Vention

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the CTO and a co-founder of an online marketplace for custom part manufacturing. I worked with iTechArt for a previous startup, where I was the VP of engineering. The company was an Internet of things [IoT] firm in Boston working on room-by-room temperature control for homes with forced-air heating and cooling. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with iTechArt?

My previous company had finished fundraising and was looking to scale the engineering team quickly with senior talent in order to build a cloud infrastructure. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

With iTechArt, we focused on the scalability of the cloud backend for our IoT product. Multiple devices were connecting to it for remote access and data collection. We needed to build and implement a scalable architecture that could grow with our business and fill a bunch of required functions.

We had cloud-based web services in place before starting the work with iTechArt, but, in order to scale, we brought them in to create a more mature architecture.

Our staff numbers varied, starting with 2 people from iTechArt’s side and ramping up along the way. I had 1 point of contact on the business side. When we decided that we needed more people, I told him which skillsets and ranges I wanted, go over resumes with their managers, and conduct interviews. My interactions with the management took place every 2 weeks, and I spoke daily with the team members. The resources came in as full members of the engineering group and provided a quick way of scaling our team with the right expertise. iTechArt adopted our Agile Scrum process and worked with us on building and designing the architecture.

They advised us on creating a distributed microservice platform with a publish/subscribe bus and built a scalable socket server to keep the connection open with all our IoT devices in the field.

How did you come to work with iTechArt?

We received a strong referral from another Boston startup that had a great experience with iTechArt. This was the biggest factor in our choice, but I also liked their approach of joining our own team’s sprints rather than committing to a fixed project. Many companies’ pitches involve asking the client what they need and offering a quote. In my experience, this type of project doesn’t end well. Since we had a local engineering team and no clear specifications of exactly what we needed to build, I was much more interested in finding full-time dedicated resources. It was a smooth selection process.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started the project in August of 2015 and worked together for a year.  

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or impact of the engagement?

We have a scalable, reliable cloud backend that powers our product in the field. It evolved successfully as the business grew, and we were able to add features when needed. It’s based on open-source technology, which allowed us to own the cloud architecture. Many startups would have been forced to partner with an IoT backend-as-a-service, basically trapping that product and data in a third-party system. As a result, we completely own our data and the whole cloud architecture, which became a differentiator for the company.

How did iTechArt perform from a project management standpoint?

They outlined the expectations on both sides early in the project. We intentionally didn’t have a clearly defined scope, budget, or schedule. iTechArt compiled a team that could succeed and set expectations about resource allocation and deadlines. They were responsive when we needed to scale the team and were always available to offer management or architecture expertise.

What did you find most impressive about iTechArt?

They have a lot of senior, talented engineers who are experienced building hot technologies and architectures. The biggest differentiator for me, as a hiring manager in Boston, is being able to have access to senior people with experience at a reasonable price. This is almost impossible to find, but iTechArt has done a good job of building a large team that can scale along with a company and offering the right talent.

Are there any areas iTechArt could improve?

I have nothing specific to share.

What tips or recommendations could you share that might increase the likelihood of success with iTechArt?

It’s important to find people who will be a part of your team. I’m sure that iTechArt can engage with customers in other ways, but having local technical people involved contributed to our success. If a few business co-founders had been running the whole project and the development was completely outsourced, we would’ve had difficulties. I have done reference calls for people looking to hire iTechArt, and I always say that the team will become a part of your group, so they need to be involved in the day-to-day and week-to-week management of the technical work. If you're looking for a hands-off experience, iTechArt may not be the right fit.  

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I own an offshore software consultancy agency that has domestic project management and overseas development teams. We’ve been working with different teams for 15–20 years.    

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with iTechArt?

Since we have a 100% offshore model, we are always looking for reliable vendors. At that time, we were looking for a team that could provide top-notch development services, professionalism, and stability. It was also important that they had the leadership to maintain quality. It was a huge challenge.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Currently, iTechArt is the primary team that we work with. They handle a wide variety of web and mobile projects. Each project starts differently. Generally, we’d start with a spec or we’d do an Agile iteration process. iTechArt does a lot of Python development and some .NET and Java work. Other projects include financial services technology and an online gaming platform. In the past, iTechArt did some pretty challenging app work as well as very complicated, mission-critical side migration tools.

iTechArt has a large number of developers who can handle most development needs. I would sometimes fly out to work with the team and help it grow. We use anywhere from 2–20 on a project. Sometimes, they would just find resources for the project for me since the requirements change all the time. We communicate with them daily. We have one top-level contact, and we also work with different teams. They have permanent staff in the U.S., which means they have the ability to execute non-disclosure agreements and other agreements under U.S. jurisdiction.

How did you come to work with iTechArt?

We’re in the business of choosing offshore teams. Some of the factors we looked for are stability, quality, good retention, solid leadership, and good processes. Like most clients, we tried a few teams before finding the right one.

How much have you invested with iTechArt?

We’ve outsourced millions of dollars’ worth of software projects to iTechArt.

What is the status of this engagement?

We partnered with iTechArt repeatedly with great success. iTechArt has now completed many projects for us.   

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement?

I can say that iTechArt has a 100% success rate, and that's rare in the software world. What sets iTechArt apart is that the company is managed well and highly stable. It doesn’t suffer from the same level of attrition or other challenges that impact quality at so many companies in the IT space.

Most of the specific results were for our clients. We’ve experienced a lot of growth and profit throughout the years we’ve worked with them.

How did iTechArt perform from a project management standpoint?

The client usually determines the schedule and budget for each project. iTechArt is extremely proactive about issues such as changing requirements on our side and changing resources on their side. They plan long-term and ensure that the best resources are in place.

What did you find most impressive about iTechArt?

This is a company that is serious about maintaining quality by providing great leadership and management. They put a lot of time into keeping their teams happy, which is one of the main keys to success in this business. The management does a really good job of keeping morale up. They help their developers keep their careers on track, making sure they’re working on interesting projects. They have a strong sense of direction. They know where they’re going and what they’re doing.

Are there any areas iTechArt could improve?

Not really. They’re the number-one software vendor that we work with.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We provide an online collaboration platform for people that manage, work in, and live in residential high-rise buildings. I’m the founder and CEO.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with iTechArt?

We wanted to build a local application that could use local storage and sync to our website. The app would be suitable for buildings and countries where the Internet isn’t fast enough to use a web application. We also had a lot of mobile app development needs. Our own staff was stretched much too thin to be able to get everything done.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

iTechArt worked on multiple difficult projects for us, including a web application. They built the local WPF [Windows Presentation Foundation] programs using the local Microsoft SQL Express, linking the background and web services to Microsoft SQL Server. This is a touchscreen-enabled version, with a local database of our web application that syncs with a cloud database. They built native iPhone and Android apps for us. They also built a local application that integrates hardware so that it can be easily accessed by a web browser from a printer, webcam, or fingerprint scanner. They built us a middleware product called Connector that mediates between the hardware installed on a PC and web browsers running on that PC. They’ve also done QA work.

We started with two engineers and now we’re up to 23. We communicated with the project managers. One was for mobile, while the overall project manager ran the desktop and Connector and WPF. There were 5–7 resources that we would talk to on our conference calls when we needed a full team meeting. All of the people were developers, including the project managers.

How did you come to work with iTechArt?

I was tracking this company that had a really cool iPhone app that lets you create iPhone apps. When they went out of business, I tried to hire the founder. He recommended I hire iTechArt because they are the ones who built the app.

How much have you invested with iTechArt?

We’ve spent over $1 million.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been working with them since November 2013, and the work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement?

The biggest metric is the fact that we’ve grown their staff more than our own, and that we’ve shifted work that we were doing with our own people over to them, including the QA stuff. They’re doing QA for us on the work that we’re doing. Their part of the company is growing faster than our company.

We build unique products. This product called Connector is really a unique product that Microsoft should have built. You ought to be able to click on something and see all the hardware on your computer—what’s working and not working—be able to test it from one place. The success story is that we are a third of the way through converting our 3,000 clients to this Connector platform, where the web browsers talk to the hardware, and it’s running beautifully. We’ve had almost no problems with the installations. Without Connector, you’re reliant on all sorts of ActiveX and plug-ins to make your browser talk to hardware, which is not what browsers natively want to do. I would say the install has been beautiful. The drop in support calls on Connector has been very noticeable. The clients that have installed it have had almost no service support calls regarding hardware talking to their browser. We also have some very good initial success on a new mobile OCR [optical character recognition] package receiving app we’re working on that is in the early development stages. iTechArt does good work with us on innovative products. Customers find these products exciting because they’re innovative.

How did iTechArt perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re very methodical and very professional. We do two-week sprints. I would say that progress has been within good expectations. A lot of things that they’re working on are challenging, and we don’t always have a clear method for how to make it happen. We have no complaints.

What did you find most impressive about iTechArt?

They are serious engineers. They like to build things in a way that they understand and that they think is the right way to build it. They proceed professionally—no cutting corners, no ambiguity, no rushing into things before they know what they’re doing. They define themselves as being suited best to people who know what they want to build and are ready to build it, versus somebody with an early startup idea.

They have very good processes. If somebody wants to talk to them about starting a project, they are methodical enough to step through the decision processes to decide if it’s a good fit, both for you and for them. They do a reasonably serious job of understanding enough what a new customer wants and making sure that they are able to deliver it before accepting the work. They verify that whatever job they’re undertaking is the kind of job with the right expectations. At the end of the day, they make sure that the customer will happy with the results.

Are there any areas iTechArt could improve?

Not really.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

BeON Home provides home-security lighting products that are used for protection while the occupants are away. Specifically, our product consists of a lightbulb and mobile app which activates the security mode. The devices learn a person’s pattern and, when they are away, make it look like someone’s home by turning on the lights automatically. The device can also hear the sound of a doorbell and will turn on in a sequence, making it look like someone is coming to the door. I am a co-founder and the CTO of the company. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with iTechArt?

Our company is located in Boston. When we started it in 2013, it was a small startup, and we were trying to recruit mobile engineers who could help us build our first iOS app. We interviewed and tried to find people through our network, but it was simply hard to find someone who was qualified, wanted to join the team, and would be willing to be paid a startup rate. We started looking at alternatives, namely companies who provided this kind of work in Boston, Europe, Russia, and India. We came across iTechArt and have been very impressed with the professionalism of the company, how they presented themselves, and the product they provided. It was close to what we needed, so we went ahead with the project. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The first project involved building the iOS app that would launch with our product. It was the work of one developer from iTechArt, who was assigned full-time to our project. He ended up coming to our site for one month. In terms of coding, we used Objective-C. Our technology uses Bluetooth for connecting to the lights. This engineer had experience in working with embedded systems and knew about communication protocols. He was able to dive in and quickly make a functional app.

Our other developer from iTechArt’s team specialized in Android Java development and has built that version in collaboration with the first developer. Although we wanted to have apps on both platforms, we didn’t want to use a hybrid tool since we believed that native coding would provide a better experience on each platform, especially when it came to Bluetooth communication.

We have also built a backend cloud server which keeps track of accounts and helps us with technical support.

Around one year ago, we had four people working for us on iTechArt’s team. Most of the time, we used three resources and added an extra developer for about two months in order to increase the output. Beyond developing mobile apps, iTechArt also has experienced engineers for the cloud side, as well as QA. We have used one resource for all the testing on the app, mostly manual testing.

iTechArt’s engineers have become a part of our team, and the people working for us are not involved in any other projects. There was some documentation which we provided initially, but we also spent a lot of time on-site with iTechArt’s team, allowing them to deduce how our product should work. We were able to make a lot of progress quickly. When they returned to their location in Belarus, we continued working together through video-conferencing and tracking tools, including Trello.

How did you come to work with iTechArt?

They were referred by one of my friends, who was working at Oracle. He mentioned working with iTechArt in the past for the company, so I contacted them, and we got going soon after.

How much have you invested with iTechArt?

The cost of iTechArt’s work has been above $200,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with iTechArt around 2015 and have an ongoing collaboration. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or impact of the engagement?

The speed at which we’ve been able to bring new features to the app speaks for itself. We communicate with iTechArt’s team several times a week, and they’ve been able to deliver well-coded working solutions fast. I’ve reviewed the code often, and it’s very well-done. I also like the fact that our team lead has transferred our way of thinking to the other people on iTechArt’s side, so there is a level of established quality. He reviews the code himself and also works with the QA person, creating an autonomous process. I’ve only needed to visit them once, and that was for furthering the relationship. Since iTechArt is located abroad, it’s good to have some face-time at least once a year.

In terms of quality metrics, I would mention iTechArt’s understanding of our required speed for development and implementation. The work is usually done right the first time.

How did iTechArt perform from a project management standpoint?

We have video calls two times a week and chat on Slack very often. Between those times, we use Trello for tracking issue cards. We can keep track of what’s important at a given moment.

What did you find most impressive about iTechArt?

I appreciated the way in which the management team understood what we needed and their ability to put us in touch with the right engineer inside the organization. It was a shoe-in fit for us. In terms of passion and what their people are really interested in, iTechArt does a good job of making assignments. They work a lot with startups, which is a more interesting field than working for a bank, for example. They can attract a good level of high-quality engineers, who want to get involved.

iTechArt is also very flexible and used to working in the startup world. Things can change quickly here, and situations put us in different places in terms of needs. iTechArt can scale with us as we grow, and they can do it fast.

Are there any areas iTechArt could improve?

No, they’ve been a tremendous part of our team, and I consider iTechArt a part of our company. This isn’t really iTechArt’s fault, but it is hard to ship items to their part of the world since packages have to go through Russia first. There have been some challenges with this, as well as with getting visas. It can be cumbersome, but it’s out of their control.

What tips or recommendations could you share that might increase the likelihood of success with iTechArt?

As a startup founder, I talk with different entrepreneurs and people in the industry. When I hear that someone is looking to build an app or needs additional help on a cloud application, I will often mention iTechArt and provide an intro if necessary. This has happened on two occasions, and iTechArt captured the attention of clients who were also looking at working with different companies. 

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

 I am the Co-Founder and Tech Lead of a financial services company 

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

A B2B SaaS startup operating in the private-market industry. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

• Develop an MVP

SOLUTION

How did you find Vention?

Online Search

Why did you select Vention over others?

• Close to my geographic location
• Pricing fit our budget
• Great culture fit

How many teammates from Vention were assigned to this project?

6-10 Employees

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

We provided a detailed requirements specification and mockup (using lovable). The team were required to deliver a production-ready version of that mockup. 
The key deliverable was the code base. We have also been delivered a full set of documentation and test cases.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

• Regular requirements gathering and sprint review meetings.
• Regular updates on sprint progress using Slack.
• Full visibility of Kanban board and code base.
• Technical handover at the end of the project.

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

Project management was very good. Communication was timely and had sufficient detail. We had bi-weekly governance calls with our account manager. Escalations (while few) were handled quickly.

What was your primary form of communication with Vention?

Virtual Meeting

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

Communication.

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

On occasions I was acting as a go between in the middle of the UX designer and Senior engineer. However, when I raised this it was dealt with.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We provide a platform for developers to quickly deploy, scale, and fine-tune AI models, streamlining the development and management of AI applications.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Vention?

We needed to staff AI engineers quickly.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Vention has provided us with two AI engineers. They've worked on a decentralized GPU grid to provide inference and fine-tuning services.

What is the team composition?

 We've worked with 2–3 engineers.

How did you come to work with Vention?

 We found them through a referral. We spoke to several options, and they had the best quality engineers.

What is the status of this engagement?

 We started working together in July 2024, and the engagement is ongoing. However, I personally have been working with them since 2013.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

 The individuals' performance has always been great. The sprint goals were consistently met, and the story points we estimated were always completed.

How did Vention perform from a project management standpoint?

We did not use their project management services; we do management on our end. We communicate via Slack, email, and Zoom.

What did you find most impressive about them?

 The quality of engineers and the account executive's responsiveness are impressive.

Are there any areas they could improve?

 There's nothing they need to improve.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the CPO of a fintech company

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

We provide a platform for corporates and fintechs to manage their payments, treasury and treasury with seamless automation and real-time control.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

• Provide additional software development capacity for a Proof of Value exercise with a customer

SOLUTION

How did you find Vention?

• Referral
• Conference

Why did you select Vention over others?

• Pricing fit our budget
• Referred to me
• Sufficient scale to support short notice demand

How many teammates from Vention were assigned to this project?

1 Employee

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

 Integrate into the customer environment to retrieve unstructured data Use AI to structure the data and put it into context - data relates to tracking workflows and transactions across mulitple partners and counterparties Creat dashboards to enable the customer to visualize the data and understand the status of the workflow  

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Yes

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

Very responsive

Items delivered on time

What was your primary form of communication with Vention?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

Their account management has been very good. He built a trusted relationship between ourselves and Vention.

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

Notthing identified to date.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Founder of AllGains

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Tracks 99% of sports in one place. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

• Begin to build the mobile application for allgains.
• Build the MVP for allgains.

SOLUTION

How did you find Vention?

Online Search

Why did you select Vention over others?

• High ratings
• Great culture fit
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from Vention were assigned to this project?

6-10 Employees

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

Vention made the whole journey from Phase 1 to Phase 2 of the AllGains MVP extremely smooth and straightforward. Even though I don’t come from a tech background, the process was clear, structured, and easy to follow. They took my ideas and vision, broke everything down into simple steps, and handled the technical side with confidence and clarity.
Communication was excellent throughout, and it always felt collaborative rather than overwhelming. Instead of drowning me in jargon, they focused on making sure I understood the “why” behind decisions while they took care of the “how.” Overall, it was a really good experience — efficient, stress-free, and surprisingly easy considering how complex app development can be.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Working with Vention from Phase 1 to Phase 2 of the AllGains MVP was a seamless experience that delivered real, measurable progress. In Phase 1, we went from just an idea to a fully defined product roadmap, with clear user flows and technical architecture that gave me complete confidence moving forward. 
By Phase 2, that vision had been transformed into a tangible, working app — with core features like onboarding, sessions, challenges, and profiles all live in a stable build that matched the original Figma designs with over 90% accuracy. The backend infrastructure was set up to scale, QA cycles ensured reliability, and every sprint showed visible progress. 
Most importantly, the process was made incredibly simple to follow, even for someone without a tech background, turning what could have been overwhelming into an exciting and collaborative journey.

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

The project management from Vention was excellent throughout the process. Deliverables were consistently on time, milestones were clear, and I always felt up to date with where things stood. Communication was smooth, and any requests or changes I had were handled quickly and thoughtfully. 
Mariami, in particular, was really good — she kept everything organized, made sure I fully understood each step, and always responded promptly to my needs. Her support made the whole experience feel structured, reliable, and stress-free.

What was your primary form of communication with Vention?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

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

What I found most impressive about Vention was how simple and stress-free they made such a complex process. As someone without a tech background, I expected to feel overwhelmed, but they broke everything down into clear, understandable steps while still delivering a highly technical product behind the scenes. 
Their ability to combine deep technical expertise with excellent communication, organization, and a collaborative approach made them stand out. It never felt like I was just a client — it felt like they were genuinely invested in bringing my vision for AllGains to life.

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

Overall, the experience with Vention was excellent, but if I had to highlight an area for improvement, it would be around providing a bit more visibility into the “behind-the-scenes” technical decisions and how the process worked in the backend. While they did a great job making things simple and easy to follow, sometimes a bit more detail on why certain approaches were chosen would have given me extra confidence and clarity as a non-technical founder. That said, this is a very minor point compared to the overall quality of the work and the way they managed the process — which was smooth, professional, and highly effective.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the CTO

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Vertical software as a service company for Urgent care centers.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

• Increase velocity

SOLUTION

How did you find Vention?

• Referral
• Clutch Site

Why did you select Vention over others?

• Pricing fit our budget
• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost

How many teammates from Vention were assigned to this project?

6-10 Employees

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

Staff augmentation

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Deliverables in our sprint life cycle

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

They always deliver high-quality work in a timely manner.

What was your primary form of communication with Vention?

Virtual Meeting

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

Strong engineering working culture and collaborative environment with non technical team members

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

N/A