UpTahr Analytics

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m leading a SaaS startup on my own.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with UpTahr Analytics?

Although I could have done the prototyping myself, I couldn’t find the time to do it. I also wanted to learn more about engaging with an outside partner regarding specification, verification, and implementation, so I hired UpTahr Analytics.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

UpTahr Analytics developed a SaaS prototype that they implemented as a cloud-based application. First, we had an exploratory phase where they got onboarded to my technology. We collaborated on the design and implementation, and then they did several interactions of bug fixes throughout the development. 

What is the team composition?

I worked with one full-time developer. Meanwhile, Ryan (Founder) helped us with the business side. 

How did you come to work with UpTahr Analytics?

We found them through an indirect referral from another startup I work with as part of my regular job. They pointed me at a group of small consultants, which was how I found UpTahr Analytics. 

How much have you invested with them?

I spent $20,000. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We had our kickoff meeting in July 2022, and they presented the final delivery in August 2022.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I based UpTahr Analytics’ success on a statement of features, verifying they met all the deliverables. Although we iterated on some features and changed some of the definitions as we went along, I was able to verify the functionality of the solution. Since this was a prototype-based project, I measured implementation and not any performance metric. Overall, the team’s work met all the functionality metrics. 

How did UpTahr Analytics perform from a project management standpoint?

Their project management was great. Since we discussed the learning phase up front, we were clear that the first half of the engagement would be exploratory. They were very responsive to the bug fixes I needed and delivered within the expected timeline.

Since this was a small project, we didn’t use project management tools. We communicated initially through weekly check-ins. Then, we had biweekly check-ins, which turned into on-demand meetings as we got closer to delivery. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

I was looking for a provider that would work quickly, within my budget, and didn’t need a lot of design.UpTahr Analytics worked well for me with an exploratory approach. Other providers I talked to would have been more expensive and longer term, but I just needed a proof of concept (POC) to test an idea, which the UpTahr Analytics team did very well. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

Although they were great for what I needed, the project might have been difficult had there been a tighter deadline. However, since my deadline worked well for them, we had no issues with that. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Whenever you deal with a vendor, you should ensure you know what you expect and have a list of all open issues. The check-ins worked really well for us in this respect. Since our project was small in scope, it was very easy to handle, and so was the back-and-forth communication with UpTahr Analytics.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the CEO and founder of a telemedicine and telehealth company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with UpTahr Analytics?

We needed assistance programming a wide variety of sensor equipment to display on a computer. We knew this was an arduous task and had worked with other programming partners before engaging UpTahr Analytics without success.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They started the process from scratch, and we didn’t provide any documentation or software development kit (SDK) ahead of time. 

They wrote software that engages sensors so that healthcare providers can easily view results on a computer display. They are going to help us with upcoming projects as well.

What is the team composition?

I worked with four people, but our main points of contact were Ryan (Founder) and Adrian (programmer).

How did you come to work with UpTahr Analytics?

We found them through the University of Maryland. We communicated our needs, and they recommended UpTahr Analytics.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve invested roughly $150,000. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working together in December 2021, and they delivered the first product demo in April 2022. The engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The project has been exceptional, and they truly produced a one-of-a-kind product. I couldn’t believe that they not only delivered the product, but it functioned as intended during the first demo. Everything worked out. 

I’ve been in the telehealth industry for a long time and have engaged other programming partners before. I had become accustomed to delays and lack of communication, and we’ve had the opposite experience with UpTahr Analytics. They are the only company able to complete the task and provide us with a tangible product that works.

How did UpTahr Analytics perform from a project management standpoint?

They have exceeded my expectations by hitting each project milestone. They nailed their completion date and actually delivered the project ahead of schedule. 

They provide weekly updates and are always timely and flexible with meetings. They are great communicators, and Ryan is always accessible. They are always polite and professional, and we’ve had a great experience. 

They do everything we ask and answer our questions promptly. We use Slack to communicate, which works very well. They’ve also introduced us to some beneficial tools, such as Notion, which we use to manage the project. They are exceedingly helpful and have been wonderful to work with.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I am very impressed with their ability to deliver a functional product on time. They’re phenomenal to work with.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I have no complaints. I don’t know what they could do better.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of NuroSTREAM LLC. We offer learning services with a software called Memley, which is basically a digital ledger to keep track of students’ learning and help them with tools to retain it.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with UpTahr Analytics?

I was going into my next round of funding, and I needed some market information on how we could value the next round of investments. They helped us build a cap table for capital investment.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They did the market research on other edtech companies. From there, they started to build a cap table for us. They worked off of Gmail off of my business account. We communicate mostly through email and conduct our meetings there.

I met with Dan (Managing Partner) and he’s definitely helped me try to make sense of all these things. I’m focused on building the company, and doing market research is stressful.

What is the team composition?

I met with Ryan (Founder & CEO) once before we started the engagement, but our main point of contact is Dan.

How did you come to work with UpTahr Analytics?

I’ve known them personally for the past six years. I was actually in a class with the CEO back in my first year as an undergrad — we had physics together. I also went through a partnership program with Dan.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent about $300–400.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our ongoing relationship started in August 2020.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

It’s definitely overwhelming to think about how these deals would be structured. It would have taken me a lot more time to siphon through the information on my own. They definitely help present information in a way that was easily digestible, and take the stress off of me.

How did UpTahr Analytics perform from a project management standpoint?

The cap table was done in Excel. We used Google Meet to conduct our meetings. They’re also pretty straightforward with NDAs for anybody who was working with this kind of information.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Working with me during the pandemic is stressful for anybody, so I’m very impressed with how prompt and timely they are. I also like how they do a lot of outside research even with things I didn’t ask for.

Are there any areas they could improve?

That’s a hard question especially when they did a lot of things so well. I would say to just keep following up on emails, do more check-ins, and keep the relationship going. Also, I don’t think I ever saw a website from them. Perhaps they’d be doing better and they’ll be easier to find if they had one.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I would tell them to be very clear and distinct about what they want, in terms of data analytics and getting the right market research. Another thing is to understand and be more specific about what you want. Other than that, I think they can help you figure it all out as well.