Stakk

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m an executive at Mantra Therapy.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Stakk?

We needed help with website design and development.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Stakk has designed and developed my website. We’ve had a few initial calls, during which I explained my business needs and what I want to convey through the website. Stakk has worked in stages, creating the bare bones of the site. I’ve shared my updates and what I want to include in it.

Stakk continues to update the website until it meets my business needs. We’ve had conversations about how we can continue to update the website to better suit my business as it continues to grow. Stakk provides maintenance and hosting and continues to develop the website as needs arise.

What is the team composition?

I only work with Girish.

How did you come to work with Stakk?

I found Stakk through Google. They had a good reputation and customer satisfaction. I saw some of their work, which aligned with what I wanted to do with my website.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent around $50,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in December 2023, and the engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I have a full caseload and a steady stream of referrals. When I started, I had 2–3 recurring clients. Now, I see 20 clients per week.

Stakk’s work meets my expectations. They’re professional, and I’m happy with the finished product and the time they give to my needs.

How did Stakk perform from a project management standpoint?

Stakk delivers work on time and on budget. We have consistent communication throughout the project. The team is timely; they promptly respond and update me whenever I send an email or request a revision. We communicate through Zoom, phone calls, and email.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Stakk’s communication and attention to detail are impressive. They work with a wide variety of businesses with different needs. I have specific needs and tone that I want my website to strike. Stakk listens to my needs and represents my brand and company well.

The team is versatile and can work with all kinds of companies. They cater to a small but burgeoning business like mine.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don’t think there’s anything they can improve on. I’ve had a streamlined and easy experience with them.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Stakk is open to communication. Be clear about what you want to achieve with your app or website. You’re the only one who can advocate for the messaging you want your clients to receive. The Stakk team is a good listener and understands their work well. Communicate as much as possible about the specific nuances you want in your messaging.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the head of design at Yappar. We've built an app for Apple Vision Pro that allows people to connect visually using digital personas.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Stakk?

We worked with Stakk to develop our app.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

When we went to Stakk, we didn't have a further understanding of the app, so I just made some basic wireframes and worked with their team to expand on that. We had just a basic concept for this app, and Stakk collaborated with us to make it work.

Their team created everything needed for this app for us and provided us with a basic layout of what the app would do. As for the technology stack, they used Swift for the UI.

The app enables users to have a VR/AR experience with other Apple users. Through this experience, users can talk to each other in real time. Their movements add different experiences to this interaction. Moreover, they can see some kind of feed similar to Instagram's feed, where they can see moments and share various spaces.

What is the team composition?

We worked with five members of Stakk's team, including a project manager, a technical lead, two iOS developers, and a backend CMS developer. Moreover, we worked with the account manager. There were two other teammates involved with who we didn't work directly: a QA engineer and a designer.

How did you come to work with Stakk?

We possibly found them through Clutch. I remember we used Google to find a partner, and Clutch.co was one of the results.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent around $300,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together around September 2023, and the project was officially completed in May 2024. However, we're still working together in a development support and maintenance model.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The app is currently in its beta version, so we're not measuring performance yet. Still, we've experienced no downtime, and the bugs have been very limited. Overall, we were very happy with the outcome, so we didn't have negative feedback.

How did Stakk perform from a project management standpoint?

Stakk definitely overachieved regarding our timelines and budget. They were the most cost-effective agency out of the ones we initially contacted. We communicated via Zoom and Google Meet for video calls, as well as Slack for any quick messaging. Stakk accomplished everything we asked for. They did a lot of extra things they didn't have to and worked tirelessly for us to deliver the project on time.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Stakk knew their business and was very good at explaining the whys and offering the best method to do something. Something that made them stand out was their intellect. They've worked with many startups, and their specialty is iOS mobile app development. Overall, they're thought leaders in their space.

When requirements are given to Stakk, they deliver what the client wants, not what they interpret on how they would do it. They're the best developers I've ever dealt with, and they're very good at what they do. Whenever there was a specification that wasn't achievable from a technical standpoint, they delivered something extremely close to what we required.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There was nothing Stakk could have improved on. Everything, from their timelines and costs to their communication, was perfect. They did the best they could do.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

Stakk is a very specific team, so the more specific you are, the better the product will be. Be as specific as possible, and if there are deadlines to meet, share them with the team. They'll definitely meet those deadlines.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the founder of a startup that offers an education-based application.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Stakk?

I needed support to develop our mobile app since I was starting my company.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Stakk has designed the entire app along with myself. The team has created and continuously tested all the UI designs and prototypes. Stakk has taken about nine months to release the first beta version of the app and launched the official app within a year of starting our engagement. The app includes different functionalities, including custom flashcards, support videos, and a two-way payment mechanism where students can pay, and we can also pay our tutors for their work. 

Stakk has also designed custom whiteboard technology that allows users to write on the phone with their fingers. The app is compatible with iOS and Android devices, including phones and tablets. 

What is the team composition?

My main point of contact is Girish (Senior Product Lead), and I also work with a team of 5–6 developers based in India, although my interactions with them are limited. I also interact with a lead developer.

How did you come to work with Stakk?

I don't have a technical background, so I started searching for companies on Google and found Stakk's profile on Clutch. I found the reviews valuable, especially for professionals who are working in app development for the first time. We approached 5–6 development companies and selected Stakk because they offered the lowest budget for the same scope of work.
How much have you invested with them?

We've spent around £60,000–£70,000 (approximately $79,000–$92,000 USD) so far, and we plan to spend another £20,000–£30,000 (approximately $26,000–$40,000 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working with Stakk in September 2022 and launched the official app in September 2023, when the school year started. Since then, we've had about 20 builds continuously growing throughout the year, and we're now embarking on a new round of development.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Between September 2023–June 2024, we had about 20,000 downloads without paying any marketing ads. These metrics show that Stakk did a great job in creating an app clean design and friendly functionality for the user. We have around 4,000 monthly users and a score rating of 4.8 stars on the App Store. 

The team has been great and flexible throughout the project. Developing an app requires a lot of revisions and changes I didn't foresee when we started, and Stakk has been adaptable and kept the same price, which is a significant aspect of my startup. We've needed a lot of changes and new features, and Stakk has done all the work within the original scope. 

In hindsight, Stakk was the best company we could've picked because it's good to work with a team that is so accommodating and doesn't charge extra for revisions. 

How did Stakk perform from a project management standpoint?

Stakk's project management has been the best part of our engagement. When I receive investments, I need to work quickly, and the team has accommodated that. Stakk offers many monthly plans that include maintenance and development hours, and if I need extra hours in a certain month, the team makes it work for me, which is great. Stakk lets me test something if I need to and fixes issues reported by users.

We meet with Stakk via Zoom for half an hour each week to have an update on their development progress. When we have large-scale development, Stakk is available for a phone call whenever we need to reach them. The team is also responsive via email and responds within half an hour, even if we need them to fix a bug or an issue; Stakk usually has a solution within half an hour.

Girish is my main point of contact for timelines and feedback. All my interactions with the team have been significant, and they're always available when I email them and respond to me quickly.
Are there any employees from the service provider's team that you would like to give a shout-out to in this review?
Girish is very easy to communicate with and understands both my and the developers' points of view. Having Girish as a middle contact is easy, and he tries to be as accommodating as possible. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Stakk has been flawless from start to finish in terms of price, offering good value for money. The quote offered by Stakk compared to other providers I talked to was around 50% cheaper, and I have primary contact with the co-founder. Girish cares about the company, and dealing with the company founder instead of an employee makes a huge difference in quality and how much they try to keep customers happy. 

Although this is my first time working with a development company, I've talked to other colleagues who have had a variety of positive and bad experiences working with development teams. I've heard experiences ranging from having major issues with development teams to not fulfilling the required development and having huge price increases for specific requests. I'm grateful because I haven't had bad experiences with Stakk.  

Are there any areas they could improve?

I haven't seen anything Stakk can improve. 

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

I suggest considering the entire UX when you first design the app because that will help Stakk provide a more accurate price. It's not necessarily something all clients think about at the start of development, but it will avoid adding extra work later in the project. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director and founder of an education platform that offers affordable private tutoring by securing groups of students in virtual classrooms and getting expert tutors to deliver content to them. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Stakk?

We needed their team to develop our custom platform.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Stakk has helped create our technology platform, which is a scalable virtual classroom that has embedded payment processing and learning management system (LMS) tools, including assessments, tasks, reports, and a marketplace.

At the start of the project, I drafted a huge product requirements document that included all the user journeys, my vision for the brand, including the colors and the rest of the brand, and the desired functionalities. I gave this document to Stakk, and they’ve executed the requirements. We’ve had a discovery page to reach alignment and sprint meetings. Stakk has used MongoDB for the platform’s database and Angular and Node.js.

I'm still working with Stakk to update the classroom. We’ve used an open-source software called BigBlueButton, which constantly puts out new updates. This means we have to update our platform to match BigBlueButton’s latest updates. The platform also has customizations from third-party tools that may need to be updated.

What is the team composition?

I’ve mainly spoken to Girish (Senior Product Lead). There’s another Stakk teammate that does sales but isn’t really involved in the work. They also have 13 developers in India that I’ve spoken to occasionally, but Stakk’s model is to have client-facing teammates in the UK.

How much have you invested with them?

We've spent slightly over $100,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

The partnership started in January 2023, and our engagement is ongoing.

How did you come to work with Stakk?

We met at a co-working space. I overheard the person next to me speaking to a client about development features, and I liked the way he spoke, so I started talking to him.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The platform is absolutely fantastic; it’s a really high-quality piece of technology. I’m happy with the results. We definitely got the value for money.

How did the company perform from a project management standpoint?

Stakk has been great. There’s always bound to be a little bit of scope creep in any project, but Stakk has done well in sticking to our targets. There’s never been a dramatic issue of missing a sprint deadline or anything like that. Stakk delivers on time.

Are there any employees from the service provider's team that you would like to give a shout-out to in this review?

I’d like to highlight Girish 100%. He’s the one with the skills to make the whole project work.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The main thing is the value for money; it would be 10 times more expensive to develop the platform in the UK. 

I also appreciate their hybrid model that allows me to work with developers as well as Stakk teammates who aren’t only technical. I’ve worked with agencies based in India in the past, and there have been communication gaps. I’ve also worked with agencies that don’t use common sense and only build exactly what they’re told. I want a team that is going to be actively involved and suggest improvements. Girish isn’t fully technical; he’s a designer who understands concepts and MVPs. He’s creative and thinks outside the box.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Girish needs to find more people like him to work at Stakk to make sure all their clients are happy. Stakk’s other project managers in India are good but nowhere near Girish. He deals with all the clients, so I don’t always have access to him when I need him.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

Make sure you do your homework and are crystal clear about your requirements so there is no room for doubt. Map out what you want with the utmost detail, and Stakk will make your project work.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Strategy Director of Browser London

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

We are a UX agency and product consultancy, working with clients in the health, fitness and lifestyle sector

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

• Build out a defined product backlog
• Prepare a large application for launch
• Continuously deliver improvements and enhancements to the product

SOLUTION

How did you find Stakk?

• Referral
• Other

Why did you select Stakk over others?

• Close to my geographic location
• Pricing fit our budget
• Great culture fit
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from Stakk were assigned to this project?

6-10 Employees

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

We hired Stakk to provide development and project management services to a large web and mobile app project for one of our clients. The mobile app was the core focus for Stakk initially as we are not staffed to deliver mobile projects in house. However, Stakk turned out to be incredibly flexible and well resourced and moved on to delivering against the entire application's product backlog. 

Working up to launch, we engaged Stakk in a well-structured QA and UAT process, and they were on hand throughout the launch period. We then retained Stakk to build out and improve both web and mobile post launch.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Stakk were able to complete their sprint objectives consistently, and the app encounter exceptionally low number of issues during QA and launch.On an ongoing basis, Stakk were on hand to deliver against our support SLA and they never missed a beat.

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

Stakk provided a dedicated PM which was a huge benefit to the project and the relationship with our client. They were always on hand on the Slack channel and were able to provide detailed reporting of time on task and budget burndown.

What was your primary form of communication with Stakk?

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

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

Their ability to communicate was exceptional. On a project level they were extremely impressive in their level of skill and ability to scale rapidly. They also have excellent client services that made the relationship easy to manage.

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

I can't imagine how they could have been better.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO and founder of Lynk, a website that allows local contractors, service providers, and trade providers to post profiles, get star ratings, and get customer reviews to promote their services here in Bermuda.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Stakk?

I just started the business and needed help building the platform.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Stakk is building our platform for contractors, tradespeople, and specialists. If someone has a skill locally, such as landscapers, hairdressers, massage therapists, or babysitters, they can post their profile and get local costs. I initially gave Stakk the framework of the website’s functionality and look, and they’ve built everything.

What is the team composition?

We work with Jack (Relationship Director) and Girish (Project Director). Girish is our main point of contact.

How did you come to work with Stakk?

I did interviews to figure out which web developer I wanted. I researched and went to some bigger, more expensive options. However, I found that for Stakk’s size and budget, they operated just as well as the big companies.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent $30,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in January 2023, and our relationship is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The website isn’t finished yet, but Stakk has done an excellent job. They’re very talented at what they do; I’ve seen it clearly from their work.

How did Stakk perform from a project management standpoint?

Project management is excellent. They’re very organized with their online tools; Stakk’s team shares calendars and has met all the deadlines so far. Moreover, they’ve been transparent with what they’re doing and interactive with me to ensure they meet all my needs.

They use Trello for project management, and we use emails and Google Meet to communicate.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I like their dependability. The project isn’t extensive or complex, but Stakk has met my expectations at every point so far. They have the skills and experience to do what I ask of them.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I can’t think of anything.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Stakk is an excellent partner for starting a small business or working with a smaller budget.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a director at an interactive market research company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Stakk?

Initially, I went to a third-party developer with a concept for a mobile app. We developed the concept to a certain stage, but they couldn’t meet the requirements; the app was full of bugs, and functionality was missing. Ultimately, I decided to move from that third-party company to Stakk.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Stakk provided us with mobile app development; they took the failed delivery from the previous provider and turned it around to make it work until they couldn’t go any further. We had a set of requirement documents and the app documentation the previous company had worked on, and we transferred that over to Stakk. The team found no backend documentation for the AWS server capability, so they produced the documentation to support that. 

They received the codebase from the initial developer and found the libraries weren’t managed correctly. The team reworked the codebase to get it to a  point where it would work. They would deliver new builds when there was a sizable chunk of change. Then, we would go through a testing stage together and raise more observations. 

Stakk worked with iOS handsets, and they got that code sorted. Going into Android, they discovered they would need to do a fundamental rewrite of the library since Android’s version 32 wouldn’t allow us to implement the existing library. Since we couldn’t fund this rewrite, we stopped the project. 

What is the team composition?

We primarily worked with three teammates from Stakk: an account manager, Vikas (Technical Director), and Girish (Project Director), who was our project manager. 

How did you come to work with Stakk?

We found them through a recommendation from the app’s original developer because they were changing their approach. The company had done the research and due diligence and had already sent other clients to Stakk. We had an initial meeting with the team, and the vibe was really good, so we decided to transfer development to them. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked with them from June 2021–October 2022.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Stakk did a fantastic job addressing the app’s issues and making the functionality operate as it should. The team’s engagement was also great; the people I dealt with in the UK and the technical team in India both had an excellent working ethos, and I can’t emphasize enough how good they were. They did a very professional job, in contrast to the previous developers. 

Unfortunately, the previous company coded the app in such a way that we came across an issue we couldn’t fix because the fundamental rewrite needed cost too much. As a result, we had to take the app down from the stores because it was unsupportable going forward. This outcome was disappointing because Stakk was a great team to work with. Although I’m not working with them for now, they’ll be my first call if I have another app concept in the future. 

How did Stakk perform from a project management standpoint?

They tracked issues and provided good feedback on their progress; I could see they worked hard to address the app’s problems. The team’s engagement and communication were also excellent. 

We had a weekly meeting with Vikas and Girish, and sometimes the account manager would attend. During these meetings, they would give us progress updates. The team issued new builds every month and recorded all our observations correctly. They used a pipeline to manage their tasks, from creating a task to working on it and passing the deliverable to me — they were very methodical. 

All our issue management went through Trello and our communication through Slack, and Stakk recorded everything very professionally.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I was impressed by Stakk’s communication and by Girish, who was really engaging. The backend team was particularly good; I interfaced with them through Vikas, who could articulate problems really well. His professional approach and standards were outstanding. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

Their work was suitable for the scope of work I had with them. I never thought anything was lacking; Stakk did everything great. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Everyone should do their due diligence before hiring a third party. However, I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Stakk; their engagement is excellent. Their pricing is very reasonable. The expertise I received for the amount I was paying was really good. Therefore, I advise reaching out to Stakk and engaging with them.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder of Arc Education, an online math education organization.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Stakk?

We already had an iOS app for iPad, and we needed to build it in React Native to deploy it on Android.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Stakk built our mobile app using React Native. First, we sent them a features document. They coded the app from scratch using the design already in place. The app is connected to AWS and integrates with the admin side. The team also helped us integrate handwriting recognition through a third-party supplier.

The app asks users 12 questions, and they submit their answers. Then, they get feedback on their answers and a chance to practice them. An algorithm in the background determines what questions users need based on how they've answered previous questions.

What is the team composition?

Girish (Project Director) was our main contact and the project manager. Additionally, I worked a bit with the developers.

How did you come to work with Stakk?

We found them through a recommendation from my previous developers.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent about $30,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started the engagement in September 2021 and launched the product in March 2022. Stakk is still involved with support and maintenance.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Thanks to Stakk’s work, we have more customers. Previously, our app was only available on iPads; now, it’s available for any touchscreen divide. As a result, we have a full offering for our customers. 

How did Stakk perform from a project management standpoint?

They delivered items on time, were responsive, and stayed on budget. Our communication was mostly through Zoom and Slack.

What did you find most impressive about them?

What we liked most about Stakk was that they stayed fairly on track with the timeline, keeping a budget. Moreover, they were responsive and really delightful to deal with.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There was nothing they needed to improve; I was totally satisfied.

Any advice for potential customers?

You’ll want to get past the sales team and talk to the project manager, Girish. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m an operations manager at an internet publishing company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Stakk?

We needed to develop a mobile application for our business.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Stakk designed and developed our iOS and Android mobile app. The platform allows users to post jobs and employers to communicate with them. Currently, they're updating and maintaining the platform.

What is the team composition?

We've worked with around six members of their team.

How did you come to work with Stakk?

They were referred to us, and we decided to go with them after researching their work online.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in February 2019, and the engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Stakk has done everything we wanted them to do. We’ve been delighted with their work, and they've exceeded our expectations.

How did Stakk perform from a project management standpoint?

They’ve been brilliant with project management. In terms of communication, we use emails and phone calls.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Stakk's strength is their ability to communicate with candidates to help them meet our expectations.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They could include all of the things we request in the project brief, but it”s a minor thing.

Do you have any advice for potential customers

Be clear with your requirements, and they’ll do the rest.