Sumeru Inc

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am a meditation teacher for a large volunteer based non-profit organization with a global presence.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Sumeru Inc?

Sumeru was hired to run a Facebook and Instagram marketing campaign to promote in-person and later online attendance at our events.

What were your goals for this project?

Our goals were to get people to attend our events, physically and virtually.

SOLUTION

How did you select Sumeru Inc?

The national board selected Sumeru for all local chapters.

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

Sumeru created all digital marketing content specific to the social media platform, including: social media ad images, videos and captions. They also linked the social media ads to eventbrite.

Sumeru created all eventbrite content and descriptions. They also created email drip campaigns before and after the event. We really appreciated the training they provided to our team in the form of short easy-to-follow videos.

What was the team composition?

Our internal team did not have any graphic designers or social media experts. All expertise came from Sumeru.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We were pleasantly surprised to see the social media ads working, as measured by high attendance rates at our events! We had a few sold out events, just from Facebook marketing alone. In the past, we always had challenges creating leads for our paid programming.

With Sumeru’s help and expertise, we no longer have to spend time and effort on this area. Sumeru’s help has been instrumental in us having regular programs in our city.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Sumeru staff is very quick to respond to any questions and concerns with a great custom care attitude.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Their creative content and knowledge of the ever-evolving ad optimization algorithms is very impressive.

Are there any areas for improvement?

I can’t think of anything right now.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m an administrative support associate with the Business Partners Program at USC Charlotte.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Sumeru Inc?

We have a free Salesforce license, and we’re not large enough to have backend architects onboard to handle the internal processes. We reached out to Sumeru Inc to help out with some of those backend processes.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Sumeru Inc fixed some of our existing event registration management processes and upgraded some of our Salesforce instances. They were also able to give us additional hours of consulting and developmental tasks. They did an architectural review with us. 

We had a call with an architect on their team, and we went through some of the issues that we were having and the fixes that they gave us. Then, they walked us through what they did and some of the instances. They came up with great ideas on how to move forward with some of the things we were doing, as well as some things to make them a little more robust for the customers.

With only two people on our team, Sumeru Inc was really great about giving us ideas to help us utilize Salesforce, as we hadn’t been using it to its maximum capacity. They made suggestions and showed us how to implement them.

What is the team composition?

I mostly work with Aman (Venture Capital Analyst), and then an architect joins the calls. There have been several people from Sumeru Inc’s team involved in getting this up and running for us.

How did you come to work with Sumeru Inc?

One of our former students had been instrumental in building some of our Salesforce, and he’s now working with Salesforce. Since it was a conflict of interest for him, he couldn’t help, but he referred us to Sumeru Inc. Our former student and Sumeru Inc work on a nonprofit together.

I reached out to Sumeru Inc, and they were more than willing to help us. A lot of the work was done pro bono at the beginning of the project, but since we were asking for additional work, we decided as an institution to sign up for their services and bring them on. We liked what they were doing and the direction they were taking us in. They were so gracious and signed us up with a nonprofit educational discount, so we couldn’t say no to letting them help us.

How much have you invested with them?

We have invested $3,600 so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We had initial talks toward the end of September 2020, but we got things rolling in October 2020. We don’t need full implementation until we open anything in mid-November 2020, so we’re on a really good timeline with them. It’s ready to roll out; we just haven’t done it yet.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Their service is invaluable to us. When our Salesforce went down, I had to do everything manually. I spent hours manually reaching out to our contacts and partners. We really needed to find someone to help us rebuild it.

I was so grateful that our former student referred us to Sumeru Inc. The ideas that they came up with to help us in the future are going to save us a lot of time. We have so many touchpoints with our partners, so it’s great that they can automate that service. They’re going to work with me one-on-one to help me understand the backend of Salesforce better. That’s built into the service they’re providing, which I’m also grateful for. It’ll be extremely helpful to me.

How did Sumeru Inc perform from a project management standpoint?

Aman has been good at keeping us updated on where they are in the process and answering emails in a timely manner. The invoicing is great for us as a nonprofit.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Overall, Sumeru Inc is really great to work with. They provide great updates so that we know where they are in the process, which is really helpful. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

No. They’ve got it down pretty good. They know what they’re doing.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

The team is so personable and just on top of everything. I can’t think of anything that they could do anything better.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the operations manager at a global education technology nonprofit. We have a number of teams around the world, and my team is the centralized US based team. Our company is mission driven, but also high tech and operates like a startup.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Sumeru Inc?

We had a huge organizational shift in 2021, and a number of active Salesforce instances. We were originally looking to reuse these instances to fit our new model and strategy. We needed extensive help in building, editing, and cleaning up multiple Salesforce instances. We will continue to work with Sumeru for additional needs beyond Salesforce in the future.

SOLUTION

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

We were looking for a partner who was US based, but understood international businesses, and had a deep understanding of our mission. In the past, we have found that with consultants, we get the short end of the stick in service (and sometimes less respect) because we are a nonprofit (especially if they are giving us a discount).

There is also a false assumption that nonprofits cannot be high tech and efficient. Working with Sumeru is completely different. They are genuinely interested in our mission, and we feel that they see us on the same level as large tech companies.

Describe the project in detail and walk through the stages of the project.

Within our global business, there are multiple business units and regional teams. Each one has their own Salesforce instance. Sumeru is working with each team one at a time to customize their Salesforce instances to their needs.

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

Ankur is our main contact and is wonderful to work with. His team does all our Salesforce configuration.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our technical requirements have been met and Sumeru is always willing to answer questions and show demonstrations afterwards to ensure we know how to use everything.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Ankur and his team are wonderful to work with - they are great human beings and I can tell that they care about the work deeply. Sometimes the workflow is a little slower than expected, but I know it is because they are in high demand and busy. The end product is always great.

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

I appreciate how Sumeru Inc is also a high-tech company rooted within a nonprofit - matches perfectly with our company.

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

Timing and a bit more communication on timing - just letting us know more regular updates, and when items might be a little delayed would be great.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the owner of a video game studio in Los Angeles, CA. We utilize unreal engine to develop modern video games.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We needed some blockchain development for our upcoming featured video game. Sumeru was hired to help develop 256 NFT Access Passes for our company as well as create a front end website to host our mint. Our goals were to get this project developed in a timely manner to be ready for launch.

SOLUTION

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

I was searching through Upwork and Sumeru’s profile really stood out due to their positive reviews and experience in the blockchain development field.

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

We had a meeting to discuss goals. I was in charge to hire blockchain developers. We hired Sumeru

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

We had our project manager, as well as 2 blockchain developers

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Due to these companies professionalism and great communication, we are able to launch on time with our featured product which is going to help us become successful

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

Daily communication as well as weekly zoom meetings made it possible to create the project and have it be done in a timely manner

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

Their team was very professional and enjoys working with one another, which shows in the results.

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

There was some minor communication issues in the beginning however these were hashed out and we were able to continue moving forward without a hitch

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the email marketing specialist for a financial business that offers merchant cash advances.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Sumeru Inc?

We hired Sumeru Inc. to help up with our Marketing Cloud projects and strategies.

SOLUTION

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

They were friendly, patient, and extremely knowledgeable on the matter.

Describe the project in detail and walk through the stages of the project.

First, they understood our business and what we were trying to accomplish. We have several specific audiences that needed to be created through SQL. Ankur and his team did a great job at adding specified criteria and assuring we had the correct data.

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

We had a total of two account managers and one project manager.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We now have several specific data audiences created from their successful work. We've been able to automate our process and clean up the data.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Very effective workflows. They kept track of our projects and completed them in a timely manner.

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

How knowledgeable they are on the matter. They had a solution for all our problems.

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

In general, better way to show documentation on different items that are somewhat far removed from the account manager.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the CEO of a private holding company. We invest in early development project as angel investors.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Sumeru Inc?

We had an idea to create a 2 player card game, and tested the initial design with paper cards. Once rules and game mechanics were determined we needed a developer to code the game.

SOLUTION

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

We searched Upwork for a number of game developers. Interviewed 3 others and select Sumeru Inc, because their team seemed to understand exactly what we were trying to creaste.

Describe the project in detail and walk through the stages of the project.

The game is a Sci-Fi based Trading Card Game for 2 players. The players battle on a game board with a deck of cards and the winner is determined by the player who controls the most cards. The first stage was developing the UI and how players would be connected and the game deck. The team at Sumeru were very helpful at this stage, because we had little details on how this would proceed. The second stage was building the connections for the game to be played by 2 players. The Sumeru team was able to suggest so very creative and cost effective ways to implement this. The third stage was the game logic and battle field. A majority of this was already figured out, but was the game logic was programmed unforeseen results happened, and the Sumeru team had some very insightful solutions to these problems. Finally in the forth and final stage, the game was complete and beta testing was begun. Like all projects many bugs were discovered and the Sumeru team was able to fix all of them with quick efficiency.

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

We worked with a project manager, 2 Unity Developers, 2 Database/Network developers and atleast 2 Graphic designers.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They developed a beta version of the game to test the game mechanics and game logic, since this was a completely new concept. Release has been very limited and kept to trust investors and beta testers.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The project management was top notch. The project team and my own team were in daily contact. Weekly checkins and deadlines were created and checked off.

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

The Sumeru team was most impressive in their dedication and problem solving skills for unforeseen problems.

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

The only thing we would suggest was a better initial development interview to identify problems that we had not thought or planned for.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I oversee healthcare marketing for multiple healthcare clients.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Sumeru Inc?

We wanted to restructure a salesforce marketing cloud account and launch automated emails.

SOLUTION

How did you select Sumeru Inc and what were the deciding factors?

We searched online for salesforce marketing cloud resources and interviewed 3 different organizations and reviewed proposals.

Describe the project in detail and walk through the stages of the project.

After the kick-off meeting, we were able to outline a timeline and prioritize the different elements we wanted to complete first.

How many resources from the Sumeru Inc team worked with you, and what were their positions?

We had an account manager and 3 additional team members that support with various parts of the project.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Salesforce marketing cloud has been restructured and we have our first journey live and are working on additional journeys now.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

We have a weekly meeting scheduled to review open items and items in more detail. We also have scheduled additional meetings to ensure projects continue to move forward efficiently.

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

Their team has engaged and learned the business we were working on.

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

Not from our perspective.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I have joined HCL Canada and Sumeru helped me in the process. It was really great experience working with Sumeru.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

I was searching for a job for the last 6 months and Sumeru really helped me throughout the process.

SOLUTION

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

They contacted me on Linkedin. I am glad I selected to go through Sumer for my job search

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

I joined HCL CANADA.

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

Ssachin Sondhiyan

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

It was a really good experience work with them. They helped me with everything in the interview process.

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

Their communication towards clients is very good and they are very communicative and informative.

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

Everyone is very helpful and interactive.

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

None. They are really doing a good job.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

IT Manager

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We hired Sumeru to help us integrate the following to our Salesforce:

1. Freshdesk
2. ZoomInfo
3. Zoominfo Engage
4. Ring Central

SOLUTION

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

They were eager to get started and help out with our needs from day one. They wanted to make sure they got the right information so it is done correctly the first time.

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

They integrated our sales process programs into Salesforce. They made sure they got our sales process down before starting to implement anything in our Salesforce. They used a Google Gant chart in order to provide some updates on the progress.

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

2 main people worked with me. Aman - Associate Practice Director Ankur - Salesforce Technical Lead

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They were able to work with us and push the timeline up by a week to meet our deadline.

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

The project management was pretty decent however, I would have liked to receive more updates on the progress. The Gantt chart they provided was nice but it wasn't updated daily and I always had to request that they update it to see the progress.

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

It shows that they want to make sure the customer is happy and provide the best service they can provide.

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

I would say the progress updates would need more refining. A daily update would be nice without having to request it.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm Scrum Master worked for different projects we work for Health care claims

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We work for healthcare providers I have handled projects from developing to demo

SOLUTION

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

good factors working with them

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

Wide-ranging IT SDLC experience comprising system/business analysis, system design & development, system testing and system support projects covering various verticals like Financial Services & Insurance (BFSI), HealthCare, Community Management.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Helped the Product Owner/product Management in maintaining, refining and prioritizing the product backlog & Resolution Management

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

 Attended PI planning workshops and facilitated system demo, inspect and adapt workshops for future PIs and Release Management meetings. They were experienced as a Scrum Master in Scaled Agile Framework (Safe) and facilitated Grooming meetings, Scrum Daily standup, creating Product backlog, Sprint Planning, Sprint Review & Sprint Retrospective meetings.

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

Marketing and their services were impressive!

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

None