Thinkship

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m the director of onboarding for SynoPay. We’re a payment solutions company that helps connect US merchants with Chinese consumers for cross-border payments. I qualify and onboard US merchants who use our payment solutions.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Thinkship?

We hired them to develop an internal merchant management system to improve workflow.

What were your goals for this project?

Our first goal was to develop a platform that would track the merchant onboarding process. We also needed to create a secure document portal, which could be used to upload, transmit, and store confidential information. Finally, we required a payout platform for calculating commissions based on complex transactions.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

They were referred to us.

Can you go into detail about the services they provided and the scope of the project?

Thinkship built our merchant management system from the ground up. After an initial meeting to discuss our business needs, their project management team determined the full scope of the work, then defined the project requirements and goals. They split the first phase of the work into three sprints and completed a full version of the system. Now that it’s complete, we’ve been following the same process to create enhancements for it.

What was the team composition?

We primarily worked with our project manager, Arsheen, and with Thinkship’s head of engineering, but a UX designer and several developers also worked on the project.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The new system has helped streamline our workflow and eliminate manual processes. They’ve integrated external e-signature systems with our internal system, which has increased efficiency. They also built a secure document portal for transmitting and storing highly sensitive data, which was a critical requirement of our project. Not only is the system secure, but it’s also very simple and user-friendly.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

We had weekly in-person meetings with Arsheen. Having that level of one-to-one communication really helped us ensure that the project delivered everything we needed. She took the time to understand our business and effectively conveyed all of that information to the development team. They held true to their original timeline with very few delays. We were always able to email their team with questions and they responded promptly. They communicated effectively with us and with each other throughout the project.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

They demonstrated patience, professionalism, and an exceptionally high level of creativity and communication.

Are there any areas where they can improve?

No. They did an outstanding job and exceeded our expectations. It’s been a pleasure working with them and we continue to be impressed with the quality of their work.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

G&U Orthopedic is a medical equipment company. I’m the owner.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Thinkship?

We needed to create a website to gain an online presence.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They developed my website. We needed to be able to display all the products that we sell. We wanted a clean and direct message with a modern design that looked professional and was easy to use. We summarized information so the user could identify the products that we’re trying to sell. 

What is the team composition? 

I worked solely with the project manager. 

How did you come to work with Thinkship?

They were highly recommended by a friend of mine who also used them for their website. 

How much have you invested with them?

$3,300. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in April 2017 and the work is ongoing. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They helped me develop the website, created it in a timely manner, and with the professional look that I wanted. 

How did Thinkship perform from a project management standpoint?

The project management was great. The communication was very timely. They responded quickly; my questions were answered very fast. We used conference calls and an application to screen share on the computer. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

They were efficient. They understood what I wanted and presented different designs for me to choose from. All of them were within the spectrum of what I was looking for. They did it in a timely manner and with a reasonable price compared to other companies I talked to.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I can’t think of anything. They provided great service. They did everything I expected. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I can’t think of anything. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We are a global cross-border medical platform. We help patients from Asia find the best doctors in the United States.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Thinkship?

We needed help building our platform.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The system Thinkship built is quite sophisticated. In addition to our website frontend, we have a backend client and doctor portal. This enables us to manage appointments. Clients can also search doctors based on their expertise, language, and other criteria. The platform allows providers to accept credit card, ACH, and TransUnion payments.

What is the team dynamic?

There were 4–5 developers. Xu [Founder/CEO, Thinkship] handled technology infrastructure. One of his developers worked on the frontend design, and another developed the backend system. They also had a UI/UX [user interface/user experience] designer.

How did you come to work with Thinkship?

We looked at multiple companies. We received bids from Russia and India, but we didn’t feel comfortable with them. A friend referred Thinkship, and particularly Xu [Founder/CEO, Thinkship] to us. His company was small and a startup at that time.

How much have you invested with them?

$50,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together June last year. Their part on the platform is finished, and we are just taking care of some business aspects on our end before we roll it out. We are no longer in frequent contact with them, but they’re more than happy to make small fixes for us. They feel like the technology department of our company.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’ve shown the website to multiple users and partners. They’re very satisfied. From a business perspective, their price is more than fair, and the outcome was very good.

Xu had told me the system was extendable, and any tech person could keep building on what they’d created. We ended up hiring a tech guy recently and he confirmed this. He said he can continue working on the system without needing to make changes. That’s pretty awesome.

How did Thinkship perform from a project management standpoint?

They were awesome. They were always ahead of schedule.

They actively and proactively communicated with us. Sometimes we didn’t know what we wanted, but they did. They constantly give us advice about what kind of information and functionality to use. They’re very good at comprehending our business needs and translating them into technology.

We used Asana and Trello, as well as frequent conference calls. We communicated at least 3 times a week. Xu was on-call all the time, including times we needed to fix something in the middle of the night. He is very dedicated.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re positioning themselves as more than a development company. It’s part of their vision and mission to give their clients a technological advantage over their competitors.

Xu is a fantastic developer, and the other developers are also very good at what they do. The backend they developed was sophisticated, and we appreciated the fact that they had a UI/UX designer as well. They were very dedicated to our project and very responsible.

They’re always thinking from the client’s perspective and are very proactive. I was very confident in them. I didn’t have to worry about the technology side; I could leave it to Thinkship, knowing they would handle it. All I had to do was make sure my business is thriving.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They did a fantastic job, and I don’t think they did anything wrong. They were perfect. The only thing I would change is their size. They were quite small when we began, with under 10 employees. They’ve since grown. If I’d had a larger project, I don’t know if they would’ve had enough resources. I’m sure they’d make it work.

Do you have any advice for future clients of Thinkship?

I realized in talking to Xu that I needed to explain what I wanted to achieve, not how to do it. Future clients can be very confident he’ll find the best solution and under budget.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Our company creates a Referral Management Platform for insurance brokers.  Steven Caban is our CEO and I am the President and COO.

The platform is a first-of-its-kind product that provides exclusive, one-to-one referrals for new business. The referrals come from an incentivized Partner Network that anyone can join. We are replacing the traditional lead vendor model where a customer’s information is sold to agents on lead lists, which is a bad experience for everyone.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Thinkship?

My co-founder, Steven, and I both have a strong entrepreneurial mindset, so we’re constantly sustaining the vision. We’re good at taking stock of where we are, and knowing where we’re headed, and when needed we find help with how planning and strategy integrate with development to make sure the vision is realized. It’s a challenge for everyone, I think.

We needed full-stack developers to build a robust architecture for a web app that would be responsive for mobile browsers and other platforms, and could later on be brought to native mobile platforms like iOS and Android.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

After lots of research and planning, we took several days to write a detailed project scope. I wrote an executive summary that outlined what I wanted the relationship to be, what the product should be, and what the takeaways would be.

The bulk of the project was a fully functioning platform, but we wanted things like annotative code in the unlikely case that someone else has to pick up where they left off. The scope included user-facing websites for logging in and managing information, and suggestions for permission architecture in platform.

Angular is a big part of the technology we’re using. We wanted to make sure we can port the software over to an iPhone or Android app. Software is really a service these days and it should be mobile-first and responsive to different screen sizes, platforms, operating systems, etc. We wanted something that was pretty snappy upfront as far as page loading time. In fact, our pages don’t reload often, the data just appears in the UI at the correct moment. Thinkship has pretty top-of-the-line hardware. They easily leverage a couple-hundred different technologies, including diverse API’s, AWS [Amazon Web Services], and QuickBooks for accounting to name a few.

In our initial scope of work I tried to build in a 10%–15% flexibility margin for changes because of our entrepreneurial nature. In some senses, the platform is still a work in progress, even though we’ve rolled it out. It can be difficult to strike a balance between a budget and the features. The goal is to make it fair for everyone involved and build great, long-lasting relationships.

What is the team dynamic?

I work with Xu [Founder and CEO, Thinkship] who leads his team to achieve his vision for the project. Even though I don’t live in Illinois, I visit their office when I am in Chicago. They have a great working environment.

How did you come to work with Thinkship?

Thinkship was referred to us about a year and half ago, but unfortunately, we tried another avenue first. We ended up going with a recommendation from a $6 billion company.

That software development provider was based in South Carolina and turned out to be an absolute nightmare. They kept promising that features would go live the next week, or the next, but it became clear that these were all excuses. We ended up making several payments to them, but they would never deliver the work. What they did deliver was very poor. We did some digging and discovered that their founder had a criminal record for financial fraud. We finally terminated the relationship.

We went back to the original recommendation for Thinkship, which took us from the worst experience imaginable to the best in less than a week.

How much have you invested with them?

We have invested six figures in the development of the platform with Thinkship.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in January 2017, and the work is ongoing. The relationship is still evolving. In the future, I see us keeping them on retainer, with a flexible give-and-take relationship built on honesty, ethics, and loyalty.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’ve rolled out the software, but it’s always in development. We’re on-boarding customers and continually testing, but it’s still early.

Our demos to potential customers are getting most of our signups. We had previously given demos with the original developers’ work and it got very poor feedback—it didn’t really work. A few insurance agents got a demo of both products in the span of a few weeks. They were blown away by the difference. One broker with a small agency in Chicago was truly amazed. He said, “This is so frigging cool!” We signed him up that day.

How did Thinkship perform from a project management standpoint?

We’re working to establish a relationship where they can take ownership of projects with almost an executive decision-making ability.

I’ve found that often when a leader has a big personality, there can be friction in a team. Subordinates can look for the leader to make a mistake and capitalize on it. Steven and I make mistakes all the time, but Thinkship is very understanding and they understand the customer relationship and how the system works.

It’s a mutual relationship. We don’t abuse what they extend to us and we try to extend as much or more in return. They provide an incredible value to us.

Xu is the key man at Thinkship. I’m excited for the day when I can put a check for $1,000,000 on his desk. Xu’s a great guy, and he hires good people. We most definitely want them to be successful. They have done such a good job for us; I can’t imagine anything but success for Xu and his team.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I’ve worked with a number of developers in China, India, and the States. What really struck me about Thinkship is their architecture expertise. They take care with every aspect of the build. It’s clear to me that the success and failure of SaaS comes down to its architecture.

We were also impressed with their response to a sizeable change we requested last-minute. During a meeting with an agency in Texas, we sold them an enterprise product. So we had to build one pretty quickly.

It was great how fast Thinkship picked that up and ran with it. They are very flexible and accommodating in the face of moving targets or surprise events.

I would give them full marks across the board. I can see their work activity and can tell that Xu’s really there, often on weekends too. It’s so refreshing talking to someone with such high aptitude. He really gets what I’m trying to say, even if my explanation is partial or I’m in a rush. There’s absolutely no passive aggressiveness. He’s got real visionary potential.

I’m almost torn about giving them a good review, because I want them all to myself. I don’t want them to get so busy that they don’t have time for me!

 Are there any areas they could improve?

There are always areas to improve but there is nothing that needs improvement apparent to me at this time.

Do you have any advice for potential clients?

The key to any successful development project is to have a clearly defined scope of work. Giving a thoughtful and well-planned scope to a talented development team with integrity ensures major success on a project. It’s hard to resist the entrepreneurial tendency to improvise as you go, but a clearly-defined working relationship is important. The margin developers build in for unforeseen changes can be as high as 40%–50%.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Cloud Realty is a real estate brokerage in Chicago. We do most of our business online. We have a searchable website of all MLS listings. We’ve been building a new style of real estate website where people can create an account, write their own offers, and have a central repository for all of the documents that they need. The site includes a cost calculator and other analysis tools.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Thinkship?

We wanted to build a good real estate website. A lot of the existing turnkey solutions weren’t scalable enough. We knew we wanted to create our own database, website, and backend and integrate with our own CRM.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The first phase of the website had five elements. We needed a strong homepage, a real estate search filter page, a listings page, and a property details page. I created mock-ups in Photoshop of how I envisioned the design and asked them to build it. They provided input on the UX, registration forms, activation, etc. They used HTML, CSS, and JavaScript to build it. For the frontend, they used Angular and for the backend, they used Laravel database.

They integrated my old WordPress website so I have one side of the website where I can create my own pages and blog posts. They also integrated the website with the CRM, which is Salesforce, and the marketing automation platform, Pardot. They also host the site on their own server so I don’t have to pay Amazon Web Services fees, which is nice.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent around $35,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together a little over a year ago.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Thinkship built the site to include every detail that I designed in Photoshop; it’s pretty much pixel perfect. We’re happy with the product so far. The former website took too long to load, causing low conversion rates. I was aiming for a 5% conversion rate and we’re consistently getting an 8% conversion rate. That makes it a success.

How did Thinkship perform from a project management standpoint?

My two contacts are Ryan [COO, Thinkship] and Xu [Founder, Thinkship], who I interact with most. Ryan has experience building real estate websites and worked at fsbo.com. Xu is easy to talk to and always available. They have a team of developers in Chicago and China.

We used Trello to keep tabs on what’s going on, find bugs, create new requests, and stay organized. The mobile app is convenient to use and add ideas remotely.

Communications range from daily to weekly; we work in sprints.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re a young, growing company. As with any startup, they’re willing to work hard at a reasonable price because they’re trying to build up their portfolio. Sometimes they work around the clock if there’s something urgent that needs to be developed. It’s a good opportunity to work with some very talented people and get good value for your money. They understand the resources required to have a well-performing website that’s fast and can handle many simultaneous users. Thinkship has the resources and skill set to build an enterprise-level site from scratch at a reasonable price.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I’m a marketing person and do a lot of visual design. We have good chemistry because I do most of the design work. However, some people are not going to have that skill so they may need to find their own designer as Thinkship doesn’t have designers on board.