StartupSoft

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the sole owner and CEO of a small startup in the mortgage industry.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with StartupSoft?

I wanted to develop an iOS mobile app, specifically for the mortgage industry.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

I gave them a small prototype demo that I had put together in InVision and sent that to them for background purposes so that they understood the overall look and functionality of it. I then walked StartupSoft through the functionality that I wanted and we put together a plan to execute. 

They developed the app, which turns applying for a mortgage into a simple and scalable process. Instead of inputting data or emailing and faxing all of the information in, it's all picture-based. They built it in Xamarin. They also assisted with an interface for the lender.

What is the team composition?

We worked with Andrew (Founder & VP), a project manager, and a coder.

How did you come to work with StartupSoft?

We connected on CoFounderlabs. I saw their services and we ended up having a conversation. We kept touch for probably a year before we embarked on anything, and we met in person a few times and hit it off.

I had looked at other development companies, but StartupSoft was going to be more hands-on with me, which is what I needed. I’m a non-tech founder, so I needed a lot more discussion. I was also able to have longer conversations with them about why I wanted to build for iOS specifically. 

How much have you invested with them?

We spent $10,000–$15,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We talked for the first time about three years ago, but we began working with them in late 2017. The project was completed about 6–8 weeks after that, in early 2018.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Overall, the quality was good. At that time, I wanted to use specific services that they weren’t familiar with so they pushed back. For this reason, I would say that they were good but not great because I needed to use certain services. Everything went relatively well.

How did StartupSoft perform from a project management standpoint?

They stayed on budget, which was really good. The timelines were slightly extended, but it was very minor. All projects go over time and budget generally. Everything was in the parameters that I expected, and I was happy with the results. We used Slack, and a couple of times a week we had Skype calls.

What did you find most impressive about them?

StartupSoft didn’t try to change things or question my business model. They took my specs, ran with what I wanted, and got it done in a reasonable amount of time. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

Everything went relatively well. The only thing I would’ve improved on was the UX because it was functional and plain. I mentioned that at the time, and it’s something they could work on.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Get to know the founders as best you can. Be clear with your expectations and parameters, keep the lines of communication open, and let them do their thing.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the co-founder and chief strategist of BitGate. BitGate bridges the gap between open banking and cryptocurrencies, by creating a mainstream crypto app for the Nordics with secure BankID login.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire StartupSoft?

BitGate required flutter front-end developement to complete the UX implementation. StartupSoft offers remote workers with an attempt to approximate the "inhouse" experience. We hired a flutter developer to test out StartupSoft services and get experience with the concept.

What were your goals for this project?

In general our goals were to get immediate access to a good flutter developer, who would have a good office space and work the clock, without having to go through all the work of having a person in-house. In specific, we wanted to get as far with the UX implementation in the flutter app for both android and iOS as possible in a six month period.

SOLUTION

How did you select StartupSoft?

We wanted to expand our development capabilities by remote work, and realized that we needed to investigate options for that. We have been contacted frequently by remote work development firms but StartupSoft attracted our attention among all as having the right mind-set of focusing on startups that could grow quickly in value.

We quickly established relations and have been in contact with StartupSoft for some time and have been seeing first-hand the progress they have made to attract good developers and grow their business.

Early this year we took the step of hiring with StartupSoft as our startup has been growing and needed remote UX implementation developers to speed up our go-to-market strategy, and we are satisfied with the outcome.

Describe the project in detail.

We had a minimal UX implementation, and were in the process of redesigning it as we onboarded the new developer. As the new developer was onboarding we more or less completed the first design of the UX and had Andrew implement it in Flutter for Android (we now also have had him implemented iOS version).

The design was a basic sketch in wirediagrams, and he had to fill in several details that were missing or not explicit in the wirediagrams. We had weekly meetings with a basic update each week on progress and goals, and he was progressing nicely with the implementation.

As he was the only person working on the UX implementation, he had to master all aspects of the flutter UX implementation, and was also responsible for aspects of the login-process, and to coordinate the front-end with the back-end.

What was the team composition?

The team composition is the CEO, CTO, back-end, and UX design, all working with Andrew in the weekly meetings to coordinate the UX implementation. I mostly work on the UX design and quality control of the UX implementation.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Before this project, we only had a very minimal UX implementation. Now we have we had have fleshed out the whole UX implementation in Flutter for both Android and iOS with all of the basic functionality, and are now moving from the testnet to the livenet. So the flutter implementation of all basic UX functionality has basically been completed in the six months since we hired him from StartupSoft.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

We had regular updates, and StartuSoft were always very responsive to any questions or concerns. They are clearly committed to making sure that their developers are performing well, and will quickly fix any issues that may arise. In this respect they work like an excellent project manager and human resources employee would in-house.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The most impressive thing is how independent the developer was. As a young startup you need each individual team member to carry their own weight not only in terms of development power, but initiative and drive to fill in gaps that comes from a flatter structure than you have in bigger companies.

StartupSoft seem to master the combination of being a firm project manager for the client, while also having developers that have an ability to think independently to solve problems creatively to develop a more efficient implementation.

This combination of having a firm structure around the employee, while retaining an ability on the part of the employee to have sufficient independence is quite rare.

Are there any areas for improvement?

We did not really have any issues. There was a small learning curve for the developer to get acquainted with our code and structure, about 2-3 weeks, but that's to be expected, and that's about it.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I was the project manager and responsible for product develoment at Mercato AG, Switzerland. Mercato AG develops applications for Blockchain based B2C Services

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire StartupSoft?

the challenge was to find both technical and UX solutions to make highly complex process based on blockchain technology simple to use for any user even the most non-savvy

What were your goals for this project?

create a product which seamlessly integrates traditional financial services with advanced blockchain solutions

SOLUTION

How did you select StartupSoft?

StartupSoft was able to quickly recruit and direct a capable and scalable team. The company fully integrated with the core team and other third party service providers and quickly started to support all crucial processes

Describe the project in detail.

mercato wallet was meant to be a crypto wallet, a crypto and forex trading platform, a social trading platform and integration with a traditional bank account - all together in one app

What was the team composition?

we were assigned a full team composed of a project manager, software and data based developers, block chain specialists

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The project is undergoing changes mainly concerning branding and a pivot from it's initial concept due to significant market changes

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

we were using various cooperation and project management tools which totally replaced direct contact due to the high efficiency of StartupSoft to make use of these tools

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The team was always willing to propose improvements on technical solutions. StartupSoft was always able to quickly find new technical skill sets when ever needed. Development was agile and always had room for adaptations

Are there any areas for improvement?

there is nothing I can really find negative about the cooperation. even language was not a barrier

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of MOOCTORS, an education technology company providing an online tutoring platform for massive online open courses.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with StartupSoft?

We wanted to design a marketplace.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We approached them with a concept and a number of wireframes. We explained the business idea behind it and what we wanted to achieve. We used Java, Python, C++, HTML, and more.

What is the team composition?

They allocated a project manager, a designer, and 1-2 developers. Most of my communication was with the project manager.

How did you come to work with StartupSoft?

The CEO was an acquaintance of mine. In the process of sharing information on the project, I also exchanged information with him. We discussed it several times. We then proceeded further with the business aspect of the interaction.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from January–May 2019.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our KPI was staying within our budget. They came through, and we’re satisfied with their work.

How did StartupSoft perform from a project management standpoint?

Their communication and ability to meet deadlines are pretty good.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We were particularly satisfied with their project manager. She was forthcoming, open to communication, and responded promptly.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There were 1–2 times where people left the team and that could have been avoided. I don’t know what happened internally. That was a hiccup but the person who took over did their best to cover everything.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be open. Tell them as much detail as you can or what you think you understand from your project. Discuss the specification documents that you’re going to receive so that there are no misunderstandings. Make sure you 100% understand it and that it meets your expectations.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

We offer a fitness and health management platform for the professionals. We provide the tools to improve the level of fitness of their clients. I am the co founder and CEO.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire StartupSoft?

We were looking for a long term partner to help us design and build our platform.

What were your goals for this project?

The objective of the project was/is to develop a web application and its associated mobile app.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We had several bad experience before finding the right partner. All our initial exchanges on the organization, project management and delivery was intense. At the end, it was an easy decision as StartupSoft is very professional, dedicated, and customer-centric.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

They have designed, developped, launch and maintain a new backend, frontend and mobile application.

What was the team composition?

The poject team has about 5 depending on the phase on the project. Still we have a stable project manager who manages our collaboration on a daily basis.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The platform has been launched on time and help us onboard new customers with an improved user experience and better performances.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

The project management was/is very good with very regular calls and at least weekly meetings. We communicate mainly using Skype.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

We have access to the project manager but also the entire team from the designer to the QA. Plus a strong engagement from the company exec.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Not much to improve. Think ahead on the use cases it will ease the conversation.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Theory Design is a product innovation firm: we work with clients to bring human-centered design to build better products and product capacity. Our engagements can run the gamut from consumer insight and organization assessment, through design and build. I'm the co-founder and COO.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire StartupSoft?

We've utilized StartupSoft for several engagements, for both engineers (of various skillsets and seniorities, depending on our need) and designers. Specifically here for example I can speak to one of their designers who has been a fantastic member of our team.

What were your goals for this project?

This particular project was a pilot engagement that, if successful, would lead to a much larger engagement. The goal was to delight the client and secure this future business.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We've worked with a variety of external development vendors, and StartupSoft is our go-to now on such needs.

Describe the project in detail.

For this particular project, we had a client that aspired to build and fundraise around a V2 of their platform. They had big ambition, but could not yet afford any real product development, and had a small and junior internal team. As an initial engagement to deliver up-front value and hopefully build momentum toward a larger relationship, we staffed a great StartupSoft designer we had been working with in the past. Six months of that was highly successful, and laid the groundwork that expanded that into a full product innovation and development engagement.

What was the team composition?

This was a smaller engagement, with the designer full time on our staff, but as always StartupSoft handles the HR oversight to great effect. They've very active in seeking out feedback, planning employee development and growth, etc. It's a much more beneficial arrangement for everyone involved than a solo freelancer.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Raving feedback from the client, and signing of a larger engagement to build upon the initial project success.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Very effective. Solid (but non-intrusive) communication, good account oversight, all as hoped.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Delivering the promise of confidence team extension.They truly care about their staff, they're eager for feedback to improve, and they actively address any concerns that come up (which have been few and minor in our case, thus our happiness with them).

Are there any areas for improvement?

Nothing I can think of at the moment

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder and CEO of Emerge, Inc. We're based out of Greenville, South Carolina.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with StartupSoft?

We wanted to build a social media platform for prospective athletes.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Our goal was to enable athletes in high school and college to put together a visually-driven portfolio that exhibits their skills. The platform would ideally give them tools to promote themselves to schools regardless of other barriers they face. They developed the front- and backend of this solution. We handled the design, but they integrated payment as well. 

While this was primarily a development project, compliance was key to the solution’s success as well. This was to ensure that our platform was in line with NCAA requirements, as we were targeting several different levels of athletes. 

Within the platform, schools can input their minimum criteria and are set visual content. From there, the whole recruitment process can be privatized in accordance with NCAA regulations. For us, it was important to return the process to the recruits themselves.

What is the team composition?

We had a team of between 6–8 people. There were engineering working on the backend at all times, designers, the CEO, and our own project manager who served as our main point of contact.

How did you come to work with StartupSoft?

We had a colleague that had worked with them on small and mid-sized projects in the past. He referred us to them. They checked many of our boxes and came in strong with pricing and support.  

How much have you invested with them?

We’re in the $120,000 range at the moment.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started the project in December 2018 and ran development throughout all of 2019. At the moment, we paused development to ensure that we have a solid understanding of changes in our industry due to the global pandemic.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

While the app is live, we’re not marketing it to consumers quite yet. The architecture was sound and strong. Everything was neatly and nicely documented for quick reference. As far as the frontend, they had a very accomplished team that easily replicated our designs within the platform. Our vision was brought straight to life with no glaring issues or non-match of any kind.   

How did StartupSoft perform from a project management standpoint?

They were invested in us as individuals and as a company instead of being worried about their return. The CEO was very personally involved, and he was caring and pleasant throughout. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

When we were struggling with budgeting and project planning, they were incredibly accommodating in making sure that their work could meet our needs. They were able to make adjustments or pivot their plan as time went on. Their team was able to think about the bigger picture at all times, willing to work with us to achieve our needs. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

Our hours, due to time zone differences, didn’t completely line up. However, that wasn’t a huge deal at all. It would be great if they could extend an arm of labor into US time zones.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be transparent with them. Honesty allowed them to work with us to create a solution that worked for us both.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the president of Rezzame.com. Our mission is to eliminate the resume, so we created an online career portal for people to create their career personas, as well as a source for companies to find resources and post jobs.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Startupsoft?

I needed developers to develop the product from an idea to an actual product.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We worked on design, development, testing, and QA of the project.

What is the team composition?

People had different functions within the organization. I worked with their CEO, as well as with a project manager, their technical lead, and multiple developers, testers, and QA resources.

How did you come to work with Startupsoft?

I found them online. Their business model at the time was to provide development resources and project management in return for equity in the company and some sort of compensation for time for project management and software development. We had multiple conversations to find out if it was going to be a viable project for both sides. There had to be a good fit for our business requirements on both sides, as well as our ultimate goals and objective.

The quality of their resources was very high, as well as the output they offered through examples of their previous work. It was above and beyond what I evaluated from other potential partners.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been working together since January 2017. The project has wrapped up, but we still have a relationship with Startupsoft. They’re doing some additional work that’s an extension of the initial project, and we just talked about starting a new business with the technology we created in the first project.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The total cost of ownership was significantly reduced based on the business model that Startupsoft employed at the time, which allowed me to get the idea developed into an actual product for a cost that was less expensive than other alternatives. They also delivered a very high quality of product development and output.

How did Startupsoft perform from a project management standpoint?

The communication was very effective. They had a suite of online project management tools as part of their methodology. I was assigned an individual project manager who was part of the project from inception to completion. She was my one point of contact with Startupsoft. She communicated the business requirements from me to the developers and technical resources at Startupsoft and then communicate the results back to me.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their expertise in networking, database development, and software development was applied with a very high technical quality.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Nothing really comes to mind. I think with any project you could say you could have a little bit more. There was a language difference, but there wasn’t a barrier because the project manager was able to translate very easily between me and a technical resource. There were no major improvements to be made. They were very receptive to changes and my input based on testing.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Start at the top. Make sure you have a positive relationship with their CEO and that there is a mutual partnership between the two companies at the highest level. It always starts at the top.

Make sure you have a dedicated project manager or point of contact to communicate with. Make sure that your business requirements and design are fully fleshed out and communicated to Startsupsoft. Make sure they understand them as well and then work closely with the project manager to track the tasks by resources: who was to do what, by when, and what the status was. Then, follow up on issues and testing related items to ensure they’re resolved in a timely manner.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO and founder of WeStrive. We’re essentially a marketplace for the personal training industry. We allow personal trainers to manage their platforms on the backend as a CRM or a SaaS tool. They pay us a monthly subscription and they’re allowed to handle billing, work privately with clients, upload programs. On the mobile app, they’re able to sell their services and fitness plans on a marketplace for the world to purchase.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with StartupSoft?

The main thing was the development. I felt like I had the design handled and hadn’t even considered project management or QA at that point.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

I sent them a PDF with over 100 pages of designs and asked them to build it for me. They came on board with their designers and upgraded everything. Then, their project manager helped me organize the entire process. We also had QA people fixed the tiny bugs I never would have seen. Going into it I didn’t expect too much, but I ended up getting a full team and process.

The solution is for both web and mobile and iOS and Android. The development I needed was 60% and 40% web.

As far as features and tasks, they custom-built a CRM for the backend. Trainers have all the clients they manage and are able to bill them as well. Workout content including photos and videos are also stored in the backend. For the mobile app, there’s a social media feed where people can post about their workouts. There are also calculations that give you reports on your workouts, like how much weight you lifted or how many sets you did. There’s also a “My Trainer” button that allows people to search for a specific trainer or find a new one for yourself.

What is the team composition?

I have a couple of points of contact. Ivanka (Project Manager, StartupSoft) is my project manager, but I speak with Alex (CEO, StartupSoft) almost every day. I talk with Andrew (VP, StartupSoft) once in a while as well. I’m going back with the developers and designers constantly too.

How did you come to work with StartupSoft?

I believe they used to offer a kind of accelerator program. I found them on Google and applied for it and then Andrew reached out. He said they didn’t do the accelerator anymore but that they did this new model. They showed me their past work and I told them I wanted to work with them. They were exactly what I was looking for, and more in the long run.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent around $200,000 so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve worked together since September 2017.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The best way to put it is that I’d have given up on this dream if not for StartupSoft. In retrospect, I can’t see a scenario where this works out without them. They did a great job for me. Alex and Andrew have always supported my business and had my back, helping me figure things out. They go above and beyond.

Everything in the app is great. We have five stars on the app store. We have some bugs every once in a while where things don’t work, but there haven’t been any major system crashes.

How did StartupSoft perform from a project management standpoint?

Early on, I didn’t have as good a project manager as I do now. They got things moving along. We send a few emails occasionally but communication is mostly on Slack and Jira and Asana. We also use InVision and Figma for designs.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The number one thing would be their holistic approach. Instead of having a couple of designers and developers and not a lot of experience, they bring everything to the table. We get the entire team, including some positions you might not think of if you’re an early startup.

On top of that, everyone they bring on board to your team has already done what you’re doing. They know everything they need to know. It’s a great overall team approach.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Most of it is stuff I need to work on. I honestly don’t have any complaints.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

As with any project manager, stay on top of them and make sure you’re following the task flow. When you have a team overseas, it’s obviously the best-case scenario. You can’t expect them to do anything, so make sure you’re involved. If you are involved, they’ll do an amazing job for you.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Professor, Principal Investigator at Carnegie Mellon University

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

A research university.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

• software engineering

SOLUTION

How did you find StartupSoft?

Referral

Why did you select StartupSoft over others?

• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost

How many teammates from StartupSoft were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

Multiple StartupSoft engineers worked on a variety of DB/backend algorithms and frontend design and implementation.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Productivity.

Smooth integration with the resident engineering team.

Quality of code.

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

They're productive, efficient, and extremely professional.

The team members (and startupsoft management) were extremely attentive to our needs, and sought our feedback frequently.

What was your primary form of communication with StartupSoft?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

The CEO and other top execs took the time to regulalry meet with us, get to know us, and understand who we are, what we do, and what we need.  The relationship felt (still feels) very personal.

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

I can't think of anything.