Uncap

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Owner and CEO of the company. 

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

We market and sell solid wood furniture for craftspeople throughout Vermont.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Uncap Commerce to accomplish?

• Migrate our website to Shopify Plus

SOLUTION

How did you find Uncap Commerce?

Referral

Why did you select Uncap Commerce over others?

• High ratings
• Pricing fit our budget
• Good value for cost
• Referred to me

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

Uncap managed the modernization and migration of our website. Our site was 12 years old and had been custom built with hundreds of unique capabilities, based on our needs over the years. We had thousands of products, pages, categories, blogs, etc. The migration was much more complex than most but the folks at Uncap led us step by step through the process. 

Denis, Adam and James were our main contacts and they were all great to work with-- always available and responsive to our questions. We're very happy with the new website and would certainly recommend Uncap to anyone looking to set up a Shopify site or migrate to Shopify from another platform. They are the experts.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

• Improved SEO
• Improved site design and UX 
• Improved sales revenue 
• Improved traffic (organic and paid)
• Improved customer feedback

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

Project management was thorough and responsive. We had regular, scheduled weekly meetings with our project managers. Both Adam and James were available via email, phone and teleconference. At times, my team got a little behind on our scope of work, but the uncapped team was always willing to wait for us to catch up.

What was your primary form of communication with Uncap Commerce?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

Everyone in the company, from the owner down to the project managers and tech support, took the time to really get to know our company and our needs for the new website. They are brilliant and very knowledgeable of all that Shopify can do.

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

Not that I can think of

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Owner of (a/an) Food & Beverages

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Gourmet tea manufacturer and seller.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Uncap Commerce to accomplish?

• Migration from Woocommerce to Shopify

SOLUTION

How did you find Uncap Commerce?

Referral

Why did you select Uncap Commerce over others?

• High ratings
• Referred to me

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

Engaged with vendor to migrate an existing Woocommerce store - with over 5 years of sales data and numerous platform customizations - to Shopify. The goals of the new shopify store included:

• live on Shopify with historical data
• implement all our must have customizations, while minimizing app bloat
• maintain existing SEO ranking as much as possible
• take advantage of new features available only on Shopify
• improve site speed and conversion rate

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

• Site Speed Improved
• Conversion Rate Improved
• Staff happiness with site improved.
• Customer happiness with site improved.

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

There were some communication challenges regarding the timeline but we were able to go live prior to our busy season and had constant access to a single point of contact to advocate for our needs.

What was your primary form of communication with Uncap Commerce?

Virtual Meeting

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

They had a significant amount of knowledge and expertise about the Shopify platform.

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

I think the complexity of our data migration was underappreciated and would have made the timelines less challenging. There were also staffing changes during the kickoff which were a hinderance (perhaps unavoidable).

BACKGROUND

Gator Chef Inc. is a privately held medium-sized Commercial Food Service Equipment and Supplies Business selling commercial food service equipment and supplies to primary B2B customers such as restaurants, bars, bakeries, and other food service establishments. Sales channels for Gator Chef are through outside salespeople, a brick n’ mortar store, and their website. My position is Business Systems Manager.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

The challenge was redesigning our company's dated website www.gatorchef.com because the existing website platform and design did not meet the company's strategic vision for the future. Gator Chef's business case is an omnichannel approach. The e-commerce website supports the local retail store, local outside sales force, and national online sales.

The e-commerce website redesign and migration needed to provide company branding, retail store promotions, lead generations for the local outside sales force, and online sales.

In addition to the challenge of meeting the website project's redesign goals was finding the right agency to do it. Gator Chef interviewed over a half dozen agencies.

SOLUTION

Gator Chef wanted a hosted website platform that could grow with the business, with the ability to not only sell products online nationally but also support our outside sales force and the physical store. As a result, we choose Shopify as the platform and Uncap for their Shopify expertise.

I wrote a detailed scope of work for the project around using Shopify as the platform and an existing Shopify theme. It was our preferred method vs. a "build from scratch" approach to controlling costs.

Our strategic objectives were:

• Business branding
• Increase retail store traffic
• Increase phone traffic
• Provide an online digital product catalog
• Increase CRM database for marketing/promotions
• Online adverting for offline promotions (retail store)
• Online advertising for online/onsite promotions
• Online RFQs (Request For Quote) – products and services
• Provide generic company and retail store information – company background/history, retail location, driving directions, etc.
• e-Commerce sales 

Denis Uncap's founder was involved in the project from the start. He reviewed our scope of work and met with us to address questions, provide guidance, and a fantastic team to work with from Uncap.

Adam was our Uncap Project Manager. He did an outstanding job managing the project.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

First, let me say we made the right choice in agencies. Uncap is a great agency to work with on a website project.

Although the new website has only been live for two weeks, the old site's cutover went off without a hitch. Our company's executive management is very pleased with the outcome. 

Uncap Commerce's management of the project was very professional. We met weekly ongoing throughout the completion of the project. As a result, any concerns or needed changes were completed on time to keep the project moving forward.

Speed, accuracy, and transparency. If I found an issue or needed something changed, Uncap completed the work in almost real-time. I sent it over to Adam, and I tested and approved the update the following day.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

We are a digital agency that helps overseas brands launch thier online business in the the US. We offer an end-to-end soluiton for US operations.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We needed Shopify B2B ecommerce specialist to build design and build the site for our cleint. Our client had a large volume catalog with specific reqirements for search/filter functionality. The client needed to be able send product quotes to the end customer and convert those to draft orders.

SOLUTION

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

We recieved a recommendation from a Shopify B2B business development manager to talk to Uncap. We interviewed Uncap and based in on thier answers and experience, decided they were a fit for this project.

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

Technologies: Shopify Advanced, custom B2B app built by Uncap, Metrixify app , Product Filter and Search app.

Deliverables: Design and build B2B ecommerce site in Shopify Advanced able to send PDF product quote to customer and convert to draft order. Customer creation and approval functionality. Adding metafields to product pages.

Project Steps: Discovery, design mock up, development, app use training, QA, launch.

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

Uncap product 4 people Project Owner, Project Manager, Developer, Designer

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Uncap delivered the project on time and on budget. Uncap was flexible with regards to changing the functionality during the process and was able to keep up with the deadlines.

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

Uncap was good ad explaining the work / changes they completed so we could explain it to our end client. The PM was very helpful , managed his team well and was very responsive to our questions.

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

The Uncap team had great knowledge of the Shopify ecosystem. Compared to other Shopify vendors we have used in the past, they are outstanding.

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

We think some of the discovery information we shared with the Project Owner was not shared with the PM. We had to explain a few things again to the Project Manager.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m an executive at an online fitness equipment store.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Uncap?

We needed help with web development.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Uncap developed our Shopify Plus store from scratch using Figma for design. They started by going through a thorough discovery phase to ensure that their team understood what we wanted, and then they proceeded to build the platform. In terms of functionalities, the site has a video player feature and multiple meta fields for images and videos — everything is styled according to our requirements. In addition, visitors can buy our products through the site.

Moreover, Uncap provided maintenance services to the platform they built for us.

What is the team composition?

We worked with a project manager and two developers from their team.

How did you come to work with Uncap?

I found them through a Google search.

How much money have you invested in this partnership?

We invested $50,000 with them.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from March–September 2022.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our website has doubled in sales since we launched it.

How did Uncap perform from a project management standpoint?

They delivered everything within the deadline and budget. In terms of tools and communication, we used ClickUp and Zoom meetings.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They never used the word ‘’impossible’’ — their team always found a way to get things done. Uncap tried to make everything happen one way or another.

Are there any areas they could improve?

The handoff process was a bit rocky. Nonetheless, I talked to them already about this and gave them my feedback, and their team solved the issue.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Spend enough time in the discovery process to ensure you get exactly what you want. Moreover, allocate time to the most important things first.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the executive VP of an online seller of coffee and tea.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with PIVOFY?

We hired PIVOFY to help us migrate our website and our new subscription platform onto Shopify plus.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

First, PIVOFY looked at what we already had and made suggestions based on their findings. Then, they helped us migrate our site to Shopify.

What is the team composition?

We worked with Denis (Founder & CEO), who oversaw the project, Mike (Senior Project Manager & director), and two other people, who collaborated with my web developer throughout the process.

How did you come to work with PIVOFY?

PIVOFY was recommended as a Shopify Plus partner. When we were interviewing potential candidates to help us with this migration, it really impressed us that Denis asked us a lot of questions about what we already had and what we needed. We felt that he was truly trying to see what he could do for us instead of selling and marketing himself. I really appreciated his approach because our input allowed him to give us a price reflective of what we needed. This was a sign that I wouldn’t get unexpected charges later on.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent $36,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We first contacted PIVOFY in December 2021, but the project started in January 2022. We launched our new site recently, in July 2022, and we will now have a 30-day post-launch support period for any issues that might arise. The extended time frame beyond the normal 90-day launch estimate was the result of some unique challenges with our subscription platform. I'm confident that PIVOFY would have met the 90-day launch estimate absent these unique and unforeseeable challenges.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our new site’s launch was a tremendous success. We now have a functioning and vastly improved site that our customers find easy to navigate.

How did PIVOFY perform from a project management standpoint?

PIVOFY was very responsive, helpful, and available. They used very effective communication systems, allowing them to answer our inquiries quickly.

What did you find most impressive about them?

It was a pleasure working with PIVOFY. They demonstrated a genuine interest in delivering a site that could help us expand our business. I would highly recommend them to others undergoing a Shopify migration.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Our team had periodic communication issues with one PIVOFY team member who required a little back and forth to clarify what was needed. Other than that, we didn’t have any significant issues, and I really enjoyed working with them.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Everyone knows their own business better than anyone else, so in order to get the results you want, it is important to be clear about your needs. Denis is great at asking questions to learn more about the business he helps and making helpful recommendations based on his Shopify expertise. My advice: Provide him with as many details as possible so that he can understand what you're trying to achieve and help you achieve it.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CMO and co-founder of Noteworthy Scent, a luxury fragrance brand.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with PIVOFY?

We needed help with our Shopify platform. We were looking for someone that could take the basic Shopify features and take them to the next level to elevate them to a luxury experience. We were also looking to implement a quiz using a third-level app.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

PIVOFY has been doing an awesome job building our entire website from scratch. We gave them our brand book, logos, and fonts, and they took that to create the pages after securing the site's domain. They also made design assets for us and additional content pages based on our brand guidelines.

In addition, they integrated our quiz app and another couple of third-party platforms that we wanted to have on our Shopify site.

What is the team composition?

We've worked with Denis (Founder) and Stephanie (Project Manager). They're both wonderful; they've given me full confidence in their team and quickly got up to speed with our project, which is impressive.

How did you come to work with PIVOFY?

We found them through Clutch.

How much money have you invested in this partnership?

We've spent $25,000–$50,000 with them so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in March 2022, and the engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They’ve been able to create something according to our identity as a brand. They’re also quick and responsive. In addition, their team has been able to find and collaborate with a third-party vendor. Overall, PIVOFY has provided a visionary and strategic approach with fantastic customer service.

How did PIVOFY perform from a project management standpoint?

They’ve been using ClickUp and Markup as the main project management tools.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their communication is excellent, and the value for money that we get from them is unbelievable. The work they do is above and beyond our expectations.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don’t think there’s anything they can improve on.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the owner of a t-shirt and e-commerce knick-knack shop.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the owner of a t-shirt and e-commerce knick-knack shop.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

I spoke with Dennis (Owner), and he laid out a work order. They’re developing the UX/UI of our site and working on its design as well. the work is being done through InVision. The product offers a flow for purchasing goods.

What is the team composition?

I only know of Dennis and Mike (Director of Projects), and they’ve both been awesome.

How did you come to work with Pivofy?

I started searching online for Shopify migration firms.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent around $30,000 with them.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been working together since August 2021.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They delivered everything on time. Dennis COULD have overestimated, but he actually underestimated on the price, AND he stuck with it. They’ve been totally straightforward and honest. It’s wonderful.

The site came in on time, and they were candid about the complexities of the site. The site is ready, but I haven’t launched it yet due to delays on my side. I’m very satisfied. There have been minor issues, but they’ve fixed anything I’ve wanted.

How did Pivofy perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re spectacular with their project management. We communicate over Zoom.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their communication, honesty, and ability to deliver stand out as highlights.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, as they were great. I’m not trying to blow smoke at anyone. They were just great. Perhaps there could have been a better pre-evaluation of the site to see exactly what they were getting into, but once they learned it was a larger scope than they’d budgeted for, they didn’t complain once.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Go for it.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m CEO and founder of a direct-to-consumer luxury footwear company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Pivofy?

We were migrating our Magento site to Shopify.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We initially spoke to Pivofy about what we were looking to do. We gave them some details about the migration, the type of applications we were running on our website, how many products we had on there, the site structure, and so on. Then, they came back with a quote and the scope of work. We agreed on the work and price, and they gave us a timeframe of two months to complete the work. Finally, we got started.

Throughout the process, Pivofy suggested some things. We had a lot of back and forth about features and things that could be helpful to us. We had a lot of custom features on the site, and they rebuilt them on Shopify.

What is the team composition?

We spoke to Mike (Director of Project Management) and Denis (Founder). The two were on our calls; Mike was always there, and Denis was there 95% of the time.

How did you come to work with Pivofy?

A few other company founders recommended them. They had good experiences with Pivofy, so we reached out. In the end, it was a combination of the recommendation, timeframe in which they could get the work done, and price. Moreover, we looked at their past work and felt they were the right fit.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent $36,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We came to terms in early December 2021 and launched the new site in February 2022.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The best metric was that everything was fully functional when we went live. There weren’t any major bugs; the worst thing to happen was that some content was across cells. It was an oversight on both parts, but it was a ten-minute fix.

Overall, everything looked exactly as expected, and we haven’t had issues with the customers using the website. In fact, it’s much faster than our old one, and the code is clean.

How did Pivofy perform from a project management standpoint?

They were great. They kept their timeline, which was pretty impressive. Usually, we expect companies to take double the time they said they would on these projects. Also, they were very communicative all along the way. We had weekly meetings, and they always did what they said. Sometimes they would take 1–2 days more, but nothing was major.

Our CMO did most of the day-to-day communication. Pivofy had a Slack channel, and we also used Basecamp and Google Meets as project management tools.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They delivered on time and kept the price and timeline. Companies usually give optimistic ranges, but those are rarely met. Often, vendors give estimates, and throughout the project, they increase it 20%–50% more than the original. Pivofy kept their milestones and goals throughout the engagement. Everything was as clockwork in this project.

Are there any areas they could improve?

We could be nitpicky and say they should’ve noticed some of the small details that we didn’t notice, but it wasn’t a big deal. Nothing major stood out, and they did an excellent job with everything.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Stay on top of it. Our CMO was constantly reviewing what they were doing during the engagement, which helped keep us on schedule because he understood the language and corrected things when they weren’t 100% right. Ideally, you should have somebody on your side who understands what they’re looking at to oversee the project. Overall, having someone constantly engaging, responding to requests, and giving the needed information to do the project as fast as possible was helpful. The project probably wouldn’t have been as smooth if we didn't have that.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the marketing director of a wholesale and family-run landscape plant grower. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Pivofy?

We wanted to move our website from WordPress to Shopify. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Pivofy migrated our WordPress website to Shopify. They built the site’s theme and some customization for our niche. They also integrated the site to third-party vendors and set up our Google Ads account. Lastly, they transferred all our data and pushed us to go live on the new servers.

The site is already live, and Pivofy is currently providing us with their 30-day maintenance. They are still available to train us or implement any cleanups on the site. 

What is the team composition?

I primarily work with Dennis (Founder), a project manager, and two senior engineers.

How did you come to work with Pivofy?

I found them through Clutch. We went through a three-month diligence process. Pivofy was included in our shortlist, and we ended up giving them the project. 

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent $37,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in August 2021, and it’s ongoing. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Pivofy has delivered our website on time and followed their 12-week schedule. All of our site redirects come through, and we don’t get any 404 errors. Google Site Search is also indexing our site. They’ve eased my fears about site migration by paying attention to details and ensuring we wouldn’t have post-migration issues. 

Additionally, we’ve noticed a decrease in bounce rate and an increase in mobile page load times. Even though we’ve only launched the site, we already see a move in the right direction. 

How did Pivofy perform from a project management standpoint?

Pivofy is responsive and prompt in any inquiry or question that we have. We collaborate through Basecamp. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Pivofy’s responsiveness and ability to understand optimization from a UX standpoint are both impressive. Additionally, they have an intuitive approach to e-commerce optimization — they’ve given us recommendations we never thought of.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can’t think of anything. They’ve been excellent. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Have as much detail about your goals and expectations upfront. Communicate with them closely, and make sure they understand everything your requirements.