary to our solution.

What was the team composition?

We worked with their principal, a project manager, and several developers.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any information that demonstrates the impact that this project has had on your business?

Their work fulfilled our automation needs in terms of efficiency and performance.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

The project manager drove the project forward.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

I most appreciate their speed and quality of their work.

Are there any areas where they can improve?

They should expand their pool of internal resources so that they can take on more projects.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m the CEO of a social media-based wagering startup.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Shrine Development?

We needed app development help.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted a working prototype of our app.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We share mutual contacts.

Describe the project in detail.

They developed our prototype and our website and contributed to both prospecting and investor calls.

What was the team composition?

Doug (CEO, Shrine Development) ran point, but we also talked to his artistic and development team on every call.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We had an operational app prototype and website within one month.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Doug and his team far outpaced my expectations.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

They offered personalized service. We saw them more like a friend who happened to be an IT wizard at app development than like a vendor.

Are there any areas for improvement?

I have no complaints.