Very Good Ventures

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the founder and CEO of AccuZIP, and we are a tech company making data-quality software that helps with transaction processing and information exchanges across a range of industries. We track over a trillion pieces of mail and other pieces of information every day through the

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Very Good Ventures?

We needed to make a consumer app, which was our first B2C venture, and that was how we started our relationship with their team.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The app itself is developed on both iOS and Android using Flutter and Dart and provides information sharing and tracking capabilities to individual consumers.

What is the team composition?

We have two point people who we interface with directly, and they have a whole team of developers working on the project behind the scenes.

How did you come to work with Very Good Ventures?

We knew we wanted to go with the newest technologies in the industry, particularly Flutter and Dart. We were digging around online and found them and their portfolio and were very impressed with the quality of work that they did. They worked with the right technologies, so after talking to some references we decided they were the right fit and moved forward from there.

How much have you invested with them?

In total, the cost has been well over $250,000 so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project started around January 2020, and we are continuing to work together.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The quality of their code has all been very good and extremely well-formatted. They have a lead developer who reviews all of the final code to make sure it sticks to a pretty strict set of style guidelines. Because of that commitment to consistency, we know that the app will be very easy to update in the future, for anything from little things like fonts or colors to major feature roll-outs.

We also licensed a technology called User Test, which allowed us to run tests with millions of people to see how the interface is working, and if any issues and where those are. Based on that feedback, we’ve been able to go back to Very Good Ventures with tweaks and modifications that we wanted to make, and they were able to take the whole app to the next level through that kind of iterative process.

How did Very Good Ventures perform from a project management standpoint?

Their project management skills are outstanding. Whenever we give them a feature set we want them to complete, they go through it extremely thoroughly, ask any questions they have, and then go through a detailed process of breaking down the task, assigning difficulty ratings to each, and then assigning hours for each element.

From there, everything gets tracked in an app that we have access to, and as a result, they’ve come through ahead of schedule and under budget almost every time. They tend to overcompensate on hours so that there’s never something that they can’t deliver in the timeline they told us. But then on top of that, if they finish earlier than expected, they will take on new projects and get started with the remaining hours rather than just waiting for us to pay for new hours.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re very easy to work with because all of the work they do is planned in extreme detail so that you always know what’s going on. For maintenance purposes, they want you to be able to make any changes that you want without having to totally rely on them for it. So, they gave us trainings and notes and videos so that we would be able to take charge rather than needing them to control everything for us. That attitude of collaboration was something I really appreciated.

I generally have very long relationships with third-party vendors that I work with, and I told them that. I explained that as long as they were honest, we would have a great and long relationship, and they have completely upheld their end of that so far. On top of that, the relationship is very personal, so they always make you feel like they’re just normal people and that you’re their only customer.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Honestly, we’re totally happy with everything they’ve done as a part of the collaboration. Even the payment process is made extremely easy for the customer, and if we ever do ask them to change something, they accommodate it right away. We really have no cause for criticism.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

As long as you’re reasonable and can work with other people, you’ll be fine. They’re extremely easy to work with.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the director of client services with Marathon Digital. Our company runs social media for Broadway and other live entertainment clients.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Very Good Ventures?

One of our clients is Hamilton, the musical, and we were trying to create an app that engaged fans in a new way and hosted a lottery for people to enter to win $10-dollar tickets to the show.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We are a social media marketing company, so we have very little knowledge about app development or any of the specific requirements of this project. Because of that, we worked with their team to provide the broad requirements that we had and some specific design requests, but beyond that, they handled the entirety of the development.

What is the team composition?

We worked with David (Owner), an account manager, and then a few developers on their end as well.

How did you come to work with Very Good Ventures?

We took interviews with a lot of different companies but liked that they were a small team located in New York and seemed to share our excitement about the work. They introduced us to the idea of using Flutter to manage the app on both iOS and Android, and that was one of the main reasons why we decided to work with them.

How much have you invested with them?

Over the years, the total cost has been somewhere in the ballpark of $400,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in January 2017, launched the app in August, and have continued to work with them on updates and new features since then.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The biggest success metric for us was being able to pull this off in the amount of time that we gave them to do it on a platform that really hasn’t ever been used at the scale that we did with it. We’re up to three million users now and are incredibly satisfied with the performance of the app under that kind of incredible volume. They implemented an excellent analytics system which is also super helpful in managing all of the operations running through the app as smoothly as possible.

How did Very Good Ventures perform from a project management standpoint?

Their team is super collaborative, always coming to us with new ideas and listening to us when we have ideas for them, and perfect about meeting deadlines. The project manager that we started with was great and went through a transition period where David stepped in a bit more directly and then handed us over to a new account manager, but even that was as seamless as it could have been.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They are extremely flexible to our ideas and requests and are always open to finding a way to make things work. Even if the result isn’t exactly how the idea was first presented, they always find a way to make it happen for us, which has made the collaboration incredibly easy to manage.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I really have been totally satisfied with all of the work they’ve done for us.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

It’s important to know what you want but to be flexible and understand what might be doable and what might have to be changed or approached in another way. If you defer to their expertise on the specifics, they won’t let you down.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am a Software Product Manager at BerkOne, INC., a business automation company based out of Bethlehem PA.

Our company has roughly 150 employees, mostly based in Bethlehem, however, we have satellite locations throughout the country. We service clients through all of the United States.

I manage new application development for our clients using our in house .NET development team and IT resources.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Very Good Ventures?

We manage a web app for one of our biggest clients, which has asked us to build a mobile app to support it. While we have a team of talented developers, our focus is web and back end databases and services.

We were not ready to dive into learning the intricacies of mobile app development and management, especially across both platforms (Android and Apple). We then turned to VGV to help us build the mobile app.

They helped round out the gap we had in our own development team.

What were your goals for this project?

Our goal was to provide an opportunity to simplify the user experience by allowing customers to use a mobile app in a more streamlined workflow, vs using the antiquated web application.

Additionally, we wanted the mobile app to work in such a way that user accounts within the mobile app were in sync with the same exact data that was available to those users via their web based accounts. VGV worked with us to implement this functionality.

SOLUTION

How did you select Very Good Ventures?

We used VGV at recommendation from our client, and have been quite pleased with their experience and their eagerness to help us learn any part of the app development that we wanted.

Describe the project in detail.

The main functionality was to allow users to use the mobile app to submit their local tax returns in one of 2 ways - either by completing app based form data entry, or snapping a photo of the app to submit for processing.

In both methods the app data must sync with our existing legacy systems on the back end. In order to achieve this we met with our client to scope out the business requirements, and then worked side by side with VGV to turn those requirements into usable functions within a web app.

The biggest goal was ease of use/simplicity. Our web app is very cluttered, and quite frankly no one likes filing their local taxes. We wanted to do everything we could to make that a painless experience.

VGV offered their expert advice with mock ups,story boards and wireframes, providing us with options on how the user experience would actually work. We met with VGV each week to review the status of the design, which then changed into the status of development.

VGV focused on the app interface, and the user experience, while working with us to set up necessary data lookup API's, account validation, and data submission into our legacy systems.

The app was developed cross platform (Android and iOS), and while it is a completely separate build from our own web application, the data behind the scenes is synced to our legacy system.

They helped with all aspects of the app development, including any art used for the app.

What was the team composition?

From VGV's side there was the main point of contact - the project manager, as well as a team of developers. Offhand I do not recall exactly how many - perhaps 2 or 3 dedicated to our project at the start.

From my team's side we had myself managing the project as a whole, as well as 2 back end developers working on the integration, and necessary API's.

After initial development, and release (in time for 2019 tax season), our needs for new app development slowed down, so VGV reduced their development team to just the project manager and one developer - which was fair as we did not need more than that any more.

We still use VGV in an ongoing basis as we constantly enhance and add new functionality into the app, including a new build we are planning to release in the next few days.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

We initially released the app back in March of 2019, just in time for the 2019 local tax April deadline. We were pleasantly surprised that we had over 3000 local tax returns filed through the app that year.

Since then we have been adding more user functionality (at our clients request) and are in a constant state of enhancements for the app. This year we easily doubled the number of returns filed, as well as submissions through completely new workflows we implemented at the end of 2019.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

I feel like VGV was almost an extension of my own development team. They were easy to communicate with, both through weekly skype(and eventually now teams) meetings, as well as were very responsive to email communications as needed.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

I was extremely pleased with their ability to consider the user experience, and not just merely the functionality of the app. That is something that we lack in house, as we never really had to focus too much on that.

Additionally they helped us learn new technologies we were not familiar with (PUB/SUB to be precise), as well as aided us in external oAuth setup and API implementations.

Our development team has benefited greatly from this experience with new skills learned just form this project - something that we can use for countless clients in the future.

Are there any areas for improvement?

I do not think there is anything I would change. VGV completed exactly what we needed for our client, in a very tight deadline (for the initial implementation). VGV offers development training services for mobile app development as well.

In a perfect world, I would have my own development team take them up on that offer, but instead we have made a business decision to continue to keep our focus on business automation and back end services, but to utilize VGV for any app development needs we have in the future.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I work for a regional coffee chain company based in Montana. I’m the director of technology. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Very Good Ventures?

We wanted to build a mobile app.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The app interfaces with our loyalty program and allows for mobile orders and mobile payments. They used Flutter for the architecture of the app. We also have a Google cloud platform backend with Firebase. The design for the app was done by another company, but Very Good Ventures supported the implementation of the design and helped clarify any outstanding issues. 

What is the team composition?

I worked with about five people, but my primary point of contact was David (Founder & President). 

How did you come to work with Very Good Ventures?

I’d heard of their work before because of their expertise in Flutter. They’ve worked on multiple prominent projects including developing and maintaining the Hamilton mobile app, so I felt confident in hiring them. 

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent about $25,000 so far. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in July 2020, and the engagement is ongoing. 

What was the scope of their involvement?

The app interfaces with our loyalty program and allows for mobile orders and mobile payments. They used Flutter for the architecture of the app. We also have a Google cloud platform backend with Firebase. The design for the app was done by another company, but Very Good Ventures supported the implementation of the design and helped clarify any outstanding issues. 

What is the team composition?

I worked with about five people, but my primary point of contact was David (Founder & President). 

How did you come to work with Very Good Ventures?

I’d heard of their work before because of their expertise in Flutter. They’ve worked on multiple prominent projects including developing and maintaining the Hamilton mobile app, so I felt confident in hiring them. 

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent about $25,000 so far. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in July 2020, and the engagement is ongoing. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I’m a full-time developer, and we have another in-house developer. We brought them in for their expertise in Flutter. However, we wanted to make sure that our in-house team would be able to maintain the app. I feel really comfortable with the solution because of the time they’ve taken to educate us about the platform. 

How did Very Good Ventures perform from a project management standpoint?

They’ve been great. It’s been a little difficult because I went on paternity leave in August 2020. The project is also more time consuming because they have to take the time to teach us about how to build and maintain the platform. However, they’ve taken the initiative, and they’re willing to pick up the slack if I’m unable to get to something. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

They have some of the best Flutter engineers in the world. They have great talent. I also like that they’re focused on Flutter and have honed in on that as their niche. 

Are there any areas they could improve? 

It’s hard for me to single anything out because we haven’t run into any issues as a result of them. The team is opinionated, but that’s because they’re experts in Flutter and so they know how to do things the best ways. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers? 

Know exactly what you want from them and have conversations to make sure expectations are clear, especially if you’re interested in employing the embedded expert model. 

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Autocredit is a company that develops its activity in the automotive market, its main role is the management of credits for the acquisition of vehicles. Via this digital platform, we approach and facilitate various credit solutions to the players in this market. This new tool solves the problems that arise between them when applying for a car loan, also providing other important benefits.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire CreateThrive?

App development.

What were your goals for this project?

Bringing the auto loan market all together in one place and display it to the consumers in a friendly manner.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

I heard from them.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

1. application development from scratch.
2. User profile for clients.
3. user profile for administrators.
4. interrelated sheets containing the information necessary to take the loans.
5. Integration with BCU to obtain a dollar quote.
6. Upload documents (CI, receipt, proforma).
7. checkbox clearing. - add bank preference option.
8. change currency to USD in case you don't select prime rate.
9. Show Rate information when selecting bank preference.
10. Change number of installments and available currencies depending on bank preference.
11. when updating request, if it is rejected, put a reason.

What was the team composition?

An app developer specifically assigned for us, me and my business partner with the constant supervision of one of creative thrives owners.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our business is a start up so we have not so many info. We do recollect a lot of positive feedback from our clients of how easy going the app is.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

An app developer specifically assigned for us, me and my business partner with the constant supervision of one of creative thrives owners. The project execution was perfect.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The kindness, disposition and flexibility their staff provided. You could contact them at any time and they will always answer with nothing but a big smile on their faces.

Are there any areas for improvement?

not that i noticed.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

We are a full-service distributor of high-end natural products. The business is built around collaborations and trust to ensure the brands we represent and successful in their market.

We offer a team of knowledgeable and professional sales reps, young and enthusiastic demonstrators, marketing, and exceptional warehousing systems to sell, pick, pack, and ship our brands products out to the market.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire CreateThrive?

Up to this point, we have had virtually no Company website with any functionality to serve our customers. This means we haven't been able to offer our customers an online ordering portal or have a site to inform the market.

We currently take in orders via email and phone. This leaves a high room of error for manual entry, high overhead costs for order processing, difficulties tracking orders, and managing customer service. We have been working with Create Thrive to design, develop, recommend, and build a website that serves our customer base and reduces our operational costs and free up resources.

What were your goals for this project?

The goal of the project was to create a fully functional Company Website that serves as an ordering portal for our customers while reducing operational cost and improving internal and external processes. We needed to have a system that directly communicates and integrates with our ERP system - NetSuite.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

Through online research and word of mouth recommendations. After speaking with Create Thrive, we knew they would be able to produce a product that we needed at a cost that was within our budget.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

The project is ongoing. We have been working with Create Thrive to design, develop, recommend, and build a website for us.They provide design and UI recommendations while making our Website wants a reality. They will meet with us to discuss our requirements and advise on what is possible based on project scope, cost, and what we are trying to accomplish with the site.

Create Thrive also works with us to explain how to do certain configurations so that our site is future proof. More specifically, they are working with us to create a site that can be managed internally; reducing the need to hire outside help whenever we need to make a change on our site. They layout the tasks to be performed and estimated completion dates.

At the end of each month, they provide a detailed breakdown of costs based on works performed. They layout exactly what tasks were performed and the time required to do so.

What was the team composition?

The project team had about 8 members that would come and go as needed based on their skill sets. We had a designated project manager that freed up time, whenever we needed, to discuss any questions or changes for our project requirements.

Our project manager is an excellent communicator and provides what we need. He was willing to work with us at the hours and times that suited us. They also had systems for communication that made it easy to speak with other members of the project team to answer any questions on what they are working on.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

As the project is ongoing, the realized impact has been minimal. However, I think the more we discuss and progress through the project the Company is realizing just how much we need this Site.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

Project management has been very impressive. Especially dealing with our constant changes. They don't hesitate to push things forward to meet deadlines, but will also advise when certain deadlines are not realistic.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The quality of the team and its members. They have really worked with us to produce a site to our needs and wants. The line of communication has been exceptional at all levels.

Are there any areas for improvement?

There is little they can improve on. Time zone differences has caused some issues.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

We develop custom software solutions to mid-market and enterprise customers, specializing in NetSuite ERP and Salesforce. I am a Project Manager for NetSuite SuiteCommerce Advanced e-commerce development.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire CreateThrive?

We hired CreateThrive to augment our SuiteCommerce Advanced Dev team for a project that required extensive customization and a tight deadline.

What were your goals for this project?

The solution provided multiple custom B2B product catalogs, each with its own product pricing, shipping methods, shipping pricing, and payment options. Each "microsite" lives on the main website, but has a unique URL and access portal.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

I found them on LinkedIn and reached out to the Managing Partner.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

We hired CreateThrive to augment our SuiteCommerce Advanced Dev team for a project that required extensive customization and a tight deadline. The solution provided multiple custom B2B product catalogs, each with its own product pricing, shipping methods, shipping pricing, and payment options. Each "microsite" lives on the main website, but has a unique URL and access portal.

What was the team composition?

There was a single point of contact who did some development work on occassion. However, much of the work was performed by a more or less dedicated resource.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

As a result, we've accomplished feats that few others have been able to on this platform.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

We handled project management internally.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

We've worked with a number of SuiteCommerce Developers, and the talent pool is shallow at best. We are impressed at CreateThrive's knowledge of the platform and use of best practices.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Much of our work is hours-based, and so we typically request hours estimates from our developers. In many cases, the CreateThrive team would provide story points instead. This wasn't a major issue, as both teams learned to "translate" story points to hours and vice versa.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We provide digital experience services for a range of industries and brands, primarily Fortune 500 companies. I'm the managing director.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with CreateThrive?

One of our larger clients wanted to do a multi-site migration with heavy e-commerce structures. It was based on a NetSuite technology stack, and we needed to augment our internal team because of the volume of work.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We started with early requirements and tech auditing to understand the landscape and versions the site used. After a period of technical discovery, we established an appropriately phased roadmap for a multi-year project. From there, we started migrating sites over to a single destination. We needed to prepare vital e-commerce functionality first; then, we moved into development that would deliver the right UX/UI for the new consolidated experience.

What is the team composition? 

We've scaled up and down, but at the project's peak, we worked with about three people.

How did you come to work with CreateThrive?

We found them through a reference from NetSuite.

How much have you invested with them?

Our total expenditure is between $80,000-$120,000 so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We've worked with them since May 2019, and the project is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We've already seen successful order completions on the site, which is a critical business need. Traffic to the site has increased, and the site itself performs optimally during key sales seasons. We have no concerns, and everything operates optimally.

How did CreateThrive perform from a project management standpoint?

They're very responsive, flexible, and knowledgeable. They give us appropriate resources, and they interact with our client very well. Communication is clear and proactive, and they work well within a staff augmentation model. They take ownership of their work, and we're happy to have them as a partner.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their communication is really exceptional. They take responsibility for anything we assign to them, and they hold themselves accountable. They're a true extension of our team.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Some of the individuals we work with are fantastic, but the level of knowledge isn't consistent across the entire team. Overall, we haven't had any issues, but we would like that same level across all their resources.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be clear about your expectations from the beginning. That will help them focus on the important pieces of the project. Also, be transparent about the end goals to help them feel like a true extension of your team.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the president of Tavano Team. We develop e-commerce stores for various industries across the globe. We provide services around design, development, support, and digital marketing.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with CreateThrive?

CreateThrive helps us develop our e-commerce stores. We bring them on when we are overloaded with work and need to outsource tasks.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Typically we give them a design and they implement that layout on an e-commerce site. From that point on, they help us code the extensions or customizations of the website. 

What is the team composition?

On a typical project, one employee helps us. But, we use them on multiple projects at the same time. So we could have three developers from CreateThrive working for us at one time.

How did you come to work with CreateThrive?

They were recruited by a friend of mine. After I reached out to them, they demonstrated that they knew a lot about programming and development. We thought they would be a good partner to try.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve invested between $60,000 and $80,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in April of 2018, and the engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We continue asking them to join our projects because we trust them. Their work is mostly free of bugs, and the clients are happy.

How did CreateThrive perform from a project management standpoint?

They perform very well in project management. They’re very committed and engaged. The team also has good communication skills.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They are committed to the work they take on. Also, their skills are impressive. They are top-notch in terms of coding and development programming. They do it all. They have the skills and processes for mobile applications, web applications, and e-commerce sites. 

Other vendors in the industry may not deliver or produce quick turnarounds. Or, they might not be committed to the project. None of that has happened with CreateThrive.

Are there any areas they could improve?

The few things we’ve had to adjust, we’ve openly communicated with them. They’re very willing to adjust to customer needs. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

There’s not much advice to give because CreateThrive is mature enough to drive the project themselves. They will advise the prospect of what will work best. If they aren’t comfortable with a project, they won’t take it on. 

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

We are an Australian Men's athletic wear brand. We make high quality, technical workout gear designed specifically for men. I am the national marketing manager at SQDAthletica and I am responsible to managing how the brand is presented to customers and other stakeholders as well as running the online store.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire CreateThrive?

We transitioned our e-commerce website to SuiteCommerce Advanced and engaged the team at CreateThrive to help us build out a number of customizations essential to the running of our business.

What were your goals for this project?

We needed to increase the conversion rate on our website in order to drive revenue from this channel.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We interviewed several web designers and realized the skill set we required (high-level experience with SuiteCommerce) was not easy to come by. Ale and his team are o the other side of the world but they are extremely easy to communicate with and have the highest knowledge in this area.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

They designed, developed and implemented a number of customization for our website including design and functionality. Ale and the team have been able to help us with a lot of the back end set up to enable the site to do what we need it to do.

What was the team composition?

We worked with an agile approach using Jira and slack to keep communication flowing across different time zones. At any given time there are about 5 people involved in the development and project management of the site.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The customization and development done by ale in the team helped us improve our conversion rate by 80% driving significant incremental revenue from the site.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

Project management and communication were outstanding.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Execution and communication. They are incredibly quick at solving any issues. They're always willing to think outside the box if the request we have is not straight forward.

Are there any areas for improvement?

No