Shrine

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I work for an online travel startup and lead marketing and product.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Shrine Development?

Our product was essentially incomplete coming out of our engagement with the last partner we worked so we needed another agency to finish a number of features and bug fixes that were next on our list.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Shrine asked us to first give them quick wins- small features and improvements which could be completed in weeks.  We had already created all of the designs so their role was simply to build that functionality. They were only able to complete a few of these during the 2-month engagement.

What was the team composition?

We worked primarily with Doug (Founder) and then a subcontracted developer who was traveling around Europe.

How did you come to work with Shrine Development?

We were introduced via mutual contact.

How much have you invested with them?

The total cost was around $30,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

The initial payment to them was in December 2019, and we had stopped working with them by February because it was already clear that the engagement wasn’t going the way we wanted it to because development simply wasn't getting done and then they kept asking us to pay more.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I was concerned once we hit month as little was getting completed. We had to clarify more, pay more, and the worst part was prior developers kept pointing out all the corners they cut e.g. hardcoding rather than building dynamically.

How did Shrine Development perform from a project management standpoint?

The tasks we gave them were very small, easy fixes, and they weren’t able to deliver them for quite some time. We stopped development with many unfinished tasks that Shrine refused to complete unless we pay more.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They are very good at requirements gathering and providing status updates.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They of course should have put the required time in and get the job done. Nothing we requested was complicated as we agreed at beginning to start with only quick wins and fixes. I consider what they did even more egregious because they knew we were in a bind and sold themselves as a rescue team and yet put us even further behind.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Don't pay anything up front and start with a trial period.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Exponential ETFs issues and manages exchange traded funds for asset managers through its sub-advisor service platform.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We established a game plan to build out our trading processes into a software which could be licensed to other firms. This included gathering of data from multiple sources and incorporating complicated trading processes.

What were your goals for this project?

Asses costs ad build the wireframes to assist in capital raise.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

Networking, interviewed and excellent word of mouth reputation locally.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

Shrine built a roadmap, wireframes and hifi slides for what the finished project would look like, including costs and data integrations.

What was the team composition?

Managed by Doug and Malissa at Shrine, and included a couple of other contractors from their end.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We were extremely happy with the results. They explained all of the options and variables, never tried to up-sell us but instead focused on guiding us in the right direction, and ultimately delivered the exact finished product that we were looking for, which allowed us to raise capital to finance the full build.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

The project was managed through basecamp by Doug and Malissa at Shrine. We had regular meetings and real time updates through basecamp. Communication was excellent.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Easy to work with, honest and straightforward, and a clear emphasis on building long term relationships rather than short term billing.

Are there any areas for improvement?

No areas for improvement identified. I was extremely happy with this project and hope to work with Shrine again.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO & founder of Pocketnest, a startup that provides comprehensive financial planning to Gen Xers and millennials in a digital platform. We do that by licensing our platform to financial institutions, such as banks, credit unions, financial advisors, and employee wellness platforms. The software can be used by institutions to engage with their next-generation financial planning.  

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Shrine Development?

Initially, we engaged with Shrine Development to clean up the MVP we created. We had worked on the first version with another company, and they ended up wasting our time. Shrine Development came in to finish everything up.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Shrine Development finished an iOS application that another company started. Originally, we thought the product was 80% done, but it turns out that it was only 20%. Their team came in to clean and perfect the application.

The app supports consumers and financial institutions. The majority of it involves end-users, but financial information can be shared with different parties.

What is the team composition?

In total, we worked with six or seven people from their team.

How did you come to work with Shrine Development?

I met Doug (Co-Founder & CEO, Shrine Development) two years ago. During the first year of our project, he acted as a mentor because we hadn’t raised enough to have their services full-time. We talked every three or four months.

Once our unsuccessful engagement ended with the other company, we realized that we were in a position where we needed additional support. After raising the capital, we were able to bring on Doug and his team.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve invested between $100,000–$200,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Shrine Development in May 2019, and the engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

There aren’t hard measurables, but we can see progress daily.

How did Shrine Development perform from a project management standpoint?

From a project management standpoint, they’re phenomenal. We have daily calls with their developers and meet in person weekly. Overall, we have great communication. As far for tracking, their team set up milestones for us. We also have a project management software that allows everyone to see what’s being worked on, due dates, and other workflows.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I appreciate their focus on communication. They run their company with the experience of being a startup. They go beyond being a development company, going into a mentorship role. Doug, in particular, knows what a product needs. He manages his team, setting the appropriate expectations for everyone involved.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Nothing comes to mind. I’m beyond grateful for all the work that they do.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Take advantage of the way they excel at communication. If a customer is wondering if they should work with them, I suggest being vocal about their concerns and questions. Getting that out in the open at the beginning is a benefit.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We're the innovation center within a large financial institution. We're tasked with creating new financial services and technology products for the market. We are the program manager and development lead for our department.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Shrine Development?

Program Manager (PM): We wanted to pursue blockchain-related technologies. There were a lot of possibilities, and we wanted to explore our options.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Development Lead (DL): The product is a financial assistance tool that several people within a particular group pay into. At regular intervals, one person from the group receives the entire payout. They used blockchain and a platform called Corda, a distributed ledger program. They also used container technology for deployment.

What is the team composition?

PM: We worked with one primary developer and one of their owners. Late in the project, we also worked with a project manager to help with follow ups and budget tracking. The primary developer did the bulk of the work.

How did you come to work with Shrine Development?

PM: A member of our leadership team made a connection with them at a conference. After a few conversations, our executives decided they would be a good fit. They're a nimble company, and we had similar outlooks on flexibility and changing requirements. It was a small, focused project, so we decided to hire them.

What is the status of this engagement?

PM: I think we started working together around October 2018. They delivered the last part of the code around June 2019.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

PM: One of our primary objectives was going through the process and learning more about blockchain technology. We're focused on learning, and we took a lot of information from this collaboration.

How did Shrine Development perform from a project management standpoint?

DL: For ad hoc organization and communication, we used Basecamp. We were pleased with their communication overall.

What did you find most impressive about them?

DL: They worked well with minimal information, which is part of the reason we chose them. They were honest and agile, and they worked with us through a lean approach. Whenever we faced something new, they took time to research possible solutions.

PM: From a leadership perspective, one of their co-owners was very flexible with the contract. They never quibbled about costs, and they often wrapped things up without charging us. They were fair and generous, and they gave us leeway.

Are there any areas they could improve?

PM: We had a couple of communication breakdowns, which may have stemmed from tech issues between Google and Microsoft calendars. There were no significant issues, and we're generally pleased with them.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

We operate a for-profit food distribution network. The selling arm of our company is an e-commerce website that was developed over a decade ago. This small business has four employees. My primary responsibility is sales and marketing, however given my experience in all aspects of the business I was appointed point person regarding website development.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

Like many small businesses, we depend on a third-party IT Company for technical support. The IT Company we work with was instrumental as a consultant/contractor for our website development. Much of the past work on the website was outsourced overseas. It was not uncommon for simple requests to take more than six months to complete. Due to poor response times and a decrease in website performance, we started to shop for a local organization that could both educate and assist with the website updates necessary to scale our business.

What were your goals for this project?

The immediate goals were to eliminate login errors, lost and/or incorrectly transmitted orders, and hosting issues. Based on past experience, we expected this to be both a costly and lengthy process. Shrine Development far exceeded what we thought was possible in a very short time. We expanded our goals to include more marketing functionality and improved design.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We wanted a vendor that was within a few hours of our main office. In June 2018 we began interviewing multiple developers and pursued a few into the quoting stage. Shrine Development was chosen because they understood the urgency of our project. Their willingness to work with our current e-commerce platform to accomplish our immediate business goals was a driving force in our decision. In October, 2018, we selected Shrine Development as our development partner.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

The Shrine Team duplicated our e-commerce website on a separate host server where we could both view changes being made as well as test the result in a live environment. They quickly identified specific problems and resolved them. In each case, they were able to initiate corrective measures in less than the quoted time.

To date, Shrine has eliminated errors, assisted with new hosting, increased our website's performance, added desired design changes, improved the user experience, and integrated our new branding. At every step our e-commerce website improvements were launched with zero downtime. They are currently working on structural changes to allow customized marketing to specific customers. 

What was the team composition?

Each project has been a team effort consisting of two members of our company and representatives of Shrine Development. I worked directly with Doug and Chad on the completed updates to the current e-commerce website. Other team members were pulled in to assist as needed.

The update currently in process involves nine members of the Shrine Development Team. Additionally, Malissa is spearheading the research for a potential future project involving an e-commerce website with an integrated ERP system.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We are on track to have the website updates completed and launched ahead of schedule. Since the initial updates went live, we have been adding new customers. Customer concerns about error messages, or an inability to access the website have been eliminated. The addition of branding to the design provides a more professional look. Our confidence level in the reliability of our e-commerce website has vastly improved. We now feel the website is the selling tool necessary to lead our expansion efforts.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

They present themselves as a professional team and follow through on that perception. All projects are managed through Basecamp, which provides a large assortment of tools to track the progress of assigned tasks. Basecamp also provides a time-stamped platform for instant communication. Communication with the people doing the work is what makes working with Shrine Development so efficient and successful.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Shrine Development understood our priorities and goals. They did not force their own agenda on us. They asked appropriate questions to gain clarity before moving forward. Their use of Basecamp was especially helpful in keeping all parties informed and up to date on the progress being made. It has been an inclusive experience.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Budgets are important to customers and seeing justification for the money being spent over time is more comforting than one large lump sum at the end. If there were a way to post hours of work performed each day, it would reinforce that a customer's project is continually moving forward.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am a co-founder of Plain Sight. We are a mobile platform that helps people decide where to work based on the type of professional connections they want to make.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Shrine Development?

We engaged Shrine Development to build our full mobile app.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We came to Shrine Development with wireframes and relied on them to build Android and iOS applications using React Native. They also created a landing page with a custom admin dashboard using Squarespace.

What is the team composition?

We work with five people.

How did you come to work with Shrine Development?

I found them on Clutch, and Doug and Malissa (Co-Founders, Shrine Development) were natural partners from the beginning. They quickly saw our vision and understood our business model., and the combination of their skills and their partnership has been really valuable for us. They have sharp business acumen on top of their technical skills, and that combination is hard to find in the development community.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our engagement began in December 2018 and remains ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They brought our ideas to life. Their technical expertise made them one of our most important partners.

How did Shrine Development perform from a project management standpoint?

Basecamp is not my favorite platform, but the way they use it has been helpful for us. They’re on top of all the deadlines. The usual trope in the development community is to double any estimate you get, but that wasn’t the case with Shrine Development. They told us it would take six months, and it took six months. Any time we’ve spent beyond that is because the scope of the project has grown. We’re very happy with them as partners, so we continue to engage them.

Are there any areas they could improve?

It can be hard to find tech talent in the Detroit area, so they brought on a few team members during our project, and there were a few that rotated off as well. Bringing new people into an existing project can be hard and slow things down, but Doug and Malissa did a good job of keeping the team aligned through changes.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the founder and CEO of a livestreaming site that allows gamers to compete in this massive industry. Our goal is to set a standard in the livestreaming industry and build an ecosystem for gamers.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

Shrine Development helped us develop stunning UI/UX designs to attract users in the gaming industry. 

What were your goals for this project?

Our goal was to create a prototype with a beautiful flow that made it easy for gamers to interact with our site.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

It was simple. Using Clutch, I searched for the best software companies in Michigan. Shrine Development was at the top! Clutch played a huge role in pairing me with the right software firm.

Describe the project in detail.

I contacted Shrine Development about my project. The founder quickly scheduled a call and face-to-face meeting. They were incredibly interested in the project and began work just one week later! They built the entire product, transforming my idea into a prototype. It took them about a month to finish the project. 

What was the team composition?

I worked directly with the founder and co-founder to ensure that the project ran smoothly. They assigned a UX/UI designer, with whom I communicated directly about my vision.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We are currently developing the MVP of this project and expect to have an investor soon. Their sleek designs gave our team an edge on our competition. 

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The workflow was highly professional. I always communicated directly with their team. It was a great experience.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

I was most impressed by their attention to detail. Shrine Development had the talent to turn my idea into a clickable prototype.

Are there any areas for improvement?

I can't think of anything. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the president and co-founder of Pinyada, an app that rewards users for signing up and completing different offers.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Shrine Development?

We engaged Shrine Development to help us develop our app from scratch.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Shrine Development designed and developed a mobile app for iOS from scratch.

What is the team composition?

We worked directly with one member of their team.

How did you come to work with Shrine Development?

I believe they were introduced to us by someone. After they met with us in person, we felt comfortable with their team and confident in their ability to deliver what we needed within our budget and desired timeframe.

How much have you invested with them?

We invested about $75,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked with them in 2017 and wrapped up the development in the same year. Someone on our own team now works on ongoing updates as needed.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Shrine Development delivered a robust mobile app that successfully met all our needs. It was a great experience all around.

How did Shrine Development perform from a project management standpoint?

They're very responsive and good about setting and meeting deadlines.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their high level of communication is their biggest strength. It also helped that they're based locally, so they could meet with us in person regularly.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can't think of anything.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the co-founder of a website builder platform.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Shrine Development?

I've worked with a number of contractors in the past, but many of those relationships lacked consistency. I needed a more reliable solution, so I was looking for a new development team.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They help me with my web development and frontend design needs. We have a lot of legacy features on our platform, so they've been updating a lot of settings and features. In addition, they're analyzing third-party APIs to see if there are different ways for us to do things. They mostly work with Ruby, MongoDB, and Backbone.js.

What is the team composition?

I work with two members of their team.

How did you come to work with Shrine Development?

I'm also a co-founder of another startup and Shrine does a lot of work for that company. They've done a great job, so I decided to bring them on for this project.

How much have you invested with them?

We've spent between $10,000–$15,000. We pay them about $3,000–$4,000 a month for the ongoing maintenance and new feature development.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in July 2018 and the relationship is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They're helping us find cost-effective and reasonable solutions, without me having to dictate to them what to do. They're like an outsourced CTO for us and help us spend our money wisely.

How did Shrine Development perform from a project management standpoint?

They work quickly and stay on top of everything. They use Basecamp on their end, and I have everything in Asana, so they've been able to use my existing tools. They're very proactive and always ask me if there are other things I need. I get very busy with other projects, so I appreciate that. I've been working with their junior developer on smaller things and their senior developer always jumps in if there is a big decision we need to make, so it's been a good balance of talent and budget.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They're very thoughtful and look at all the pros and cons, helping us figure out the best plan. Also, they're direct and honest, which is the key to a long-term engagement.

Are there any areas they could improve?

More thorough code review by senior staff would be helpful to ensure consistency of high-quality code. But, overall, the project is going smoothly, and they've exceeded all of my expectations.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the CEO of Passage. We're a ticketing and payment platform for specialty events. We help event organizers sell tickets to their events both online and at the door.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Shrine Development?

We needed to develop a new R&D into a blockchain-based ticketing side of our company, so we were looking for a development team to help us.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They did most of the work using Fork of Ethereum, and they also used node.js for the frontend. We wanted to be able to record ticket transactions on the blockchain, which has a totally different way of looking at security, especially when it comes to transition of ownership. Right now, secondary ticket exchanges don't talk to each other. But with the new platform, we can actually track the original ticket and transfer the ownership right in the blockchain before they let someone resell it on the marketplace. The tracking is done through the blockchain record, which is right on the blockchain ledger.

What is the team composition?

We worked with three of their developers.

How did you come to work with Shrine Development?

We were introduced by our investor, whom we trusted. Also, they were local, so we met with them and discussed our project. After that, they put together a plan for us, which we liked. They were very professional and creative, so we chose them.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent about $140,000–$150,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked with them between August 2017–September 2018.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We expanded our current capabilities, which made us more attractive to a new market and investors. Our platform became more secure, opening us up to secondary event ticketing as well as primary. At this point, it's mostly a proof of concept development, so it's only partially live. We're planning to do another phase with them soon.

How did Shrine Development perform from a project management standpoint?

They're very professional. Shrine used our existing communication tools, such as Slack and Asana for project management and we had many whiteboarding sessions in our office, which was very convenient. They were great communicators and quickly addressed any issues. Also, they met our deadlines. We do all of our technology development in-house, but they were very flexible on the communication side.

What did you find most impressive about them?

It's hard to come by a company that has expertise with blockchain, so it was definitely their strength. They were willing to dive into the project and they even took some trips with us to trade shows and physically participated in the process when needed.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No. That was an experimental project for us, so there are some goals that we wish we could go back and change based on the things we’ve learnt. Shrine was able to adapt to changes, rather than being rigid on the initial contract.