Stakk

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

We are an ethical fashion brand and I am the managing director.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Stakk, and what were your goals?

We were in need of a new e-commerce website that needed to be built from scratch as our old site was built by someone who wasn’t able to deliver on our needs and so we had to scrap it altogether. Our goal with hiring Stakk was to build a sleek, user friendly e-commerce store that streamlined the purchase process for our customers and could compete with our longer standing rivals.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

Stakk came highly recommended by someone in my professional network and after seeing the quality of the work they delivered, we were happy to go with them.

Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and technologies used.

We asked the team to help us conceptualise our e-commerce site from a customer journey perspective, build all the pages, integrate moving images for products, create a customer account environment, provide UX/UI design and integrate everything into our existing shop in Shopify.

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

We had contact regular with a project manager who oversaw everything. We also had 2 stack developers and a designer working on the project for us.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables?

The proposed design solutions were great the design implementation has been seamless, the communication between us has been easy. The team was attentive to detail and quality.

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timeliness.

The PM has made himself available via WhatsApp pretty much at all hours, otherwise we have had regular calls via Google Meet weekly to discuss progress and updates and have been sharing information via Gmail.

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

Their level of experience showed, as when we came to them with ambiguity they were able to quickly create a clear and spot on vision. I was pleasantly surprised that they have kept to timelines as most we have worked with before have gone over expected timelines.

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

There really hasn’t been anything I can fault them on during this process.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the product manager for a B2B app provider.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Stakk?

We needed someone to provide us with maintenance and mobile app development services.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Stakk is currently helping us maintain our iOS app, and we're in talks about future development. They’re also monitoring our usage of various SaaS to make sure it remains optimized for high-level support. We would talk about specific features we want to implement and work out a timeline to manage our stories.

What is the team composition?

I mainly work with Girish (Co-Founder & Project Director), Jack (Co-Founder & Commercial Director), Kiran (React Native Engineer), and Vikas (CTO).

How did you come to work with Stakk?

Stakk was introduced to us by our previous developer. We chose to hire them because they were quite client-centric and their prices were competitive, in the sense that it was proportional to the value they will deliver.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our ongoing partnership started in June 2021.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Stakk is very good at delivering their requirements and fixing defects and issues whenever they arise. Furthermore, we also keep them at a very high IT compliance standard so they answer each of our queries and concerns in great detail.

How did Stakk perform from a project management standpoint?

In terms of communication and timelines, they’re always available to accommodate our needs and deliver our requests within the given timeframes.

We don’t do a lot of email correspondence, but they always keep us updated on the progress of their tasks and respond quickly whenever we have questions.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We’re impressed with their team dynamic and client-centric approach to the partnership.

Are there any areas they could improve?

As they take on more international clients, they could improve on providing their services at a much faster rate.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I would advise taking the time to involve yourself in the process and share as much information on your company’s background, infrastructure, and documentation as possible, and give them time to digest everything.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director at Spa Contract Cleaners, a commercial cleaning company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Stakk?

I needed help managing my business’ staff.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Stakk provided an admin panel where I can set up my staff. The staff can clock in and out when they start and finish work. I can allocate jobs to the team and put the frequency of the employment. That then gets sent out to each staff member to know when they’re on and what they’re doing. 

They also developed a mobile app for all of the staff to use. It’s available for iOS and Android. They did the UI/UX of the admin panel and the mobile app as well.

What is the team composition?

There are three people involved in our project.

How did you come to work with Stakk?

Another app developer referred them to me.

How much have you invested with them?

I’ve spent over $10,000 with them so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in June 2021, and the engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I’ve been pleased with them and the progress to date. I’ve been able to test the app and admin panel as we’ve been going, and I’m happy with the results so far.

How did Stakk perform from a project management standpoint?

Project management is good; they work in sprints, and we have regular weekly meetings. Communication is excellent as well.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I like that I deal directly with the director of the company. We deal with the people who own the company rather than just an employee.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don’t think there’s anything they can improve on.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Listen to what they have to say.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder and CEO of Talley App, a mental wellness startup. We connect people going through emotional distress to people in similar situations. We deal mostly in the mental health area, where we do talks in two main ways. One of them is grouping anonymous people into conversations using third-party companies, such as Zoom.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Stakk?

We needed to create a platform where our users could speak anonymously to our listeners without any fear of lack of confidentiality or being exposed. Since mental health adds a lot of stigma, we wanted to create a safe space.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We don’t do video calls because we’re an anonymous platform. Therefore, Stakk has developed a mobile app for audio calls. It’s a progressive web application used for both iOS and Android. We’re now doing end-to-end testing and gearing up for our launch in October. They’ll continue to do maintenance and additional development work.

For development, we provided documentation and wireframes to Stakk. We also provided them with some mock designs. The good thing about working with them was that they were able to help us redefine and polish our ideas in terms of what the platform should be, as well as some of the key functionalities.

In the beginning, we had a few discovery calls, and then we went on to get their quotation. We realized we didn’t have the resources we needed to bring what we wanted to life, so we went on to do some crowdfunding. After the crowdfunding, we came back to the drawing board with Stakk and went over our designs and specification documents with them. They pinpointed some holes and asked questions. Once again, we went to the drawing table with their feedback, and we sat with our project manager and the developers who would be working with us. They were very helpful and gave us options for the right APIs to use, as well as future cost and other API options they could bring us.

When we were set on the functionalities, we got a document from Stakk defining all the sprints and dates that we were going to go through. Finally, we signed documents and kicked off the project.

What is the team composition?

We have three points of contact, including a project manager, a lead developer, and a main developer. There are others working on the project but I don’t know how many.

How did you come to work with Stakk?

They were recommended to us by a friend of mine. We met with about 16 different companies. There was something very warm about Stakk. I felt I could trust them more than the other companies. They didn’t make us feel like we didn’t know what we were talking about. When we went on their website, it looked very modern and interesting, and their price caught my eye as well.

We initiated contact with them in April 2020 but they were still excited about our project after we crowdfunded in October. Stakk didn’t give up on us when we didn’t have the funds. They cheered for us along the way and even touched base with us during crowdfunding. It built a team spirit.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent $23,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in December 2020, and the relationship is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’re all very excited for this app — it’s a job well done. The biggest reason I’m glad we went with Stakk is that they’ve understood our issues and have been very considerate. They listen to us and get us.

Furthermore, the feedback from my team has been very good. We’ve started showing a few users in our community already, and there’s a big buzz. It’ll be lovely to see the feedback once we launch.

How did Stakk perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re excellent. They cater to our needs and understand that we work differently from others since we’re a pre-seed startup. Nonetheless, they’ve been very helpful at meeting us at our point of need, and they’re great in terms of giving us options. All in all, they’re very easy to work with.

On project management, they’re willing to meet with us every Saturday. We usually meet with our project manager and the lead developer working on our project. They’re very consistent in never missing meetings and being up-to-date. We use email, Slack, Google Meet, and WhatsApp to communicate. We’ve gone through different sprints, and they’re really efficient in bringing up issues on time.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re very understanding and empathetic. Stakk pays attention to detail and how we feel about things.

Are there any areas they could improve?

It would’ve been nice to see each other face-to-face but we couldn’t due to COVID-19, so it isn’t against them.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

First, come prepared with lots of documentation and be clear on what you want to do. Stakk has done a really good job in guiding us, but in hindsight, I’d make sure we were a bit more defined so I wouldn’t waste their time as much.

Secondly, communicate as much as you can. Don’t rely on verbal communication, write to them too.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO and founder of Makemefiitclub, a health and fitness application. We’re addressing the current pitfalls in health education and service in the UK.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Stakk?

I had a very concise idea in mind but didn’t know how to bring it to life. My idea was to have an integrated platform where experts of all fields can work together to provide a more holistic approach for their clients. I needed a company to develop my health and fitness app.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Stakk’s team designed the app. They helped me streamline and make the Android and iOS app an easy-to-use platform through the designs. Now, we’re undergoing development. 

I was also looking for a lawyer to help with the terms of the service and the privacy policy. Through their connections, Stakk connected me to a very reputable lawyer who works with startup companies. Through that, I’ve secured a lawyer to work on the services that I need.

What is the team composition?

Three people are working on the app, and there was also a commercial liaison as well.

How did you come to work with Stakk?

When I was looking at app development companies, others didn’t understand my vision. When I spoke to Stakk, they took the time to listen to me. They understood that I wanted to develop something new rather than replicating what’s already out there in the market. They understood the uniqueness of my company, and they had the knowledge and know-how to implement what I needed.

How much have you invested with them?

I’ve invested £20,000–£25,000 (approximately $28,000–$35,000 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in April 2021, and our engagement is ongoing. The development of the app should be completed at the end of August 2021.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They’ve been on time and on target with the designs. Stakk’s team is knowledgeable and also understanding of my vision for the business. I shared the screens that Stakk developed so far, and people have had very positive feedback. People have said it’s very interactive, to the point where we’re increasing the use of Stakk’s design on our landing pages to entice more experts and members onboard. Stakk’s work is user-friendly, detailed, and engaging. 

How did Stakk perform from a project management standpoint?

The project management is great. We have weekly meetings, which has been very beneficial in keeping me up to date. The meetings also allow me to provide any feedback on things that I don’t like or absolutely love. Stakk’s team is very engaged in email and calls. They’re easy to get a hold of, and they’re always happy to help. 

In addition to the meetings, we use Figma. I’m a very visual learner, so I prefer seeing the screens actually being populated and demonstrated. Figma allows me to comment and provide any feedback easily. For example, I can pull up the screens during a meeting and discuss going forward with them. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Stakk is very forward-thinking. They’re always thinking about the younger demographic and how technology has moved away from traditional websites and apps. They’re always thinking about being more user-friendly, engaging, streamlining their services, and making an intuitive platform, which is excellent for me.

This is a mainstream app, so I don’t want to create a platform that is too convoluted. My app is for all ages and demographics. They’re really good at understanding the target population that I want to attract and providing the technology to support that.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can’t think of anything for them to improve.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be engaged. If you want something changed or amended, they’re very responsive, but you have to ask for it, and you have to let your point be known. They’re very knowledgeable in their area and understand how things will work, so make sure you take on all the knowledge that you possibly can from them.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the CEO and co-founder of an HR tech platform. We use short video clips to optimize recruitment processes.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Stakk?

We hired Stakk to develop our native application.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We didn’t have enough in-house bandwidth technology. It was a significant area that we needed to focus on to grow our business. Stakk helped us address this by creating the MVP that we used to take our business to the next level. They developed a native app that was iOS and Android-enabled. Additionally, their team provided backend support to ensure a successful product launch.

What is the team composition?

Jack (Co-Founder) was our main point of contact. We also worked with their developers.

How did you come to work with Stakk?

We met Stakk in Google Campus during Google’s Incubator Program in London. We had other options, but we happily went with their team to combine cost-efficient and reliable work.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent about £50,000–£55,000 (approximately $69,000-$75,000 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

The project ran from August to September 2019. We plan to hire their team again for another project that we’re having soon.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Stakk helped us secure 27,500 app users. We also got more than 50 companies to sign up for our trial services, and we talked with major global organizations regarding our product. Apart from those, we also raised £1 million (approximately $1.4 million USD). We had all these quantitative analytics to measure Stakk’s success.

Stakk implemented everything that we wanted them to implement, even when we constantly changed that. We wouldn’t plan on hiring their team again if they didn’t do a good job — that could also be a good metric.

How did Stakk perform from a project management standpoint?

We used Jira to manage our workflow. Everything was done in a timely manner, and I didn’t find the need to chase them for anything. We were just lucky and there were no issues in terms of project management.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Stakk understood our business. They didn’t feel like an outsourced development team, but an extension of our bandwidth in technology. I recommended their work to three other companies based on their proposition and performance during our project.

Are there any areas they could improve?

We were more than happy with our working experience with Stakk. If anything, I hope they consider expanding their team in the future.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Just be very open and honest. The more direct you are, the more they’ll understand your needs. In our case, we communicated that we needed them to move fast and pivot the realities — and Stakk delivered those.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

PLAZA Fashion Store a multi-brand fashion store based in Riga, Latvia, specialising in providing our niche clientele with the most up-to-date selections in high fashion alongside superior personal shopping experience.

Primarily within brick-and-mortar, we are looking to venture into the online world to create a unique personal shopping experience for our customers. My position is Head of Buying and Business Development, which involves attending showrooms for buying appointments, creating relationships with partners, and now overlooking the development of our web application.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire STAKK, and what were your goals?

We are an up-and-coming fashion brand which started within brick-and-mortar, and wanted to explore growing the online presence to reach a wider audience. We hired STAKK to design and build a website that would present users with a unique and personalised shopping experience.

Our near-term goal would be to present our current customers with a better online experience, increase brand awareness in targeting new markets, and eventually enabling fashion brands around the world to leverage the platform to increase sales.

SOLUTION

How did you select STAKK and what were the deciding factors?

We initially shortlisted a few companies and freelancers who were mainly referred to us - Stakk being one of them. After two to three calls with each company, we personally felt that Stakk had a really qualified team, great communication, were able to have a strong understanding of the concept and of our vision, and had previously worked within this sector.

Stakk also had a more open culture and flexible working environment, which enabled them to understand our culture.

Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and technologies used.

We had our initial requirements which we provided to Stakk, which involved creating a clean, user- friendly website which customers can access, browse and shop from both web and mobile devices. We need to have both brands and products to be listed onto the home page, along with search and filters to be displayed in a minimal layout.

Stakk was able to take our requirements and break them down into sections, providing us with a clear insight of when to expect delivery on milestones, timelines for review and the method it was being built in. The project was divided into 3 main sections: Design, Development and Testing.

Each section was then divided into two-week sprints, which consisted of the tasks and subtasks within the section. Each sprint was then followed by a feedback loop, which allowed us to review the work and provide any necessary adjustments.

Stakk recommended using React Js and Node js, as they suggested it would allow the system to be lighter, provide faster rendering of products and would easily be able to scale to future development.

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

I worked with four people from Stakk, which included both project managers, designers and developers. Girish was my primary contact, serving as the project lead and coordinating our overall project description and breaking it down into smaller tasks. He was particular in his attention to detail, providing clear milestones upon which I would then review. Vikas was the technical lead who coordinated the tasks with the two developers assigned to the project. He was really helpful in advising our team on the certain use cases and how we should solve them. Yash and Vishal were the two developers on the team who provided all tasks according to dates mentioned.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables?

The website is now within the final stages of development and testing. We have made some great progress in finalising all the pages, optimising the custom built admin portal, and preparing our customers for the site launch.

All of the tasks were delivered in a very presentable way, starting with a team call where a demo was provided, then handed over to our team for a review. We would then consolidate our feedback and provide it back to Stakk.

What I can say here is that going from a small brand based in Latvia, we will soon have a marketplace available to shoppers around the world.

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timelines.

Their project management style was such that allowed our team to continue focusing on business while they handled the development of the website. We had weekly meetings through Google Meet, where Girish and the team were able to provide recent updates, product demos, potential questions from both sides, etc.

We mainly used Slack for day-to-day communication and updates, and Jira for managing tasks and timelines.

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

I was really impressed by their flexible working style, which enabled us to constantly improve the website while it was being developed. They have an ability to understand our evolving concepts and are able to turn them into beautiful designs. I was also impressed with the trust they had for each other, providing me with direct access to the developers without the bottleneck approach.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Overall, we were really impressed with their approach, development quality, communication and delivery. There was a slight delay towards the final stages of development, however, it was understandable due to our team changing a few pages on the website. Although we were hoping for this, we also understood that it is better to use the time to release a better product.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder and director of Cody’s Comforts Ltd, which produces a dry wash conditioning shampoo for dogs.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with STAKK?

We’re a very small, family-run business. We relied on STAKK to replace our outdated e-commerce site.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They built a new e-commerce website from scratch. We used our old site to point out the things we liked and didn’t like. They focused on improving our platform’s UX/UI.

What is the team composition?

I worked directly with 2–3 teammates. This team included Jack (Co-Founder) and another developer.

How did you come to work with STAKK?

I found them online. I found three different companies and vetted them to see if they met my requirements. I really wanted somebody whom I could bounce ideas off of. I was impressed with how Mr. Tyson treated me as a customer, despite the project at hand being a relatively small one. I felt that they would put their effort and attention into it.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent somewhere close to $6,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in June 2019, and it’s an ongoing partnership. We’re looking to go live before Christmastime.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I’ve had a brilliant experience working with them. They treat me like an important customer, even though I’m not one of their bigger accounts. If I had a problem, they’d deal with it quickly, as they’re happy to accommodate my whims and needs. They’ve also been amazing to bounce ideas off of, so I appreciate that they’ve served as a consultant of sorts.

How did STAKK perform from a project management standpoint?

We’d share Google Docs documents together and communicate over email. Communication was collaborative and smooth.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their customer service is phenomenal.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I honestly can’t think of anything.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be as involved as you can. They’ll be very accommodating for any changes you want to implement.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder & CEO of VW Impex. We import and export supplies, providing hard to find bearings in the industry.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with STAKK?

We needed an e-commerce platform built so we could do online business.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

STAKK built us an e-commerce portal. It’s a web platform that’s supported on all devices, web and mobile. They did the development and design. 

The server is hosted by Linux and Cloud. They used PHP, MBC, and Laravel, and there is a MySQL database. 

The platform allows people to order products, and we ship them. It is open to everyone. 

What is the team composition?

Initially, I spoke with Jack (Relationship Director). During development, Girish (Project Director) was my main contact as project manager, but I also interacted with the three developers. 

How much have you invested with them?

The total cost was between $20,000 - $25,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from February – August 2020.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The design is very good, and the platform functions on all devices. They had good business logic. I learned how to convert to online business. It was a good experience, and I’m satisfied with what STAKK delivered. 

How did STAKK perform from a project management standpoint?

They worked in 15-day sprints, providing updates at the end of each one. They delivered what they promised, on time. We communicated via Skype and email. They were available and responsive. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

They were very professional with excellent communication. I was also very pleased with their business logic and design. STAKK exceeded my expectations.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be clear about the requirements and expectations. Share all your data with them so they can analyze it properly, it will save time.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We’re a UK-based technology company that focuses on international payments and foreign exchange services. I’m the director of the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with STAKK?

We needed a development partner to help us with some of our projects.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement? 

STAKK has worked with us on a number of web development projects, including a new website for our end-to-end rebrand and a site for a remittance product.

What is the team composition? 

I spoke with Girish (Project Manager) on a day-to-day basis. My team also worked with some of his developers directly. 

How did you come to work with STAKK?

Our head of IT found STAKK and brought them in for a technical assessment. Based on that test, their ability to deliver, and our project roadmap, we hired them.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent between $10,000–$50,000. It’s an hourly rate.

What is the status of this engagement?

The two main projects started in June 2019, but we’ve been working with them on and off ever since. They’re currently one of our suppliers.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

From my perspective, I gauge them based on their ability to deliver on brief and within budget. They’ve developed two websites that looked great while mostly staying within our costs. There is some back-and-forth on bugs, but no more than what we’ve seen from other developers. 

The team is also flexible. If we want to make an iteration during the process, they always work to accommodate those changes, which leads to a positive experience. 

How did STAKK perform from a project management standpoint?

We use Google Docs to track their progress. They generally stick to our deadlines, though there are some occasional delays. All in all, they deliver within a reasonable margin of error.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They have a positive attitude and really want to deliver good results for their clients. Even if things don’t go quite as planned, they’re able to take the hit on the chin and get back to the task. We’ve never had any sort of confrontation because of their client-oriented perspective.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Sometimes Girish’s own technical understanding is limited because he’s not a developer himself. That means there are cases when things have been lost in translation. Our team has found it effective to communicate certain things to their developers directly. 

This situation was also a positive because Girish was willing to let us talk to his team, even though there would be more communication points. He understood that this was necessary at certain times.