Square63

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

Startup Alerts is an iOS app that connects entrepreneurs to events in their community based on their set preferences.

What is your role in the organization?

I am the founder and CEO.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with Square63?

At the time, we already had an app. However, we needed to pivot, which included a redesign of the app, UX/UI, and backend API. Our goal was to have the app built within the deadline and work well. I’m not a developer, so we needed to reach out to a partner. 

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of the work and Square63’s involvement in greater detail.

Square63 provided a complete overhaul of the UI/UX and new designs. They basically rebuilt the app from the ground up. Their work also included the iOS development and Ruby on Rails API build.

They helped with planning the redesign, as well as restructuring the API. An example of a major feature was the ability to send notifications with custom timing based on geolocation.

How did you come to work with Square63?

We chose Square63 based on their references, responsiveness, and ability to deliver on time.

Could you provide a sense of the size of this initiative in financial terms?

We have spent $7,000 on the work so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

The work began in November of 2015, and it is ongoing. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What are the results of the project, and are there any statistics or metrics you can share?

The app now has 450+ users, and the API has handled over 10,000 events. We also have a few thousand notifications sent. We now have a marketing tool that attracts users to events that they are interested in. We can also send targeted notifications to users based on the events that meet their interests.

The app was received well by the users and the test markets. They appreciated the simplified interface and ability to add things your calendar, which makes the app useful and reduced barriers to user engagement.

Users loved getting notifications of events that they were interested in and having the ability to favorite events. In our app, the ability to add an item to the calendar is smoother than in other apps.

How did Square63 perform from a project management standpoint?

Square63 performs really well. They seek to understand your project and what you want and need, then they work to accomplish that. They also suggest better ways of doing something if they can.

In terms of deadlines and communication, they are excellent. They communicate on a regular basis and explain that they expect to accomplish the set objectives. They discuss any problems that arise and work to meet the deadline or give a reasonable timeframe to solve the problems.

To communicate, we use Slack, Trello, and email.

What distinguishes Square63 from other providers?

Square63 is distinguished by their speed, cost, and project management abilities. I appreciate their responsiveness and ability to solve problems.

Is there anything Square63 could have improved or done differently?

The team could start user testing with Apple’s TestFlight. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I was a consultant for PesaZetu, which was established to do peer-to-peer lending for low-income borrowers in Kenya. Unfortunately, that project didn’t go forward. I’ve now moved on to a new company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Square63?

The goal was for Square63 to do an audit of a foundation that was built, and then provide recommendations for architecture and the product itself. With those recommendations, they would go ahead and build a better platform that was stable, reliable, and scalable. That’s where I saw them to be helpful, based on the past work they had done for me and the capacity of their team.

The developer previously working on that project was a one-man show, so he wasn’t able to do a very good job. I was looking for Square63 to provide capacity and then also to provide some sense of seriousness in a local project that we expected to grow.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Square63 did the audit, provided strategy, and did the development to upgrade the web platform. The key features for the web platform were on the backend side of things; the dashboard, managing loans, repayments, the borrower’s information, and the marketplace. We had access to reporting and managing the lifecycle of the loan, from disbursement to collections. The platform was built on Ruby on Rails, so JavaScript was part of it.

We didn’t get to the mobile app stage, but Square63 were meant to focus on an Android app. The project was terminated before we got to that point.

How did you come to work with Square63?

The CTO for my first startup was trying to find the right agency for a project, and he had already worked with Square63. He recommended them to us because we needed similar services.

How much have you invested with Square63?

This information is confidential.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began the project in August of 2016, and the work was finished in October of that year.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The quality of the code, the project management, and the audit were all satisfactory. Also, the commitment and execution of Square63 were quite impressive. We tested internally, but we never got to launch the project, so it’s hard to evaluate. With the internal testing, everything was quite stable.

How did Square63 perform from a project management standpoint?

Square63 had a very good structure. We used Pivotal Tracker and Skype for communication. They collaborated with our team and ensured that communication was as effective as possible. They did a very good job. They know how to go about the development process, ensuring that agility is maintained. I didn’t have any issues with deadlines.

What did you find most impressive about Square63?

I would put Square63 on top due to their disciplined way of working and their capacity. Also, I think communication and project management are key to any project, and they have perfected the art of ensuring that whole ecosystem of development is complete and balanced. Many agencies have good developers, but they’re not good at managing themselves and using communication tools. I think Square63 is an all-around team. You can talk to a project manager who doubles as a software developer, so they understand both sides of the project. That's quite impressive.

Square63 has a very good attitude towards work. Even when they worked on a project that didn’t progress, they kept a positive attitude, which is very attractive to me.

Are there any areas Square63 could improve?

There could have been better documentation of things on a continuous basis after the audit was complete. Also, they could work on ensuring the communication process doesn’t break off, especially when they’re handling a project in another country.

There can be more effective ways that communication be implemented as part of their process if they know they are working with a partner from another country who may not have good infrastructure. That is one of the things I struggled with a lot. The internet connectivity was really bad, but I don’t know if that was on our side or theirs. So, I believe it’s important for Square63 to make sure that communication flows when it needs to happen.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

The APP Company develops mobile apps. Most of our apps have an online cloud-based component where the clients can control and store data and control options in the app. I’m the co-founder.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Square63?

We have web apps which are platform-based where we’ll build a platform for a certain industry, and then we have clients that use that platform to meet a certain need. We also have one-off apps where clients will approach us to build a custom app. In the case of specific assignments, we’ve had specific needs and specific technologies on the cloud. Square63 developed online infrastructures and websites for us to control these apps. The reason we hired them the first time was that we needed a Ruby on Rails application.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Square63 helped us with two or three specific projects. For example, we have a platform called Gameday Platform which we sell and license to large universities. The platform helps them run a fan experience for an athletic program. We needed to develop a CMS [customer management system] to run this app platform, and Square63 supported us with that. They developed the initial framework, and we’ve re-engaged them multiple times to modify it as needs arose.

For these platforms, the app interacts with the backend through JSON APIs or the universities or our company manages the data. Customers do not interact with the website.

How did you come to work with Square63?

We were looking for someone who could develop in Ruby on Rails, and Square63 was recommended to us by a partner that had used them in the past. Whenever using an overseas developer, it’s important to make sure everything is in order. Square63 is responsible and meets deadlines. Communication is important for us regarding the English language and time zone. It’s great if they can be flexible with your work day. Making sure they write good code and do what they say they’re going to do are also things to be aware of. Square63 is a provider that we recommend to people, and we’ve used them multiple times ourselves because we enjoy working with them.

How much have you invested with Square63?

We spent around $100,000 over the course of our relationship.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Square63 in 2011 or 2012, and the most recent project was completed in August 2016. We don’t engage them actively anymore because we aren’t doing much Ruby on Rails but we continue to use them for the projects they helped us build.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’ve been very happy with Square63, and we would use them again. They’re very responsive and personal. When Baber [Founder & CEO, Square63] was in the States on Election Day, I had lunch with him. They’re a pleasure to work with. Their code was reviewed by our internal developers, and they provided solid code for our projects.

How did Square63 perform from a project management standpoint?

We use Trello for our project management.

What did you find most impressive about Square63?

Square63's communication is good, and they’re reliable. They don’t make unreasonable promises. Some companies do bait and switch. They start with certain developers on your project, and then they put more junior people on the project once you’re working with them. Square63 meets deadlines, writes good code, and their pricing is good.

Are there any areas Square63 could improve?

Nobody is perfect, but the important thing is Square63 keeps their promises, and if there are any issues, they address them.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Phillip Jeffries sells high-end, luxury wall coverings, many of which are made from all-natural materials. Our company is B2B. I’m a project manager, and I primarily deal with our website.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Square63?

We’re currently working on building a new version of our site. We already had something partially built, but we needed a significant amount of changes to the site. The performance wasn’t very good and the functionality wasn’t all there.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We had worked with another company last year to initially build the site, and it was not a complete success. We needed a complete overhaul. It’s an e-commerce site where you can order samples, memos, tip cards, as well as our products. Users can also see product specs and installation shots. In essence, the site is used for browsing as well as e-commerce. It’s also a utility for our sales people and partners around the world, letting them look at their active orders, completed orders, orders pending payment, and things of that sort. The site also has a lot of reporting by territory or area. Sales personnel can see their sales numbers and other metrics.

When we redid the site the first time, we lost a lot of the functionality. In an effort to improve what we had, we changed things to a level that didn’t work for our users efficiently. A lot of Square63’s work was to bring back our old functionality as well as streamline the site and make its performance significantly faster. By significantly, I mean it’s ten times faster for a lot of the pages.

We had a UX [user experience] designer work on all the designs for the site, which we then sent to Square63. There were certain parts I asked them to do a certain way without the designs, and they were very flexible and capable. The frontend of the site is on Ruby on Rails, and the backend is using a PHP API.

How did you come to work with Square63?

We found them on Upwork. We reached out to one of their previous clients, who gave them excellent reviews. That solidified a decision that was pretty much already made. We discussed things with the developers, specifically what approaches they thought would be best, and they were more than knowledgeable.

What is the status of this engagement?

The development began January 16^th of 2017, and the work is ongoing. It’s a six-month project, and we’ll probably have some changes in phase two after that. We will 100% continue working with Square63 as we have more additions or new features.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We scoped and planned the whole project in detail. Right now, we’re four weeks ahead of schedule, which is good. The site is significantly faster than before. Everything they do is extremely thorough, detailed, and exact. They are always prompter than we could be, and they work very fast and efficiently. They think of things to put in the requirements that I missed.

How did Square63 perform from a project management standpoint?

I’ve been satisfied in terms of communications and deadlines. I meet with them twice a week, and we communicate via email or JIRA. I’ve never had an issue communicating with them.

What did you find most impressive about Square63?

They’re extremely reliable. I’ve worked with a lot of developers in the past, and I usually have to watch their work closely to make sure they’re on track to hit deadlines and deliver the quality I need. Square63 understands all my requests thoroughly. They anticipate my needs before I even have to go into a detailed description.

Are there any areas Square63 could improve?

They’re providing everything I need. I couldn’t ask for more.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the COO of a software and service firm. We focus on lead generation for B2B companies selling things online.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Square63?

We needed a software platform. We were starting from scratch at the time.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We had wireframes and functionality requirements. Square63 architected the solution and wrote the technical requirements. We don’t define how things work technically; we define how they look functionally and what they should do. So, the first part of that has been entirely Square63’s responsibility, and the second part is what we do. The platform was built with Ruby on Rails, and then all kinds of open-source plugins were added. We used an Agile method to develop the platform. At any given time, we’re working with Square63 on multiple projects and different platforms, so there are anywhere from three to ten people assigned to our projects. All the development has involved Ruby on Rails.

How did you come to work with Square63?

We put out a request for proposal and they responded to it. The factors that made us choose Square63 were previous work, cost, and professionalism.

How much have you invested with Square63?

Our total investment with them over 10–15 projects is approaching six figures.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working with them in 2015, and the relationship is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I’ve worked with 20–30 freelance software vendors and they’ve been the best by far. They’re efficient, and they deliver a quality product at a good cost. In the early stages of our relationship, some hiccups occurred. However, as we developed processes, those things stopped happening. They delivered all the feature requirements we requested within the scope we had hoped for. Their work on all our projects has been better than anything else I’ve seen.

How did Square63 perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re very collaborative and open to communication. We use Asana to track the work.

What did you find most impressive about Square63?

I think they care about their customers. If there’s ever a discrepancy, they’ll usually err on the side of the client.

Are there any areas Square63 could improve?

They’ve already improved over the course of the relationship. I don’t think anything needs improvement at this point.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

My company is a one-man operation producing sports scheduling software. I have been in business since 1999. I am the owner, developer, and marketing person of the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Square63?

I decided to rewrite the application in 2015, using a scripting language that was more conducive to modern standards.

It was Adobe Air at the time and had an issue with the fact that the desktop application was not allowed to talk directly to a web API. I needed to have a translation layer by which I would send information to a server and have direct communication with league hosting sites, for example.

I needed a competent partner who could develop in the Ruby on Rails language, which is what the preexisting code had been written in. I had hired another offshore developer who charged me $20,000 for what I considered to be an insufficient return on investment.

If someone uses my application for sports scheduling, I can export the information through the app made by Square63, and communicate directly with league hosting sites behind the scenes.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

I needed to create client-side code which sent out fake JSON to the Heroku-hosted app. My desktop application communicates with that translation layer, which we call dsbabble. It is based on my original Adobe Air application. Square63 created scripts which directly talk to around three league-hosting sites. We work with 15 league-hosting in total, but we don't allow all of them to login directly through user accounts, but rather use temporary tokens for each session.

How did you come to work with Square63?

I looked at reviews, but I'm quite sure that I got Square63's name as a suggestion from the owner of a league site. They had used Square63 for Ruby development in the past. I contacted them, explained the scope of the work, and gave Square63 a first assignment of cleaning up some old codes. They were timely and surprisingly efficient in getting the deliverable up and running. Square63 was also extremely good at logging everything we worked on and sending it to me along with invoices.

Square63 appears to have a team of developers who work together in a congenial atmosphere, which means that their members can pick up the work of others, as opposed to my previous developer, who was a sole proprietor like myself.

How much have you invested with Square63?

The cost of Square63's work was around $5,000. They did work which was on par with that of my other developer, but for a third of the price.

What is the status of this engagement?

I started working with Square63 in March 2016. The project duration was two months.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Anecdotally, all I can say is that Square63 has been fantastic to work with. The bugs I identified were all due to lapses in my specifications.

How did Square63 perform from a project management standpoint?

I have put Square63's team in touch with the engineers of the league-hosting sites, and they keep me in the loop as well. We work out any questions or issues, with a turnaround time of around one day for any task. Delays are usually due to the difference in time zones.

We communicate through email. Square63 has been very good at summarizing the objectives of what they were working on and explaining results in plain English, or at least in client-side terms that I could understand. They always invited me to test the deliverables and report any problems. I had a project manager type of relationship with Square63's contact.

What did you find most impressive about Square63?

Since all the developers from Square63's team are carbon copied on every email, their members are always up-to-date on any project and can step in at any time. It's reassuring for me to know that there are always several people able to take over the work, in case someone else is sick.

Are there any areas Square63 could improve?

I would be honest on this matter, but I don't have anything. Square63 has been my savior during an unsatisfactory situation, and they always acted professionally. I always felt that I was working with someone local, regarding English proficiency and responsiveness.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company.

We are a design and technology firm that specializes in Drupal and Ruby on RAILS frameworks in Canada. We are an international firm, so we have clients across the globe, and we deal with small, medium, and large corporations, nonprofits, and startups. We specialize in providing complete solutions to clients in design, marketing, business, and information technology.

What is your position?

I'm one of the founding partners.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

Could you describe the business challenge that you were trying to address when you first approached Square63?

At times, we do have a surplus in terms of the amount of work for demanding client projects, so we utilize Square63 in that capacity, just in terms of development components. We wouldn't have the bandwidth to accomplish some of them without the support of Square63.

SOLUTION

Could you describe the actual scope of work assigned to them?

We have given them projects that they will complete independently, and one of our senior developers will review it at the end to make sure the deliverable was achieved. Some members of their development team are much better than ours. For example, they are fluid at working with the front-end theming of sites and doing responsive theming. We tend to give them a portion of that work to manage on their own completely. They're very proactive in their deliverables, and they have a good rhythm in place.

In the beginning, we were overlapping a bit, just to supervise them. Through the years, we've reached a point where we do not need to oversee. We know that they're going to do the job properly. We specialize in Ruby on RAILS and Drupal, and they do as well.

How did you come to choose Square63 as your partner?

One of our staff is from Pakistan, so he went to Pakistan to get married, and he came across Square63. He met them personally, and he found that their value system and the process that they follow in development is along the same lines as what we do. We didn't want to hire full-time staff because the volume of work we receive fluctuates, so outsourcing works well for us. We utilized them first just for our own website to try them out, and we found them to be proactive and diligent in their work, and they had very clean code. Since then, we have been soliciting their help with different projects depending on our workload.

Can you provide a ballpark dollar figure for the size of the work that they've done for you?

It has been $6,000 to $10,000 a year.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

In terms of results, could you share any statistics, metrics, or user feedback that would demonstrate the quality of their performance or the success of this engagement?

The quality of work is top notch and the speed in which they have resolved issues is quite rapid. They're very proactive in the way that they achieve their deliverables. They have a very good system in the sense that they provide an iterative process, so they pair developers up and, if one person is not available, the other can keep working on the project. We do a double-pairing system, as well, and we know that it works very well. We've shared some of our processes with them so that they could implement and improve on their development. So, together, we've learned a lot from each other through the course of these couple of years. They've shared their practices with us and vice versa.

The amount of training and the level of quality that both of our teams have is very similar, and that was a huge reason we built the relationship with them. We see that they have the same sort of drive, quality, value, and dedication to the job as we have internally. They use best practices behind code, and we know the quality of work is great.

When working with Square63, is there anything that you would consider unique about their practice that distinguishes them from other vendors?

We had some poor experiences with agencies in the past because the way that they worked wasn't in line with our business values. However, as soon as we engaged Square63, we realized that we had a lot more synergies together. We have the same type of mentality in terms of the way that we execute projects, and the way that we respect our clients and follow up with them. We feel that, because they're in line with our value system, mentality, and dedication to quality, it was a perfect match.

If you give them something and they don't understand it, then they will come back and ask you to clarify. That's one good thing I love about them. I was concerned about the time difference in the beginning, but they've reorganized their structure so that they can accommodate our time-frame, and we work in an overlap way. When we start our day, we can check in with them. They're very flexible in the way that they do business, and they will accommodate your circumstances because they want to work in partnership.

In addition, because they're purely a development shop, they also refer clients to us for strategic consulting and design, which we are strong in. So, we actually have a lot of cross-business happening.

In retrospect, are there any areas in which you think they could improve as a service provider?

In the beginning, we had to do a little back and forth in terms of project management because we have a very solid project management system in place. So, we did a little bit of training to help them understand our business model and how we work. Once we established that, after the first couple of projects, it's been very fluid. They picked it up, and they respect our practice and try to follow it to continue building that partnership with us.

What advice, if any, would you give a future client of theirs?

None, really. We really love working with them, and they're reasonably priced and very proactive.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

 I am the Partner / Tech Lead of an other industry company 

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

We allow campers to scan for available campsites at sold out campgrounds.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Square63 to accomplish?

• We needed to update our system to be more efficient (speed and resource consumption)
• We needed to add a Membership Feature
• We needed to make ongoing updates, as well as resolve some downtime issues.

SOLUTION

How did you find Square63?

Referral

Why did you select Square63 over others?

• Pricing fit our budget
• Good value for cost
• Referred to me

How many teammates from Square63 were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

We needed a variety of work done, from improving the performance of our Ruby on Lambda functions, to adding and updating features in our React / Ruby application, along with various server updates and upgrades. We have relied on Square63 to improve the 'hidden' experience of our users > speed of application, server resource efficiency, etc; along with improving UI/UX.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

• AWS Lambda cost decreased by over 60%
• Speed and accuracy of our application noticeably increased
• New features and updates were launched on time, on budget, and production ready

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

Communication is handled very professionally by Square63. Email and Slack messages are always answered timely, "emergency" requests handled quickly and ready for production. I could not be happier with the experience.

What was your primary form of communication with Square63?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

I appreciate quick responses to messages and/or requests. Wether that be with a PM or a Developer. Either respond quickly. Staying on budget, along with high quality output / code has also been a great experience. I was even able to get some technical documentation for our application, and Square63 'inherited' this project from a number of other developers. That is huge.

Are there any areas for improvement or something Square63 could have done differently?

In our case, no. I couldn't be happier with them. Highly, highly recommend them.