Ventureaxis

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Head Of Marketing of Nualtra

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Medical Nutrition

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

• Build new and improved UI for digital platform
• Build new features for digital platform used for customer interaction
• Strenghten value proposition for digital platform

SOLUTION

How did you find Ventureaxis?

Referral

Why did you select Ventureaxis over others?

• High ratings
• Pricing fit our budget
• Great culture fit
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from Ventureaxis were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

VentureAxis undertook a project to improve an existing digital platform in the following areas:

1. Improve UI to make it more modern and aesthetic
2. Build new feature to help our customers make cost savings
3.  new profile section for customers that would improve the insights in the platform

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Customer feedback and internal company feedback

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

VentureAxis' project management is truly excellent. For initial meetings, we discuss as a group which includes their senior/head developer, commercial director and developer who is likely to work directly on your project. Once the project begins, the developer directly working on the project liaises with you directly which is much better system than a non-technical account manager. Working directly with Sam has allowed us to move far quicker and smoother with the project as he understands what we need and can realise any changes very quick. Their response times are excellent and they always implement changes quickly. If ever we experience any bugs for a new deployment, they fix them within a couple of days.

What was your primary form of communication with Ventureaxis?

Virtual Meeting

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

Project management, their ability to understand what you are looking to achieve very quickly even if they have no prior knowledge of your market, but most of all, they're not a software development company who just completes what's on the spec you create. If they think of a way to improve the features or bring something new to your platform, they will recommend it and also find a way to make it happen.

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

Not really - they were a great company, and it was a pleasure working with them

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am Principal Product Manager leading Physical Distribution at Utopia Music

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We work with Ventureaxis on an ongoing basis for building SaaS applications for Proper Music. In this case, we liaised with Ventureaxis to build ProperWeb which is a Saas user interface for getting product information from our suppliers. ProperWeb is targeted at improving user experience for our suppliers and time efficiency for our Label managers.

SOLUTION

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

We work with Ventureaxis on an ongoing basis for building SaaS applications for Proper Music.

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

Ventureaxis built ProperWeb which is a Saas user interface for getting product information from our suppliers. We had weekly meetings with the team to connect on requirements, progress, blockers and next steps.

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

There were 4 people including a senior project manager, two senior and a junior developer.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The launch of ProperWeb has improved time efficiency and user experience of our suppliers as well as employees

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

Very proactive and responsive. The team was available over email, slack, gmeet etc.

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

The Ventureaxis team is very open, inclusive, responsive, proactive in their communication and work. At no point did I feel like I am working with another company, they were as reachable and engaged as an internal team would be.

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

The quality of work was great. More documentation, Self sufficient tools would help to reduce the ongoing dependency. These had to be explicitly requested but the Ventureaxis team was highly receptive of the feedback and have been helping in making this happen.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm a Product Manager for a UK based sports league

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We needed a way to objectively check on the service by our partners to ensure that standards were being met, and contracts were being fulfilled.

SOLUTION

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

I have worked with them in the past on mission critical projects, and they have consistently delivered. The advantage is that we don't have to explain basic concepts with them, so they tend to very quickly get to what we're looking for. They are able to work independently and communicate at the right times.

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

The system was deployed on Azure and built to ingest data from various industry suppliers and then analyse the data as specified.

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

There were 3 people. 1 developer, 1 architect and we also worked with the salesman.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The project has proven to be successful in the present, but also for future evaluation of partners. The deliverables were as specified, and Venture Axis were able to deal with additional requests.

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

I've only ever worked in a small team with Venture Axis. So the Project Management style has been very hands on, and direct contact to the right people in the team has been possible at all times. The deadlines were respected, and the communications were very easy.

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

The speed of understanding a project and the willingness to focus on the client's needs, but also offer advice if they feel there is a better solution.

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

No complaints!

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

acomos is a provider of Property Management Systems to the hospitality and leisure industries, it is part of the GAHN group of companies and I am CTO for the group including acomos.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We acquired two property management systems "Expert Hotelier" and "GuestMaster", the challenge was to take one of the systems and update the Windows UI, refactor the database and make the system more robust whilst at the same time starting work on a brand new SaaS version of the system.

SOLUTION

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

The group had used Venture Axis for consultancy services previously and there range of .Net and .Net Core skills offered the expertise along with management access and project management.

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

We reviewed the existing PMS system, established that one (GuestMaster) had the more modern architecture and would best accept a UI refresh. We then identified the core components of the system on an generic PMS system basis and then on a screen by screen basis from the existing system. These where then split out into phases and planned in more detail. All of the above occurred in joint meetings between project owners from VA and acomos.

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

Project owner was main point of contact, there were also two full time developers, although the specific developers did change during the project (depending on skills required) the count remained constant through most of the project.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The UI refresh on the Desktop version has seen all clients from the old systems move across and lead to a robust delivery. The SaaS system is complete and currently in pilot phase before being marketed fully.

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

We had multiple meetings each week, at management level and developer level, the frequency of developer stand ups varied during the project depending on work intensity and we also had a weekly call with the business development team to keep them in the loop. We used Azure DevOps and Slack to keep the projects on track.

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

Excellent communication and management, knowledgeable developers - but not afraid to listen and learn business practices. They always came up with suggestions to resolve issues and find solutions to problems that arose.

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

I think we as a business could have been clearer in some goal setting, but we had limited time before the project kicked off

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the head of systems and analysis for a professional sports association. My organization looks after all of the elite refereeing in England. My focus is on the performance side, so I analyze data and video in order to find ways to improve the performance of referees.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Ventureaxis?

We were trying to collect tracking data and utilize that as part of our performance review system. We also wanted to marry that with some event data that would allow us to locate positional information for referees.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We sat down and analyzed what the problem was. In order to do that, we had a couple of meetings with Ventureaxis in order for them to understand exactly what we needed to achieve and how they could achieve it for us. We used data from external providers and they channeled the information that we needed through an API, specifically in the XML format. After that, Ventureaxis ran various solutions to make sure that what we wanted could be implemented.

What is the team composition?

We were mainly in contact with one person. I also interacted with a couple of people including one of their sales directors and someone who was writing and building the product for us.

How did you come to work with Ventureaxis?

I had worked with Ventureaxis before. As such, I knew what they were capable of doing, and I knew that they could do it. Overall, it was a no-brainer that we chose to work with them.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent $20,000–$40,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our collaboration ran from June 2016–May 2018.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The first measure of the partnership’s success was whether Ventureaxis was capable of doing what we wanted within the allotted time frame because the football season wouldn’t wait for us. The second one was whether they were capable of automating our solution and if they could solve all the technical issues we had. Then, the third measure of success was checking if their QA process was reliable.

Overall, the team did everything pretty quickly — within 3–4 weeks. On top of that, they were incredibly versatile. We gave them a bespoke project, and they managed to mold around what we needed. More importantly, despite the complexity of our solution, they were able to achieve what we asked for. It also helped that they weren’t tied down to one method or system. Above all, they were professional, friendly, and easy to work with.

How did Ventureaxis perform from a project management standpoint?

We had face to face meetings with Ventureaxis because they were a local company. In terms of customer service, they were great. Even when we had problems on weekends, we could reach out to them. They were usually available within 1–2 hours, and they were always happy to help. Moreover, they were able to hit all the milestones and services we needed to achieve.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We were impressed that they were unfazed by the complex problem we gave them. Additionally, they were solutions-focused, and nothing was too difficult for them to handle.

Are there any areas they could improve?

We should’ve set up failsafe methodologies in the beginning of the project. We were able to do it, but only as the project progressed. If we’d known from the outset that we needed some of the things we identified along the way, it would’ve been helpful.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I encourage you to engage with them. Ventureaxis has people that are incredibly bright. Don’t be afraid to open up and listen to their ideas. Moreover, don’t be afraid to let them take you out of your comfort zone with their suggestions. You never know if you’ll come up with the best solution if you follow them. More importantly, let them breathe, and let them do what they need to do.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm head of fulfilment & e-commerce logistics and services for a large music distribution company that is expanding rapidly into D2C for our client base.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We needed a couple of dedicated middleware software solutions to be created that would allow us to accept and process live order data from third party websites into our own be-spoke order management systems to provide fulfilment services to our clients. This also required us to link into the OMS of major web platforms via API that could manage the entire order process for the web-store. The ultimate goal was to build both a dedicated platform approved app for the platofrm and also our own, be-spoke solution for all other platforms & clients.

SOLUTION

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

We found Venture Axis to be more than capable of delivering both aspects of our specific requirements whilst accomodating every request that we had in timely manner.

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

They designed and developed two main software projects that ran in parrallel with each other but were totally independent of each other in terms of their scope, functionality and spcific requirements. The main project was to build a dedicated, approved order management app for a major retail platform whilst the 2nd project was to build our own middleware solution for the purpose of processing orders manually and via API for smaller web platforms.

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

There were 3 main people involved in the core team, including a project manager and 2 senior developers with other resource provided when required.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We were able to quickly launch a be-spoke middleware solution that has allowed us to bring in lots of new business and clients to the company in a very short space of time and this has greatly enhanced and furthered our reputation.

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

We communicated through Teams, Slack and e-mail (when needed) with their approach and management of each project being top-notch throughout. All questions and inquiries were answered and resolved very quickly.

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

Having direct access to the developers alongside the project manager ensured that our exact needs were met to the letter and this friendly approach made it much easier for us to communicate our ideas.

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

There's always room for improvement within any company, but with regards to our specific projects then the only slight improvement that I can suggest is possibly the speed of delivery for our main project being a tad slower to complete than we anticipated or expected, maybe an extra developer might have helped but this is nitpicking.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the senior developer and software project manager for Proper Music Group — a music distributor in the UK.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Ventureaxis?

At the time, I was the only developer in my company, so we needed development resources to have the ability to take on more projects.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We have a huge number of transactions every month that needs to be reported back to suppliers, since we take stock on a consignment basis. The huge data set is just so unmanageably large and the amount of processing it requires takes too long to do. Ventureaxis then came to us with a proposal of using a cloud-based system to process this task, while providing us with extra processing resources for all our transactions.

They developed the reporting software from scratch and it’s allowing us to export the data at the end of every day. They then take the data and turn it into reports at the end of every month. We basically have a monthly contract with Ventureaxis, so we pay for the developer resource they provide.

What is the team composition?

I work directly with Andy (Director of Technology), Gareth (Software Engineer), and Adam (Software Developer).

How did you come to work with Ventureaxis?

Ventureaxis was recommended to us by our IT firm who I believe worked with them in the past. The music industry is a uniquely labyrinthian and old-fashioned industry in the modern world. The reason we went with them is when we explained to Andy what we needed, he just got it straight away even though he didn’t have a background in the music business. He just boiled it down to our actual requirements without looking terrified or staring blankly at us.

How much have you invested with them?

So far we’ve invested close to $250,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our ongoing partnership started in October 2018.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Since partnering with Ventureaxis there has been a significant increase in time efficiency for our labor reporting. It went from taking four days to two hours to process, and because it’s a properly documented system, we’ve been able to train people how to use it. One of the biggest advantages is the flexibility of the system, so that we can take on new deals — we’ve eliminated the possibility of not being able to properly report on starting a new agreement with somebody.

Additionally, the quality of their work is always good and rigorous. When it comes to testing, nothing ever feels premature or is deployed without very careful thought. Everything is well thought out and designed beforehand as well, which is very important especially in software. Their work is always high-quality and delivered reasonably on time.

How did Ventureaxis perform from a project management standpoint?

Because we have Ventureaxis on a monthly retainer, the cost of the project is just the time it takes and it doesn’t rely on a budget of a certain amount — so it feels like we get our money’s worth. Andy is especially good at boiling down physical processes into business processes. 

They put me on their Slack server so we can talk directly to them, but we communicate via email or phone for most of the customer-facing stuff.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We’re impressed with their understanding of the business. I always think of software developers as business analysts who get to do something about the things that they analyze — so generally, what they do in software is identify the inefficiencies and find a way to solve them. That’s what Ventureaxis has been very good at. They understand the core needs of the business, and they turn them into software.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Maybe sometimes they could communicate a little bit more transparently about the development process and how it’s going. I know it’s very difficult to do that as a developer, and it’s very hard to see the finish line when you spend your time telling people where you are. However, it’s really helpful as a customer to know where a project is, how it’s going, and what the problems are.

Another thing we’ve sort of been working on is having a ticketing system for development. It’s hard to keep track sometimes, even though we’re fairly confident the things we talk about would eventually materialize.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I'd say don't treat them as outsiders. Treat them as partners because they did some of the best work for us when they got in the weeds. If you keep people like Ventureaxis at arm’s length, you’re not going to get the best out of them.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the CFO of BCIS

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

We are leading provider of independent cost data to the UK built environment, for construction, insurance and life cycle costing.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

Enable efficient management of subscriptions, products, pricing, discounts and system users

SOLUTION

How did you find Ventureaxis?

Referral

Why did you select Ventureaxis over others?

• Pricing fit our budget
• Referred to me

How many teammates from Ventureaxis were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

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

• Replace legacy subscription management system
• Enable self-service devolved user administration
• Integrate to Zoho CRM and proprietary software

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

• Successful integration across multiple systems
• Successful onboarding of existing and new users
• Streamlining of the subscription and billing processes

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

Very good project management and communication

What was your primary form of communication with Ventureaxis?

• In-Person Meeting
• Virtual Meeting

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

The team is very well managed by Andy Sims, who understands requirements and explains solutions easily.

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

No