Techugo

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CTO of AVA Technologies. We produce a smart indoor garden that helps users grow fruits and vegetables year-round without soil or sunlight.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Techugo?

Before this project, we were working with another development agency, but that engagement didn’t work out. We hired Techugo to augment our staff and continue where our previous developers left off.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They provide a full-stack developer who works on the iOS and Android app that connects with our smart garden. They work with React.js, React Native, Node.js, Angular, MySQL, and AWS for our servers.

Users can log into the app using an email, Google, or Facebook. Then through an onboarding user flow, users pair their device with their phones. Once their device is set up, users can scan a QR code that helps them determine what water and lighting cycles to use to optimize growth.

The device lets them know when to refill water, when to harvest, and when to prune. Since the device includes a camera, users can also use the platform to see images and view time-lapses through the app.

What is the team composition?

For most of the project, I was working with an account manager. I was also connected to a delivery person, the CEO, and developers.

How did you come to work with Techugo?

I was going through Clutch reviews and found Techugo. I narrowed it down to 4-5 companies and conducted a series of interviews with their developers. Based on their responses, I decided to move forward with Techugo.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent between $25,000–$40,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

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

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Overall, we’re satisfied with their work. Our internal software project manager tests everything they develop on the same day they deliver it. Because we provide immediate feedback, they are able to implement changes quickly. Every two weeks, we push a new update to the App Store.

How did Techugo perform from a project management standpoint?

The developers do a pretty good job of delivering changes on a daily basis. They also make themselves available when we need to make changes, even though they’re located in a different time zone.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They provide good talent without breaking the bank.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can’t think of anything they need to change.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I would recommend Techugo to anyone looking to outsource their app development. I like to manage the developers myself rather than hiring an external project manager, but that’s just my preference.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We’ve created an online tech platform for users to rent their homes and explore rental options at other properties. People can list their properties for other users to rent. I’m the owner of the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Techugo?

We needed a web development company to create the platform for us.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

First, we broke the project down into several milestones. Together, we thoroughly defined deliverables and a logical timeline for delivery. They followed up with relevant questions before working to develop the platform according to the milestones. 

What is the team composition?

We worked with designers, developers, and QA people. They assigned a project manager to ensure the project progressed according to our timelines. Every once in a while, we’d touch base with the founder.  

How did you come to work with Techugo?

We searched for top web development companies across India, looking for specialized technical skills. Their capabilities aligned with our needs, so we got in touch with them about the project. Their website and portfolio were also impressive. 

How much have you invested with them?

We spent between $10,000–$20,000. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from March–June 2020. Aspects of the project were paused during COVID, but they’re currently in support mode.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They’re a thorough team that brings relevant information to us ahead of time. Whenever we have a bug or problem, they send us a link to their work and explain solution options.  

How did Techugo perform from a project management standpoint?

They were excellent communicators and always met deadlines. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

They were thorough with explanations throughout the project, committing themselves to fixing our problems. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can’t think of anything right now.  

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

They keep their deadlines and promises, so I’d recommend working with them.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the co-founder and president of an aggregator marketplace startup. I don’t have a name for it yet, but I’m trying to build a price calculator product. Our aggregator platform will allow people who want to develop a mobile app to set requirements and find the best-rated developers around them for their project. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Techugo?

There are so many app developers in the market, and it’s hard to tell what the real cost of creating an app is. You might get a cost of $20,000 in Asia, while the same service in the US could be $80,000. I wanted to create a platform that would standardize this cost and have verified companies bid for projects. We needed a company with expertise in mobile and web app development. We wanted to write a single piece of code that works well on the web and mobile.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We had a very basic skeleton of our platform when we went to Techugo. Ankit (Founder & COO) is part of the UI/UX team there, and he helped us with the wireframes and designs. They improved upon our idea and built the MVP for our website. They use React Native.

They will work on the iOS and Android mobile apps once we have the approval and funding in place. 

What is the team composition?

My primary contact is Harjot (Business Head). From the technical side, I’ve worked with Ankit and Abhinav (CEO). A set of developers work under them.

How did you come to work with Techugo?

I looked for options that were within my budget. Right now, we’re bootstrap, and we don’t have excess funds. Rather than approaching a North American entity, we wanted to outsource to Asian companies. 

While doing online research of companies that do a lot of work in React Native, I found Techugo. I saw their website and portfolio and got in touch with them.

How much have you invested with them?

For the MVP stage, we’re around $35,000, with plans for around $60,000–$70,000. It’s a fixed price engagement. Depending on how we get our funding, this will become a major project.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in April 2020, and the work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’ve been satisfied in terms of their customer response. One thing that stands out is their consulting approach to projects. They are very open in terms of listening to our ideas and contributing their own.

They have a lot of experience across multiple verticals, and that helps. They’re happy to share information and build on top of our ideas, and we like that a lot.

How did Techugo perform from a project management standpoint?

Communication is pretty solid. They have a project tracking tool that they gave us access to, and we’re able to see their progress through it. There’s never been a lack of communication. 

Since this was an MVP, they worked in an agile approach. If we raise an issue, they resolve it quickly. The project managers are pretty strong. They know their work and their team in and out. It’s been a breeze.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Something that stands out to me is their consulting approach. When we spoke about our idea on our first call with them, they didn’t just listen to what needed to be done and then do it; instead, they questioned the process and logic. They got answers to their questions and then built off of that. 

They were comfortable working in the budget we were looking at. Hopefully, if everything goes well, they will be our long-term partners. Another good thing that they did was a marketing analysis to determine competitors in the market and whether what we wanted to build was unique or not.

Are there any areas they could improve?

We’re early in the engagement. As of now, I don’t have any points for improvement.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

They typically expect some sort of documentation or mind map of what you’re trying to build. The best way to engage with them is to get in touch with their business team and speak about the idea, and they can build on top of it.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm a technical lead of the digital agency located in Singapore. We provide software development services to clients from different industry. My main responsibilities are to manage the the development team, understanding the client's requirement and translate them to specific instruction or specs which the developers can work on them.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Techugo?

This is a product from one of our clients, they provide consultancy for their customers on how to setup their businesses straight from their house, especially for F&B.

And to further help them out to link up with their potential customers, the client wants to develop this marketplace app where these home store owners can register for free and start selling on the app. At that time, due to lack of internal development team, so we outsource to external development company.

What were your goals for this project?

We want to make the app as simple as possible as most of the home store owners are not techie. We want to double the number of users in the app by end of this year, and looking to expand this into multiple countries by next year Q3.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We searched online for possible vendors, and eventually gotten 3 in the list. We talked to them and explain to each of them our requirements before receiving their proposals. After several internal discussions, we decided to proceed with this vendor, because the cost provided are lower than the other two, they're responsive to our questions, and the shared portfolio UI are something we like.

Describe the project in detail.

At first, we had a few session to discuss on the details of the requirements. After that we moved on to the wire-framing stage, where after two weeks of finalising the wireframes, they provide us with the design mockups for each screens in multiple batches.

We use inVision to review the mockups and state our feedback in the comments. When they provided us with the designs, our internal head of design will review them and provide feedback or approve accordingly.

For some of the parts, our designer will make the changes directly. This product is developed in native iOS & android, and the admin backend was developed using PHP framework.

This project is a marketplace app where users can register and login into the app, upload their items to the app and get seen by potential customers. Users can manage their product pricing, photos, description, category, etc and submit offer to our seller products. The app also comes with chat function where buyer can contact sellers to either negotiate the price or schedule a meet up.

What was the team composition?

Based on what we know, there is the Sales who did the initial aliasing, a Business Development and designer assigned in pre-development. During development, a technical project manager, 1 backend developer, 1 iOS developer and 1 Android developer was assigned. And once the project is completed, a branding & marketing director was then assigned to get overall feedback on the project.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

After the app is launched for 3 months, we've gotten 1000 users registered on our app. And till date we've grown to 3000, we target to double the users and expand to other countries. We did a survey campaign which we've gotten 80% positive reviews, and the 20% are some enhancement which we're currently looking into it. The final app had some bugs which it's being constantly resolved.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The assigned project manager was easy to communicate, and he will always check back to ensure the understanding is correct. As we're based offshore, so there are some time difference between the two countries but it's not a big issue since we always schedule a time so that both parties has started working. The project manager is also flexible in time scheduling.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

They provide a very competitive cost while providing a quality product. They also take productivity and expectation very serious, as one of the previously assigned project manager had gave false expectation and causing delays to the project, a new project manager is then reassigned to the project.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Things can always be better, but personally we think the chat feature in the app can be improved in terms of the speed and provide a more seamless experience.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Winchat is a mobile platform designed to bring together automotive service providers with service seekers. I am Co-founder and CEO of Winchat General Trading LLC.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Techugo?

We partnered up with Techugo to help us develop mobile applications and web panels in a fully integrated system.

What were your goals for this project?

Our goal is to provide easy and accessible automotive services to our customers all at one place.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We underwent a heavy selection process and finally partnered up with Techugo as the team has been fantastic. We are glad we selected Techugo because not only did they help us fulfill our objectives, but also helped us enhance our operations processes.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

Techugo developed 4 mobile applications and 2 web panels.

What was the team composition?

The project team had about 10 members. Team members came and went based on the project needs. We had full support from the CEO and COO all along the process and they made sure the right team members are involved in this project at all times.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our business relies on this platform. It’s our main service offering. So it was critical it met our expectations. After project completion, it did not just meet our expectations, it actually exceeded them.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

Project management was very impressive. We had weekly calls with the team to evaluate progress and also kept in touch almost on a daily basis. The team is always there to provide updates and take feedback.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The most impressive thing about Techugo is that the team operates as a family. And they treat the customers as family members. Genuinely seeking and offering better appropriate solutions and enhancements in order to deliver the best product available.

Are there any areas for improvement?

There’s always room for improvement everywhere. Our project was big and went overboard with the timeline a little bit. This is due to the size of the project. But overall, we are extremely happy with the end result.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We’re a tech company in the process of developing a wellness product. I’m the owner of the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Techugo?

We were looking to develop an app.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Techugo developed the Android version of our app. We plan to make an iOS version as well. I provided them a requirements document along with wireframes made in Adobe InDesign. It’s a monitoring and medication management app.

What is the team composition?

There are six people from Techugo working on the project.

How did you come to work with Techugo?

I found them after about five months of research. I sent out requests for quotes, and I chose Techugo based on how they responded. They were professional and ready to answer any questions I had.

How much have you invested with them?

I’ve paid them around $15,000 so far, and the project is looking to cost $40,000–$50,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

I made contact with them around one and a half years ago, but I signed the contract in March 2020. The work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I have access to some of the platforms on which they’re doing the coding, and I’ve been provided with the first working version of the app, which we’re currently testing.

How did Techugo perform from a project management standpoint?

I think they’re awesome. I’ve talked to them at 2 a.m. or later. If I need them, I can send an email and get a response within an hour. If they can’t answer my question right away, they’ll let me know that they’re working on an answer.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their prompt response to my questions and concerns is what distinguishes them from others. All my questions have been answered to my satisfaction.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I honestly don’t have a complaint about them. I’m happy with what they’ve done so far. There were areas where my approach wasn’t the best one, but they caught that and suggested a better approach.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

I recommend discussing the whole project with Techugo before starting.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the digital marketing manager for McGillivray Group. We provide marketing and branding to the real estate industry. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Techugo?

We wanted to build an app that allows investors to make more informed decisions about potential property investments. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The app lets users import property information and compare properties based on their rate of return. It keeps the information needed for similar calculations all in one place.

The app is accessible through a browser or an Android or iOS device. The backend is built in Ruby on Rails.

What is the team composition?

I believe they have 7–8 people working on this project, including three senior developers, a project manager, and a marketing team.

How did you come to work with Techugo?

I was looking for a reliable company in a competitive market. I did some searches and came across Techugo. I contacted them, and they were very responsive, following up quickly and impressing me. Other companies I reached out to took three weeks to get back to me. After that, we got started with Techugo. 

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent about $27,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project started in September 2019 and is ongoing. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our next step is the testing phase. The progress has been great.

How did Techugo perform from a project management standpoint?

I’m very satisfied with their project management. We have meetings regularly to update us on progress. They also are active on email and WhatsApp. It makes communication much easier for us. They’re very transparent about their milestones, and their progress towards those milestones. They use an approval process to ensure our satisfaction.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re very open about some of the changes that we wanted for this project. They’re also good and on time in their follow-ups. They’re very fast compared to other companies I worked with. Lastly, Techugo recently opened an office located nearby, which makes a big difference for me. We previously worked with a team in India, which meant significant time zone differences when it comes to communication.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I have to see the finished product, but overall, they’re pretty good. 

Any advice for potential customers?

I would definitely recommend Techugo. They’ve been very useful in the project. I hope to maintain my relationship with them and use them for other projects as they come up. Their costs are in our range, and their quality is good as well.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the owner, director, and general manager of an e-commerce space. We develop mobile apps for the sale of custom clothing in the Middle East.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Techugo?

We needed them to develop a mobile application for iOS and Android.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They also developed an admin panel and a website for our launch. It’s a basic website at the moment, but we’re going to develop it more in the future. They did everything for us. When they gave us the proposal, my tech partner agreed that they were using all the right technologies.

How did you come to work with Techugo?

When we set up the business, I scoped out requirements and went to a bunch of places to get proposals. Then, I went through the technical evaluation process, commercial evaluation, and they were number one. They had the most comprehensive proposal and were very responsive and engaging. And they’ve continued to be that way.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent around $32,000 so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been working together since August 2019.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Success has been the usability of the app and its effectiveness since we haven’t launched yet. There have also been third-party integrations they’ve done very well with, integrating a payment gateway, for example.

A couple of months ago, we flew out to meet with their CEO and he gave us two days of his own personal time to tweak the app with us. He really understood our business.

How did Techugo perform from a project management standpoint?

They’ve done excellently.They’ve never missed a deadline and been very transparent with challenges. They’ve responded well to things we haven’t foreseen and adapted and report regularly. I’m always kept up to date and have direct access to everyone on the team: the account manager, the CEO, etc.

They’ve also been very accommodating with other people I’ve brought in. They’ve just rolled with the punches.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I didn’t really know what I was doing, but they have clarified my thoughts and clarify the scope. They were responsive and behaved like partners straight out the gate. They quickly saw our potential.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Engage them. You’ll have your scope, but give them a chance to provide some advice and guidance. From what I’ve seen, they’re very knowledgeable and dynamic. They have quite a young group.

A couple of other projects that have come up that I’ve sent their way, and, while I haven’t awarded them yet, they’re leading with their approaches. Trust them; they’re good people.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the manager of process & automation at S P Jain School of Management, one of the world’s leading business schools.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Techugo?

We hired Techugo to develop a mobile app.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They developed a mobile app for iOS and Android platforms. Their team implemented features for real-time tracking, matching students with their extracurricular activities, and connecting the app to computer activities, too. 

What is the team composition?

There were 5–6 people working on the project, including a technical designer, developer, and a UI designer. 

How did you come to work with Techugo?

I had hired them in the past for a different project.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked on the project from July 2019 – February 2020.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The app runs smoothly with no bugs.

How did Techugo perform from a project management standpoint?

Techugo delivered everything on time and tracked the project through Zoho. Our communication was through Skype. We had a great experience working with them. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

They understood our requirements and were good at technical design. The whole team was skilled and delivered excellent work.

Are there any areas they could improve?

We used different communication platforms than they did, but we worked it out.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

If you need digital application expertise, they have it. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a co-founder of a startup health tech organization based out of Noida, Delhi. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Techugo?

We have client-side and partner-side apps. We wanted to revamp the client-side app for our patients as a completely new app in Android. We didn’t have the capability to build it in-house at the time, so we started looking for companies that could do it.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Techugo worked on the client-side app for our patients with chronic conditions. Our solution focuses on how to get those patients verified information that will help them at the right interval of time.

Once the doctor puts the patient on our system, they receive informative content as animation videos and infographics. They also get information about when their visit is due, when they have to take any medications, and when any tests are due. Patients can manage their health records, connect with their doctors, and set up appointments as well. It’s basically a one-stop-shop healthcare solution for a patient’s medical needs.

This was the central idea of the app, and Techugo was building a ground-up project to incorporate all of those features. We specified the requirements, and they built the Android app end-to-end. We provided backend APIs to them to fetch data from the server.

What is the team dynamic?

There was one point of contact from the Techugo side. They had one Android developer internally. We were in touch just with the project manager.

How did you come to work with Techugo?

We looked at Clutch and picked Techugo because they’re also based out of Noida and had really good reviews.

How much have you invested with them?

The original contract was for 4 lakh Indian rupees (approximately $5,600 USD). We gave them around 340,000–350,000 rupees (approximately $4,800–$4,900 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in April 2019, and the original project was supposed to take 12–16 weeks. However, it ended just last week, and not on a good note.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Describe the impact this engagement has had on your business.

We committed to our investors and outside people that the app would be launched by a certain date. It’s taken almost twice the time, and the app is still not released. 

Some of the features aren’t up to the mark. Some things are very slow in the app such as the care plan feature page. It was supposed to have a local database so it wouldn’t have to call an API every time a page loaded. Techugo didn’t do that. We flagged it during a review, but it resulted in them implementing an incomplete feature. We’re now incorporating an internal database into the app and caching some of the data received from the API. 

Another feature we expected from Techugo was message notifications. However, the app that Techugo delivered doesn’t notify users about new or unread messages. When they open the app, they won’t see an unread count. Until the user is in the chat window itself, they will never know whether a new message has come.

We made a company-wide review of the final version of the app. There were around 70–80 bugs reported not including the features that were never implemented. Techugo said they would take one week to fix those 70–80 bugs. They finished three weeks later and left around 20 unique bugs.

We’ve hired in-house people to do the remaining work on our own.

How was project management handled?

Communication wasn’t great, and neither was the daily progress. We started with daily standups with the project manager so that we’d know the process and progress. Those standups sometimes didn’t go as planned: they were delayed or the person didn’t show up. They always slipped deadlines. We were the ones pushing for those standups, but the project manager should’ve been driving it.

For daily communication, we created a WhatsApp group. However, if the project manager or the developer were on vacation, we weren’t notified of that. We were given a milestone plan that was later updated four times Techugo they didn’t share the updated milestones, so it lost its purpose. After the project was allotted, I tried to go higher up in the management, but I sometimes didn’t hear a response for 2–3 days.

Is there anything that the vendor did well or that you would consider a strength?

The reason we selected Techugo over another vendor we found on Clutch was that their designs were more professional. We liked the work they shared on InVision. We were thinking that the final product would be as good as that. The implementation is definitely not up to the mark, and it’s been a lost opportunity for us. We invested a lot of time in their services instead of hiring our own in-house people to get it done in-house because we trusted them and their reviews.

What advice do you have for clients with similar needs to yours?

Going by the reviews Techugo has on Clutch, there are definitely two classes of people there—some are more technically-sound compared to others. If the client is stuck with a resource that lacks technical ability, it’ll be very difficult to get what that client wants out of them. That was a mistake we made, and I don’t want others to make it. As a startup, time is of the essence for us.