TechMagic

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Marketing Lead of CARL Finance GmbH

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

M&A consulting for SMEs.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

• Website Redesign
• Set up of CMS

SOLUTION

How did you find TechMagic?

Online Search

Why did you select TechMagic over others?

• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost

How many teammates from TechMagic were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

Techmagic undertook a comprehensive project for us, which included the redesign of two key websites within our portfolio. Their scope of work spanned several major deliverables:

• Website Redesign: They modernized the look and feel of two of our websites, implementing user-friendly designs, enhanced navigation, and mobile responsiveness. The goal was to improve user engagement, accessibility, and brand cohesion across both sites.
• Logo Design: They created a new, custom logo that reflects our brand’s identity, ensuring it resonated with our audience while maintaining versatility for different uses (e.g., web, print).
• CMS Development on Directus: They set up a content management system (CMS) using Directus, allowing us to easily manage and update website content. This included custom features tailored to our specific content needs and workflows.

TM worked closely with us through each phase, from initial strategy discussions and wireframes to the final implementation and testing of the websites and CMS.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

• Improved Website Performance: Post-launch, we observed a notable improvement in website speed, responsiveness, and overall performance. Page load times decreased, contributing to better user experiences.
• Enhanced Content Management: With the implementation of the Directus CMS, our team is now able to update and manage website content much more efficiently. This has reduced the time spent on content updates, making our internal processes more streamlined.
• Brand Consistency: The new logo design has been successfully integrated across all our digital and print assets, ensuring a consistent and cohesive brand identity. This has contributed to stronger brand recognition among our target audience.

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

• Timeliness: All key milestones and deliverables were met on time, despite the project’s complexity. They effectively managed deadlines, ensuring that both the website redesign and CMS development stayed on schedule without compromising quality.
• Responsiveness: The team was highly responsive to our needs. Whether it was adapting to changes in scope, accommodating feedback, or offering recommendations for improvements, they were proactive and flexible. They took the time to understand our objectives and tailored their approach accordingly.

What was your primary form of communication with TechMagic?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

• good and clear comunication
• very responsive and professional

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

Overall, we were very satisfied with the results delivered by TechMagic, their availability and responsiveness.

One area for improvement would be the timeline for the design phase. While the final designs were of high quality and aligned with our vision, the process took longer than we initially anticipated. Our company's unclear input and internal diverging opinions on what design approach to take were clearly the main reason for this, but sometimes we felt that a quicker turnaround during the design phase would have been great.

That said, the TM was always receptive to feedback and committed to delivering top-notch work, so this is a minor suggestion for future projects. Their attention to detail and collaboration ultimately led to a successful outcome.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a department head at an educational technology (edtech) scaleup company. We educate workers across the world to strengthen their knowledge about their rights and responsibilities.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with TechMagic?

We needed to update our software infrastructure for our various services. Additionally, one of our leading engineers was going on parental leave, and we needed someone to continue with the project.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

TechMagic provided staff augmentation services for us and helped us update our software’s infrastructure. We initially provided TechMagic documentation about our current services and infrastructure through Jira and Confluence. TechMagic started working with us a month before our tech lead left for parental leave, so there was an overlap to learn our way of working.

TechMagic built and customized our current services and deployed them on a different infrastructure since we wanted to move from a cluster-based infrastructure. TechMagic used AWS Cloud Development Kit (AWS CDK) and AWS Fargate. 

Our next step will be applying this project in our production environment since this was for our staging environment. And break one of our main services into several service lines, although that is a future plan. 

What is the team composition?

We mainly worked with Viktor (Node.js Developer). We also worked with other teammates from TechMagic. 

How did you come to work with TechMagic?

I contacted TechMagic through an acquaintance that had previously worked with them. I had calls and interviews with Viktor, who took over the infrastructure project.

How much have you invested with them?

We invested around $20,000 with TechMagic. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in February 2023. Unfortunately, we had to put our partnership on pause since our company’s priorities changed.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We successfully moved our services from our old infrastructure to the new one developed by TechMagic, which was our project’s goal. This new infrastructure will help us manage any load we face. We also needed to separate the concerns about our services since not every service needs the full power of the previous setup. We can now manage how much memory or CPU capacity we allocate to each service.

Viktor was really talented and the right fit for our project. TechMagic came to visit our offices when they visited Stockholm to visit other clients. We really liked this because we had just started working together. 

How did TechMagic perform from a project management standpoint?

Viktor was included in our team and joined all our stand-ups and scrum meetings. He ran the project as part of our organization. Working with TechMagic was very convenient because they were flexible and started working on our project immediately. We used Jira for project management and Microsoft Teams to communicate. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

TechMagic was very easy to contact and work with. They have a good understanding of project management and how to manage work. I told TechMagic I didn’t require a full-time developer, and they assigned Viktor to our team to work three days a week. This was very convenient. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can’t think of anything for TechMagic to improve — we worked smoothly. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

When I work with a consulting company, I treat them as team members instead of as a consultant. I recommend treating TechMagic as part of your team and talking to them to find a solution together.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the COO and co-founder of SocioLocal. We are a social media marketing company for retailers with multiple locations.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with TechMagic?

We wanted to create a more user-friendly mobile experience for our customers. Our end users are not technical; they are local store owners, so we need the product to be easy and intuitive. We have a very small tech team, so we needed help from highly skilled developers with back- and frontend expertise to achieve our goal.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We shared our requirements, and the TechMagic team began working to improve our tool. We had some code to start, but they have redeveloped the code base using React Native and AWS. Our app has mobile and web functionality, and they also help with design for the mobile aspect. 

What is the team composition?

We mainly work with a project manager who liaises across teams. We also work with two backend developers, two QA stroke analysts, and two frontend developers.

How did you come to work with TechMagic?

We considered a few service providers, and TechMagic was recommended to us. We’ve been very happy with their work ever since. 

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve invested roughly $750,000. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in January 2020, and the engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We don’t have specific metrics, but people respond very well to the app and we continue receiving positive customer feedback. Under our direction, TechMagic helped create a design and experience that our customers love. The partnership has been excellent.

How did TechMagic perform from a project management standpoint?

I’m always very confident in their ability to manage the project, and we use Jira and Confluence as tools. They are good about keeping me informed regarding any changes that might affect the project, and we typically communicate through Slack, Zoom, and Microsoft Teams. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their method of applying requirements from the customer is most impressive. Even though the team is outsourced, they very much feel like a part of the company family. They effectively apply our design requirements, but they also go beyond that to improve them, which has been very beneficial.

Are there any areas they could improve?

As a customer, I’d always like things to be faster and cheaper, but realistically no. I’m very happy with them. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

You will benefit from bringing them into the bigger picture and explaining the strategy behind what is required. Be clear about expectations surrounding the engagement, such as work tempo and communication.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the marketing manager and HR specialist for Community Education Building, a nonprofit organization that mainly provides resource support for students in Wilmington, Delaware.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with TechMagic?

We were looking to create a platform where parents can have access to their children remotely, and educate people on community support, professional development, and events.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

TechMagic provided us with web app development through Cognito, and used Confluence, JIRA, and Atlassian as our main project management systems.

One of the features they implemented was to make it more mobile-friendly, so it runs well for users accessing the platform through a tablet and phone.

What is the team composition?

We worked with a product manager, Mariana (QA Engineer), Maxim (DevOps Engineer), Igor (Delivery Manager), and Yaroslav (Senior Node.js Developer).

How did you come to work with TechMagic?

They were referred to us by our previous development partner that actually dissolved during our engagement — TechMagic willingly continued the work and the partnership with us.

How much have you invested with them?

We invested over $50,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our engagement ran from March–December 2021.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

TechMagic successfully mitigated the impact of bugs and technical issues throughout the development. Their QA team was quick to respond and resolve our issues professionally and kept the website functioning at a high level.

How did TechMagic perform from a project management standpoint?

They performed fantastically as they provided me with weekly and bi-weekly updates and consistently aligned with our priorities. We were extremely happy with their communicative approach to project management and how they were always open to ideas and feedback.

Our primary means for communication were Slack and email.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We were very impressed with their willingness to adapt to our unique situation. They dedicated themselves to making the necessary adjustments to deliver the product that we were happy with.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can’t think of anything they could improve on as I was incredibly impressed with their work.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I would advise being consistently present with the team and making sure you’re always willing to provide information whenever possible.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

XaaS is a VC backed startup enabling transformations as a service across a myriad of verticals. I'm the CEO.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We needed an extension to our team to enable a larger scale development of our product portfolio. I stress this was not a standard outsourcing relationship as we required a partner to work and grow with us.

SOLUTION

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

We had worked with various companies over the years, but we had been recommended Tech Magic's services by several out our close relationships.

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

Whilst we already had an MVP in principle, it was a solution that had been cobbled together from many different technologies on the market. We required a bespoke solution and Tech Magic were asked to build out our entire product stack with us.

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

We currently have a team of 10 people in total, but this is likely to increase over the near future.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

So far we have had nothing but praise for the results of Tech Magic and the team. They walked us through additional design concepts, adding views that we hadn't considered due to their unique skillset and wealth of experience. Unlike other companies we've worked with in the past, they have repeatedly demonstrated a growth mindset, adapting to our needs, whilst remaining delivery focused.

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

They have used a combination of waterfall (for the high level view of our outcomes) and agile approaches (for the flexibility as we build and adapt our portfolio). The result is a scalable, structure and timely result.

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

They have the maturity and pedigree of experience that enable them to deliver a service far above their years.

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

In the past months, we have had nothing we would have asked for differently. They have delivered what they said int he way they said they would, whilst working with us in a collaborative way. We consider them a full part of a team and we couldn't ask for more.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CTO of a healthcare solutions company for clinicians, patients, and healthcare trusts. One of our solutions provides patients with the ability to send in their readings for blood pressure, heart rate, and other vital signs so clinicians can monitor the patient’s responses to treatments. Currently, we have three products in the market.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with TechMagic?

We needed help with AWS deployment.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

TechMagic was tasked to take our product from on-premise and move it into AWS. The product was already built, and it needed no changes to its features. However, they built the infrastructure and security models around deploying the product into AWS.

What is the team composition?

We worked with an account manager, an infrastructure specialist, and a security specialist from TechMagic.

How did you come to work with TechMagic?

We originally met TechMagic through one of our board members who had also used them for many developments, and I chose them for this project because of the work that they had done for us previously.

They specialize in Node.js, so they developed an application for us in Node.js and React and then deployed it in AWS. That project went well — it was on time and budget. Additionally, it was well managed and put together. As they did an excellent job, I wanted to use them again.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent £40,000–£50,000 (approximately $55,000–$68,000 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from March 2020–May 2021. We still contact them through Slack occasionally, but we’re not working on development with them at the moment.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our founder said that our application’s performance was better than ever, and the indirect feedback has been very positive as well. This was a big project and migration, so naturally, there were some issues. However, most of those issues were application bugs that we hadn’t notice until we moved it to AWS.

How did TechMagic perform from a project management standpoint?

We had a project manager on our end who kept a very good project plan, and we had standup meetings every three days. Working with people who speak English as a second language can sometimes be challenging, but TechMagic’s technical lead was an excellent communicator. His English was very good, and his communication was clear.

TechMagic’s documentation was also very clear, and their planning around the time estimates was very good. We used Slack and Jira to communicate and manage the project.

What did you find most impressive about them?

TechMagic was very accurate at their estimations. They paid attention to detail and took a lot of pride in doing things very well.

Are there any areas they could improve?

In every project that we’ve worked on with TechMagic, we’ve used them to get us off the ground because they have a lot of experience. Then, there’s a handover phase where my team takes ownership of the project. That handover part was a bit difficult this time, and it didn’t go as smoothly as I would have liked.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be clear about your requirements upfront. If you’re not clear about the scope and change it later, it can become an issue when it comes to cost. Their attention to detail is good, so it is better if they have a very clear understanding of your project’s scope.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder and CEO of Innovations Now, a technology startup.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with TechMagic?

We needed to build and launch an application, considering the normal budgetary constraints that startups have. We wanted a lean and solidly built app, and we needed it to have enough functionality to be an MVP.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

TechMagic is helping us develop our mobile-responsive web app. Initially, we worked on the proof of concept to assess the viability of what we were planning to do. I felt confident that it would work, so we moved into the UI/UX design phase and, later, into the development phase until we reached an MVP.

Our app allows talent in the demographics of 18–30 years old, basically Gen Y and Gen Z, to get noticed through video CVs to break through the noise and get interviews. It also helps them improve their interviewing skills in the interview practice zone, where they can practice interview questions and get a video analysis of their performance.

We already released the app into the Google Play store using a specific protocol, but we haven’t built a native mobile app yet. However, that task is in the pipeline.

Additionally, in about a month, we will be releasing the employer app, which allows them to post jobs with video content to reach these young people. Employers can also receive and process the video applications of candidates, so our app works both ways around video-based recruitment.

We used Webflow to build our website, but TechMagic has used various open-source technology components to build the app on the backend.

What is the team composition?

We work with a core team of six people from TechMagic. We’ve also worked with a number of other people throughout the project, including their director, who has CTO capabilities and sometimes advises us, and a full team of developers, UX designers, and testers.

How did you come to work with TechMagic?

They were referred to me by a colleague whose opinion I valued. He had worked with them in the past. When I met TechMagic, I felt very comfortable with the technical skills of the people that I was speaking with and with the process that they outlined.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in March 2020, and our engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I’m focusing on two key aspects: delivering the product on time and bug-free, and I can say that TechMagic has accomplished both aspects. We’ve managed to deliver what we scoped, so I’m very happy with that.

I’m very impressed with the fact that there haven’t been many bugs. This accomplishment is possible thanks to constant testing. Other developers build the product and test it at the end, but TechMagic has been continuously testing functionalities. They’ve done an amazing job.

At one point, I asked them to see the test scripts to get the confidence that they were well-structured, and what I got was quite impressive.

How did TechMagic perform from a project management standpoint?

Currently, we’re working with the second project manager assigned to us because the first one had to move on after six months. I’ve been very impressed with the fact that both project managers have been very documentation-focused and timely. They use Jira for the backlog and sprint planning.

Our current project manager definitely knows the nature of the project that we’re doing — she got it quicker and better than the previous project manager. I’m very happy about that, and I think she’s very happy about working with us as well.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I’m impressed with TechMagic’s development quality and timeliness. They’re very thorough, and that’s part of their DNA.

Additionally, their willingness to get the project to where it needs to be is great. They’ve never cut any corners in terms of design to suit development needs, and they’ve taken what I’ve said as a requirement.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Initially, I was getting monthly reports, but we changed to a weekly basis because I wanted to stay have a closer approach. That was one area of improvement because I didn’t know how they worked, but I asked for what I wanted and got it.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Try to think through the storyboarding yourself. I went in with high-level ideas of what I wanted, and TechMagic helped me shape them, which I’m thankful for. However, that led me to start thinking very quickly about what I required.

Having a storyboard of your app in advance will allow you to go as prepared as possible for the workshops.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CTO of engin sciences. The goal of our company is to provide technology for hiring managers to improve hiring for hourly workers in the U.S. We provide matching technology that can help address issues such as high-volume hiring.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with TechMagic?

I needed someone to build our recruiting platform.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

I provided the definition and the UI designs, and TechMagic designed and developed our recruiting platform. They used Node.js on the backend and React on the frontend. They’re also building integrations with other platforms. For instance, with our email marketing, they’re helping us with a Customer.io integration.

One side of the platform is for hiring managers and the other is for job seekers. There’s a job board where users can apply to jobs and take a quiz that gathers detailed information about themselves, which helps them be matched with jobs that fit their profile. On the hiring manager’s side, hiring managers navigate to a dashboard where they can create and promote jobs via different distribution channels. They can also monitor incoming applicants and evaluate and compare them in cool ways.

As the CTO, I closely monitored and defined the work that needed to be done. I still work with them on a daily basis.

What is the team composition?

We work with a team of two developers, one QA resource, and Alexander (Delivery Manager). I talk to each of them every day. My main contact is Alexander.

How did you come to work with TechMagic?

I decided to use them because I had worked with them in the past and knew the quality of their work. Originally, we found them on a freelance site in 2016. They responded with the best quotes.

Since I knew them from before, we got started relatively fast this time.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been working together since October 2020.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We achieved our goal of launching before an event scheduled for January 18th. Our success in that short amount of time was great. We’ve also acquired several customers who’ve begun hiring through the platform.

How did TechMagic perform from a project management standpoint?

I’m satisfied with their project management; they’re very committed and proactive, as well as invested in making sure that our needs are satisfied and attended to. TechMagic has demonstrated its creativity by finding solutions when we’re in a rush. We communicate via a daily video call and Slack.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their ease and fluidity of communication are impressive. It’s not necessary to have everything written down and documented upfront; we work incrementally, and TechMagic is very good at picking up what needs to be done to move the project forward.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Sometimes it feels like it takes a little while to recruit someone. I’m not dissatisfied — when you hire in countries that are located in Europe, for instance, it takes a little bit more time to get new people up to speed than it does in the U.S.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Trust them and let them own the decisions about how to organize the work. Don’t try to micromanage them.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the co-founder and CTO of Governance.com, a corporate compliance firm. We help major players in the financial services industry manage corporate governance.

We help clients centralize the data they need to stay on top of their business processes and comply with law. We also help them organize business processes and become more efficient by defining and automating their workflow.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with TechMagic?

We wanted to create a new version of our meeting portal in a short timeframe. To meet our goals, we needed to quickly expand our development capacity of the team.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They developed a meeting portal where board members, shareholders, and other participants can access information from our system, collaborate, and document what they accomplished during meetings. We provided the designs and did the backend development, but they did the frontend development.

What is the team composition?

There are frontend developers and a project manager.

How did you come to work with TechMagic?

I was interested in working with a company abroad, but in the past, we never had a solid scope. I was amazed by the speed at which they understood what we needed to do.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent between $50,000­–$100,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in May 2019 and completed the project in December 2020.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They delivered exactly what they promised and my clients were excited about the final product.

How did TechMagic perform from a project management standpoint?

I worked directly with a project manager who organized the requirements for each sprint, the estimation sessions, and collaborated with us to implement our feedback.

A few times throughout the engagement, we restructured the team and followed both a sprint and Kanban development process. The project manager did a really good job reconciling all of our changes and adjusting to our new project management style.

They worked very quickly. Within a week, they delivered visuals that I wasn’t expecting for several more weeks.

Our development lead was really excited that the project manager closely guarded the sprint cadence and ensured that everything was delivered on time. It gave him more time and flexibility to work on architectural decisions.

Finally, our developers really enjoyed working with TechMagic’s developers.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They asked questions about how we used our meeting portal and proactively proposed alternatives to how we could build it.

Are there any areas they could improve?

At one point, two developers left and it took a while to replace them. Turnover is common with any company, but they could have lined up a fallback option.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

They really want to be part of the team and understand all the context of what they’re doing, and that sets them apart from other development companies. New clients can help them be more efficient by including them in requirements discussions.